Chapter 68

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Iron Country Port.

A vast merchant ship sets sail.

On the deck, Mei gazes towards the direction of the port, clutching a dozen detonating tags in her hand.

These were gifts Kyomu gave her when exchanging hostages. As long as she dared to act rashly, Mei could be blown to pieces by the detonating tags.

And now she can only take them off and hold them as a mark of shame.

Watching the port gradually shrink to the size of a fingernail, Mei turns and enters the cabin, paying no heed to Ao behind her.

The mask of pain suddenly appears on Mei's face as she sits on the edge of the bed, reaching out to touch the shoulder where a deep knife wound remains.

This was the mark left by Kyomu when she attempted to escape. At that time, she thought she was going to die.

Gently touching it, Mei grits her teeth. The scar would definitely remain, a permanent shame for her.

"Aragami Kyomu, I will definitely pay you back for this wound, I promise!"

---

"Kakashi, do you realize your mistake?"

"I'm not wrong!" Kakashi argues stubbornly, "We should just complete our mission. Don't forget we are shinobi!"

"Can't you be a bit more flexible?" Kyomu sighs, disappointed, "After we killed that Iwa-nin, a special Jōnin, we should have left. But you, without waiting for me to stop you, rushed up."

"I was fooled by Ao's disguise." Kakashi's confidence wavers slightly. "He pretended to be seriously injured, exactly like the real thing, and at that time we hadn't completed the mission yet."

"Do you have a death wish?" Kyomu scoffs, "For a B-rank mission, deducting the village's share, we would have at most one hundred thousand ryo each. It's not worth risking our lives like this.

Moreover, we encountered unexpected situations, and the mission level was forced to be raised. We had reason to abandon the mission, which could be explained to the village."

"Don't you have any professional ethics? Have you ignored the shinobi regulations? Executing and completing missions is the duty of a shinobi!

And we are capable of handling these unexpected situations, aren't we?"

Kyomu shrugs, not wanting to argue with Kakashi about this topic anymore. It's too pointless.

In some aspects of cognition, Kyomu is fundamentally different from native-born shinobi. Or there is a fundamental difference in their professional understanding of shinobi.

Casually traveling, the two spent more than ten days before returning to Konoha, handing over the mission, and submitting the mission report.

Hokage's office.

Hiruzen flips through the mission report submitted by the two, his brows slightly furrowed, the pipe in his mouth constantly flickering.

Smoking in front of two six-year-old children is not a good habit.

"Kyomu, Kakashi, you've worked hard." Hiruzen finally looks up, "Let's do this: this B-rank mission has been upgraded to an A-rank. The changes in commissions generated will be compensated by the village for you two.

And on your ninja resumes, a significant entry will be made."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"Hmm, go rest now. I'll assign you suitable tasks when there are any."

Kyomu and Kakashi leave the Hokage's building together, their expressions becoming relaxed.

"Let's gather with Guy and the others. We've earned quite a bit from this mission." Kyomu places his hands behind his head, "But you're treating."

"I'll treat if I have to, I'm rich!" Kakashi pats his ninja tool pouch, "Let's go eat barbecue to the restaurant run by the Akimichi family. They have the most authentic ones."

"What are we waiting for then, let's go!"

Kyomu and Kakashi head straight for the ninja academy, skipping class to have a meal with Obito, Rin, and Guy.

Meanwhile, Hiruzen is still pondering the mission report of Kyomu and Kakashi.

"Shouldn't we add another person to their team?"

Hiruzen sees the shortcomings of the two from the mission report. "They are both outstanding, but when facing enemies several times stronger, the shortcomings of their combination are evident.

But finding someone with equal strength and similar age to match them is not easy for me."

While contemplating how to strengthen the two-person team of Kyomu and Kakashi to assign them higher-level missions, Hiruzen's thoughts are interrupted by a knock on the door.

Just as he raises his head, Danzō pushes the door open.

Knocking is just a formality, not asking if he can enter, but informing Hiruzen that he was coming in.

Very rude, but Hiruzen isn't angry at all.

He and Danzō grew up together, studied together, worked together, and faced life and death together. The depth of their friendship is something outsiders find hard to understand.

"Sarutobi, there's something I want to discuss with you."

"About Kakashi or Kyomu?" Hiruzen guesses Danzō's intention, as his timing is too perfect.

"Yes, it's about them." Danzō nods, "Both of them are geniuses. When they were in school or genin, it didn't matter that they were in the same team. But now they are both chūnin, and their combat power is approaching that of a Jōnin.

If they are put together again, not only would it be difficult to strengthen their team, but it would also be a great waste of scarce high-level ninja resources."

Danzō's viewpoint undoubtedly aligns with Hiruzen's.

According to common sense, ninjas of their age cannot possibly have such strong abilities, but Kyomu and Kakashi break the rules.

Therefore, many established rules no longer apply to them.

If the two are separated and matched with suitable team members, immediately there would be two ninja teams capable of carrying out B-rank missions.

With some reinforcement, two more teams capable of carrying out A-rank missions would also be added.

Doing the math, separating Kyomu and Kakashi, forming teams with them as the core, or rotating them into other stronger ninja teams, would definitely double the village's benefits.

"Danzō, tell me your thoughts."

"You know, a few days ago, because of an A-rank mission, I lost two ninjas from my team, and only the captain survived.

With his strength, as long as two people are rotated in, he can lead the team to carry out the vast majority of A-rank missions. But because there are no suitable candidates for rotation..."

Hiruzen thinks for a moment, "Danzō, do you prefer Kyomu or Kakashi?"

"Aragami Kyomu." Danzō gives his answer, "Kakashi will most likely take over Sakumo's position with a high probability and become a member under your command, so I won't compete with you for him."

Hiruzen nods, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, but asks Danzō a question, "Have you talked to Sakumo?"

"Is he reluctant to part?" Danzō smiles wryly, "Sakumo isn't that sentimental. I think..."

"Hokage-sama."

Sakumo knocks on the door and walks in, "I saw your office was open, didn't expect Shimura advisor to be here too."

Danzō turns to look at Sakumo, a fleeting flash of fierceness in his eyes.

Then he smiles, "Oh, Sakumo, I was discussing some matters with Danzō."

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama." Sakumo bows slightly to Hiruzen, "When I came in, I faintly heard you and advisor Shimura discussing something."

"It's okay." Hiruzen waves his hand with a smile, "It's mainly about your disciple Kyomu and your son Kakashi. They are so outstanding that grouping them together is a waste of resources. We can only consider whether to separate them."

"You understand best, Sakumo." Hiruzen smiles slightly, "So, Sakumo, I'll leave it to you to continue cultivating them for another year, but I want to see results after a year.

These two children are too outstanding. They deserve a bigger stage."

Sakumo nods, bids farewell to Hiruzen, and leaves the Hokage's building.

Exhaling a breath, Sakumo feels relieved.

If he had been a little late just now, the child, Kyomu, would probably have been arranged to join the Root.

"This is the limit that a teacher can do, but with me here, I will let you grow up without worries."

A smile curls up at the corner of his mouth, and Sakumo heads straight to the direction of the barbecue restaurant.

This son he raised and the disciple he cultivated, he need to use the great commission from their mission to treat himself, he must eat heartily, even have a drink to enjoy himself.

"You two are really my pride, haha!"

Leaving with big strides, Sakumo has never been so happy before.

[Author Notes: Just a note, the protagonist will not engage in romance before the third major battle. The main focus will still be on improving strength, the bonds of the protagonist's team, and the plot. The arrangement in the previous chapter is just the beginning of Aragami Kyomu's acquaintance with Terumi Mei, so it's not possible for them to suddenly develop feelings for each other. The subsequent development depends on the plot arrangement, so please rest assured.]

(End of Chapter)