Konoha: Tenseigan at the Start, Taking Over Team 7 - Master-Disciple Mission

"Die!" The Black-Clad Ninja whipped the chain, which surged like a Shark Serpent and rapidly lunged at Tazuna's neck.

"Knowing that my strength is too great, you changed plans and prioritized eliminating the mission target? That was a good judgment." Hyuga Cangyue sucked on his lollipop, watching the scene with faint amusement as he calmly observed the two Black-Clad Ninjas.

"Mr. Tazuna, please don't leave my side." Sakura Haruno stood in front of Tazuna, blocking the chain that moved like a Shark Serpent with her Kunai.

Sakura Haruno's face was pale, and her eyes were filled with fear. Her delicate body trembled from it, but she still did everything she could to guard Tazuna.

"Very brave. Excellent." Hyuga Cangyue praised her.

In the blink of an eye.

Sasuke Uchiha moved swiftly and appeared behind the Black-Clad Ninja. A cold glint flashed through his eyes as he drew his Kunai and viciously plunged it into the Black-Clad Ninja's neck!

"Urk!" Blood sprayed from the Black-Clad Ninja's neck, and he collapsed heavily into a pool of blood.

Naruto Uzumaki's pupils shrank. Looking at the dead Black-Clad Ninja, he instinctively took two steps back.

"Useless trash!" The remaining Black-Clad Ninja cursed under his breath before attacking Naruto Uzumaki with his sharp Iron Claw.

"Ha... ha..." Naruto Uzumaki retreated in panic, his legs giving out as he fell onto the ground. He stared in terror at the Iron Claw rapidly closing in on him.

He was afraid.

Afraid that he would die as miserably as those two Black-Clad Ninjas had.

This was the first time he had felt the terror and danger of facing death.

Although he had previously felt Cangyue's enormous killing intent and chakra, that had been his Team 7 teacher, Cangyue.

But now, faced with an enemy's killing intent, Naruto Uzumaki was so terrified that he completely forgot how to defend himself.

At the moment of crisis.

Sasuke Uchiha appeared in front of Naruto and blocked the Black-Clad Ninja's Iron Claw with his Kunai. The Black-Clad Ninja was far stronger than him, making the hand gripping his Kunai tremble.

"Get lost!" The Black-Clad Ninja kicked Sasuke away, then attacked Naruto Uzumaki with his Iron Claw. He intended to capture the weakest one as a hostage.

"Fire Release... There's no time!" Sasuke Uchiha rolled once and steadied himself, then rapidly formed Hand Seals. But the Black-Clad Ninja was already about to seize Naruto with that sharp Iron Claw.

"Naruto!" When Sakura Haruno saw the sharp Iron Claw about to strike Naruto in the distance, she shouted, "Teacher Cangyue!"

"Team 7... You're only this capable, huh?" Hyuga Cangyue appeared in front of the Black-Clad Ninja with the Body Flicker Technique. He raised a hand and slapped the Black-Clad Ninja's head clean off.

"S-so fast... that Body Flicker!" The Black-Clad Ninja only had time to feel the world spinning wildly before his head crashed to the ground and he lost consciousness on the spot.

The enemies were completely defeated.

"Phew..." Sakura Haruno breathed a sigh of relief and sat down weakly. Her willow brows furrowed slightly as she glared at the powerless Naruto Uzumaki and said irritably, "Naruto, what were you doing just now?"

She had never imagined that the usually foolish Naruto Uzumaki would lose the strength to resist an enemy because of fear when they actually fought.

"I..." Naruto Uzumaki lowered his head through clenched teeth, but ultimately couldn't say a word.

"Sorry, and thank you." Tazuna gave Cangyue an apologetic look.

He had never expected it.

Cangyue looked like a frivolous man, yet his strength was enough to deal with the terrifying Black-Clad Ninjas with ease.

He had always thought Cangyue was less reliable than other Jonin and had treated the escort mission casually.

So it was because he was strong!

Cangyue's casual attitude was not due to irresponsibility. He simply hadn't taken the enemies seriously at all!

Hyuga Cangyue ignored Tazuna. He patted Sasuke and Sakura on the head, then smiled faintly and praised them. "Sakura, Sasuke, you did very well. Though it took the two of you barely managing to eliminate one piece of trash, your performance was at least acceptable."

"Hmph, Teacher Cangyue, you noticed the enemies long ago, didn't you?" Sasuke Uchiha put both hands in his pockets and spoke coldly, wearing an expression that said he understood everything. "You deliberately had us conduct the test at the Lake because you wanted to expose an opening and lure out the enemies hiding there, right?"

A Jonin's powers of observation... No, Hyuga Cangyue's powers of observation were simply extraordinary.

Even he, as a member of the Uchiha Clan, had sensed that three Black-Clad Ninjas were hiding in the Lake!

Teacher Cangyue really was impressive!

"Eh? Is that how it was, Teacher Cangyue? You actually thought through so many things? That's amazing!" Sakura Haruno blinked and looked at Cangyue admiringly.

After Sasuke's explanation, she now completely understood why Teacher Cangyue had suddenly proposed the test.

Teacher Cangyue had discovered the enemies hiding in the Lake long ago, then deliberately exposed an opening to draw out the enemies concealed in the shadows!

Teacher Cangyue... was amazing!

He was powerful, handsome, and clever.

He was completely a perfect boyfriend!

After hearing Sasuke's explanation, Tazuna froze slightly. He recalled Cangyue's previous behavior—testing his students' training during the mission. It had seemed as though he did not care about the mission at all.

But after hearing Sasuke, Tazuna realized that he had wronged Cangyue.

Had Cangyue discovered the enemies' presence long ago and deliberately baited them into taking the hook?

Tazuna took a deep look at Cangyue.

Cangyue... was truly a terrifying man!

"Is that so? Then I suppose it was." Hyuga Cangyue was speechless. He had merely seen a Lake ahead and thought it would be convenient for testing Team 7's training so he could obtain his mission reward sooner.

Besides.

There had been no enemies in the Lake just now. The enemies had merely traveled through the water and emerged from it.

But there was no need to explain all that. The Uchiha brat was wearing an expression that said he understood everything.

Hyuga Cangyue turned around and looked indifferently at Naruto Uzumaki. The corners of his mouth lifted into a mocking smile. "You aren't hurt, are you, coward?"

"Damn it!" Naruto Uzumaki's face turned ugly. He slammed his fist into the ground. Normally, he would have immediately retorted, but now he lacked the confidence to refute the taunt.

Hyuga Cangyue smiled mockingly and said apologetically, "Sorry, sorry. I didn't realize you were such a coward. If I had known, I would have saved you first."

This should be enough to awaken the Nine-Tails brat's will, right?

Once the Nine-Tails brat's will grew stronger, he could also put his all into completing the Master-Disciple Mission.

After all, tools had to be used properly.

Sasuke Uchiha raised his chin slightly and glanced at Naruto Uzumaki. With an insufferably pretentious air, he said, "If you're scared, go back, dead last."

Naruto Uzumaki gritted his teeth. "Damn it! You all look down on me!"

"Anyway, you old fart." Hyuga Cangyue ignored Naruto and walked toward Tazuna with one hand in his pocket. He grabbed Tazuna's gray-white hair and smiled faintly. "Let's have a pleasant chat."

Tazuna hurriedly avoided his gaze and said guiltily, "C-chat... about what?"

"Don't play dumb, you old fart." Hyuga Cangyue planted his foot on Tazuna's chest. Looking down at him arrogantly, he said with an unpleasant smile, "You said the enemies on this mission were bandits, but those trash just now were Ninjas."

"I told you I would raise the price, didn't I? Did you think I was just drunk and rambling?"

"Besides raising the price, I'm adding another fee—the psychological treatment costs for my adorable students."

Chapter 34: Raising the Price, Thirty Percent Profit!

"Cough, cough, cough—!" The pressure on his chest made Tazuna's face flush as he coughed violently. He had been prepared for the mission to be exposed. At first, he had thought Cangyue would be casual, say a few words, and let the matter pass.

But he had never expected that Hyuga Cangyue, who usually smiled playfully and acted frivolous and careless, seeming so easy to talk to...

Would be this domineering!

"Teacher Cangyue, no matter what, Mr. Tazuna is an old man. Please move your foot so we can talk properly..." When Sakura Haruno saw how painfully Tazuna was being stepped on, she was just about to approach and stop Cangyue.

"Shut up, ugly girl. Leave it to Teacher Cangyue." Sasuke Uchiha raised a hand in front of Sakura Haruno, stopping her from going over to Cangyue.

"Sasuke... but..." Sakura Haruno's fair face was filled with worry.

"Falsifying the mission details is a serious crime. Even a little false information can cause Ninjas to die." Sasuke Uchiha spoke in a low voice. "With that head of yours, you should be able to understand at least that much."

"If Teacher Cangyue hadn't been here just now, and only Team 7 had been assigned as guards, we would probably all be dead!" Sasuke Uchiha glanced coldly at Sakura. After fighting those Black-Clad Ninjas, he clearly understood how strong they were. They were probably all around Chunin level.

Falsifying mission details and causing Ninja casualties was a serious crime in every Ninja village!

"Sasuke, you misunderstood! I'm worried about Teacher Cangyue's reputation!" Sakura Haruno was somewhat angry. Of course she knew that if Teacher Cangyue hadn't acted just now, Team 7 and the client would have been wiped out.

She also knew that falsifying mission details was a serious crime, but she was worried about Cangyue's reputation.

If Cangyue went too far and seriously injured or killed Tazuna, his reputation would plummet!

"You're no different from that idiot Naruto." Sasuke Uchiha said this coldly and was already too lazy to explain further.

Since falsifying the mission details was a serious crime, how could it possibly affect Cangyue's reputation?

Forget kicking Tazuna a few times. Teacher Cangyue even had the right to take Tazuna back to the village and hand him over to ANBU!

"Sasuke, you can be really infuriating sometimes." The corners of Sakura Haruno's mouth twitched slightly, and a [#] symbol appeared on her forehead. Sasuke's superior, contemptuous attitude had enraged her.

I really want to punch you!

Hyuga Cangyue sucked on his lollipop. The foot on Tazuna's chest pressed down a little harder as he looked down at him indifferently and said with an unpleasant smile, "Talk to me. Don't just sit there in silence."

"You know that falsifying mission details is a serious crime, right? Put nicely, it's a serious crime. Put bluntly... you're sending us to our deaths."

Falsifying mission details meant sending the Ninjas who accepted the mission to their deaths!

"Sorry. I never intended to get those children killed." Tazuna looked desolate. A trace of grief flashed through his eyes as he said, "The Land of Waves is very poor now. Every profitable port has been monopolized by a black-hearted company... the Gato Company."

"Everyone is struggling to eat now. Some people have even starved to death because of it. We no longer have the ability to pay a high reward."

"The ten thousand ryo for this mission is already our last hope."

Tazuna's voice was hoarse, and tears rolled from the corners of his eyes.

Sasuke Uchiha walked over to Cangyue and asked coldly, "Why would the Gato Company send Ninjas to hunt down an old man like you who has nothing?"

Strange.

Tazuna clearly had nothing. Why did Gato take him so seriously?

Tazuna clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "Because Gato intends to control the Land of Waves and make everyone there work to earn money for him. I'm building a bridge that can connect us to other countries. As long as the bridge is completed, Gato's ambition can be destroyed!"

Tazuna's expression was furious, and his eyes were filled with grief as he said heavily, "My son was killed by people Gato sent while building the bridge. No matter what, I have to complete this bridge with my old bones and let everyone eat their fill!"

Tazuna knelt on the ground and said sincerely, "I know falsifying the mission details is a serious crime, but I still beg you to help me. Please save the Land of Waves."

No matter what.

No matter what, he had to complete the bridge leading to the Five Great Nations!

He would carry the hopes of the entire Land of Waves and complete this bridge leading to their dreams!

This was his final dream!

"Teacher Cangyue..." Sakura Haruno looked toward Cangyue.

Hyuga Cangyue grabbed Tazuna by the hair and forced him to meet his eyes. His tone was indifferent. "You old fart, I'm sick of hearing all this pitiful nonsense."

A bridge leading to dreams?

Konan would give you a thumbs-up for that.

"If being miserable meant someone would risk their life for you, then this world would be awfully convenient. I'm not interested in pitying you. Just tell me how much you can pay."

Hyuga Cangyue had no interest in being a hero, much less saving the weak. Everything required some benefit.

He needed more money!

"I have no money..." Tazuna's face turned ugly. After paying the ten thousand ryo reward, he was now completely penniless.

"Is that so? Then wait for death if you have no money. Or keep kneeling here and selling your sob story. Maybe some kind-hearted passerby will help you." Hyuga Cangyue released Tazuna and looked at the three members of Team 7. He called out softly, "Let's go, brats."

No money?

Who would care about you if you had no money?

With the time spent helping the old fart, they should instead go spend money helping the big sisters in the tavern who had failed to meet their quotas.

"Uh..." The entire Team 7 said nothing and followed Cangyue as he prepared to leave, because they knew Teacher Cangyue genuinely intended to return to the village immediately.

Seeing Cangyue about to leave, Tazuna hurriedly called out, "Wait! I'll give you a hundred thousand ryo. Once you get me home safely, I'll work hard to gather another hundred thousand ryo for you."

If everyone in the Land of Waves worked together, they should be able to scrape together a hundred thousand ryo.

"You old fart, you're quite the comedian. The Demon, an A-Rank Rogue Ninja from Kirigakure—he's only worth a hundred thousand ryo?" Hyuga Cangyue stopped and glanced indifferently at Tazuna. His voice was cold. "Or do you think my students' lives are only worth a hundred thousand ryo?"

A hundred thousand ryo?

Did he think he was throwing coins to a beggar?