As jonin, Hatake Sakumo and Suzuka had witnessed countless life-and-death scenarios, so they could judge a person just by looking into their eyes. At this moment, the look in Minato Namikaze's eyes was not one of ignorance and naivety, but rather a calm acceptance of life and death. This was a trait usually seen in experienced ninjas, not in a student of the ninja school.
When ninjas perform missions, how many can guarantee they will return intact every time? These are mental states that come only after experiencing many missions, yet here they were in Minato, who was still just a student. Not only were Sakumo and Suzuka surprised, but Uchiha Yoruki, whose scroll was taken by Minato, was also stunned. When he came to his senses, he said to Minato in a slightly excited tone, "Namikaze Minato, now is not the time for you to show off. Do you know what this mission means?"
"Yes," Minato replied. He understood what Uchiha Yoruki was thinking and added, "The Sandaime would not give orders for no reason, nor would he let us die in vain. Just knowing this is enough." He then continued to flip through the information in front of him. On the scroll, there was a photo of a man with a decent appearance but extremely cold and sharp eyes, like an eagle.
Uchiha Yoruki couldn't help but stand there, clenching his fists tightly. After a while, Uchiha Yoruki slowly stretched out his palm, but at this time, Minato's hand holding the scroll was on the side. "The fight between you and me is just a competition between students, but this mission requires you to risk your life. If you want to compete with me, there are other ways. Don't joke with your life," Minato's expression became serious. He wasn't sure if Uchiha Yoruki was truly prepared or just making an arbitrary decision because he didn't want to lose to him.
These words made Hatake Sakumo and Suzuka slightly dazed. A child under nine years old had considered certain things so meticulously. Uchiha Yoruki raised his eyes and looked at Minato, with a slight smile on his lips, which made Minato startled. This was the first time that Yoruki showed him a kind smile.
"Since you have chosen the path of ninja, it is only a matter of time before you risk your life. What's more, I don't think I will die so easily," Uchiha Yoruki said slowly. As Minato said, the competition between them was limited to the school, and at this moment, they were not just opponents but also ninjas of Konoha, partners.
Minato smiled and immediately handed the scroll in his hand to Yoruki. Seeing the two of them like this, Hatake Sakumo's mood gradually became comfortable. He thought that the two would be at odds and compete with each other, which was not conducive to the mission. It seems that, as the Sandaime said, being rivals is the beginning of becoming close friends. The two children in front of him were more open-minded than he expected.
"This Kuriyama Shinzo, he really deserves to die!" After reading the information in his hand, Uchiha Yoruki couldn't help but curse, because the information showed that this guy had killed several Konoha ninjas before defecting. Although Uchiha Yoruki was young, he had a strong sense of justice, and his family was responsible for the security of the village. He even felt a little guilty for letting this guy escape from the village.
After putting the scroll back and returning it to Hatake Sakumo, the two of them bowed to Sakumo very respectfully. As the captain of this operation and their senior, such courtesy was necessary.
"Hehe," Sakumo smiled, then turned sideways, revealing Suzuka in the corner, and said, "Let me introduce you. She is Suzuka, and she is also a member of our operation." They had heard this name before and had already thought that this woman was Suzuka. Otherwise, she wouldn't have stayed here the whole time.
"Hello, two little brothers," Suzuka smiled kindly, her big eyes curving into crescents, combined with her beautiful and delicate face, making it easy to feel good about her. But Minato and Uchiha Yoruki saw the coldness in the depths of her pupils.
Uchiha Yoruki felt it more deeply. Even if Suzuka concealed it very well, there were things in her eyes that were ingrained, things that couldn't be completely erased. He had seen this expression before, and many senior ninjas in the Uchiha clan had this look.
Hatake Sakumo also glanced sideways at Suzuka and said, "It seems that you need to practice controlling your eyes before carrying out the mission. Otherwise, we may be in danger." He had previously guessed that Suzuka had joined the Anbu directly under the Hokage and had just become a Jonin not long ago, so she was not very good at controlling her expressions.
It was fine in the village, but the ninjas they would face in this mission were elites from the Cloud Village. Although they were going to assassinate, they couldn't rule out the possibility of being detected by the enemy. Suzuka's eyes would be easily seen through by others.
"Yeah," Suzuka smiled and agreed to what Sakumo said, without any doubt or dissatisfaction. But what surprised her was that the two students in front of her noticed her abnormality. It seemed that, just as Senior Sakumo had said, they couldn't be treated as ordinary kids.
"Senior Suzuka, I am Minato Namikaze. Please give me your guidance," Minato smiled gently. He could see that Suzuka was not a bad person but perhaps because of some special experiences, she couldn't restrain herself well.
"Uchiha Yoruki," Uchiha Yoruki said, not as polite to Suzuka. After all, her rank in his heart was far from being comparable to that of Hatake Sakumo. Suzuka was not angry, or she couldn't show it now. She smiled and nodded at the two of them, then quickly returned to her previous expression and stopped talking.
Sakumo turned around, then took out two Konoha forehead protectors from the ninja bag at his waist. Like throwing shurikens, the two forehead protectors were sent out at the same time, but fell into Minato's and Uchiha's hands in different directions.
"From now on, you will temporarily become Konoha Genin and prepare to carry out the mission to the Land of Hot Springs!"
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