The Ninja Academy.
"Hokage... Kiba, you're overthinking things way too much. Who would even want to be Hokage? It's such a drag," Shikamaru thought to himself while listening to their conversation.
He was speechless, especially after hearing Kiba and Naruto's grand proclamations. What was the point of being Hokage? You'd be busy to death every day, dealing with this and that. It was much better to just be a comfortable, lazy young master.
Seeing no other way out, Kiba had to teach them the training thod for the Throat Protection Jutsu, lest they all run off to find upperclassn to learn from.
"Hey! What are you doing? No slacking off!"
Just as they finished listening to Kiba's explanation, their faces lit up with excitent and anticipation, only to be cut short by Iruka's roar as he looked back.
"Yes, Sensei!"
Everyone shouted in unison, though their minds were already racing, wondering how they could master the technique quickly. Even if it was difficult, they had to learn it.
Konoha Main Street.
"Eh? You're going on a mission again?" Aya said as she walked beside Tonbo Tobitake, her arm linked in his.
Tonbo nodded. "Yeah. This one will probably take a bit of ti. I'll have to leave the kids to you."
"Don't worry. They're so well-behaved, they hardly give us any trouble at all," Aya replied.
Tonbo twitched his lips slightly at that. Well-behaved? Sure, because they were disciplined with the 'leather whip' thod. He wondered if those two would still rember their lessons once he was out the door.
"Hey, forget about them for now. Let's just enjoy our ti together."
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several figures landed near the Great Gate of Konoha. Leading them was Tonbo Tobitake, followed by his three subordinates:
Hyuga ShoInuzuka GoAbura Zhiqiang
All were sensory ninjas and Konoha Chunin. Tonbo didn't personally know any of them; he only knew a bit about them from their files. They were all traditional clan ninjas who had received systematic training from their respective families. Hyuga Sho was from the Branch House; Inuzuka Go was accompanied by a massive Husky; and the insects contracted by Abura Zhiqiang were the common Kikaichu of his clan.
"Too slow. We paid good money; couldn't you be faster?"
A man dressed in a sharp suit and wearing gold-rimd glasses looked at them with dissatisfaction. A clan crest—three ribbons beneath a full moon—hung on his chest.
Ninjas with no sense of ti, Hagoromo Ken thought with disdain.
In his mind, he felt his ancestors had made the right choice: transitioning the shinobi clan into a comrcial family, retaining only enough power to guard the family, and hiring village ninjas for everything else. Even if you were from a clan that once dominated an era, you still had to work obediently in the face of money.
If it weren't for the fact that this specific business deal was too important to trust to other organizations, and their own elite family guards were busy escorting the main cargo, they wouldn't have needed Konoha's strength at all.
"My apologies."
Tonbo checked the ti and noted they weren't actually late. However, as the employer was involved, there was no need to argue with a fool. They just needed to complete the mission and take the pay; the employer's attitude was irrelevant.
"Let's go. I've arranged the carriages. You just need to help with security along the way. We are the Hagoromo Group, specifically the Textile Manufacturing Subsidiary, so everything else has already been handled."
Clap, clap!
With a clap of his hands, a large convoy appeared nearby. There were over a dozen carriages; most were cargo wagons, but the lead carriage was elegantly decorated. It even featured a small, porch-like seating rail on the exterior.
Hagoromo Ken set aside his annoyance and regained his smile. He gestured with his right hand for them to board.
Elegance. The Hagoromo Clan was no longer a group of ninjas relying on killing to obtain resources; they were aristocrats. Elegant aristocrats.
"Understood. Much appreciated."
Tonbo and his teammates stood on the exterior seating rail of the carriage, where small seats allowed them to sit. As ninjas of Chunin rank and above, they entered a state of high alert the mont they boarded.
In Tonbo's perception, Inuzuka Go's nose and Abura Zhiqiang's insects had already begun a discreet sweep of the area. Hyuga Sho's Byakugan also activated briefly to observe their surroundings.
Their mission was to guard the Hagoromo juniors heading to the Valley of the Resting Wind for their trial, but no one was going to let their guard down. Even if they hadn't reached the mission site yet, taking precautions for their own safety was a basic requirent.
"Move out."
Supported by a woman in a kimono, Hagoromo Ken stepped into the carriage. He then gave the order for the convoy to start.
Clatter, clatter, clatter!
The carriages rolled along the ground, heading toward the Hagoromo Clan's territory. Tonbo kept his perception fully open, imprinting every chakra reaction in the vicinity into his mind.
The entire convoy consisted of about twenty people; with Tonbo's team, they were thirty. Excluding the staff handling chores, there were ten guards with chakra reactions. Judging by their movents, they were all professional ninja bodyguards. Interestingly, their employer, Hagoromo Ken, possessed a chakra volu that was not inferior to Tonbo's teammates.
"Captain Tonbo, no anomalies detected," Hyuga Sho said, deactivating his Byakugan.
Abura Zhiqiang added, "My insects haven't found anything either."
Inuzuka Go sniffed the air and said, "I found sothing..."
"What is it?" Tonbo's brow furrowed. He hadn't sensed anything unusual. Had soone developed a specific counter to his sensory thod?
His first thought was Nagato and the others. After all this ti, Zetsu—the top dog of the intelligence world—should have gathered enough data on him to develop a way to bypass his perception. Tonbo knew his current sensing couldn't detect Zetsu; if Zetsu could hide within Konoha without being noticed, he could certainly hide here.
But surely Zetsu wouldn't be caught by an Inuzuka's nose?
The other two teammates looked solemnly at Inuzuka Go. If soone had bypassed their senses, the enemy must be formidable.
Feeling their intense gazes, Inuzuka Go realized they had misunderstood. "I ant... I found out the employer is grilling steak inside. How extravagant, grilling steak inside a carriage..."
"..."
Speechless. Utterly speechless.
"Next ti, speak faster. You're a Chunin; don't you know that a delay in intelligence can be fatal?" Tonbo hadn't expected the "discovery" to be sothing so trivial.
Inuzuka Go gave an embarrassed laugh. Weren't you the one who didn't give a chance to finish?
Click!
A carriage window slid open, and a rich aroma wafted out.
"Tsubaki, bring a plate of grilled at to the ninjas. It's a long journey; let them experience the hospitality of our Hagoromo Clan."
Hagoromo Ken instructed the woman grilling the at. He gestured elegantly toward Tonbo and the others outside the window while slowly chewing his steak. Using a knife and fork, he cut the at into neat slices. The charcoal used for the grill was clearly high-grade—smokeless and dustless.
After Abura Zhiqiang used his insects to test the at for poison, he signaled to the others, and they began to eat without ceremony.
These are ninjas—they will never be able to compare to aristocrats like us.
Hagoromo Ken felt a surge of accomplishnt. Seeing the ninjas eating happily only deepened his sense of superiority.
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