The next day, at the Konoha mission gathering point.
Shintaro and Kurenai arrived here to receive their mission.
"Uchiha Shintaro, Yuhi Kurenai, what level of mission would you like to choose?"
A staff member asked after checking their ninja Ids.
Regarding this matter, they had already discussed it beforehand, so Shintaro answered, "C level, preferably an escort mission abroad."
The staff nodded after hearing this, and after some checks, entrusted them with several tasks.
Shintaro approached Kurenai and placed the authorization letters in front of them, selecting a task together.
He looked around but didn't make a decision.
This time, Kurenai extended her white finger and pointed to one of the commission tasks, saying, "How about this one?"
"Escort a caravan, huh, this one will do." Shintaro agreed with a nod.
The Land of Hot Water is a friendly neighbor to the Land of Fire. These two countries have always been peaceful. The Land of Hot Water has beautiful scenery and a thriving tourism industry, making it perfect for a vacation.
Kurenai smiled and said, "I heard the hot springs in the Land of Hot Water are very famous. Bathing in them can restore health and beautify the skin."
Shintaro smiled and shook his head slightly, returning the other task authorization letters to the staff, and then went back to Kurenai after completing the task registration.
"You're already beautiful enough. If you beautify yourself more, you won't leave others a chance to survive."
The two chatted and laughed, which made the staff praise them, "He can talk so well at such a young age, no wonder he can take his girlfriend on a honeymoon."
Shintaro took Kurenai to the hotel where the caravan group was staying and met with their client.
The client was a businessman in the hot spring city of the Land of Hot Water. He mainly traveled between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water to make money by buying and selling goods.
Therefore, the size of the caravan was not large, and there were less than ten people including two guard ninjas.
The caravan set off that afternoon and encountered no danger along the way.
However, one day, some thieves targeted the caravan and hid in the forest to ambush them.
Shintaro struck the shoulder of one of them with a kunai from a distance and pinned him to a tree, which frightened all the thieves.
This danger was still within the scope of a C-level mission, which is normal. After all, not every C-level mission inexplicably becomes an S-level mission.
Due to the slow speed of the ordinary people in the caravan, the group took more than a month to reach the territory of the Land of Hot Water.
Fortunately, the hot spring city was not far from the border, and the group successfully arrived in the hot spring city shortly after entering the Land of Hot Water.
The mission was successfully completed.
But of course, Shintaro and Kurenai did not plan to return to Konoha immediately, they were here, and naturally, they had to spend a few days in the hot spring city before heading back.
Coincidentally, the client gave them two extra hot spring coupons as a token of gratitude.
But it was still morning, so Shintaro and Kurenai planned to take a walk first.
"Welcome, would you like to try Inumantou Hot Springs?"
"Welcome to Cat Cookie Hot Springs!"
The hot spring shops on both sides of the street were very different, and the contents of their shouts were also very different.
A dog's head was carved on one side of the sign, and cat ears were carved on the other side.
The staff in charge of shouting also wore a dog mask and a cat mask respectively.
Together with the clear white dividing line on the ground, the whole hot spring city was divided into two parts.
It all showed that it seemed the whole city was divided in half because of dogs and cats.
"Kurenai, do you like cats or dogs?" Shintaro turned and asked casually.
Kurenai thought seriously for a moment and answered honestly, "It's hard to say, I like both. If I have to choose one, I'd pick the cat."
Shintaro agreed, "Similarly, cats are quieter than dogs. After all, I don't need a dog to help hunt and guard the house. But Kakashi is really annoying."
Kurenai snickered, "How can a ninja keep a dog for hunting and guarding the house?"
"Yeah, yeah." Shintaro also smiled and shook his head.
He suddenly remembered something, looked at her, and said, "If you like cats, I can take you to a place before returning to Konoha."
Kurenai's eyes lit up, and she asked expectantly, "Where?"
Shintaro turned and said mysteriously, "You'll know when the time comes."
Kurenai turned around, but her attention quickly shifted. "Shintaro, look at that."
Shintaro saw a store selling kimonos and yukatas. The shop was filled with a dazzling array of clothes in various colors.
He remembered the time when he went shopping with Kurenai before.
So Shintaro wisely said, "Let's go, we happen to need to change into civilian clothes, otherwise it will be a bit conspicuous."
Kurenai nodded happily, even her steps became faster, and she even hummed a tune.
Then the situation was as follows: Does this look good? Good. Does this one look better or that one? They all look good...
In this way, the two spent almost an hour shopping in this store.
Shintaro bought himself a kimono with a blue and white sky pattern and a simple pure white yukata.
Kurenai carefully selected a red kimono with beautiful embroidered patterns, and the other was a red and black yukata.
The two of them walked out of the shop directly wearing kimonos, and walking together really gave them a sense of beauty.
Kurenai stared blankly at Shintaro in his sky-patterned kimono and was stunned for a moment.
Shintaro waved his palm in front of her eyes. After seeing her come to her senses, he said, "Let's go to the hotel and book a room."
Kurenai blushed and said, "I want to book two rooms..."
"Sure~" The last tone of Shintaro's voice was long, then he turned to her with his blue eyes, "Let's go."
Kurenai responded softly and followed him.
The two then booked a hotel, went shopping after dinner, and at night, they were finally ready to start their business.
The business here refers to hot spring bathing.
If you come to the Hot Spring City and don't soak in the hot springs, then you haven't really been here.
The two did not choose the bustling hot springs in the city center but chose a secluded hot spring on the edge of the village.
This hot spring was small, about the size of a bedroom, surrounded by walls made of stone. Outside the fence was a dense forest, providing a natural beauty.
Steam billowed, and Shintaro was the only one in the hot spring.
He stepped on the stone slab at the edge of the hot spring with his bare feet, untied his belt, and flicked off his pure white yukata to his feet in one motion.
He lifted his foot and stretched into the warm hot spring, then slowly immersed his entire body into it, spreading his arms flat on the stone slab at the edge of the hot spring, and leaning his back against the stone wall of the hot spring.
Shintaro looked at the night sky, feeling very comfortable.
"However, it seems like this is the first time I've been in a hot spring alone. I used to be served by maids..."
He recalled when he used to bathe in hot springs in his previous life, he was always followed by a group of maids.
But Shintaro didn't think too much about it. Although he missed the days in his previous life a bit, he also knew that he couldn't go back.
At least there was no way to go back now.
"I don't know what that world would be like now..."
The warmth enveloped his whole body, making him more relaxed than ever before.
It was unclear how much time had passed, but Shintaro suddenly stood up and caused water to splash.
His eyes looked in a certain direction across the wall, which was where Kurenai was.
"Kurenai!"