Takara stared at the jonin vest he held in a state of deep confusion.
"So, just because I can now summon Katsuyu, it's no longer necessary for me to take the exam to ascend, and you'll give me the jonin rank directly?" he repeated to confirm he didn't mishear.
Although happy to avoid wasting time ascending in the village, for some reason he felt belittled rather than proud.
"Look, at least a third of the threat and power Tsunade Senju had lay in being able to summon Katsuyu during battles when necessary. Just the fact that you managed to sign a contract with her and, by extension, prevent someone from Konoha from doing it, equates to obtaining a third of the power of a Konoha Sannin," Chiyo told him as she pondered how to use Tsunade's death in favor of Sunagakure. "The only reason you're not climbing higher on the village ladder is due to your young age, along with the fact that we would need a Kazekage to make it official beyond that point. I think you understand where the problem lies."
They don't have a Kazekage at the moment!
Takara nodded and, looking at the vest one last time, stored it more as a trophy than for actual use. His bandages were much more useful as defense than this vest, and they wouldn't broadcast his status to the world, causing his enemies to underestimate him.
"I heard from my brother that you wanted to leave the village to collect new puppet materials," Chiyo continued once they finished the quicker part of a Sunagakure chunin's ascension to jonin.
"I lost several puppets the last few times I went to Konoha, and I have ideas to replace them with better versions, but the materials I want aren't available in the local market, and I need to go to various places in other lands to buy them, collect them, or... acquire them discreetly."
A subtle way of saying he was going to steal them.
"Since you're now a jonin, if you're going to be away for more than two weeks, take at least one A-rank mission," Chiyo decreed.
Takara paused for a moment before responding with a slightly defensive tone.
"Elder Ebizo said a B-rank mission was enough," Takara didn't want to take the mission if possible; the control paranoia the villages had was annoying.
"No, you will take an A-rank mission, and depending on where you want to go, maybe two."
"I assume you already have these missions in mind?" Takara wasn't so naive as to believe Chiyo would casually pull out missions; it was clear she had something planned.
"As I said, it depends on where you need to go," Chiyo raised an eyebrow, making it clear what the point of the discussion was.
Takara had to reveal his destination or at least the approximate area he would be moving through.
"Do you have anything near the Capital of the Land of Water or in the northern part of the Land of Fire? Around the area of the Hot Springs Village."
On the map, the places he was going to visit almost formed a triangle in their distances, so even if Chiyo or some spy knew his destination, they wouldn't know which one he would prioritize.
Takara wasn't going to be as naive as to believe no one could be targeting his back, not with the kind of world he ended up in. For all he knew, one day a bounty could be placed on his head on the black market without warning, and he would constantly be bothered by bounty hunters.
Chiyo kept her face the same, but inwardly, she frowned.
In her estimates, she thought Takara would only go as far as the Land of Rivers, but it seems she fell short by more than half.
"Both destinations would require you to traverse the Land of Fire, and that is especially dangerous in the coming weeks for Sunagakure ninja," Chiyo commented.
"I can take a ferry from the Land of Waves to the port of the Land of Water before heading to its Capital. At the same time, I can cross through the Amegakure area and circle northwest around the Land of Fire before heading west."
Takara had no intention of entering Konoha's territory in the short term unless necessary, especially after Danzo's last attempt. He could use reverse summoning to go with Katsuyu to the Shikkotsu Forest, and he already obtained the Nine-Tails from Konoha.
"Mmm, that will take much longer, but it reduces the danger," Chiyo nodded as she opened the drawer and checked the A-rank mission scrolls.
Initially, she wanted Takara to perform an assassination mission and an escort mission, but it seems she needed to look for alternatives.
"You will take these two missions then," Chiyo placed two scrolls on the table and let Takara take them and read.
"Assassinate a minor noble from the Land of Water, with a reward of 200,000 ryo," Takara had no problem with this mission; killing was always the easiest for a ninja, and according to the information, the noble didn't even have connections to consider. Probably why the reward was so close to the minimum payment for an A-rank mission, although he found it unusual that they were the ones receiving this mission and not Konoha, Kiri, or Kumo due to proximity.
As for the other mission...
"Mmm?" Takara looked up from the scroll to look at the elderly Chiyo. "Are you sure I should take this mission? It seems like a job more suitable for a whole squad of jonin."
"Yes, I believe you'll be up to the task," Chiyo chuckled at the observation.
Takara didn't say more and returned his gaze to the scroll.
It was a mission to eliminate three Konoha ninja squads, consisting of nine chunin and three jonin. The reward amounted to 900,000 ryo.
From a logical point of view, for a single jonin (recently promoted as well) to take on this mission without backup companions was suicide no matter how you looked at it. Moreover, many jonin actually had bounties worth millions in the black market, so he felt that the reward was actually cheap for what they were asking.
Furthermore, due to the details of the mission, it should actually be considered an S-rank mission. The only reason it apparently wasn't was because it was specified that they would be paid 100,000 ryo for each ninja killed, and there was no problem with running away if things went wrong.
In fact, anyone in his situation would kill the chunin to claim the majority and then turn around, but...
"You want me to build a reputation," it wasn't a question but a statement of fact.
"You can understand it that way," Chiyo nodded, internally pleased with the young man's mental acuity.
If he managed to successfully complete this mission and the result was "leaked," along with his performance in the chunin exam in Konoha, it would boost the village's morale, while others would see that Suna isn't as weak as it seems.
If done right, he might even qualify for the position of Kazekage.
But Takara didn't want to be recognized or have people pay attention to his movements. It was precisely because he was unknown that no one suspected he took Naruto or was after the other jinchurikis.
Not even White Zetsu seemed to have noticed him yet, and he only had two years before Akatsuki began to move.
"It seems I'll need to take some more flexible measures..."