The journey back was faster than the escort, as the speed of the carriage simply couldn't keep up with the Ninjas.
Mutsuki and the others returned to Konoha in the afternoon.
"Let's disband for now. No training or missions today, just rest for half a day. We'll meet at training ground 26 tomorrow morning," Mutsuki said.
In order to return to Konoha quickly, Mutsuki led them in a rapid march, only stopping to eat along the way.
The rush to return to Konoha wasn't for anything else but to celebrate Guy's birthday.
Guy's birthday is on January 1st. If Mutsuki didn't speed up, they might only just make it back to Konoha on January 1st, and preparing for the celebration might be a bit rushed.
"Ah, finally back. It was so boring rushing all the way," Obito complained, stretching lazily.
Continuously rushing on the road was like uninterrupted running exercise for him.
"Kakashi, want to race running backwards?" Guy, still full of energy, laughed heartily and invited Kakashi with a thumbs-up.
"Sorry, I'll pass. I'm a bit tired," Kakashi declined directly, a hint of weariness flickering in his eyes.
It wasn't the physical exhaustion from the journey, but rather a mental fatigue. Since that intense battle that night, Kakashi had been thinking a lot.
Is Mutsuki an Excellent Ninja? It seems so. Setting aside strength for now, just from the Third Hokage's attitude, it's evident. Mutsuki said he believed in the students' abilities, and Third gave them permission for C-Rank Missions.
Mutsuki once said his idol was White Fang, his father, Sakumo Hatake.
From Mutsuki's actions, their beliefs seemed similar; they both believed comrades were important.
But if a comrade's life truly outweighed the mission, why did his father face so much criticism for saving his comrades, to the extent that even the one saved would stand up to criticize him?
For a moment, Kakashi truly didn't understand who was at fault, whether it was his father, the village, or someone else...
If his father was wrong, why would he be admired by an Excellent Ninja like Mutsuki? If his father was right, why would things end up like this?
"Kakashi, you just can't keep up. I could still run a hundred laps around Konoha right now!" Obito boasted.
"No wonder you..."
Hearing Obito bring up that night's battle again, Kakashi couldn't hold back. That night, he was only controlled by Toroi for a little over ten minutes, but he felt Obito could stretch that point for weeks.
"A hundred laps, huh? Let's do it. The loser stays silent for a day!" Kakashi said sternly.
Obito didn't expect Kakashi to agree. He was just teasing Kakashi because he hadn't responded to Guy. After such a long journey, Kakashi was actually quite tired, and Konoha wasn't small. Even just running a hundred laps along the edge of the main city area would be quite far.
"Bring it on then, who's afraid of a challenge?" Obito replied with a forced confidence, feeling a bit uneasy inside but needing to maintain a tough facade in front of Kakashi.
"Can't we run on our hands?" Guy scratched his head, feeling somewhat disappointed.
Mutsuki watched his disciples, who were still not resting and had gotten excited, and smiled with relief before turning and heading towards the Hokage Building.
Upon reaching the Hokage Building, Mutsuki didn't go to the mission hall but went straight to the Hokage's office.
"Come in," Sarutobi Hiruzen said upon hearing the knock.
As the door opened, Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced up and smiled, asking, "It's Mutsuki, right? What brings you here?"
"Third-sama, our team received an escort mission a few days ago to take someone to the Land of Rice Fields. After entering the Land of Rice Fields, we encountered several Ninjas disguised as Iwagakure Ninja..." Mutsuki reported the unexpected events of the mission to Third.
However, he omitted some of the combat details, such as the Magnet Release Ninja and the Ninjutsu he had used.
In Mutsuki's account, the enemy consisted of one Jonin and seven Chunin, while Mutsuki and his team struggled to protect the client and emerged victorious.
"Before I killed those Ninjas, they were boasting about Iwagakure seeking revenge. But it's suspicious that most of the Iwagakure team wielded Lightning Release," Mutsuki remarked.
"Iwagakure Ninja using Lightning Release..." Sarutobi Hiruzen pondered.
It indeed seemed like the Hidden Cloud might be trying to escalate tensions between Iwagakure and Konoha. However, Sarutobi Hiruzen considered another possibility: Could it be that Iwagakure was disguised as the Hidden Cloud, aiming to provoke conflict between Konoha and the Hidden Cloud?
While it wasn't impossible, there were very few individuals in Iwagakure capable of using Lightning Release, although not none.
However, Sarutobi Hiruzen quickly dismissed this idea. Even if the enemy wanted to deceive them with such a scheme, they wouldn't send a team like that to engage Mutsuki's class, a regular four-person team, against one Jonin and seven Chunin—there would be no chance of victory.
"Here are the bodies of those Ninja, but due to the intense fighting, two of them were charred beyond recognition by my Fire Release," Mutsuki said.
For living individuals, Konoha could use the Yamanaka Clan's Secret Jutsu to directly access their memories. Preserved corpses could also yield information through analysis by specialized researchers, such as their training and daily routines.
Knowing this, Mutsuki deliberately made sure Toroi's body was destroyed, preventing any information retrieval.
"It's fine. As long as we have intact bodies, we can determine which village they belong to," Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded. He understood this aspect well; in life-or-death situations, preserving enemy bodies wasn't a priority.
"If this turns out as you suspect, then Mutsuki, you've accomplished quite a feat, unraveling the Hidden Cloud's scheme," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a satisfied smile.
His expectation was for Mutsuki to just keep Kakashi in line to some degree, but Mutsuki unexpectedly delivered an additional bonus.
While this incident wouldn't lead to them teaming up with the Hidden Rock Village to attack the Hidden Cloud Village, it could at least prevent Iwagakure from joining forces with the Hidden Cloud.
"Since you encountered so many Ninja, a C-Rank Mission is no longer appropriate," Third said, taking out a form and quickly jotting down some notes before stamping it.
"I've upgraded this mission to an A-Rank Mission. In addition to the original seventy thousand, the village will provide an additional seven hundred and thirty thousand as a mission reward," Sarutobi Hiruzen handed the completed form to Mutsuki.
A-Rank Mission rewards range from one hundred and fifty thousand to one million, with an eight hundred thousand reward already considered top tier.
"Thank you, Third-sama," Mutsuki said with a smile.
"As for the Sealing Jutsu we discussed earlier, I've sent it over to Minato. He happened to come across it while you were on a mission, so he took care of it for you," Sarutobi Hiruzen reminded him.
Mutsuki's face lit up with gratitude once again.
'After all, the harder the mission, the higher the reward,' Mutsuki thought to himself as he left the Hokage Building, looking at the reward information on the system.
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