A New Storm Has Appeared—How Can We Stop Moving Forward?

Two hundred and fifty thousand ryo was neither too much nor too little for an escort mission.

Kakashi did not really care about that amount of money. They were heading out of the village for a month-long trip anyway, so they might as well take it on.

He turned to look at the three kids, wanting to hear his subordinates' opinions.

Especially Naruto...

The mission reward had suddenly dropped from two million ryo to two hundred and fifty thousand. He wondered whether the kid would make a fuss.

Sasuke had both hands in his pockets, his brows tightly furrowed as sparks occasionally flickered around him. He glanced at Kakashi and said indifferently, "Whatever."

Sakura shook her pink hair, hopped out from behind Sasuke, and raised her right hand.

"Kakashi Sensei, I'm fine with it."

Seeing his only female student being so obedient, Kakashi finally felt a little better.

Thank goodness...

There was still one normal student on his team.

He then shifted his gaze to Team 7's troublemaker, Naruto, afraid that the kid would stir up something else.

Naruto turned the back of his head toward Kakashi, making it clear that he was still angry.

Besides, he had shouted two million ryo so loudly just now...

Wouldn't backing down now be totally embarrassing?

And...

Couldn't this white-haired Zhong Deng give me a way out?

Not mature at all!

"Hahahaha, old man, we'll take this mission."

Kakashi gave a few dry laughs, then took him away to register the mission details.

The surrounding ninja who had been watching all sighed in relief.

Thank goodness...

It looked like Team 7, having picked up another mission, would not be coming back anytime soon!

They needed to hurry and compete for the village's few remaining low-level missions.

The ninja who had been chatting and laughing moments ago suddenly tensed up. They immediately realized that everyone present was their competitor, and their amused expressions turned fierce.

Damn it!

The upcoming low-level missions are mine!

Konoha's ninja were about to kick off a new wave of ruthless competition...

A new storm had appeared—how could Konoha's ninja stop moving forward!

Watching the white-haired Zhong Deng leave, Naruto looked somewhat angry on the surface, but inwardly, he was a little excited.

The Wave Country Instance Dungeon was about to open.

He also wanted to see just how strong he had become.

That punch that had injured Kakashi before could only be said to have happened because the white-haired Zhong Deng had been careless and failed to dodge.

Besides, Konoha's Gold Medal Technician, Mr. Kakashi, could fight anyone to a draw, so using him as a benchmark for his own strength was not exactly rigorous.

After all, this guy could trade blows evenly with Zabuza, then later even battle an Otsutsuki.

By that logic...

Zabuza = Kaguya Otsutsuki.

Naruto always felt that Kakashi was protected by the power of the world.

So it was absolutely necessary to use Zabuza, an early-game mini-boss, to test his strength.

A few minutes later, Kakashi came downstairs with Tazuna.

"Meet at the village entrance at seven tomorrow."

"Remember not to be late."

Kakashi showed not the slightest embarrassment when he said that.

The three kids stared at Kakashi at the same time, just short of directly calling out a certain white-haired ninja.

Wasn't he the one most likely to be late in Team 7?

"Alright, dismissed."

A battle-hardened veteran like Kakashi naturally would not be intimidated by the stares of three genin. Without changing expression, he told them to go home, then took Tazuna away first to arrange lodging for him.

Sasuke had no home, so he expertly hitched a ride through Naruto's Light Gate to return to the little forest and train.

At first, Sakura had felt embarrassed about having Naruto send her home, but now that they had grown familiar, she no longer thought much of it and immediately passed through the Light Gate to her doorstep.

As for Naruto...

His situation was much the same as Sasuke's. He had a house, but no home.

The only difference was that his wife's family had quite a few relatives.

After sending those two off, Naruto opened a Space Gate and arrived at the Hyuga Clan Grounds. When the Hyuga clan saw the familiar blond-haired boy, they froze, and the atmosphere instantly became heavy.

Naruto pretended not to notice and walked straight toward the wall.

Before everyone's eyes, he scaled the wall in a few quick movements and entered the inner courtyard.

Well... why did he not use a Space Gate to get in...

Mainly because Naruto thought this was more thrilling.

Seeing the blond-haired boy nimbly climb over the wall, the Hyuga Clan's ninja were so furious that veins bulged on their foreheads. If their constitutions had not been extraordinary, they might have suffered cerebral hemorrhages from anger at the hands of this blond brat long ago.

But thankfully...

This kid was leaving the village tomorrow!

Naruto, having climbed over the wall, was still thinking about how to say goodbye to Hinata. The moment he landed and turned around, he crashed into a burly body.

When he looked up, Naruto's expression stiffened.

Damn!

Why was Hiashi Old Man here?

The two stared at each other for a long time without either speaking first. Naruto's eyes darted about evasively, his heart full of unease.

It could not be helped. Fathers-in-law always had a natural advantage over sons-in-law.

Hyuga Hiashi's gaze was as sharp as a blade. Because of the Byakugan, Naruto could not read much from him either.

Judging by that stern expression...

He was probably quite angry?

Hiashi looked at Naruto for a while before saying quietly.

"Use the front gate next time."

"Hinata is at the Training Grounds."

With that, he turned and left.

Naruto scratched his head, his expression somewhat strange.

He realized that his father-in-law did not seem as fierce as he had thought.

The Hyuga Clan Grounds were huge. Naruto walked for nearly ten minutes before he found the Training Grounds.

It had to be said, the Hyuga clan truly deserved its reputation as one of Konoha's great clans.