After spending more than 30 minutes playing board games with Reina, Seimei finally decided to tidy up the room, grabbed the pre-prepared ninja essentials that he might need in the mission, and directly went to the Hokage Office with Reina.
By the time they had arrived in front of the Hokage Office, it was already 7:28 AM, two minutes earlier than the Squad 13's planned meeting time.
However, they found Hyuga Natsumi was already waiting for them at the entrance.
Seimei had to admit that his new teammate was quite punctual.
Not at all like a certain silver-haired, masked Elite Jonin from the original Naruto anime, who always arrived late and kept reading the Icha-Icha series adult content.
Yeah, he was talking about Hatake Kakashi, who somehow always seemed to encounter either a black cat that forced him to change direction or an old granny who needed help.
He didn't even bother preparing a proper lie to cover his tracks.
Outrageous!
After thinking about random, unproductive thoughts again for a while, he cleared his mind and greeted Hyuga Natsumi.
He waved his hand a little and asked, "Natsumi, you are already here. Did you wait for long?"
Seeing her teammates arrive, Natsumi smiled slightly and then shook her head. "Hi Seimei. Hi Reina."
"No, I didn't wait for long—I arrived here about three minutes ago. Plus, we all have arrived by 7:30 AM, so it's fine."
Reina chimed in, "That's good to know. Anyway, although we are supposed to report to the Hokage Office and receive our mission at 8 AM, since we are already here, let's go report to the Hokage without wasting any more time."
Seimei agreed and added, "True. If the Hokage happens to be relatively free, we can receive our mission scroll right away."
"There's nothing wrong with it. At worst, we will just wait for half an hour inside the Missions department before being summoned."
Natsumi nodded, "I see. Let's do as you say then, Reina."
With that, all three of them entered the Hokage Office immediately.
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It turned out they didn't have to wait for long. After waiting for only seven minutes in the Missions department, a Chunin came to notify them.
The Chunin said, "About your team's request…the Lord Hokage has time now, so he asked me to summon your squad to his office."
"Please follow me."
Hearing this, Seimei, Reina, and Natsumi looked at each other before following the Chunin to the door of the Hokage's personal room inside the Hokage Building.
"Alright, you can go in now. I will return to my post."
Seimei thanked him. "I see. Thank you."
The Chunin nodded and left, presumably going back to the Missions department's hall.
Seimei looked at Reina and smirked. "My dear captain, it's time for you to step up and lead your squad."
Reina chuckled and knocked on the door to the Hokage's personal office.
Knock! Knock!
"Come in."
The voice of Senju Tobirama, the Second Hokage, rang out from the other end of the door. As they got permission to enter, Reina directly opened the door and came inside the Hokage's personal office along with Seimei and Natsumi.
Upon entering, Seimei saw his father closing a scroll before placing it on the table.
Tobirama looked at the team. His gaze flickered briefly to Seimei, who was definitely slacking off once more. His lips couldn't help but twitch slightly.
By the looks of it, this son of his had directly dumped the responsibility of the team leader on Reina, the inherently evil Uchiha…cough cough…he meant, the recently rising Uchiha prodigy.
But it was Squad 13's affair. He had no interest in meddling.
At least, his son was still an insanely talented, not to mention hardworking, ninja, fully capable of surpassing even him before turning twenty, unless he made another breakthrough in his strength.
And most importantly, Seimei's intellect, creativity, research capabilities, and ninjutsu development skills were extraordinary, much to his liking.
How they operated had nothing to do with him, as long as the squad 13 completed their missions and were competent.
Anyway, no matter how much Seimei slacked off in other times, it couldn't possibly be worse than his own brother's behavior, right?
At that moment, Uchiha Reina said, "Lord Second, we are squad 13, and we have come here to receive our first mission."
Tobirama looked at Reina and nodded, "You are the leader of this team, I assume?"
Reina replied, "Yes."
Tobirama said, "Very well. I have already decided on your mission and got the scroll ready after the staff from the Missions department notified me of your arrival."
"It will be a B-rank escort and protection-type mission."
"I require you to escort a merchant from the Land of Fire to the Land of Frost. You will stay in the Land of Frost for one or two days until the merchant gathers the mineral resources, and then your team will escort him and the entire caravan safely back to Konoha."
"The Missions department has mapped a relatively safer route to make sure any danger you may face during the journey stays within the B-rank mission parameter."
"In short, at most, you should face bandits, ronins, or rogue ninjas below Jonin-level combat power. The mapped route shouldn't have any chakra beasts above the C+ danger rating either."
"Of course, such missions tend to be unpredictable."
"So, if you face B-rank chakra beasts, Special Jonin-level ninjas, or a group of more than five well-trained and well-coordinated Elite Chunin, we will elevate the mission rank and ensure you get the compensation you deserve."
"The Missions department has already negotiated this with the merchant. You don't have to worry about unnecessary conflicts."
As for the spoils the Squad 13 collected from their defeated enemies and chakra beasts, that would go to their pockets, of course.
It was an unspoken rule among the ninjas. No one needed to elaborate on it. All ninjas and responsible parties understood it.
And as ninjas from prestigious clans, Seimei and his team naturally understood it.
Next, without waiting for their response, Tobirama picked up a scroll from his table and flicked it at Reina, who caught it in one swift motion.
Tobirama explained, "The scroll in your hand has everything you need to know about the mission."
"It has your client's details, whom you will meet at 9 AM. The details include, but are not limited to, his appearance, general background, and identity. At 9 AM sharp, you will meet him at the northern exit of Konoha. He will arrive there in time, along with another staff member from the Missions department."
"You will also find your responsibilities during the mission, and the map containing the pre-mapped route to the Land of Frost."
"Make sure to memorize the details and destroy the scroll before you leave the gates of Konoha."
"Everything's clear?"
Reina nodded respectfully and replied, "We understand, Lord Hokage."
Seimei and Natsumi also added, "We understand." x2
Tobirama's expression remained stoic as he nodded and said, "Very well. Now then, off you go."
Hearing that, the trio didn't waste any time and directly exited the Hokage's personal office and closed the door behind them.
Click!
The moment later, Tobirama looked up, stared at the closed door, and fell into deep thought.
He couldn't help but contemplate a few things internally.
Although it's a B-rank mission, this particular mission's risks are indeed higher than usual.
The Land of Frost is just beside the Land of Lightning, and there is the Land of Hot Water between the Land of Frost and the Land of Fire. Considering the bandit-like behavior of the Kumo ninjas and their tendency to secretly loot resources of other countries, Seimei and his squad may truly face those Kumo lunatics.
Not to mention, the war can erupt at any moment, and we may need to face attacks from three directions. The spies have detected several meetings between the higher-ups of Kumogakure, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure.
They might truly face ninjas from Kumogakure. In that case, the mission rating will be elevated to A-rank.
Still, they shouldn't encounter any ninja stronger than average Jonin-level.
Even if they do, they can deal with them.
And even if they face something or someone they can't handle, Seimei can still ensure the client's and entire squad's safety.
Thinking this far, Tobirama turned his head to look at the window and murmured, "Still, I have taught him everything he needs to survive, and he has grown up to be an excellent ninja."
"Everything else is now in his own hands."
"The things you have seen so far are just the tip of the iceberg. See the world, make your own judgment, and carve a path that belongs to you and you alone, my son."
"It's the path that you will need to forge through countless trials, blood, and fire."
"I have done it, my brother has done it, and our ancestors have done it, too."
"That's the only way to become strong."
"That's the only way to become the ninja you want. That's the only way to find your ninja way."
After a few moments of silence, Tobirama got back to his work.
He still had many missions to assign to the other newly graduated S-class students.
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