I, who just wanted to be lazy, was forced to become the Hokage.

Chapter 23: A belated but welcome A-level village exit mission! (Please read on, please vote with monthly tickets!)

"We will first go to the Hokage Building to issue and accept an A-rank mission to Kyoto."

Nara Kano, with his hands behind his back, sprinted towards Konoha Village in a peculiar "ninja run" style.

"War is imminent. We need to inform the Daming Prefecture of the situation and try to obtain its material support."

In order to keep up with the clan leader's speed, Nara Rinkei had to use a small amount of chakra to enhance his own athletic abilities.

"Publish, and receive?"

Because he was running at high speed, Nara Rankei spoke in fits and starts; physical fitness was not his forte.

"Lan Gui, as a researcher, you shouldn't neglect physical training."

Nara Kano, who is over fifty years old, turned his head and spoke in a very relaxed tone.

"We will always be ninjas."

"As for your question... special times call for special measures."

"You'll understand what happened in a moment."

During their conversation, the two quickly left Kikyo Castle and arrived in Konoha Village.

Just as Nara Rinka and Nara Kano arrived at the center of the village.

Two figures, one fat and one thin, had been waiting for some time downstairs at the Hokage Building.

"Hai 1, Ding seat."

Nara Kano nodded to the two, and Nara Ranke followed suit with a bow.

Haiyi in the mountains.

Akimichi Choza.

The legitimate successor to the Yamanaka and Akimichi clans.

Together with Nara Shikaku, the son of Nara Kano, they were known as the "Ino-Shika-Cho" of Konoha's generation.

"Uncle Luye, thank you for your hard work."

Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza bowed to Nara Kano.

Their gazes swept over Nara Rinka beside them, but neither of them rashly inquired about the situation.

"Seeing the two of you, I realized that this task should have been handled by Shikaku."

Nara Kano was very friendly and easygoing towards these two.

"Once I finish this mission, I'll just retire from being a ninja!"

Upon hearing this, Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza needed no further explanation of their polite flattery.

Nara Rinka, standing to the side, twitched her eyelids slightly.

That's not a nice thing to say, old patriarch...

The four-person group, led by Nara Kano, entered the Hokage Building and went to the Hokage's office on the top floor.

When Nara Ranke came to the Hokage's office for the second time, he was no longer as curious as before. He kept his eyes down and pretended to be invisible.

Nara Kano stepped forward and handed a mission scroll to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Lord Hokage, this is the mission entrusted to us by the Nara clan this time."

Hiruzen Sarutobi, unfazed, accepted the mission scroll, stamped it with the Hokage seal, and then handed it back to Kano Nara.

He had already finished negotiating the details of the mission with Nara Kano yesterday.

At the same time, a task prompt also popped up on Nara Rinka's virtual panel.

[A-rank ninja quest has been triggered!]

[Rank A Mission: Tribute]

[Mission Objective: 1. Transport precious medicinal herbs such as deer antlers to the capital of the Fire Kingdom;]

2. Obtain war support from the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

[Mission Reward: One Rank A Ninja Scroll]

What kind of bizarre A-level mission is this...?

Nara Rinka was very puzzled.

The first half of the mission is to "transport medicinal herbs," and the second half is to "gain support."

If the tribute is to be paid to the daimyo of the Land of Fire, then these two parts should be connected.

However, from an overall perspective, these two tasks are clearly independent.

"A-level mission tribute, and it's even in quotation marks..."

"This doesn't seem to be saying Konoha is paying tribute to the Daimyo; rather, it's the Daimyo paying tribute to Konoha!"

Just as Nara Rinka was pondering the profound question of whether the "Hokage" or the "Daimyo" should be in charge, Nara Rinka was...

The clan chief's voice suddenly rang in his ears.

"Lan Gui, go and carry out the mission assignment."

Nara Rinka, who had been preparing for a long time, took a few steps forward and handed the mission scroll that the clan leader had given him to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"This is?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi opened the scroll in his hand with some confusion, and just then he saw a 10,000 ryo banknote fall out from inside.

"C-level mission 'Escort'."

"Mission objective: Protect Nara Rinka on her journey to the Temple of Fire."

"The task amount is ten thousand taels."

With just a glance at the mission scroll, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately understood what was going on.

simply put.

Nara Kano, within the bounds of the rules, once again skirted the edge of legality.

Originally, the real mission of the three "Mismatched Ino-Shika-Cho" trio—Nara Kano, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Akimichi Choza—was to go to Kyoto and obtain war support from the Daimyo.

However, directly asking for money in person is certainly inappropriate.

That's why the outer layer of "escorting medicinal materials" came about.

The Nara clan sells medicinal herbs to the nobles and dignitaries of the Land of Fire almost every year, partly to make money and partly to build implicit political partnerships.

For ordinary ninjas, such things are far too distant for them.

But for a "medical ninja clan" like the Nara clan, this is perfectly normal.

By using the pretext of "demanding war support" to simultaneously sell medicinal herbs to Kyoto, this was the first instance of Nara Kano skirting the rules.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was not displeased by this; on the contrary, he welcomed it.

The Nara clan's good relations with officials of the Land of Fire, if we round it up, are essentially the same as the good relations between Konoha Village and officials of the Land of Fire.

but……

What was Nara Kano's reason for wanting to go to the Fire Temple? And why was he bringing Nara Ranka along?

Such a question flashed through Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind, but left little trace.

He took out the 10,000 taels of paper money, casually stamped it with the Hokage seal, and then handed the mission scroll to Nara Shikano, who was standing to the side.

The one in charge of accepting this C-level mission was none other than the head of the Nara clan!

"Hurry up and act, Kano."

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved to the four of them.

"There are still people waiting for you!"

The Nara clan is cunning and shrewd.

But who says that the Nara clan was the only one skirting the rules this time?

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage, also had two additional B-rank missions mixed in with this A-rank mission.

With the Ino-Shika-Cho trio from different generations right here, such a powerful ninja team is definitely worth using!

After bidding farewell to the Third Hokage, the four members of Nara Kano left the Hokage Building in a swift and decisive manner, heading towards the gates of Konoha.

A large crowd gathered in front of the gates of Konoha.

Two or three small caravans gathered together, the neighing and whining of horses filling the air.

Among a group of ordinary people stood six ninjas wearing headbands.

Despite their different clothes, they all looked to be only eleven or twelve years old.

But their green vests showed that these six were all genuine Chunin.

"This is the first B-rank mission I've received since being promoted to Chunin!"

Sarutobi Asuma frowned, glancing occasionally toward Konoha Village.

"Who has such a big ego that makes us wait for so long!"

"If I find out, I'll definitely report it to the old man!"

"Asuma, don't do this."

Kurenai frowned slightly and offered words of advice.

"Didn't the Hokage just explain that?"

"Given the strength of the three of us, it would be extremely difficult to complete the B-rank mission of clearing out the bounty hunters along the official road. There will be a Jonin to assist us in completing this mission."

The bamboo dragonfly next to him glanced at his two teammates and silently shook his head.

His gaze shifted to the other side.

"Although Asuma and Red often neglect me when they're together, they're still much better than Might Guy!"

A dark green kappa was charging through the crowd, shouting words that no one could understand.

"Rank B Mission: Caravan Escort!"

"If I complete this task, I'm going to run a thousand laps around the village when I get back!"

"If the mission fails, I'll run five thousand laps around the village!"

"When your legs can't run anymore, walk on your head; when your arms are too weak, use your fingers... That's youth!!"

Matt Kai.

A man who will be stronger than anyone else in the future.

But that's only "later".

In a corner of the crowd, quite far from Mighty.

Genma Shiranui and Ebisu, teammates, looked at each other and sighed in unison.

"Hopefully, Kai won't make the same mistake on this mission."

"Hopefully Kai won't ruin this B-level mission."

Although the words are different, the underlying meaning is quite similar.

If they had the chance to start their lives over again, Genma Shiranui and Ebisu would definitely not team up with Might Guy again!

Even that "lazy loser" who supposedly hasn't graduated from the ninja academy yet.

It's better than this green kappa with seemingly endless energy, isn't it?

Thinking of this, Genma Shiranui and Ebisu exchanged another glance.

"Hopefully, the Jonin will be able to intimidate Guy later."

"Kai should obey the Jonin's orders, right?"

The tacit understanding between teammates developed over many years is truly remarkable.

Just as Genma Shiranui and Ebisu were complaining about their other teammate.

The four members of Nara Kano finally arrived from the village.

Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza each slipped into the throng of caravans to help maintain order and advance the operation.

Meanwhile, Nara Rinka was observing the other ninjas traveling with him.

With just a quick glance, he could roughly recognize the six people.

These six are all former classmates of Nara Rinkei, and they are all minor celebrities.

The trio standing on the right are Sarutobi Asuma, Yuhi Kurenai, and Tobitake Coppu.

The trio standing on the left are Genma Shiranui, Ebisu, and Might Guy.

Hush

Nara Kano pulled out a whistle from somewhere and blew it.

As the crisp whistle rang out, a large deer with jet-black eyes and glossy fur emerged from the crowd, pulling a small wooden cart.

"This deer is just as beautiful as the one with the large antlers! Truly magnificent!"

Nara Rinka was admiring the appearance of the deer summoned by the clan chief when he suddenly heard the clan chief say something.

"Lan Gui, get in the car quickly."

Nara Kano sat down in the driver's seat of the deer cart and waved to Nara Rinka.

"We've left the village!"

A huge thank you to "Chow Yun-fat is not Chow Yun-fat" for the 500 Qidian Coins donation!!

(End of this chapter)