Chapter 36: First Mission as a Jōnin!"

With a regretful glance at Seishi, the Third Hokage sighed inwardly.

Such a valuable pawn, and now he couldn't use him for his own purposes anymore.

When Seishi was still young, the Third Hokage could have treated him like a personal possession and eliminated any opposing forces.

However, as Seishi's strength and prestige grew, the Third Hokage knew it was time to let go.

In the past three years, Seishi had somewhat understood the Third Hokage's intentions and plans.

But the Third Hokage didn't believe he could do anything about it.

As long as Seishi remained in Konoha, the Third Hokage would still be in charge, and Seishi would be destined to obey him.

"Seishi, when you were young, I knew you were destined to be the excellent successor of the Will of Fire."

Watching the Third Hokage's kind expression, Seishi sneered inwardly.

If the people of Konoha knew what the Third Hokage had instructed him to do over the years, would they still see him in the same light?

"Oh, by the way, Seishi, come see me tomorrow morning. I have a mission for you."

"I need you to escort someone to the Land of Earth. The higher-ups are busy with other missions, so I think your abilities are best suited for this task."

"The main thing is that time is too tight. You need to get the mission target to the Land of Earth within two weeks, or else we'll have to take a detour."

The Third Hokage's words were left unfinished, but Seishi had already understood his meaning.

In the past three years, the conflict between Amegakure and Konoha had grown increasingly fierce.

They were on the verge of an all-out war, with one wrong move needed to spark the flames.

Perhaps all they needed was a small spark to ignite a full-blown war between the two countries.

But neither Konoha nor Amegakure had made the first move, both waiting for the right time to strike.

The reason the Third Hokage chose Seishi to carry out this mission was because of his abilities.

In the current ninja world, there are few people faster than Seishi. Even if Seishi encountered danger or difficulty, he could escape with himself and the mission target at the fastest speed possible.

"Okay, Hokage-sama, I'll go home and pack up now. I'll come to your office tomorrow morning."

After saying this, Seishi turned and left.

...

Today's weather was particularly gloomy, with the sky already overcast and it looked like it could rain at any moment.

From a great distance, Seishi could see Orochimaru standing in front of the memorial stone, lost in thought.

"I have to go on a long journey to the Land of Earth tomorrow morning to complete a mission."

"Why so suddenly? The situation outside is especially chaotic now, especially with the Rain Village constantly watching us. Be careful," Orochimaru said.

Three years had passed, and the relationship between Seishi and Orochimaru had become increasingly close. After all, besides being friends, they were also comrades-in-arms.

They had completed many missions together and entrusted their lives to each other.

"I didn't want to go at first, but Hokage-sama has already made me a Jonin, so it's not appropriate for me not to go out for a run," Seishi replied.

Hearing this, Orochimaru turned to look at him, surprised. He had thought that his teacher, the Third Hokage, would take a few more years before making Seishi a Jonin, but he had not expected it to happen so soon.

When Orochimaru was in school, he was very smart. In the years after the Chunin exam, he had grown even faster. If it had been in the past, he might not have understood the deeper meaning behind the Third Hokage's actions.

But now he was no longer the immature child he used to be.

"Congratulations..." After thinking for a while, Orochimaru finally said these two words.

He wasn't one to talk much in the first place, but to Seishi, one of his few friends, he had already spoken a lot.

After saying this, the two of them stood silently in front of the memorial stone without speaking.

At some point, maybe a minute or an hour, the sky started to drizzle again with a soft sound.

"Seishi, what is the meaning of life and why does life wither away? Life is so fragile, what is the essence of its existence behind life and death?"

Orochimaru was the first to break the silence and ask many questions.

In response to his many doubts, Seishi spoke up, "In my opinion, the meaning of life is meaningless."

"My existence is the meaning of life. As long as I keep living, I am eternal, and everything will have meaning because of my actions."

After hearing Seishi's words, Orochimaru's eyes lit up.

At this moment, he opened his mouth and murmured softly, "...Eternal?"

Seishi smiled and didn't discuss this topic any further. He patted Orochimaru's shoulder and then turned and left.

Early the next morning, he arrived at the Third Hokage's office.

"... Are you guys trying to trick me, Konoha? Such a little brat... Is he really a Jōnin?"

"Keep in mind, if I die, this mission will be a failure, and you won't get a penny."

On the other side of Seishi, there was a middle-aged man with ten golden rings on his fingers, and all of his teeth were also inlaid with gold.

As he spoke, Seishi noticed the man's golden teeth.

Junichiro Koizumi looked at Seishi with suspicion.

Although Seishi's aura was exceptional and he gave people an extraordinary feeling, he looked too young.

"Hahaha! Junichiro-kun, you can rest assured that even if you don't believe in us, you should believe in Konoha's Kirin."

After hearing the Third Hokage's words, Junichiro Koizumi showed a shocked expression and carefully looked at Seishi again.

In recent years, Konoha's Kirin has been the talk of the town. From the first day of mission execution to today, Konoha's Kirin has never failed, and the mission completion rate is one hundred percent.

However, the ninja world describes it as a fierce and evil demon with four arms, broad shoulders and waist, and countless fangs on its face.

After seeing Seishi today, he couldn't connect the young man in front of him with the legendary Konoha's Kirin.