On their way, Seimei and his friends rested on top of a cliff for a while.
The whole day was hectic, and it was already past 9:30 pm by the time they reached the previous cliff on which they had camped to look at the passing merchant caravans before witnessing the clash between the hired guards of merchant Satoshi and the goblins.
The trio just set up three simple tents, ate a few slices of dried jerky, and other military rations.
Their taste was nothing compared to the fresh food, but they were at least edible, didn't taste bad, and were packed with essential nutrients.
For ninjas like them, who burned a lot of stamina during their missions, military rations were often a more effective way to fill their bellies and replenish their energies than consuming regular meals.
Of course, if the fresh meals contained chakra beast meat, then it would be fine.
But after fighting hundreds of enemies and running for hundreds of kilometers nonstop, who would feel like going hunting for a chakra beast, skinning it, and then cooking a fresh meal?
At a time like that, all they wanted was some sleep. And sleep they did.
As for writing a detailed mission report that they had to submit tomorrow at the Hokage's office?
Well, Seimei left this job to his shadow clone.
Before sleeping, he could hear his shadow clone mumbling something like 'cruel capitalist' and 'shadow clones have human rights, too'.
But he wasn't in any mood to hear it.
Seeing this, his shadow clone could only finish the report obediently and watch out for the night.
Seimei, Haneda, and Touma weren't worried about potential ambushes.
First, they had a shadow clone outside.
Second, they had set up numerous traps and Fuinjutsu barriers around their camp, making it almost impossible for hostile entities to breach the barriers without alerting them.
Third, the top of the cliff was pretty barren. Chakra beasts usually wouldn't linger there.
So, the trio slept like wooden logs without any mental burden before waking up as early as 4 PM.
After that, they packed up, removed the traps, and headed toward Konoha.
Their pace was leisurely. Neither too fast nor too slow.
And by the time they reached the gates of Konoha, the sun had already risen above the horizon, signaling the start of a new day.
After entering through the gate, the trio walked a little while gazing toward the familiar scenery. A strange sensation of peace and calm washed over them.
The familiar shops, the familiar restaurants, the familiar hustle and bustle, and occasionally, the familiar faces of official Konoha ninjas.
As their gaze stretched far, they would even see the familiar Hokage Rock, adorned with the faces of the previous Hokage, the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama, and the second and current Hokage, Senju Tobirama.
At that moment, Haneda and Touma glanced sideways toward their friend, Seimei, and couldn't help but feel a little strange.
Then Haneda and Touma looked at each other in mutual understanding.
Haneda: →_→
Touma: ←_←
Haneda and Touma: Damn it…with how casual this guy often behaves, we almost always forget that Seimei is actually a bigshot. This guy is literally the son of the Hokage and the nephew of the God of Shinobi.
However, they looked at the calm expression on Seimei's face and quickly shook off the irrelevant thoughts.
Instead, they just shrugged lightly and kept walking.
Haneda and Touma: ㄟ( ▔, ▔ )ㄏ
Haneda and Touma:Well, never mind!
Meanwhile, Seimei, who had already sensed his friends looked at him with strange expressions before shrugging their shoulders, couldn't help but feel a little confused.
Seimei: (+_+)?
What's up with these two now?
Seimei thought inwardly for a while before giving up. People always have thousands of thoughts every day. There is no need to overload his own brain by trying to guess the little thoughts of everyone.
Instead, he asked, "Touma, Haneda. Let's go and submit our mission report to the Missions Department. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can go back to our home and relax."
"Very well" x2
Haneda and Touma also agreed and nodded in affirmation.
With that, the trio dashed toward the Hokage Building.
Once they reached the entrance of the Hokage Building, they simply walked in, entered the Missions Department, and approached one of the ninjas in charge of accepting and verifying the mission reports and submissions.
The ninja at the counter, who was scribing something furiously, looked up as he saw three young kids approaching him with two scrolls.
He stopped whatever he was writing and asked, "Hello, how can I help you?"
Seimei smiled and replied, "Hello, we are here to submit the mission report for the missing person and merchant cases."
Seimei explained the mission they participated in.
Hearing this, the ninja at the counter checked the list of ongoing missions and verified their claims, including their identities.
Seimei watched him do his job patiently.
Once everything checked out, Seimei tossed the relevant mission reports and scrolls to the ninja at the counter and gave a brief description of the mission execution process.
The mission report already contained the relevant details. So, the trio didn't have to explain everything to the desk guy responsible for collecting the mission details.
The scrolls containing the mission details, ninja corpses, and the goblin lord's head would surely reach the Hokage's table for approval.
The original mission was already a B-rank investigation mission.
However, the mission grade would surely be escalated to S-rank, considering their encounters and how they had wiped out a whole horde of goblins, scourges of nature who would only multiply in numbers and cause more trouble if they were given enough time.
And any mission above C-rank would be sent to the Hokage's table for approval and verification.
As for the bodies of the dead ninjas and the head of the goblin lord? They would be sent straight to the Torture and Interrogation Division of Konoha, where the Yamanaka clan ninjas would extract as much information from the corpses' brains as possible.
Anyway, the duty of the trio was over. They had submitted the mission.
Now, they just had to go back to their respective homes and focus on their lives. Once the Hokage approved their mission, they would be notified by the Missions Department to collect their mission remuneration.
As soon as the trio finished submitting their mission report, they walked out of the Hokage Building, bid farewell to each other, and went to their homes.
---------
Meanwhile, Senju Tobirama, who was working in the Hokage Office, immediately sensed Seimei's chakra signature as soon as he and his friends came near the Hokage Building.
"Hmm?"
He paused and looked in the direction of the entrance of the Hokage Building, where Seimei and his friend stood for a while before entering the building to submit their mission report.
So, he is back. Tobirama thought as his lips curled barely a few millimeters, which most people wouldn't notice at all unless they focused on his face intently.
But his face soon turned aloof and expressionless once again within a fraction of a second.
At the left corner of the room, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was reading and organizing multiple important documents and requests, sensed Tobirama pause and look in a particular direction.
He was a bit curious about his sensei's sudden reaction, but he didn't ask.
If Tobirama-sensei had something he wanted to talk about, he would surely let them know. Otherwise, it was better to shut up and do your own job.
With the hidden villages of the foreign elemental nations stirring trouble at the border cities of the Land of Fire and the increased activities of chakra beasts, Tobirama was under a lot of pressure.
His workload and paperwork kept increasing, causing his mood to sour significantly these days.
Additionally, he was receiving fewer opportunities to conduct his experiments, which further exacerbated his mood.
In short, Senju Tobirama was practically ready to explode.
Even his disciples, including Sarutobi Hiruzen, were feeling as if they were walking on thin ice.
They didn't dare to open their mouths near Tobirama to ask any questions, unless it was necessary.
Who could say that Tobirama wouldn't explode and gift them with a Flying Thunder God Slash?
In truth, they were thinking too much.
Tobirama might be in a foul mood, but he was a very cool-headed person. He would never act unreasonably unless he were truly furious.
It was just that his Super Kage-level aura was a bit intimidating, and his expression was as cold as ice as usual, causing his disciples to misunderstand.
But this wasn't Tobirama's problem.
Right now, he just wants to finish today's work as soon as possible.
I haven't had a good chat with Seimei lately.
Hmm?
Today, let's have a proper father-son talk. I will check his progress, too.
Tobirama sorted out his thoughts before focusing on his work again.
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