Chapter 175: Mission Rank

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"

Mutsuki swiftly formed hand seals and used Fire Release Ninjutsu on Toroi's body.

Boom!

A large number of fireballs smashed into Toroi's body, instantly blowing it to pieces and turning it charred.

It wasn't that Mutsuki was cautious enough to feel the need to blow people up to feel secure, but rather he didn't want anyone to recognize the body.

Mutsuki didn't believe that a ninja of Toroi's level from Hidden Cloud would be an unknown person. Defeating Oka Nozomi would let Sarutobi Hiruzen know, showing his actual combat level.

But if he were to defeat a ninja like Toroi, then that's another matter. His current strength displayed in Konoha village isn't enough to reach that level.

After the sea of fire subsided, Kakashi and Obito hurried over to check on Mutsuki.

Upon finding that Mutsuki could handle two Jonin perfectly well, Kakashi and Guy teamed up to attack the Hidden Cloud Ninja that Obito was fighting. With the combined efforts of the three, they quickly dealt with their opponent.

Concerned about Mutsuki's safety, they left one person to protect their client while the other two chased after Mutsuki.

"Yumi-sensei, are you alright?" Obito asked hastily upon seeing Mutsuki.

Kakashi noticed the charred body next to Mutsuki and realized that Mutsuki had already taken care of both Jonin. He then reported, "Yumi-sensei, we've taken care of all the Iwagakure ninjas over there, but I don't think they're really from Iwagakure."

Although the enemies were dressed like Iwagakure ninja and had Iwagakure headbands, Kakashi noticed that they were all using Lightning Release instead of Earth Release, which struck him as odd.

Both Jonin were using Lightning Release, and even the Chunin were using it, which made Kakashi feel like they were more likely from Hidden Cloud than Iwagakure.

"These ninja not only excel in Lightning Release, but their skin also darkens after death. I feel like they're using Transformation Jutsu to disguise themselves but in reality they are Hidden Cloud ninja" Kakashi concluded.

Mutsuki smiled and replied to Obito, "I've taken care of all the enemies, so of course, I'm fine."

Then, Mutsuki nodded to Kakashi and continued, "These Iwagakure ninja are indeed suspicious. Considering that both Iwagakure and Hidden Cloud are at war with us, it's possible that the Hidden Cloud ninja want to escalate the war between us and Iwagakure."

"Oh, so these people aren't from Iwagakure? Hidden Cloud is really despicable," Obito exclaimed in astonishment.

In his mind, he was already planning to teach Iwagakure ninjas a lesson in the future, but he hadn't expected the enemies to be ninja from Hidden Cloud.

"Each ninja village has a different Ninjutsu tradition. Ninja from Hidden Rock Village mainly use Earth Release Ninjutsu, while ninja from Hidden Cloud Village excel in Lightning Release Ninjutsu," Mutsuki explained, then proceeded to educate Obito about some common knowledge of the ninja world.

"The Hidden Sand Village primarily practices Wind Release and Puppet Jutsu, while the Hidden Mist Village focuses on Water Release and assassination techniques."

"What about us, Konoha?" Obito noticed Mutsuki had missed one.

Smack!

Mutsuki lightly tapped Obito's head with his left hand and said, "Aren't you a Konoha ninja? Shouldn't you know about our own village?"

"Hehe, I'm not really a ninja, I'm still an intern," Obito scratched his head and chuckled, "I haven't interacted with many ninjas, so it feels like everyone is quite different."

"In Konoha, we're quite diverse. We have users of various releases, but you can often tell by ninja families. For example, Uchiha typically use Fire Release," Mutsuki explained, highlighting that Konoha's situation differs from other ninja villages.

Then, Mutsuki sealed the Hidden Cloud ninjas into scrolls, preparing to take them back to Konoha.

In cases of unexpected circumstances during such missions, Konoha has relevant policies. If the client hides information or if ninja enemies deny their involvement, the ninja can terminate the mission on the spot and leave.

If the client doesn't withhold information and encounters hostile ninjas accidentally, during wartime, the mission rank and reward can be increased to some extent based on the number and strength of the enemies. This money is provided by the village.

Mutsuki estimated that identifying the two Jonin corpses might pose some difficulty.

Because both Jonin died terribly, one was burned beyond recognition by flames, and the other was directly blown up by Mutsuki's Phoenix Sage Fire.

But that was exactly the effect Mutsuki wanted. Two Jonin? Clearly, it was one Jonin and seven Chunin. Although the Jonin bodies were unrecognizable now, having so many Chunin, with a Jonin leading, seemed reasonable.

"It's all right now, you can go back to sleep," Mutsuki said towards the tent where the client was.

"Thank you," hearing Mutsuki's words, Numata Yoshiokai felt completely relieved, but he didn't dare to sleep too deeply, fearing more trouble might arise. The commotion just now was too loud, and it happened too close.

Then, Mutsuki and his three disciples took turns keeping watch, getting through this somewhat turbulent night.

The next morning, Numata Yoshiokai woke up according to his internal clock. Perhaps due to not sleeping well the night before, he felt a bit dizzy and groggy.

He didn't want to disturb his wife and daughter, so he carefully crept out of the tent. However, when he saw the world outside the tent, he was dumbfounded.

To the north of the tent was a lush forest with verdant trees, while to the south was a charred landscape.

The flames had incinerated all the green leaves of the tall trees. Everywhere he looked, there was not a single tree with green leaves left. They all looked bare and charred, with black ash and remnants of black wood covering the ground, presenting a scene of apocalypse.

"So, this is the power of ninja," Numata Yoshiokai swallowed hard, feeling a tremendous shock to his worldview.

He knew that ninjas were powerful; otherwise, he wouldn't have specifically come to a ninja village to request protection.

But what he considered strong was a ninja capable of breaking a tree with a single punch, or using ninjutsu to destroy hard rocks—not waking up to find the forest turning into a burnt-out wasteland overnight.

Suddenly, Numata Yoshiokai felt an inexplicable emotion stirring within him. Were ninjas, with such destructive power, still the same species as him?

"Good morning, sir," Obito greeted Numata Yoshiokai with a smile.

"Ah, good morning," Numata Yoshiokai responded with a smile.

After all, these were the ninjas protecting him; he no longer needed to worry about whether he could safely return home.

During the rest of the journey, they didn't encounter any more ninjas, at most just some bandits with knives. They smoothly entered the capital of the Land of Rice Fields.

"If there's a chance in the future, I will definitely request for some of you specifically. You are truly reliable," Numata Yoshiokai said with a smile after returning home.

In Konoha, it's possible to request specific ninjas for tasks, if those ninjas are available.

Mutsuki modestly smiled and exchanged a few words before leaving with his disciples.

"Goodbye, big brothers," the little girl and Mutsuki's group waved goodbye.

"Goodbye!" Obito waved excitedly.

"This mission was too thrilling. If every mission were like this one," Obito reminisced about the intense battle from the previous night, his heart still pounding, especially recalling Mutsuki's Combination Jutsu. Just thinking about it got him excited.

"What kind of dream are you living in? This was an unexpected turn of events. Under normal circumstances, a mission of this level would be classified as at least A-rank," Kakashi shook his head.

Because he hadn't fought against those two Jonin, Kakashi wasn't clear about their exact strength, so he was being conservative in his assessment.

"So what if it's an A-rank mission? We still won," Obito said triumphantly.

Kakashi sighed and rubbed his forehead, saying, "Winning against the enemy was because of Yumi-sensei's extraordinary strength. There's no need for you to boast."

In Kakashi's mind, this battle was actually quite dangerous. If their sensei wasn't Mutsuki but just an ordinary Jonin, perhaps no one would have survived.

"Why can't I boast? Yumi-sensei is my sensei. Shouldn't I feel proud of my sensei's strength?" Obito tilted his head slightly, questioning back.

"Moreover, if we talk about contributions, mine should be greater than yours, right? At least I held off one enemy. If it weren't for Yumi-sensei protecting you all the time, you would've been done for long ago," Kakashi's eyes flickered as memories of that night flooded his mind. Obito wasn't wrong; in that battle, he had become a burden to Mutsuki who had shielded him from many attacks.

'If it were me, would I protect my teammates like this?' Kakashi pondered inwardly.

If faced with unknown enemy strength and a teammate being controlled by unknown ninjutsu, he might prioritize eliminating the enemy and completing the mission rather than protecting his teammate.

'Yumi-sensei, is the belief you adhere to also about protecting comrades?' Kakashi remembered what Mutsuki had said to him on the first day they met. True ninjas adhere to their beliefs.

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