Tsunade raised an eyebrow slightly and looked at Hiruzen again.
Jiraiya gradually calmed down from his excitement as well and scratched his head.
"Uh... Orochimaru had a point. Leaving the village, if we run into some powerful enemy..."
Hiruzen looked at the three young faces before him and nodded inwardly.
Jiraiya was hot-blooded, but not completely reckless. Tsunade seemed cold on the outside but warm within, and cared about missions more deeply than she let on. As for Orochimaru—
What made that child most frightening had never been his talent for ninjutsu, but his ability to detach himself from his emotions and analyze situations calmly under any circumstances.
"Your judgment is correct."
Hiruzen spoke in a steady voice.
"With Team 7's current combat strength, you truly do not have the ability to independently carry out village-external missions above C-rank that are expected to involve combat."
Jiraiya's expression fell for a moment.
"But this mission is different."
Hiruzen shifted the subject and unfurled the scroll.
"Officially, this mission is a preliminary inspection of a commercial project between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water.
"The three of you will be accompanying personnel. Your core tasks are only twofold:
"First, accompany me in completing the diplomatic contact procedures.
"Second, take this opportunity to see the Ninja World beyond Konoha with your own eyes."
He did not mention the Uzumaki Survivors or the secret rendezvous.
Those were matters operating in the shadows, responsibilities owed to the village, not burdens these children needed to carry yet.
They only needed to know that this was a low-risk training journey.
"In short—"
Hiruzen rolled up the scroll.
"You are only accompanying us.
"The real mission executors are myself and several assistant Chunin.
"What you need to do is observe, learn, and complete some