Traveling through Naruto with Heroes of Might and Magic.

Iruka slammed his ramen bowl down heavily beside him. "That's outrageous! How could they say that about you?"

"Iruka—"

Qingwu quietly slurped her noodles. "Don't let other people affect your mood. I've been away for so long, and all I've been thinking about is this hot food."

"The Shadow Guards are clearly the heroes."

Iruka retorted, "I heard from the teachers at school that if Iwagakure hadn't been severely punished for daring to assassinate the Hokage, a large-scale war might have broken out."

Qingwu was not surprised. The teachers at the Ninja Academy were all ninjas, and their knowledge was far superior to that of ordinary people.

"Moreover, you were trapped deep behind enemy lines and almost didn't make it back."

Iruka's eyes reddened. "They...they actually said that about the Shadow Guard who fought and bled for the village."

“Iruka,” Qingwu said softly, taking a sip of ramen soup.

"There are far more ordinary people in this world. If you care about everything they say, even a ninja will have a very tiring life."

For some reason, Qingwu suddenly thought of Kakashi's father at this moment.

The legendary Konoha ninja, known as "Konoha's White Fang," perished due to public opinion.

Just as I thought of "Konoha's White Fang," a figure sat down on the other side of Qingwu and beckoned to Uncle Shouda to order a bowl of ramen.

Qingwu glanced at Kakashi, who had changed out of his Anbu uniform, and smiled, "Senior, didn't you say you were going back to get a good night's sleep?"

Kakashi looked around and said, "The Hokage has summoned us. Let's go together after we finish our ramen."

Qingwu's tone revealed a hint of annoyance: "We just got back today. Don't the Shadow Guards get any holidays?"

Iruka on the other side pricked up his ears.

Kakashi said in a rare flippant tone, "It's about the reward for the S-rank mission. If you don't want to go, go back and take a vacation."

"!!" Qingwu's expression immediately changed. "Hehe, the Shadow Guard was created specifically for the Hokage. How can we refuse the Hokage's summons?"

Kakashi couldn't help but roll his eyes; he knew it.

Iruka chuckled to himself, relieved to see that his friend hadn't been affected by the public opinion.

Just then, several children ran in, playing around.

Iruka's eyes lit up when he saw him, and he called out, "Teacher, come here and bow!"

Iruka quickly stood up, wanting to treat the children to ramen.

The children cheered with joy.

Qingwu smiled as he watched the scene unfold before him. These little brats from the ninja academy actually represented the village's future better than the villagers.

Iruka whispered something to his student.

Qingwu and Kakashi turned away and ate their noodles in silence, not trying to eavesdrop.

"Lord Qingwu!"

A childish voice rang out.

Qingwu turned his head and saw a seven or eight-year-old girl wearing glasses looking at him with admiration.

"Did you really defeat the Tsuchikage all by yourself?"

"Uh..." Qingwu scratched his head, somewhat awkwardly saying, "It's a rumor that there was a fight, but the Tsuchikage retreated because the Hokage was present."

"Lord Qingwu, can you teach me ninjutsu?"

Another child came over.

"I want to join the Shadow Guard too!"

Another childish voice rang out.

Qingwu left his seat, squatted down, and looked at the children at eye level: "If you want to be a ninja, you must study hard and listen to Teacher Iruka."

"Iruka-sensei said that you are the most talented genius in Konoha!"

“Even geniuses have to work hard.” Qingwu smiled and winked at Iruka.

Iruka understood instantly because of their tacit understanding.

A bag of candy was quietly slipped into Qingwu's hand...

Chapter 100 Naruto Advisor

Qingwu's smile widened; he knew that Iruka, who loved children, must always have some prepared.

Distribute New Year's candy to the children.

The children skipped and hopped away.

Iruka called out from behind, "The ramen will be ready soon, remember to come back and eat."

"Know it!"

"Irukasense!"

Qingwu stood up, watching the children file out, a gentle look in her eyes.

"Let's go!" Kakashi had already finished his ramen.

Qingwu leaned over and asked, "Did you just pull down your mask?"

Kakashi: "..."

……

Hokage Building.

In his office, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, frowned deeply as he looked at the annual financial report in his hand.

In order to appease our ally, Sunagakure, we will continue to provide assistance over the next few years.

The border skirmishes in Kumogakure have consumed a large amount of resources.

The border conflict with Iwagakure has forced Konoha to increase its border defense budget by 30%.

In addition to reconstruction, compensation, and research and development...

Even in the Land of Fire, the most prosperous ninja country in the world, Konoha inevitably faced a deficit crisis.

Aside from the daimyo's grants, the ninja village's income mainly comes from various missions.

However, if war breaks out again, the share of the mission will also be affected...

"Lord Hokage!"

The finance minister, sitting at his desk, wore a distressed expression. "The funding from the daimyo hasn't arrived yet, so the ninja allowances for this quarter will probably have to be delayed..."

"I see!"

The third generation leader rubbed his temples. "You go first, I'll think of something."

The finance minister bowed and left.

The Third Generation was left alone in the office. He looked at the snowflakes falling outside the window and sighed.

"money……"

Looking at the towering pile of documents on his desk, the Third Generation slumped wearily back in his chair.

Being Hokage isn't easy.

He genuinely wanted to step down if a suitable person had been found, but unfortunately...

"Watergate..."

A look of nostalgia appeared in the Third Generation's eyes.

During those two years, he only needed to help the still-established Watergate with its affairs, instead of having all the responsibilities piled on his aging shoulders as they are now.

"Getting old...ah..."

Sensing that his energy was waning, the Third Hokage's negative emotions intensified.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!"

The third generation elder mustered his strength, lit his pipe, and straightened his back.

The door opened, and Kakashi walked in with Qingwu, Xiyan, and Tianzang.

"Lord Hokage!"

Looking at his Shadow Guard, the Third Hokage's deep-seated irritation dissipated somewhat.

The Third Hokage tossed a scroll to Kakashi and got straight to the point: "Regarding the reward and compensation for your mission."

Kakashi opened the quick browse function and quietly read to his teammates:

"Tenzo promoted him to Chunin, S-rank mission reward... 200 million taels?"

The reward for an S-level mission starts at 100 million taels.

At a higher level, the missions would almost always involve infiltrating deep behind enemy lines or assassinating important enemy figures.

However, Kakashi had been a Jonin for a long time and had participated in many Jonin meetings, so he knew that Konoha's current financial situation was not ideal.

In his opinion, although the mission was made more difficult by a series of unforeseen events.

However, since the third generation leader is personally involved, the reward should still be based on the standard of 100 million taels.

But how...

As if guessing what Kakashi was thinking, the Third Hokage chuckled and said, "Back in the Land of Waterfalls, Seigo said he was short of money."

Kakashi, Yugao, and Tenzo all looked at Qingwu.

Qingwu touched his nose: "I did say that."

He rolled his eyes and made up a story: "I need some special materials to establish a medium for spiritual communication, and those materials are not only expensive, but some can only be bought on the black market."

Kakashi: "..."

That's nonsense. Your every move has been under my surveillance. Do you think I don't know whether you've been to the black market or not?