No sooner had they left Konoha than Tazuna was sandwiched in the middle of the group, his face stretched into a long scowl.
As he walked, he kept grumbling, "What the hell is this? You actually sent four little brats on this mission? Even if I didn't pay much, this is way too ridiculous."
Karin's temper flared on the spot. She swung up a fist and shouted at him, "You old geezer, you've been whining forever! Genin and Chunin can take C-rank missions, don't you know that? With that little reward of yours, nobody but us would even bother!"
A reward of thirty thousand ryo for a job that would take several months—put bluntly, this kind of work was meant for Jonin to use as training for their students. No one wanted to take it.
Back then, after Naruto had made a fuss, the old Third had shoved the same kind of assignment onto Kakashi's team.
Naruto looked a little impatient and waved at them. "Move it. We'll end this fast. I brought you here to sharpen your skills, not to go on a picnic."
Sakura, walking behind them, looked confused. "But Teacher Naruto, this is an escort mission. No matter how fast we move, how is this supposed to be training?"
Naruto curled his lips and gave Tazuna a meaningful glance, then laughed. "This isn't something that ends with simply protecting someone."
"All the information this old man provided was fake. The Land of Waves has long been under the thumb of that crooked merchant Gato. He has over a hundred wandering samurai under him, along with hired rogue ninja."
"Your mission this time is to wipe them all out, not stand guard over this old fool who can't stop lying."
The moment those words landed, Tazuna, Sasuke, and