However, Neji was full of anticipation for the missions.
Because going on missions naturally meant leaving the Village, and leaving the Village provided an opportunity to look for clues outside.
However, Chunin still have to team up with others, which is somewhat inconvenient for independent action. It's better to be promoted to Jonin quickly, so that perhaps they can go on missions alone at that time.
Xia Mu was actually also curious about Tsunade's next arrangements.
Logically, the focus should currently be on guarding the safety of the Village. After all, with the Uchiha Police Force gone, the Village was like a sieve, with spies infiltrating from time to time. Who knows if there would be another collapse.
However, given Tsunade's personality, it was clearly impossible to have all the Ninja huddle in the Village.
In addition, how to resolve the diplomatic issue with Hidden Sand Village of the Wind Country was also of utmost importance.
Although Orochimaru was the mastermind behind the Konoha Crush, Hidden Sand Village was also an accomplice. If they were easily forgiven, it would be difficult to convince the public. However, the Kazekage of Hidden Sand Village also died, killed by Orochimaru. Clearly, Hidden Sand Village was also a victim, deceived and harmed by a Konoha S-Rank rogue ninja.
This made things very troublesome. It was really difficult to decide whether to fight or reconcile.
In the eyes of other Villages, Konoha would definitely make things difficult for Hidden Sand Village. However, those people underestimated Tsunade's courage.
Tsunade not only chose not to go to war but also re-established friendly 523 relations with Hidden Sand Village and sent the Jinchuriki back, making the relationship between the two Villages even closer.
Xia Mu knew this outcome, which is why he couldn't guess how Tsunade would arrange the missions.
Fortunately, with his current strength, even an S-Rank mission would be easy for him. If worst came to worst, he could still use the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape, so he wasn't afraid at all.
After finishing the BBQ, everyone dispersed.
Xia Mu and Tenten walked to the Ninja Tools shop, said hello to the Ninjutsu Shop Owner, and then left, heading to Xia Mu's home.
However, not long after arriving home, someone knocked on the door. Xia Mu opened the door and saw a Ninja wearing an animal mask, who he assumed was from the Ambu.
"Lord Hokage asked me to give you this scroll." The Ambu Ninja handed over a scroll and then disappeared.
"Could this be..." Xia Mu thought of something and showed a surprised smile, quickly closing the door. "Tenten, come quickly! Tsunade-sama sent someone to deliver a scroll!"
"Really! That's great!"
Tenten directly rushed into Xia Mu's arms, and then they opened the scroll together.
Looking at the first sentence on the scroll, "Interlocking Exploding Talisman Technique," their smiles (cbbe) widened, and they quickly opened the scroll completely and began reading the content.
The Interlocking Exploding Talisman Technique is a technique where when an Exploding Tag is detonated, more Exploding Tags are summoned along with it, and they keep exploding until the target is destroyed. This requires carving summoning runes on the Exploding Tag and setting it to detonate and summon, so that the Exploding Tag can activate the Summoning Technique when it explodes, summoning new Exploding Tags.
Furthermore, this technique is very dangerous and requires the detonator to constantly observe the explosion situation and be able to intervene in the explosion process at any time.
If the explosion is interrupted, the detonator can continue to perform the technique and detonate. If they feel the explosion is sufficient, they can also perform the technique to stop it, which is very flexible.
The only downside is that you might accidentally be caught in the explosion.
Tenten didn't care: "This is simple. I'll use a Shadow Clone to detonate and leave two more Shadow Clones. Anyway, I have a Chakra battery now, so I'm not afraid of not having enough Chakra."
Xia Mu flicked her nose: "That's true. That's why I got this for you."
"Hehe, then I'll thank my future husband!"
"Just saying thank you isn't enough. Wear the mesh top for me again!"
"Oh, you're so bad!"
"Hehehe! I'm much worse than you think. Watch my Eighteen Hands of Sticking to Clothes..."
The next day, Xia Mu and the other newly promoted Ninja were called to the Hokage Office again. Unexpectedly, Kakashi and Kai were also there.
Tsunade didn't waste any time and immediately began assigning missions:
"Currently, we are entering negotiations with Hidden Sand Village. Other large Villages may take advantage of the situation, so I need you to go to the border for support. Kai, you take Neji and Tenten to the northwest border and pay attention to the movements of Hidden Stone Village. Kakashi, you take Sasuke and Shino to the northeast border to guard against attacks from Hidden Cloud Village."
Shikamaru, you are quite intelligent. You will assist with the negotiations with Hidden Sand Village. During the negotiations, you will be responsible for the discussions with the hostages, including Gaara, Kankuro, Temari, and Maki."
Shikamaru immediately showed a dead fish eye: "How troublesome. I have to be responsible for the most crucial matter."
Everyone knew that the most crucial matter currently was the negotiations between Konoha and Hidden Sand Village. If the negotiations didn't go well, war could break out, so the responsibility for this matter was very heavy.
Tsunade smiled, "Shikamaru, I believe in your wisdom. Don't underestimate yourself."
Shikamaru could only nod: "Alright, I'll try my best."
The most painful thing for a lazy person is having to make an effort, but Shikamaru really couldn't refuse. At most, he could only complain a few times, but he still had to do the work that needed to be done.
Tsunade finally looked at Xia Mu: "Xia Mu, you are responsible for investigating the Land of Rice Fields. You once defeated Orochimaru, and it is said that you have learned the Flying Thunder God Technique, so I trust you the most to go."
She wants me to go to the Land of Rice Fields?
Xia Mu couldn't help but be surprised, but Tsunade's reason was also valid. Perhaps he was the most reliable person to go.
So he nodded and said, "Understood. What do you need me to investigate?"
Tsunade said seriously, "Orochimaru is a venomous snake. Once he sets his sights on something, he will never give up easily. You need to pay attention to the movements of Otogakure, especially investigating Orochimaru's actions. If you have the chance, you should also investigate Orochimaru's laboratory. He is a huge threat, and he is still entrenched in a neighboring country of the Fire Country, which makes me unable to rest assured. You first investigate as much as possible and try to find valuable intelligence. One day, Konoha will take action against Otogakure!"
Xia Mu nodded in agreement, and then the several people immediately left the office.
The mission was quite urgent, and Xia Mu didn't have time to instruct Tenten on anything. He just exchanged glances with Tenten, and everything was understood without words.
After returning home, he quickly prepared the necessary items and then headed straight for the main gate.
"Yo! Here comes our Konoha Demon Blade! Is he going on a mission alone? As expected of a newly promoted Jonin highly valued by Tsunade-sama!" The two gate guards greeted him with a smile.
"Yes, good day to you both, seniors. I'm going on a mission. Please register it." Xia Mu quickly signed.
"Seniors? That's too polite. You are a Jonin now, while we are still Chunin and can only guard the gate."
"A senior is a senior, it has nothing to do with rank. Then I'll be going now."
After finishing the registration, Xia Mu immediately left the Village. Even though he was already a Jonin, he still wanted to maintain the image of respecting his seniors, unless he truly disliked someone, in which case he wouldn't be polite. For example, towards Jiraiya, Xia Mu wasn't that respectful. Even though Jiraiya was very powerful and a true hero, his behavior of peeping into the women's bathhouse was very criticized.