Publicly Funded Vacation

Forest.

Battlefield.

"All right, that's everything. If you want to join the Twelve Guardian Ninja too, you'd better be careful."

Tobitake Tonbo slowly recounted the memories he had read.

Based on the memories he had read, it seemed the daimyo had survived quite a few assassination attempts. Forces like the Fire Temple, which had long trained Guardian Shinobi for the Land of Fire, had records of every generation being targeted by assassins.

All to reduce the protective forces around the Land of Fire's daimyo.

It seemed that aside from the Five Great Ninja Villages, the forces within the Land of Fire were also intricately entangled. That much was obvious from these people's memories.

"That's none of your business. Whether I join or not is my decision."

Although Asuma felt somewhat grateful for Tobitake Tonbo's help, he would not go against his own wishes.

Chiriku looked at him gratefully. Knowing some information about the enemy would make things much easier for them.

Tobitake Tonbo spread his hands. "Whether I interfere isn't my concern. That's something the Third should worry about."

"Let's go, kids. It wasn't easy getting out here, and we finished the mission so quickly. I'll take you on a trip through the Land of Fire, broaden your horizons, and teach you something new while we're at it."

Tobitake Tonbo said to Iruka and the others.

"Awesome!"

"Is it a new ninjutsu?"

"Yeah, Captain, you've never taught us any ninjutsu."

"Nonsense. What truly matters for a ninja isn't ninjutsu. What I taught you is the important stuff."

Tobitake Tonbo joked around with his team as they gradually disappeared from Asuma and Chiriku's sight.

Chiriku said, "So this is Konoha's elite? They really are incredible!"

He had watched the previous battle with his own eyes. Given his current abilities, he did not think he could gain any advantage against Tobitake Tonbo.

After pondering for a while, Asuma stared at Tobitake Tonbo's retreating back and clenched his fists. "Yeah. He's very strong. He's no worse than Kakashi!"

And that Genjutsu was even stronger than the one used by Kurenai, the girl he liked.

Bleurgh!

Thinking of that Genjutsu made Asuma nauseous again.

Whoosh!

On the road to the next town, a hawk appeared in Tobitake Tonbo's hand. With intelligence tied to it, it flew into the sky.

Screech!

"Wow, Captain, your Genjutsu is getting more and more amazing. You can even use it to deliver letters?"

Iruka's eyes shone as he watched, wanting to learn it.

Ordinary messenger hawks required tremendous effort to raise, but for their captain, it was merely a matter of using a ninjutsu.

"It's useless to be jealous. I've already tested it. Neither you nor Shiso have the talent to learn Genjutsu." Tobitake Tonbo shattered his fantasy with a single sentence.

Iruka's face immediately fell.

Mibu Shinobu's eyes gradually lit up when he heard his captain's words. "Captain, does that mean I have talent for Genjutsu?"

This was wonderful. He had long coveted his captain's Genjutsu. If he could learn it, hehe.

He would surely surpass Iruka and Teksen Shiso and become the strongest in the team.

Tobitake Tonbo nodded.

Iruka and Teksen Shiso looked at Mibu Shinobu, their eyes overflowing with envy.

This was their captain's signature move!

"Still, having talent for Genjutsu only means you have the potential. Whether you can learn my Secret Technique depends on your talent. Secret Techniques aren't that easy to learn."

Mibu Shinobu indeed had talent for learning Genjutsu, but it was not enough to learn a Secret Technique. He could only learn ordinary Genjutsu, just like Kurenai.

But they did not say that aloud.

"Eh, what about us? Do we have any talent?"

Iruka looked impatient. His teammate had one, so what about the other two of them?

"Well, of course. Everyone has talent, and your talents are..."

"What? What are they?"

Screech!

The hawk entered Konoha's territory, flew over Konoha, and headed toward Konoha's communications department, landing on a rack specially made for messenger hawks.

The moment it landed, the ninja in charge of watching over them came forward to read the message.

"This is from a ninja who went out to gather intelligence. The information is meant for Lord Hokage."

Another person said, "It's not urgent intelligence. Give it to Lord Hokage after he finishes his work."

Konoha's Hokage Office.

"Tobitake Tonbo's abilities are truly unexpected. He sent back Asuma's information so quickly."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the intelligence report in his hand, greatly surprised.

In just a few days, he had found Asuma and even fought him.

"I truly failed to guide Asuma properly. That is my responsibility as his father!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed.

In the report, Tobitake Tonbo complained that Asuma had nearly forgotten his companions and had been extremely rude, even attacking his own comrades.

He also said that Asuma's ninjutsu—the incredibly powerful ash-spewing ninjutsu that could explode, along with the terrifying Fuma Shuriken Clone Technique—had nearly frightened him senseless.

So he planned to lead his team around the Land of Fire for a while, using the lively prosperity of the Land of Fire to soothe their wounded hearts.

And he would continue tracking Asuma's movements.

He even guaranteed that he would not waste time and would properly teach Iruka and the other two during this period, striving to train them into ninjas capable of standing on their own as soon as possible.

"Lord Hokage, isn't this slacking off? We should have them return and help the village handle missions." The secretary assisting with the paperwork asked him.

In his view, Tobitake Tonbo had simply gone sightseeing. Not only that, he intended to stay away for some time. Did he not know that Konoha was still in the midst of rebuilding?

It had only just begun to recover from the Nine-Tails' Attack.

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled. "Let them be. Konoha has mostly recovered by now."

"Besides, the communications department said that after his messenger hawk returned, it turned into a straw-woven messenger hawk. If we issue another mission, we would need to waste manpower informing him."

Since the Hokage had said so, the secretary could not say anything further. The Third was the Hokage, after all.

After speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes turned thoughtful.

Asuma probably would not be returning anytime soon.

But this also showed him that he had underestimated Tobitake Tonbo's abilities.

Judging from his method of communication, it was a type of Secret Technique, and like the Secret Techniques of the Eshin Lineage, it fell within the scope of Yin Release.

Only one involved painting, while the other involved weaving.

"He's a talent."

Linchuan Great Falls, Land of Fire.

Three figures watched Tobitake Tonbo carefully, awaiting his guidance.

"Mibu Shinobu has talent for Genjutsu and an advantage when it comes to practicing it."

Mibu Shinobu nodded.

"Iruka has a solid foundation in theoretical knowledge and the basics. He has good talent, and his temperament is fairly gentle, so he also has the talent to become a teacher."

Iruka's face brightened at those words. Wasn't that exactly his dream?

"Shiso has outstanding neural reflexes and the best spatial awareness among you. He has exceptional talent for using Shuriken and other concealed weapons, as well as excellent talent in space-time techniques."

Teksen Shiso scratched his head at those words. He actually had talent for space-time techniques? He had only ever felt that summoning ninja tools came easily to him. He had not expected it to be talent.

"But aside from Genjutsu, I'm only proficient in a tiny little bit of all that.

"So I might not be able to teach you anything too amazing."

Tobitake Tonbo's words sank Teksen Shiso and Iruka's hearts. This... was too depressing.

Only Mibu Shinobu looked at Tobitake Tonbo expectantly.

Still, he did not show it too openly out of consideration for his teammates' feelings.