New Mission

Konoha Cemetery.

Kakashi stood before a gravestone, holding a bouquet of flowers.

Since his father's death, Kakashi had become increasingly silent. There was not much left in this village that he could miss. The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was one of those few things.

As his teacher and the Jonin who had led his team, Minato Namikaze was the sunniest and most inspiring person Kakashi had ever met.

The profession of a ninja was often accompanied by bloodshed and darkness. But Minato Namikaze was different. Like the sun, he could always illuminate those around him.

Footsteps sounded behind him. Few people came here. Kakashi turned slightly on guard, then saw a familiar figure.

"Long time no see, Kakashi. I heard you were in the village. I went to your house, but no one was there, so I guessed you would be here."

"Aoba, when did you get back?"

"Just now."

"It's good that you're back." Kakashi rarely interacted with others. Other than Guy, he had almost no friends. But Aoba was an exception.

Because when rumors targeting White Fang had spread through the village back then, Aoba Kamikawa had been one of the few ninjas who stood by White Fang.

At the time, Kakashi had been lost. He did not know whether what his father had done was right or wrong. But he knew who stood on his side.

That made Aoba one of the few people Kakashi could talk to.

"You look... a little different."

Kakashi looked at Aoba's face. It was young and handsome, almost no different from what he remembered.

But one thing had changed. His right eye was hidden beneath his slanted forehead protector.

"Your eye..."

"Couldn't be helped. I ran into that brute Raikage. I had to pay some price. I used every trump card I had and barely escaped with my life."

"Escaping alive from the Raikage's hands is already an incredible achievement."

"It was all right. I gave him a little something in return too—one finger. Unfortunately, it did not affect him much."

As he spoke, Aoba Kamikawa placed the flowers in his hand before the grave of the Fourth Hokage and his wife.

"Let's go. Let's get something to eat. I probably won't be staying in the village for long. Call Guy too. Let's go have some barbecue. I've been craving it for years."

"...All right."

At the Akimichi family barbecue restaurant, Aoba Kamikawa, Kakashi, and Guy had already started eating.

"You know what the Land of Hot Water is like. In the eyes of those bandits from Kumogakure, it might as well not exist. So what if they cross the border whenever they please? Would the Land of Hot Water dare say anything?

But the Land of Fire is different. I was stationed at a border outpost. If they crossed the border, it meant war. We could only fight to the death."

"I know that. I read the border reports. Kumogakure's incursions have clearly decreased over the past few years. In the area you guarded, Aoba, there were practically no Kumogakure ninjas crossing the border. They used to be incredibly brazen."

"Exactly. Kumogakure is just that sort of thing. A pack of outright bandits. There's no reasoning with them. Even if you want to reason with them, you have to beat them down first."

The grudges between Aoba and Kumogakure over the past few years could be talked about for three days and three nights without end. Kumogakure had always taken advantage of Konoha's policy of restraint, provoking them every few days.

And as the garrison at the border outpost, if Aoba did nothing, it would be his responsibility. Konoha's higher-ups could use that as an excuse to hold him accountable at any time.

So he could only choose to fight. Fortunately, he had needed sufficiently capable opponents to hone himself anyway. Thus, he directly used Kumogakure's ninjas as sparring partners.

Over the past few years, he had effectively completed his unique combat system through real battle. He had even earned the title of Wind-Chasing Sword, meaning that his sword was faster than the wind.

Aoba was not particularly satisfied with that title. In this world, there were plenty of people faster than the wind. Still, Wind-Chasing Sword sounded quite nice, so he ultimately accepted it by default.

Interestingly, after Aoba began killing without restraint, Konoha started causing trouble again. They had even once sent an official document reprimanding him for striking too heavily and damaging relations between the two countries.

Aoba treated such documents as farts.

He had many lives on his hands, but if anyone truly wanted to hold him accountable, they could not pin it on him at all. That was because he had always killed his opponents on the territory of the Land of Fire.

That was his duty to begin with. From start to finish, Kumogakure had been the ones stirring up trouble, voluntarily crossing the border and launching all kinds of provocations. In the real world, if someone crossed the border whenever they pleased, the troops on the other side would shoot them on sight too.

As his reputation grew, Konoha instead fell silent. They even recalled him.

Aoba knew that this recall was probably to promote him to Jonin.

Konoha was a militarized organization. Titles like Jonin, Chunin, and Genin were not merely titles. Most of the time, they also represented rank and the chain of command.

A Jonin was already equivalent to a senior military officer. They naturally held command authority over Chunin and Genin.

Therefore, being promoted to Jonin was actually very difficult. Strength alone was not enough. One also needed a certain degree of leadership ability and a qualifying level of comprehensive tactical skill.

There were many Special Jonin in the village. They could only meet part of the criteria for Jonin, so they could not be promoted to true Jonin.

But for Aoba, none of that was a problem. Over three years, he had led a dozen or so Chunin and Genin from the border outpost in dozens of bloody battles against Kumogakure ninjas.

They had killed three enemy Jonin, sixteen Chunin, and a number of Genin. He had even preserved half of his comrades while being pursued by the Raikage. Whether in combat strength or comprehensive tactical ability, he was absolutely qualified.

In fact, if not for the lingering issue with Orochimaru back then, he should have advanced long ago.

The three had eaten and drunk their fill. Just as they walked out the door, they saw an ANBU member wearing a mask blocking their path.

"Aoba Kamikawa, report to the Hokage's Office immediately."

"All right, looks like this is it for today. Let's get together again when we have time."

"Sure, when we have time, let's sweat it out together at the training grounds..."

There was no need to ask who had said that. It was Guy, and he had shouted it at the top of his lungs. Fortunately, Aoba had been prepared. Before Guy could finish shouting, he used the Body Flicker Technique and fled the scene.

Kakashi could handle that situation alone. He simply could not withstand Guy's enthusiasm.

At the Hokage's Office, Aoba was surprised to find that not only was Hiruzen Sarutobi there, but so were the two ancient advisors and that scumbag with bandages around his right arm and one eye covered.

"Lord Hokage." Aoba stepped forward and bowed.

"Mm, Aoba. You have worked hard guarding the border all these years."

"It was all in service of the Will of Fire. How could there be any talk of hardship?" Aoba's answer was flawless. Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly as well. At least his attitude was acceptable.

"The village is currently in need of capable people. There are two main reasons we recalled you this time."