Traveling through Naruto with Heroes of Might and Magic.

No matter how smart Kakashi is, he's only a 15-year-old boy. He was completely speechless after being fooled by Qingwu, who has lived two lives.

However, upon closer reflection, he realized that his willingness to open up to his teammates today seemed... indeed different from before.

"..." Kakashi looked at Qingwu, hesitant to speak, but in the end he didn't say anything like "thank you for saving me". He just said, "Let's go. The Hokage must be getting impatient."

By the time they returned to the convoy, it was already dark.

Xiyan and Tianzang stood guard on the perimeter, while the others were setting up camp.

"Captain, how is Xiang?" Xi Yan asked with concern.

Tianzang didn't speak, but his eyes were fixed on Qingwu.

"It's nothing." Qingwu shrugged. "We're all fine. One enemy escaped."

Kakashi nodded to the two on guard and walked straight towards the Third Hokage's tent. "Zo, follow me!"

Inside the military tent, the light from the pipe flickered in the darkness.

After listening to Kakashi's report, the Third Hokage turned to Qingwu and asked, "Flight... how did you manage to do that?"

Wood Release allows flight? Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't figure out what the connection was between the two.

"It was developed through trying different directions..."

Qingwu said, "It's very difficult, and we can't communicate with spirits on a large scale at the moment."

He shut down the third generation's next words.

As expected, the Third Hokage likely shared Kakashi's initial thoughts that a well-organized air force unit was extremely important to Konoha.

"I see……"

The Third Hokage took a drag of his cigarette, not bothering to investigate further. "Kari... the blasting captain of Iwagakure. I know this guy. He's very strong... so let him go."

Unlike Kakashi's concerns, the Third Hokage said:

"It doesn't matter if Qingwu's flying ability is exposed. After this battle, Iwagakure will know that our Wood Release ninjas are in the Shadow Guard. Whether they have one more or one less ability, they will be eliminated."

"This is a trial!" The Third Hokage stared at Qingwu and said, "It's also a form of affirmation!"

"Yes!" Qingwu lowered her head.

When facing the third generation, he resumed his usual low profile when there was nothing else to do.

Kakashi, as the captain of the Shadow Guard, asked, "Lord Hokage, what exactly is the purpose of Iwagakure's assassination attempt this time?"

Kakashi had witnessed the Third Hokage's actions firsthand, and he didn't believe that two Jonin leading a team could successfully assassinate him.

"Hmm..." the Third Hokage murmured, "It's probably a test."

"A test?" Kakashi seemed thoughtful.

"Yes, they're testing our reaction, testing whether Konoha dares to go to war with... Iwagakure when it's constantly clashing with Kumogakure!"

"!!" Kakashi was shocked. The Tsuchikage Onoki actually wanted to start another war so soon after the end of the Third Shinobi World War!

"As I said before, Konoha is at its most vulnerable now, which is why there are always people who want to provoke it."

The third-generation leader took a deep drag on his pipe: "As I said before, you young people are the future of the village, the new life of the village..."

"Now I'll put it another way, not 'new sprout,' but 'new tooth'!"

Kakashi and Qingwu were startled and both looked up at the Third Hokage.

"The new teeth of Konoha are not only sharp, but also dare to bite!" The Third Hokage looked at the two of them and said firmly.

At this moment, it was as if the former "Renxiong" had returned.

The fact that Konoha has survived so many major wars is not only due to its strong foundation, but also because the Third Hokage was definitely not someone who only knew how to appease.

Qingwu had a sudden realization.

Sure enough, the Third Hokage tossed Kakashi a scroll, saying, "This contains information about several Iwagakure outposts located on the border of the Land of Grass. I want your Shadow Guard to... take them down!"

Kakashi then hesitated: "What if war breaks out..."

"No!" the Third Hokage said in a deep voice.

"Konoha cannot back down now. If the Hokage is assassinated and we pretend nothing happened... Onoki will think we are already overwhelmed with Kumogakure and that we are weak and easily bullied!"

"I understand!" Kakashi gripped the scroll tightly.

"This mission is classified as S-level!"

The third generation leader's tone was unusually stern: "No need to wait to escort me back to the village. Rest for one night, and we'll carry it out immediately tomorrow!"

"Yes!" The two saluted simultaneously and left the military tent.

The camp was dimly lit by fire.

Kakashi and Qingwu walked side by side toward the outer perimeter to meet up with their teammates and inform them of the new mission.

"Captain!" Qingwu suddenly asked, "Does our Shadow Guard also carry out... missions like eliminating enemy strongholds?"

Kakashi replied:

"We've already entered the Land of Fire. There are Konoha's garrisoned ninja units every now and then, and with the Hokage's strength, he should be able to return to the village safely."

Kakashi thought Qingwu was worried about the Hokage's safety.

Qingwu was stunned.

What he really wanted to ask was, isn't the duty of the Shadow Guard to protect the Hokage?

Moreover... at this time, sending the Shadow Guard to the Land of Grass to carry out a mission, aren't you worried about running into Orochimaru?

Today's chase brought Qingwu much closer to Kakashi, so he decided to ask his question.

Kakashi stopped and thought for a moment:

"I think... the Hokage has had the idea of ​​taking revenge for a long time, but... sending the Shadow Guard to carry it out must have been a spur-of-the-moment decision."

"Huh?" Qingwu thought to himself that his understanding of many things was no worse than that of 15-year-old Kakashi, but when it came to understanding the Third Hokage, he still had to rely on Kakashi, who had more contact with him!

"Flight ability!" Kakashi uttered four words, then said, "Qingwu, flight greatly increases your self-defense capabilities, and..."

"And what?" Qingwu became interested.

"Furthermore, the Hokage won't always treat you like a 'flower' and protect you. You're already a special Jonin of Konoha and a member of the Shadow Guard. You've already fought against ninjas of Orochimaru's caliber. The answer has actually already been given by the Hokage!"

"Is that so?" Qingwu recalled the conversation in the military tent just now.

“It’s a trial! And also… a confirmation!” Kakashi’s tone suddenly softened, and he placed his hand on Qingwu’s shoulder:

"Qingwu, don't worry, I... am your captain, and I will always stand in front of you!"

Chapter 75 The Mobility Brought by Pegasus

"Who's worried!"

Qingwu awkwardly slapped Kakashi's hand away.

Bonds and such... I hate them the most. "Being able to leave the village to do a mission, especially an S-rank mission, I'm only excited, okay?"

He might not actually hate bonds, but what he said was true.

The experience points gained from the battle can not only enhance his four main attributes, but also unlock new skills.

Sometimes he secretly regretted that if only his cheat ability had awakened during the turbulent Third World War...

……

"This mission must be completed quickly!"

Outside the camp, Kakashi handed the scroll to Yugao for a look. "Our goal is to make an example of them and get back what we owed Iwagakure for this assassination attempt."

Xi Yan focused her gaze on the stronghold marked on the scroll and said calmly:

"The three strongholds are arranged in a triangular formation. The Grass Country has a complex terrain with many forests, and the Rock Village is used to hiding in the earth. We must guard against them ambushing us."

Kakashi nodded in agreement: "We also need to be careful of the Grass Ninja on the border of the Land of Grass."

The Land of Grass is a "neutral country," but the Hidden Grass Village is used to being a "fence-sitter."

During the Third Shinobi World War, they would sometimes side with Konoha and sometimes with Iwagakure.

This is the way of life in Kusagakure.

In recent years, due to the heavy losses suffered by Konoha in the Third World War, Konoha has folded its front lines, and Kusagakure has sided with Iwagakure.

"We'll launch a surprise attack on the first stronghold. With the captain and... Elephant, it shouldn't be too difficult. The challenge lies in the fact that if word gets out, attacking the remaining two strongholds will be much harder."

Yugao's earnest analysis showcased her outstanding ninja talent.

Kakashi gave her the scroll for the same reason; he didn't want to say more, and it was more appropriate for Yugao to explain the basic analysis.

"That's why we need to act quickly and try to... wipe out all the ninjas in the stronghold."

Kakashi then asked Qingwu, who was resting his chin on his hand in thought, "What's your opinion?"

“I was thinking…” Qingwu said, “Now that our flight capability has been exposed, would this element make the mission simpler when we formulate our combat plan?”

"What flight?" Xi Yan didn't understand.

"..." Tianzang didn't speak, but he was among the first to see the Pegasus.

After Kakashi explained briefly, Yugao's gaze towards Qingwu became complicated.

Months of training and daytime battles made her realize that some teammates she used to "look down on" had long since left her behind, and that they had unexpected "trump cards"!

"You're planning to split your forces?" Xi Yan guessed Qing Wu's thoughts and said.

“I don’t recommend doing that. There’s a high chance of oversights among the four of us. If we split up, even if we manage to take down one stronghold, the difficulty will increase exponentially.”

"That's not what I meant." Qingwu said helplessly, "The captain is right. We need to finish this quickly and delay the news from Iwagakure."

Kakashi pondered, "The elephant... probably means to use Pegasus to speed up our journey and catch Iwagakure off guard."

Snapped!

Qingwu clapped his hands and said to Kakashi, "Either you, Hound, should be the captain."

"..." Xi Yan was a little angry and a little aggrieved.

Now... it's her former teammates' turn to "look down on" her.