Chapter 9
"I'm not sure if what I did was right or wrong," Haruki muttered to himself as he watched Jiraiya and his team wave goodbye from a distance.
A butterfly flapping its wings can trigger a tsunami.
What he did today would inevitably lead to some different outcome someday.
Whether this change would be beneficial to him, he wasn't sure.
Thinking about this, he smiled.
After all, he was a transmigrator with cheats. If he only thought about maintaining the original plot, how could he ever achieve a different ending?
"Let's go, Minato."
Haruki patted Minato's head.
Only then did Minato Namikaze stop waving his hand, his face showing a hint of reluctance.
He had surprisingly gotten along well with Yahiko and the others.
"Teacher, when will we see them again?"
Minato followed Haruki, can't help asking.
Although he was ten years old, due to the early maturity in the Naruto world, he was almost like an adult and very aware of their situation.
Staying in the Rain Village, under the control of Hanzō the Salamander, their future was uncertain.
"We will meet again," Haruki said, then suddenly remembered that if things went according to the original story, they would never meet again.
Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki would both perish in the Nine-Tails incident.
"Minato, I have to say, you taking me as your teacher is a huge advantage for you."
"Huh? Teacher, what do you mean by that?"
Haruki's inexplicable sentiment made Minato very puzzled. Aside from being a special medical ninja, he couldn't see how he had gained any advantage.
Haruki did not explain, instead shifting the conversation to their current B-rank mission.
"The bandits we need to eliminate are entrenched on a peak in the Asu Mountain Range of the Land of Fire. The path is narrow and easy to defend, hard to attack. So your task now is to plan a relatively safe route."
"Me?" Minato pointed at himself. Wasn't he just here to tag along and share the rewards?
"Of course it's you."
Haruki said with a smile, "Ninjas are supposed to earn their keep. Hurry up, you only have one day."
Minato immediately took out his map and pen, found the Asu Mountain Range, and began sketching a route.
Haruki was a bit surprised to see him so prepared.
"Alright."
After a while, Minato put down his pen and handed the map to Haruki.
"Nicely done."
Haruki glanced at the route Minato had drawn. It was seamless, very smooth and standard.
"Climb up the steepest cliff of the Asu Mountain Range?"
"Yes. From what you said, this bandit group only has one ninja. Normally, they wouldn't expect an attack from an high ranking ninja. Their main defense would be set up on the northern path. The southern cliff, being too steep and open, isn't suitable for large forces and would therefore have fewer defenses."
Minato paused, then smiled, "Of course, with you being an high ranking ninja, sneaking in unnoticed is very easy. This route is actually planned for me."
Haruki returned the map to him.
Hearing the last sentence, he glanced at Minato and said nothing.
An hour later, they could already see the towering peaks.
Bare and devoid of much vegetation, with only some greenery around the top.
"Teacher, how do we proceed?"
Minato took out a kunai from his bag, looking around vigilantly.
"Teacher? Teach..."
No one answered. When he turned around, he found that Haruki had vanished.
He was momentarily stunned.
He quickly ruled out the possibility of Haruki being captured. After all, silently taking an high ranking ninja away was too difficult.
Left with only one other possibility, Minato sighed.
Where was the promised easy money?
Haruki landed lightly on a tree at the peak, opened his senses, and detected eight bandits around.
He didn't pay them any mind, instead looking down.
Minato was leaping up the cliff.
A thin layer of chakra enveloped his body, blending him with the cliff like a chameleon. If not closely examined, it would be hard to notice.
A few minutes later, Minato approached the peak.
He hid behind a protruding rock, not acting rashly, seeming to observe the guards' movements.
After a moment, he leaped up, extending both hands to throw eight kunai.
In the next second, muffled groans were heard.
Eight bandits fell, all with their throats pierced.
Minato landed and breathed a sigh of relief.
Without wasting any time, he looked ahead.
There, four white two-story buildings came into view.
Simple wooden houses.
Since it was daytime, the fires had gone out.
Minato estimated the number of people, thought for a moment, and climbed a tree near the wooden houses.
He focused his eyes on the largest building in the center, sensing a faint chakra presence.
Breathing lightly, he moved quietly, reducing his noise to the minimum.
He approached the central wooden house cautiously.
Perhaps due to the overconfidence of the bandit ninja, there were no patrolling guards.
Using the guards' blind spots, Minato intertwined wires and kunai, setting up a simple trap.
Then he reached into his bag and took out three black pellets, quickly throwing them into the air.
He began to form hand seals.
Snake-Ram-Monkey-Boar.
Three sharp sounds exploded in the air, a blinding flash of light enveloping the peak.
"Who's there?!"
A middle-aged ninja in a black robe was the first to come out. He sensed the chakra of the flash bombs but instinctively closed his eyes against the sudden light.
Minato completed his hand seals.
Opening his mouth, a red dragon of fire surged out.
Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!
But it wasn't aimed directly at the middle-aged ninja. Instead, it ignited the wooden houses nearby, quickly engulfing the base in flames.
Screams and shouts erupted.
Minato used Body Flicker Technique to disappear.
At the same time, he tugged on a wire.
The kunai buried in the ground flew out, forming a ring and spinning towards the middle-aged ninja.
Hearing the wind, the ninja deftly dodged.
The kunai landed around him.
"Damn it! Where are you, you rat!"
The series of attacks caught the middle-aged ninja off guard.
In the blink of an eye, the situation had spiraled out of control.
The middle-aged ninja searched angrily for Minato.
But the scene was chaotic.
The fire, combined with the fleeing bandits, made it hard to identify anyone.
Calming himself a bit, the ninja realized that his attacker must be weaker, hence the reliance on stealth.
With this in mind, he began forming hand seals to extinguish the fire.
Suddenly, he sensed something strange. Turning sharply, he saw one of Minato's kunai burning quietly.
An explosive tag?
It's too late to dodge.
Time seemed to stand still. In an instant, firelight imploded before bursting outwards.
A wave of heat and the earlier fire mixed, creating a blazing inferno.
Haruki revealed himself.
Minato accelerated his cleanup, leaving no bandit alive.
Since the mission details described the bandits' numerous crimes, he had no hesitation in killing them.
"Teacher."
Minato approached him, breathing heavily.
Shortly finishing off many enemies had drained his stamina.
"Well done."
Haruki nodded. He had been observing from the shadows.
Minato's performance left nothing to be desired.
Thinking about the future, Haruki couldn't help but feel that if not for lacking a protagonist's aura, his own son might never have come into play.
Hearing the praise, Minato smiled shyly, modestly saying, "It was just a group of bandits, nothing impressive."
Haruki raised an eyebrow.
Turning around, his eyes pierced through the smoke to spot a group of Sand Ninjas.
"Bandits are indeed no big deal, but what about the Sand Village?"
Haruki watched as the Sand Ninjas began surrounding the peak, then ruffled Minato's hair, "Do you have the confidence for a bigger fight?"
"???"
I was just joking!
Minato also noticed the Sand Ninjas.
Not only were they numerous, but there were several high ranking ninjas among them.
"Um... Teacher, let's run away quickly."
Minato immediately suggested. He was a ninja, not a reckless fool.
In a situation where death seemed certain, of course, he preferred to flee.
But Haruki remained unmoved. He said softly, "Next is your teacher's showtime. Watch closely, it only happens once."