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Twenty minutes later, Naruto stared in disbelief at the huge pile of luggage in the living room, towering taller than he was.
Kushina proudly explained, "This bag has enough clothes for half a month. This one has dry food and water. We've got medical supplies, weapon kits, and military food pills in this one."
"This one's full of fruit, snacks, and other treats. Over here are ninja tools, ice-cold pills, and explosive tags. Everything's ready!"
"Mom, we're going on a mission, not a camping trip. We don't need all this stuff..."
Kushina suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right! You should also take tents, sleeping bags, emergency torches, and some kitchen utensils."
With that, even more things were added to the pile.
Naruto was close to tears. "Mom, I can't carry all this! I just need some basic ninja gear and clothes."
Kushina pulled out a few scrolls. "Why can't you take it? Didn't you learn the sealing technique?"
"Seal!" With a snap, all the items were neatly packed into the scrolls. Kushina handed the scrolls to Naruto.
What could Naruto say? There's a saying: nothing is colder than when your mom thinks you're cold.
Since his mom had prepared everything, he might as well take it.
Better safe than sorry, especially with all those explosive tags. He'd give them back to her when he returned.
"Okay, I'm off!"
"Wait, take these too." Kushina handed Naruto two red-edged scrolls, one labelled "Endurance" and the other "Love."
"What's this?"
"If you're ever in danger, open both scrolls at the same time to summon help. But if you open just one, it'll release a genjutsu to protect against the enemy."
A powerful summoning? Naruto carefully tucked the scrolls away. Knowing his mom, he might end up summoning either her or his dad.
With these scrolls, Naruto felt confident that as long as he didn't go to the Village Hidden in the Rain, he'd return safely.
When Naruto arrived at the village gate, everyone else was already there, each carrying a bag.
Naruto, however, had nothing in his hands, which made him stand out.
Sakura noticed and asked, "Naruto, didn't you bring any luggage?"
"It's all here." Naruto patted the scrolls on his waist.
"Wow, those scrolls must be expensive, right?"
"No, my mom made them. She said that when she was pregnant, she had a lot of free time, so she made a bunch of them. She even sold some to help support our family."
Naruto pulled out two scrolls and handed them to Sasuke and Sakura. "These are ones I made while practising sealing. They're better than the standard ones, but not as good as my mom's. You can use them."
As for Kakashi, he could make his own. After all, he wasn't one to freeload.
Sasuke took the scroll without a word, putting it into his ninja pouch.
Sakura carefully examined her scroll before storing it away.
"Alright, everyone's here. Let's move out," Kakashi said.
As they left, Naruto glanced back and noticed the two guards at the gate weren't Izumo and Kotetsu. A small disappointment.
The group set off. Naruto and Sasuke led the way, Tazuna followed a few meters behind, and Kakashi and Sakura flanked him on either side.
Kakashi put away his *Icha Icha* novel as soon as they left the village, maybe to stay more alert.
Sakura, curious about the Land of Waves, asked, and Kakashi explained, "The Land of Waves is a small island nation. They don't have their ninja village, so they hire shinobi from the mainland."
"Our mission is to protect Tazuna on his journey home and ensure the completion of his bridge. We shouldn't run into any battles with other shinobi—at most, we'll encounter samurai or bandits."
Tazuna's eyes darted nervously. He hadn't told Konoha the full truth.
After walking for a while, they came across a small puddle on the road.
Kakashi glanced at it but said nothing, pretending to be distracted.
Naruto used his basic sensory jutsu and detected two faint chakras, both weaker than Sasuke.
Seeing that Kakashi didn't react, Naruto decided not to warn anyone. He just tensed up, ready to attack if needed.
Sasuke didn't notice anything unusual but saw Naruto's change in posture. He silently prepared for a possible fight.
When the five of them were just past the puddle, the water bulged, and two figures burst out, chains in hand, heading straight for Tazuna!
Naruto reacted instantly. With the fastest hand speed of his life, he formed a Rasengan and slammed it into the back of one of the attackers' heads.
Sasuke, just a bit slower, used his Body Flicker Technique to appear beside the other attacker and kicked him squarely in the face.
The Demon Brothers were down.
"Che, weak," Sasuke said with disdain.
Naruto looked at the man he hit with his Rasengan. The guy's head had left a hole in the ground—no way he was surviving that.
The one Sasuke kicked had crashed into a tree, smashing his head.
Naruto smirked. "If you're that weak, why even bother covering your faces? Do you think you're Kakashi? Or is the manga artist just too lazy to draw your faces?"
Kakashi, feeling slightly targeted by Naruto's comment, examined the attackers' outfits. "These are the Demon Brothers from Kirigakure. They're known for doing whatever it takes to complete a mission."
He then turned to Tazuna. "Their target was you, which means you didn't tell us that you were being pursued by shinobi. This is beyond the scope of a C-rank mission."
Tazuna, sweating, realized how close he had come to death.
Kakashi addressed Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. "Given that the client lied about the mission's difficulty, we can abandon the mission. What do you all think?"
Sasuke, in his usual cool tone, said, "I'm fine either way." He figured that if all the enemies were this weak, it'd be good practice.
Sakura felt she didn't have the right to decide, so she went along with her teammates.
Naruto thought for a moment and then said, "We're just Genin. It's against the rules to take on missions above C-rank. Even though I believe we can handle it, this is about risking our lives..."
"Are you going to abandon me?" Tazuna's voice trembled.
Naruto shook his head. "No, I'm saying that if we risk our lives, we should get more than a C-rank reward. So...you'll need to pay us more!"
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