Chapter 188: Female Star Restores Her Country? Sasuke's Exam
On their way back to Konoha escorting the prisoner, Naruto's group happened to encounter Shikamaru's trio, who were out searching high and low for crickets for Minamoto Miyuki.
"Sasuke? Naruto?" Ino, upon seeing the three, rushed over impatiently. These past few days, she had truly had enough. To help the Daimyo find a cricket that met his requirements, they had been searching the forests around Konoha for nearly a whole week. And that wasn't all; while they were feeding mosquitoes in the woods, their team leader spent his days engrossed in inappropriate books.
"It's Ino! Where are Shikamaru and Choji?" Naruto's face lit up with a radiant smile upon seeing Ino.
"Nn, over there," Ino said, pointing towards two figures, one fat and one thin, faintly visible in the bushes.
"I heard you three passed the Hokage's test, so you don't have to do D-rank missions," Ino said. "It's so enviable! You all get to go out of the village for missions, but not only do we have to help a little kid catch crickets, our teacher is also a middle-aged pervert who only knows how to read inappropriate books."
"Ahem, next time you badmouth me about crickets, could you perhaps do it a little more discreetly behind my back?" As the group was talking, a figure suddenly leaped down from a tree branch above. The newcomer, sporting dead-fish eyes, spoke, "Also, as ninjas of Konoha, I think we should show a little more respect to His Highness our Daimyo."
"Kakashi-bro!" Naruto greeted Kakashi enthusiastically upon seeing him, then pushed forward Zabuza, whom he had been guarding the entire way back, his face beaming as if presenting a treasure. "Look! We captured an Elite Jounin from the Kirigakure rebel army this time!"
"Is that so?" Kakashi focused his gaze. Seeing it was his old acquaintance from the Land of Water battlefield who had dared to ambush him last time, he was also amused. "So it was him."
Subsequently, Kakashi turned his head towards the Executioner's Blade on Naruto's back. "Naruto, if you want to keep this sword as your spoils of war, you'd best find your teacher or Karin later to carve a sealing jutsu formula on it. Otherwise, Kirigakure has means to summon this sword away."
Originally, this sword had become Kakashi's spoils of war after the battle in the Land of Water last time. However, less than three days after that battle ended, the sword, which he had stored in his Kamui dimension, was retrieved by Kirigakure using a special summoning technique.
Only then did Kakashi learn that each of Kirigakure's seven ninja swords had its own summoning contract. This was also the reason why the legacy of Kirigakure's seven ninja swords had never been broken over many years, despite some of their wielders dying outside the village with their swords.
"However, if you do that, the sword's special ability will likely be greatly affected by the sealing jutsu formula," Kakashi reminded.
"Is it that troublesome?" Naruto looked down at the Executioner's Blade with some regret, a disappointed expression on his face. Ever since Sasuke received Ziden as a graduation gift, driven by the thought 'if my good brother has one, I must have one too', Naruto had also started惦记 (diànji - thinking about/coveting) getting a ninja sword to show off. And after capturing Zabuza this time, the domineering-looking Executioner's Blade naturally caught his eye. But after hearing Kakashi's words, Naruto instantly lost interest.
"Alternatively, you could ask a craftsman to melt it down and reforge it into a new sword," Kakashi suggested.
When he obtained the Executioner's Blade last time, Kakashi had entertained the thought of melting it down and using this special metal to reforge White Fang. But because the sword was retrieved by Kirigakure due to a moment of carelessness, the idea came to nothing.
"Forget it, let's not talk about this!" Naruto quickly pushed this troublesome matter to the back of his mind, then turned to Ino and said, "Ino, come to Ichiraku Ramen later when you're done! To celebrate my first completed mission, I'm treating everyone to ramen later!"
"If you want to eat ramen, just say so directly. Don't make up these excuses," Shikamaru then came to Naruto's side and said lazily.
"Hehe, you found me out," Naruto scratched his head and grinned sheepishly. "By the way, where are Kiba and the others?"
"Their squad's mission is to help the Minister of Construction's wife find her lost pet dog. They're searching all over Konoha right now," Shikamaru replied.
"Alright, then we'll go back and report the mission first," Naruto nodded. "If you see them later, remember to tell them for me that I'm treating them to ramen tonight. See you later."
"See you later," Shikamaru waved goodbye to Naruto's group, then threw himself back into the work of helping Minamoto Miyuki find crickets in the bushes.
...
After Sasuke's trio escorted Zabuza back to Konoha, the negotiations between Uchiha Douhuan and Terumi Mei also formally began. After a period of wrangling across the distance, they finally formalized the details of North Kirigakure exchanging a Byakugan for Zabuza.
By the time Ao's Byakugan was returned to the Hyuga clan shrine, more than a month had passed. During this month, Sasuke and the other two had gone out of the village and completed two more C-rank bandit suppression missions.
Until Uchiha Douhuan, in the mission requests, came across an interesting mission.
[Escort movie star Fujikaze Yukie to the Land of Snow to complete filming. Client: Asama Sandayū]
Seeing this mission, Uchiha Douhuan casually tossed the report onto the desk, then called out loudly, "Inahi, have that kid Sasuke come see me."
"Yes!" Uchiha Inahi outside the door accepted the order and left.
Before long, Sasuke arrived at the Hokage's office.
After arriving at the Hokage's office, Sasuke, seeing Uchiha Douhuan was still looking at documents, didn't disturb him directly. Instead, he went to the cabinet where Uchiha Douhuan kept his tea leaves, opened it, and only then asked, "Teacher, what would you like to drink today?"
"Snow Fluff Tea. The tea leaves are in the fourth box from the left on the second shelf," Uchiha Douhuan said without looking up.
"Yes." Sasuke nodded, took the tea leaves from the cabinet, then came to the tea table Uchiha Douhuan usually used for brewing tea, lit the charcoal fire, and started heating water.
Before long, the袅袅 (niǎoniǎo - curling/wafting) fragrance of tea rose in the office. Uchiha Douhuan, holding a document, stood up and came to the tea table.
Sasuke respectfully presented a cup of hot tea to Uchiha Douhuan.
Uchiha Douhuan took the teacup, tasted a sip, then nodded, "Not bad. Your skill has improved quite a bit from before."
"Compared to you, Teacher, I'm still far off," Sasuke said, lowering his head.
"Teacher, may I ask what business you called me for?" Sasuke inquired.
"There's a mission for your Team Seven," Uchiha Douhuan said faintly, simultaneously handing the mission information from earlier to Sasuke.
Sasuke took it, examined it carefully, then looked up at Uchiha Douhuan somewhat puzzled, "Escort a female movie star to the Land of Snow for filming? Is this kind of mission worth you specially calling me over, Teacher?"
"Of course, it's worth it. Because this mission is also an exam for you," Uchiha Douhuan chuckled lightly.
"Exam?" Sasuke was somewhat confused.
"Yes, an exam," Uchiha Douhuan nodded. "Of course, not in terms of ninja skills, but an exam of those Go-playing strategic skills you've learned from me these past few years."
With that, Uchiha Douhuan took out an intelligence file regarding the Land of Snow palace coup from several years ago and handed it to Sasuke.
"Fujikaze Yukie, real name Kazahana Koyuki. The sole daughter of the previous Land of Snow Daimyo who died in that bloody palace coup. In other words, this currently hottest superstar in the ninja world is actually an exiled princess," Uchiha Douhuan said with a light chuckle.
Hearing Uchiha Douhuan's words, Sasuke's expression also turned grave. "Then, Teacher, what is the passing standard for this exam?"
Uchiha Douhuan smiled and took out a draft contract from a sealing scroll at his waist, placing it before Sasuke. It was a draft treaty for the Land of Snow to join the Konoha Pact Plan.
Sasuke picked up the treaty and looked at it carefully, while Uchiha Douhuan said unhurriedly from the side, "This is the most basic passing requirement. You just need to get the Land of Snow Daimyo to sign this treaty. However, if you want to get a higher score from me, then it depends on how much benefit you can obtain on top of this foundation."
"For this exam of yours, I will not impose any restrictions on you. You can use any resources and connections you possess. If you wish, you can even go to the Land of Water and ask your father for help. However, I will also not provide you with any assistance. All costs incurred during this process need to be borne by yourself," Uchiha Douhuan stated. "But, if you successfully pass my test, then all benefits exceeding the passing standard line will belong to you alone. The village and I only require that most basic part."
After finishing, Uchiha Douhuan looked at Sasuke with a smile, "Well, do you have the confidence to complete this test?"
Sasuke, after hearing the conditions Uchiha Douhuan stated, instantly had a radiant smile appear on his face. "Teacher, I want to try. Any resource I can mobilize, you won't restrict, right?"
"Correct," Uchiha Douhuan said.
"Neji's Anbu status hasn't been revoked yet, has it?" Sasuke asked.
"Not yet," Uchiha Douhuan replied.
"Then, Teacher, for these next few days, please don't assign missions to Team Eight and Team Ten. Later, I will have Neji, in the name of Anbu, requisition those two teams to assist our Team Seven in executing this mission."
"These two teams? Possible," Uchiha Douhuan smiled and nodded. "It seems you have your eyes on Kakashi and Shisui's strength. However, I must remind you, Kakashi, as the Security Department Captain, cannot leave Konoha for too long. So if you plan to requisition them for assistance, for this mission, you can at most take your Brother Shisui along. But, to hire your Brother Shisui as a fighter, you'll have to pay his remuneration yourself after the mission ends. Can you afford that price?"
"Does this remuneration need to be paid by me?" Sasuke said with a smile. "This manager named Asama Sandayū, relying on Her Highness the Princess, has earned quite a lot of money in the ninja world these past few years. If a Kage-level powerhouse is willing to help them restore their country, I presume they would be willing to pay money."
"Getting them to bear the remuneration for Brother Shisui's help is easy," Sasuke rubbed his temples. "However, according to the stance Lord Teacher has expressed externally these years that Konoha will not proactively interfere in other countries' internal affairs, if we directly charge into the Land of Snow's royal palace, kill the current Daimyo, and install this little princess, it will likely affect Lord Teacher's arrangements in the ninja world these years."
Uchiha Douhuan looked at Sasuke with a smile, nodding for him to continue.
"Therefore, we cannot directly make this our mission objective. We can only 'accidentally' get involved in the Land of Snow's royal dispute during the current mission. Due to self-defense, we 'accidentally' kill the current Land of Snow Daimyo who attacked our protection target," Sasuke analyzed.
"Then, there are only two difficulties in this mission. One is how to make this exiled princess completely trust us, help her muster her courage, and then guide her to proactively use us to complete her plan of restoring her country," Sasuke said. "The second is how to make the current Land of Snow Daimyo proactively attack us. The best situation would be if we, the ninjas who accepted this escort mission, are unaware of Kazahana Koyuki's identity, and under such circumstances, are used by the Land of Snow princess who intends to restore her country, thereby accidentally getting embroiled in the Land of Snow's royal struggle."
"And then... ninjas fight amongst themselves, the Daimyo dies violently," Sasuke said slowly after a moment of silence.
"Brilliant!" Uchiha Douhuan applauded lightly, looking at Sasuke before him with a satisfied nod. "In analyzing the board game situation, you are already quite proficient."
"However, the game won't always develop in the direction you predict," Uchiha Douhuan chuckled. "How to guide the ever-changing game situation towards your predicted outcome is what a qualified player should be able to do. Don't disappoint me, Sasuke."
"Teacher, just you watch," Sasuke nodded, stood up full of confidence, and after taking his leave from Uchiha Douhuan, left Uchiha Douhuan's office.
Soon, Sasuke called Neji and Naruto, and holding the mission information obtained from Uchiha Douhuan, found the film crew of "The Adventures of Princess Gale," who were currently staying in a luxury hotel in Konoha. He then explained his purpose to the mission client, Asama Sandayū.
"Are you the ninjas who accepted this mission?" Asama Sandayū looked somewhat suspiciously at the three youths before him. "Where is your Jounin team leader?"
"Mr. Asama, the situation with our Konoha Team Seven is rather special. Our nominal team leader is our Lord Fifth Hokage," Neji said calmly. "And the three of us are all the Hokage's direct disciples. Don't mind that we've only just graduated; we already possess Jounin-level strength. Furthermore, our Team Seven also has the battle record of independently defeating and capturing alive an Elite Jounin from within the Land of Water's rebel army. This point, you can easily inquire about with a little investigation in the village. Therefore, our strength is absolutely sufficient to complete this escort mission."
"Yeah, Uncle, don't underestimate us!" Naruto chimed in loudly from the side at this point.
"Is that so?" Asama Sandayū sized up the three youths before him, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
(End of Chapter)
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