The next day, the three of them arrived at the meeting point early.
Both Nawaki and Minato seemed a little excited. After all, it was their first mission as ninjas, and C-rank missions usually involved leaving the village. Nawaki had been outside Konoha before, but Minato had stayed within the village ever since he could remember.
Now that they had the chance to see the outside world, they were naturally a bit exhilarated.
Jiraiya didn't make them wait long; he arrived shortly.
Seeing the three of them looking at him expectantly, he didn't beat around the bush and directly pulled out a scroll:
"Luckily, the old man had a mission that's quite suitable for you. This is the mission brief; you can take a look first."
Nawaki eagerly took the scroll and started reading it. Kyuushin and Minato also curiously leaned in closer.
"C-rank mission: Escort Grand Craftsman Sekine from the Land of Iron back to his country?" Nawaki read aloud as he looked at the scroll.
Jiraiya nodded, "Grand Craftsman Sekine was invited by Konoha to help us forge ninja tools. He's been in Konoha for over half a year, and now that his task is complete, the village naturally needs to escort him back to his country."
Seeing that the three of them understood, he continued, "Escorting someone is one of the more common C-rank missions. The destination, the Land of Iron, is quite far from Konoha and will take a long time. However, it's quite suitable for you; you can go out and see the world. What you learn in school is ultimately theoretical; it's better to see it for yourselves.
The danger is also relatively small. Although Sekine is a renowned craftsman, he's not a politician or a noble. Along the way, you'll most likely only encounter some petty thieves, which your strength is completely sufficient to handle."
Jiraiya looked at the three of them, and seeing no troubled expressions, he nodded in satisfaction, "So, are you willing to accept?"
"Yes."
"Okay."
Nawaki and Minato both said. Kyuushin naturally had no objections, so it was settled.
"However, we still need to meet with Sekine. The old man had already invited him when I came, so we should arrive just in time if we go now," Jiraiya said.
The departure time for escort missions is usually decided by the person being escorted, including the itinerary. Their role is merely to provide protection.
Therefore, some details of the mission still needed to be discussed with the person himself.
Fortunately, Jiraiya had already made arrangements. When they arrived at the Hokage's office, they found that the client had already arrived.
Upon entering, the Third Hokage introduced them to Grand Craftsman Sekine, "This is my unworthy disciple, Jiraiya, and his three students. This escort mission will be handled by them."
Sekine was quite burly, but he looked quite old, so he was a bit hunched.
Having been in Konoha for so long, he was naturally familiar with Konoha's ninjas. He had originally only intended to hire some Chunin, but he didn't expect the Hokage to directly send his disciples, so he seemed a bit flustered.
"Hokage-sama, this..."
"This mission will primarily be handled by my three disciples. Although I will also be accompanying them, I will not provide any assistance," Jiraiya explained.
Sekine nodded reluctantly and said, "In that case, I trouble you all."
Afterward, Kyuushin stepped forward and discussed the escort details with him. Finally, they agreed to depart promptly at 8 AM the next morning.
With the mission set, they didn't linger in the Hokage's office. After collecting their passes for leaving the village tomorrow, they quickly took their leave.
Since it was their first time leaving the village, and they didn't know how long it would take, Jiraiya gave them a lot of advice, mainly regarding supplies.
As they needed to prepare in advance, the three quickly parted ways. Kyuushin and Nawaki returned home and began their preparations.
For food, they mainly packed soldier pills, which could quickly restore a lot of stamina and were essential for ninjas. Additionally, they packed some ninja tools, such as kunai and shuriken.
After packing, Kyuushin looked at the large bag filled with various items and felt a bit speechless, which reminded him of traveling in his previous life.
Fortunately, Mito, knowing they were leaving the village, specially sent them a few storage scrolls.
Storage scrolls were high-level sealing items, and with Kyuushin's current sealing jutsu mastery, he couldn't create them yet.
With the storage scrolls, things became much more convenient. He kept some ninja tools on him and categorized and packed the other spare ones into the storage scrolls. When the ones on him ran out, he could just retrieve them from the scrolls, which was very convenient.
However, he then thought of Minato. Given Minato's current financial situation, he probably couldn't afford a large amount of supplies, so he prepared a set for Minato as well.
The next day, after bidding farewell to Mito and Kushina, the two arrived at the Konoha gate.
Minato was already waiting there. Since he didn't have soldier pills, he had also brought some cooking utensils, planning to cook along the way.
However, Kyuushin and the others didn't make fun of him; it was already commendable that he had made such an effort.
But when Kyuushin said that he had also prepared a set of supplies for him, Nawaki surprisingly revealed that he had also prepared an extra set.
The three looked at each other, then laughed a moment later.
Jiraiya, hiding in the shadows, saw this scene and also smiled with satisfaction.
Sekine naturally didn't come alone; he had three apprentices and a cart of supplies. By the time Kyuushin and the on-duty ninja checked their passes and left the village, they were already waiting there.
Before departing, Sekine had his three apprentices each present a sword to them, saying:
"I thank you, esteemed ninja-samas, for your trouble. These are my humble works; though not famous swords, please do accept them."
Kyuushin understood that Sekine was somewhat apprehensive, having hired a Jonin for the price of a few Chunin. He intended to offer a gift to build good relations with them, mainly out of respect for Jiraiya.
Understanding this intention, Kyuushin did not refuse and signaled the other two to accept as well.
Seeing them accept the gifts, Sekine smiled and asked, "May I ask, Jiraiya-sama..."
"For this mission, our sensei will only follow in secret and will not be with us. However, if we truly encounter trouble that we cannot handle, our sensei will naturally intervene," Kyuushin knew what Sekine wanted to ask, so he answered directly, also putting his mind at ease.
Upon hearing Kyuushin's answer, Sekine indeed breathed a sigh of relief. Although he didn't mean to look down on Kyuushin and the other two, they were only Genin after all. Now, hearing that a Jonin was secretly protecting them, he naturally felt much more reassured.
And Kyuushin was not deceiving him. Yesterday, before parting ways, Jiraiya had told them that he would only follow in secret this time, and all other matters, big or small, would be decided by them.
If they truly encountered any accidents that would endanger their lives, he would intervene; otherwise, they should just pretend he didn't exist.
So, after Sekine checked that everything was in order, they prepared to depart.
And thus, Kyuushin, Nawaki, and Minato's first mission began.