Chapter 176: C-Class to A-Class

The journey back was quicker than the escort, as a carriage’s speed couldn’t compare to a Ninja’s.

Muzuki and the others returned to Konoha in the afternoon.

“Everyone, you’re dismissed for now. No training or missions today. Take half a day to rest. We’ll gather at Training Ground Twenty-Six tomorrow morning,” Muzuki said.

To return to Konoha as soon as possible, Muzuki had led them on a forced march, traveling almost continuously except for meal breaks.

The haste to return to Konoha wasn’t for anything else, but to make Might Guy rich—oh, no, it was to help Might Guy celebrate his birthday.

Might Guy’s birthday was January 1st, and if Muzuki hadn’t sped up, they might have only just returned to Konoha on January 1st, making preparations a bit rushed.

“Ugh, finally back. Traveling all the time is so boring,” Obito complained, stretching.

Constant travel meant non-stop running and exercise for him.

“Kakashi, want to have a backward running race?” Might Guy, still full of energy, grinned, gave Kakashi a thumbs-up, and invited him.

“I refuse. I’m a bit tired,” Kakashi declined directly, a hint of weariness flashing in his eyes.

It wasn’t that the journey was too tiring, but rather a mental exhaustion. Kakashi had thought a lot since that intense battle the other night.

Was Muzuki an excellent Ninja? He seemed to be. His strength aside, one could tell from Third Hokage’s attitude. When Muzuki said he trusted his students’ abilities, Hiruzen gave them permission for a C-Rank Mission.

Muzuki had once said his idol was the White Fang, which was his father, Sakumo Hatake.

From Muzuki’s actions, their beliefs were similar; both believed that comrades were very important.

But if a comrade’s life truly superseded a mission, why did his father, after saving his comrades, face so much criticism, even from those he saved?

For a moment, Kakashi truly didn’t understand who was wrong—was it his father, or the Village, or someone else…

If his father was wrong, why was he admired by excellent Ninja like Muzuki? If his father was right, why did he end up with such a fate?

“Kakashi, you’re just no good. You’re tired already? I can still run a hundred laps around Konoha right now!” Obito boasted.

“No wonder you… that time…”

Hearing Obito bring up that night’s battle again, Kakashi felt a bit on edge. He had only been controlled by Troy for a dozen minutes that night, but he felt Obito could talk about it for weeks.

“One hundred laps, huh? Let’s run. The loser shuts up for a day and isn’t allowed to speak!” Kakashi said with a dark expression.

Obito hadn’t expected Kakashi to agree. He had just been talking big because Kakashi hadn’t agreed to Might Guy’s challenge. Traveling for so long was actually quite tiring, and Konoha wasn’t small; even just running a hundred laps along the Main urban area’s edge would be a long distance.

“Bring it on. Who’s afraid of whom?” Obito replied, steeling himself. He was nervous, but he had to keep up a tough front against Kakashi.

“Can’t we do handstand running?” Might Guy scratched his head, feeling a bit regretful.

Muzuki watched his disciples, who weren’t resting but getting competitive, and showed a gratified smile. Then, he turned and walked towards the Hokage Building.

Upon reaching the Hokage Building, Muzuki didn’t go to the mission hall but went directly to the Hokage Office.

“Enter,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said, hearing the knock on the door.

When the door opened, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up and asked with a smile:

“Ah, Muzuki. Is there something you need?”

“Sandaime-sama, a few days ago, our squad accepted a mission to escort a client to the Land of Rice Fields. After entering the Land of Rice Fields, we encountered several Ninja disguised as Iwagakure Ninja…”

Muzuki reported the unexpected events of this mission to Hiruzen.

However, he omitted some battle details, such as the Magnet Release Ninja and the Ninjutsu he used.

In Muzuki’s description, the enemy consisted of one Jonin and seven Chunin, and Muzuki and his team had victoriously protected the client with great difficulty.

“Before those Ninja were killed by me, they were still shouting that Iwagakure would take revenge, but most of an Iwagakure team actually possessed Lightning Release, which is very suspicious,” Muzuki said.

“Iwagakure Ninja using Lightning Release…” Hiruzen Sarutobi fell into thought.

It certainly looked like Kumogakure wanted to escalate the war between Iwagakure and Konoha. However, Hiruzen Sarutobi considered another layer: could it be Iwagakure disguised as Kumogakure, dressed as Iwagakure, trying to escalate the war between Konoha and Kumogakure?

It wasn’t impossible. Very few people in Iwagakure used Lightning Release, but it wasn’t zero.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly dismissed this idea. Even if the enemy wanted to mislead them with such a strategy, they wouldn’t send such a team of Ninja to fight Muzuki’s squad.

Because a typical four-person squad would have no chance against a team of one Jonin and seven Chunin.

“Inside here are the bodies of those Ninja, but because the battle was quite dangerous, two of the bodies were burned beyond recognition by my Fire Release,” Muzuki said.

For living people, Konoha could directly view memories through the Yamanaka Clan’s secret techniques. Well-preserved dead bodies could also yield information through professional researchers, such as what kind of training they received or what they usually practiced.

Knowing this, Muzuki specifically made sure to finish off Troy’s body, so no information could be extracted from him.

“It’s alright. As long as there are well-preserved bodies, we can determine which Ninja Village they belong to,” Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, understanding. After all, it was a life-and-death struggle; it wasn’t possible to think about preserving all the enemy’s bodies.

“If this matter is as you suspect, then Muzuki, you have truly made a significant contribution by foiling Kumogakure’s plot,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a satisfied smile.

His expectation was for Muzuki to just help Kakashi become a little more normal, but he hadn’t expected Muzuki to give him such a pleasant surprise.

Although this matter wouldn’t cause them and Iwagakure to stop fighting and gang up on Kumogakure, it could at least prevent Iwagakure and Kumogakure from forming an alliance.

“Since you encountered so many Ninja, a C-Rank Mission is no longer appropriate,” Hiruzen took out a form, quickly wrote some text, and stamped it.

“I have changed this commission to an A-Rank Mission. In addition to the original 70,000 ryo, the Village will provide an additional 730,000 ryo as a mission reward,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said, handing the completed form to Muzuki.

The amount for an A-Rank Mission ranged from 150,000 ryo to 1,000,000 ryo. An 800,000 ryo A-Rank Mission was already a top-tier mission.

“Thank you, Sandaime-sama,” Muzuki said with a slight smile, expressing his gratitude.

“The Sealing Technique I promised you was left with Minato. When it was delivered, you were on a mission, and Minato happened to encounter it, so he helped you collect it,” Hiruzen Sarutobi reminded him.

Muzuki’s face once again showed a grateful smile.

“Indeed, the harder the mission, the higher the reward,” Muzuki thought as he looked at the reward information on the system after leaving the Hokage Building.