Seeing the villager, Rokusuke hysterically accusing the four of them, crying and complaining as if it wasn't Raiga who was oppressing and burying them alive at this moment, but rather Naruto and Team Three, Naruto couldn't help but be taken aback.
"Just get moving as soon as you receive the mission! What are you waiting for? Aren't you Shinobi?" Rokusuke shouted like a madman, and even the bearded man struggled to hold him back.
"Two hours? Are you joking?! Are you mocking us on purpose, you bastards?!"
The situation was spiraling out of control, and the client was clearly enraged.
Perhaps they had never encountered such a difficult client before, and since the client was acting out of concern for his companion, there was little they could criticize. Lee stiffened and quickly began to apologize profusely, bowing repeatedly.
"I'm sorry!!"
"Uh... let's all just calm down." Tenten said awkwardly, placing her hands in front of her chest as she tried to soothe the client, "The departure time is set according to the standard procedure. You should have been informed of this when you made the request."
"What's the point of saying all that? You Shinobi could never understand my pain! Kanpachi is still buried underground. He must be in so much pain, I need to go back and save him!"
Seeing the thin-lipped villager Rokusuke crying so sadly, Tenten was at a loss. As for Neji, he was frowning, clearly troubled by the unfolding situation.
Suddenly, Rokusuke stopped crying, wiped his tears fiercely, and said resolutely, "If you don't leave now, then I'll..."
"Changing the commission, right?" Naruto, who had been watching the scene with his hands in his pockets, interrupted, asking the question bluntly.
Rokusuke was obviously stunned for a moment, but seemed to quickly remember that he was the client, and immediately shouted with a red face, "Yes, so what?"
" With all due respect, you don't seem to care about your companion Kanpachi's life or death at all." Naruto said, staring at Rokusuke. He paused, seemingly waiting for Rokusuke to argue back.
"What did you say?! Kanpachi is my brother! If I don't care, do you cold-hearted Shinobi care?"
"Kanpachi already died a long time ago. He has been dead ever since you left him behind to seek help." Naruto continued, his tone steady as ever, "He was nailed into a coffin and buried for so long that his body must already be rotting."
"You're talking nonsense! Kanpachi is clearly still alive!" Rokusuke suddenly became agitated, and the two villagers beside him quickly restrained him.
"Naruto…" Tenten tried to signal Naruto to stop, thinking it impolite to provoke the client further.
"He might still be alive... in your heart." Naruto stopped pretending, his face darkened, then he pointed at Rokusuke and said, "Kanpachi was already dead the moment you ran away to seek help. You should blame yourself if you want to."
"No! If we don't escape and ask for help, everyone in the village will die!" Rokusuke said in despair.
Hearing this, Naruto was speechless and finally replied, "You clearly know this truth, yet you're taking it out on us. You're nothing but a beast!"
"Cough cough!" Tenten coughed, reminding Naruto to pay attention to the qualities of a Shinobi.
Tenten was actually a little angry when she saw Lee, who was straightforward and innocent, getting scolded for no reason, that's why she spoke up for Lee. After all, they did follow the normal procedures and hadn't intentionally delayed anything.
If Lee's reaction was to apologize, Tenten's approach was to reason with the client, and Neji's attitude was to ignore the villager entirely.
Naruto, on the other hand, was like stabbing a dagger to the heart, cutting through everything with his words. Even Tenten, who was just an observer, felt that Naruto's words were sharp and a bit terrifying.
It might have been satisfying, but it seemed like the person on the other side was on the verge of breaking down. Some people, with just a small push, could drive even the most polite to their limits.
"You... you're Shinobi, aren't you?" Rokusuke said tremblingly.
"So you know we are Shinobi. If you want to make wishes, go to a shrine. We can't bring the dead back to life." Naruto restrained himself and spoke more politely,
"We have our reasons for preparing. I hope you can understand that."
"But if you're here making a scene and threatening to change the commission, then I don't understand. Are you worried that your brother Kanpachi didn't die thoroughly enough?"
"Team 3 is currently the best Shinobi team in Konoha. If you switch the commission, it'll take at least three hours to coordinate another team. What's your goal?"
After years of honing his skills on forums, Naruto had developed a habit of starting with a compliment, safeguarding himself with a metaphorical 'dog head' before getting to the point.
"All this fuss you're making is only delaying our preparation time."
"I... I didn't know about any of this." Rokusuke stammered, trying to hold his ground, "I just want to save someone… Nobody told us these things."
"It's okay if you didn't know. I'm explaining it to you nicely right now." Naruto replied, "If you still don't understand, I can explain it even more clearly."
"I can skip my preparations, and you'll have plenty of time. The only one who doesn't have a bright future is your good brother Kanpachi, who is buried underground."
Rokusuke stood there, trembling all over, his lips quivering as he struggled to find words.
Tenten was dumbfounded. She didn't fully grasp the concept of sarcasm, but she had a feeling that they had somehow already won this argument.
Lee, on the other hand, was confused, his mind spinning in circles as he tried to figure out who was making more sense. Naruto didn't seem to be saying anything completely unreasonable, but it still felt like he was crossing a line.
Neji turned his head away, no longer interested in the spectacle.
Tsunade stood by the window on Hokage's Office, watching the scene with her hands crossed, a slight smile playing on her lips as if recalling something amusing.
'That guy was at it again with his sharp tongue. Someone was bound to get hurt again.'
The summer that people had grown fond of was nearly over, and autumn was creeping in.
The autumn breeze drifted in through the window, gently lifting a strand of Tsunade's hair.
In the lounge on the other side.
In the rest area nearby, Lee was catching up on sleep, Neji was checking his Ninja Tools, and Naruto was downing some water.
"Naruto, do you think you were too harsh earlier?" Tenten asked with a worried look on her face.
"Not at all, that was just the beginning." Naruto replied, glancing at Neji before lowering his voice, "If that guy is reasonable, it'll be fine. But I'm afraid that he will be a trouble when we are on the mission."
"It shouldn't be, right?" Tenten thought back to Rokusuke's behavior just now and suddenly became unsure.
"How does the saying go? 'We fear not God-like rivals, but pig-like team members'?"
"If that person likes to court death, not even a god could save him."
After the words were spoken, silence fell over the room.
The client this time is really not an easy person to deal with. If he causes some trouble or does something stupid along the way, he might really put them in a tough spot.
"What should we do then?" Tenten asked.
Naruto didn't answer right away. Instead, he glanced at Neji, who shook his head and said, "We'll just have to take it one step at a time."
After hearing Neji's less-than-helpful response, Naruto proposed a bold idea, "When we get close to the village, what if we just tie up those three and leave them in a safe place?"
Neji: "???"
Tenten:"???"
Hearing what Naruto said, a thought flashed through their minds silently, 'Is this guy a villain?'