A Three Hundred Thousand Ryo Test

"Is that the guy? The client whose goods we're protecting?"

Hana Inuzuka asked Naruto in a low voice, jerking her chin toward the front.

In the direction she was staring, a merchant so fat his neck had nearly vanished was squinting with a broad smile as he tried to press a gift into Yamato's hands.

The man's enthusiasm completely threw Yamato off.

His usual work involved assassinations and ninja battles. He had never encountered a situation like this.

"You've already paid the fee. I can't accept this."

Yamato pushed the item back, his tone stiff.

"What does that little bit of money amount to? We'll still need to rely on you to take extra care of us along the way."

The merchant looked so anxious, as though refusing it meant looking down on him, that Yamato, already bad with words, had no idea where to put his hands.

Naruto rubbed his brow, unable to watch any longer.

He strode over, snatched the gift box from in front of Yamato, and tucked it into his own clothes.

"If he doesn't want it, I do. Turning down free benefits would be stupid."

The merchant immediately beamed.

"This little brother is straightforward. Then I'll be on my way."

The moment he left, Yamato became anxious.

"Naruto, how could you take something from the client? They already paid the mission fee—one hundred thousand ryo, the highest price for a C-rank mission!"

Seeing how hopeless he looked, Naruto nearly rolled his eyes into the back of his head.

"What the hell is one hundred thousand ryo? I'd already earned that much when I was three."

Extorted from the Hyuga Clan.

But Yamato was only eighteen.

He had been raised in a cultivation tank since childhood, then entered Root after leaving it, before transferring to the ANBU. All these years, he had done nothing but work where his life hung by a blade.

This was his first time leaving the ANBU to lead a team as an ordinary Jonin and take on missions.

Before this, meeting someone meant either stabbing them or getting slashed yourself. One person had to die whenever they met. How could he understand the ways of social etiquette?

Right now, he was like a doctor in an emergency room.

You could say you would definitely do your utmost, but if you refused the red envelope offered by the patient's family, they would still feel uneasy.

In these times, merchants who could make their way out of the cracks between those small countries believed in that principle even more.

"This is about personal connections. Do you think everyone is as much of a blockhead as you?"

Naruto spoke as if he were teaching his son, casually flipping open the box.

Inside lay banknotes worth a full three hundred thousand ryo.

Naruto's eyelid twitched.

Damn, that was triple the mission fee.

It would have been enough to post a B-rank mission.

His gaze fell on the carriages. Crate after crate of goods had been stacked neatly, and a Fuma Clan ninja stood guard beside every vehicle.

Naruto tugged at the corner of his mouth.

It looked like the cargo was probably far from ordinary. Otherwise, why would they put on such a grand display?

Once the caravan set off again, the Fuma Clan members remained quite well-behaved.

No one was stupid enough to pick a fight just because Naruto was a child.

Any ninja dispatched from Konoha, even a freshly graduated Genin, would not have a useless Jonin leading them.

Anyone without that much judgment was just looking for trouble.

Naruto's hopes of showing off in front of the two girls went down the drain.

Once the novelty wore off for Hana Inuzuka and Izumi Uchiha, they began to lose interest as well.

They were nearly halfway through the journey, yet not a single problem had arisen.

Every day consisted of traveling and chewing on dry rations. Forget sudden incidents; they had not even run into an accident.

Ordinary bandits and highway robbers would flee at the sight of the escort formation and the Konoha ninja forehead protectors. How could they dare deliver themselves to their deaths?

The two girls even felt that catching cats in the village was more interesting.

Naruto, however, did not waste the opportunity. Under the guise of teaching ninjutsu, he began taking liberties.

Tree climbing came first, followed by wet-clothes training—cough, water-walking practice. Yamato did not get a chance to step in at all.

Naruto taught one girl with each hand until their faces turned red enough to smoke... no, until their chakra control became remarkably proficient.

After half a month, the group reached the halfway point.

Tsume Inuzuka and Izumi Uchiha could now steadily control the release and withdrawal of their chakra, reaching the standard expected of qualified Genin.

Just when everyone thought the rest of the journey would remain as peaceful as the first half, Haimaru beside Hana Inuzuka suddenly began barking wildly.

Yamato was the first to react, raising a hand to stop the caravan.

"Stop!"

A Jonin from the Fuma Clan responsible for guarding the caravan frowned.

"What's going on?"

Yamato explained, "Haimaru is a Ninja Hound raised by the Inuzuka Clan using a secret technique. Its sense of smell is worth more than ten thousand people's. If it's this agitated, something must be wrong ahead."

After hearing that, the Fuma Jonin asked no further questions and raised his hand to halt the entire group.

Yamato turned to Hana Inuzuka. "What is Haimaru warning us about?"

"Woof! Woof!"

Haimaru barked softly at her several times.

Hana Inuzuka's pupils abruptly contracted. She quickly formed hand seals, then sniffed the air.

"There really is something!" Hana Inuzuka's face changed color. "There's a human scent nearby, and it was left recently!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she turned to look at Naruto.

In her mind, Naruto was so powerful that he must have noticed it long before she did.

Naruto's eyes widened.

Damn it.

The Nine-Tails fox was proud and stubborn to the extreme.

If he ever treated it like a dog and made it scout everywhere, then he could forget about ever becoming a Perfect Jinchuriki in this lifetime.

Before the thought could finish crossing his mind, several black dots suddenly shot out from the forest.

Kunai! Burning explosive tags trailed from their ringed handles!

Yamato shouted sharply, "Not good! Spread out!"

"Wood Release: Great Forest Technique!"