Chapter 176: From C-Rank to A-Rank
Chapter 176: From C-Rank to A-Rank
The journey back was faster than the escort trip, as their speed far exceeded that of the carriage.
Mu Yue and her team returned to Konoha in the afternoon.
"Let's take some time off. No training and no missions today. Rest up, and we'll gather at Training Ground 26 tomorrow morning," Mu Yue announced.
To get back to Konoha sooner, Mu Yue had led them on a rapid march, with little rest besides meal breaks.
The haste to return to Konoha was not without reason—it was to celebrate Might Guy's birthday, or rather, to help him celebrate his birthday.
Might Guy's birthday fell on January 1st, and Mu Yue wanted to ensure they returned in time to make adequate preparations, which might have been rushed had they arrived later.
"Hmm, it's good to be back. Running nonstop is boring," Obito stretched and complained.
For him, the journey back had been one long, uninterrupted training session.
"Kakashi, want to race me in reverse?" Might Guy, ever energetic, laughed and invited Kakashi with a thumbs-up.
"I'll pass. I'm a bit tired," Kakashi declined, a hint of fatigue in his eyes.
It wasn't the journey that exhausted him, but rather the mental fatigue that had set in since the intense battle that night. Kakashi had been deep in thought ever since.
Was Mu Yue an exceptional ninja? It certainly seemed so, and her strength was evident in how the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, granted her team access to C-rank missions based on her belief in her students' capabilities.
Mu Yue had once mentioned that her idol was White Fang, her father, Sakumo Hatake.
Judging from Mu Yue's actions, they shared a similar belief in the importance of comrades.
But if the lives of comrades truly took precedence over missions, why had her father, who saved his comrades, faced so much condemnation, even from those he saved?
For a moment, Kakashi couldn't fathom who was truly at fault—was it her father, the village, or someone else?
If her father was wrong, why would an exceptional ninja like Mu Yue idolize him? And if he was right, why did he meet such a tragic end?
"Kakashi, you're just not cut out for it. You're already tired, but I could run a hundred laps around Konoha right now!" Obito boasted.
"No wonder you ended up like that the other night..."
Hearing Obito bring up the battle from a few nights ago, Kakashi felt his patience wearing thin. That night, he had only been controlled by Troy for a mere fifteen minutes, but Obito made it sound like it had lasted for weeks.
"A hundred laps, huh? Let's go. The loser keeps quiet for a day!" Kakashi proposed, his face darkening.
Obito hadn't expected Kakashi to agree, especially after seeing him turn down Might Guy's offer. The journey had indeed been tiring, and Konoha was no small village—even running a hundred laps along the perimeter of the main district would be a formidable distance.
"Bring it on! I'm game," Obito replied, his voice steady despite his wavering confidence. Facing Kakashi, he knew he had to put on a brave front.
"What about running on our hands?" Might Guy scratched his head, a little disappointed.
Mu Yue smiled at her students' enthusiasm, even after their exhausting journey, and turned to walk towards the Hokage Building.
Upon reaching the Hokage Building, Mu Yue bypassed the mission hall and headed directly for the Hokage's office.
"Come in," Hiruzen Sarutobi called out in response to the knock on his door.
As the door opened, he looked up and, recognizing Mu Yue, asked with a smile, "Mu Yue, what brings you here?"
"Hokage-sama, my team and I accepted an escort mission to the Land of Fields a few days ago. After entering the Land of Fields, we encountered several ninjas dressed as Iwagakure ninjas..."
Mu Yue proceeded to brief the Third Hokage on the unexpected turn of events during their mission.
"Those ninjas were bragging about how Iwagakure would take revenge before I killed them, but it's suspicious that most of the Iwagakure ninja team used lightning release jutsu." Mu Yue said.
"Lightning release jutsu users from Iwagakure..." Hiruzen Sarutobi fell into deep thought.
It certainly seemed like Kumogakure was trying to escalate the war between Iwagakure and Konoha. However, Hiruzen Sarutobi took his speculation a step further, wondering if it could be Iwagakure ninjas disguised as Kumogakure, aiming to incite conflict between Konoha and Kumogakure.
This wasn't impossible, as there were very few lightning release users in Iwagakure, but they did exist.
But Hiruzen quickly dismissed this idea. Even if the enemy wanted to mislead them with such a strategy, they wouldn't send this particular team of ninjas to fight against Mu Yue's class.
That's because a typical team of four would stand no chance against a team of one jonin and seven chunin.
"Here are the bodies of those ninjas, but due to the intense battle, two of the corpses were burned beyond recognition by my fire jutsu." Mu Yue explained.
Konoha could extract information from the memories of living people using the secret techniques of the Yamanaka clan. Even for well-preserved corpses, professional researchers could decipher some information, such as the type of training they underwent and their regular cultivation practices.
Knowing this, Mu Yue had specifically made sure to finish off Troy's corpse, making it impossible to extract any information from him.
"It's alright, as long as there are well-preserved bodies, we can determine which ninja village they're from." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in understanding. He could relate to this, as it was a life-and-death struggle, and one couldn't be expected to prioritize keeping the enemy's bodies intact.
"If this matter turns out as you suspect, then you've made a significant contribution, Mu Yue. You've uncovered Kumogakure's plot." Hiruzen Sarutobi revealed a satisfied smile.
His expectation was for Mu Yue to guide Kakashi towards a more normal path, but Mu Yue had given him an unexpected pleasant surprise.
While this matter might not lead to a ceasefire between Konoha and Iwagakure, with both villages joining forces to attack Kumogakure, it could at least prevent Iwagakure and Kumogakure from forming an alliance.
"Since you encountered so many ninjas, the C-rank mission no longer applies." The Third Hokage took out a form, quickly wrote something, and then stamped it.
"I'm reclassifying this mission as an A-rank mission. In addition to the original reward of 70,000 ryo, the village will provide an additional 730,000 ryo as a mission reward." Hiruzen Sarutobi handed the completed form to Mu Yue.
The rewards for A-rank missions ranged from 150,000 ryo to 1,000,000 ryo. An A-rank mission with an 800,000 ryo reward was considered a top-tier mission.
"Thank you, Sandaime-sama." Mu Yue smiled gratefully.
"Regarding the sealing technique we discussed earlier, I've given it to Minato. When you were out on your mission, he happened to be there and took care of it for you." Hiruzen Sarutobi reminded her.
Once again, a grateful smile appeared on Mu Yue's face.
"Indeed, the more difficult the mission, the greater the reward." Mu Yue thought to herself as she looked at the reward information on the system after leaving the Hokage Building.
(End of Chapter)
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