Chapter 97 Kakashi and the Will of Fire (2)

"This mission is a B-level escort mission."

The Jonin leader of the Kakashi team stood at the gate of Konoha Village, and said to the three team members with a serious face.

"B-level escort mission? It's really rare."

A Chunin was surprised when he heard the words of leading the Jōnin.

Another Chunin in the team also nodded in agreement.

Generally missions are mainly C-level missions, and B-level missions have already involved battles between ninjas.

"Who is the client we need to escort?"

Kakashi doesn't care about the task level, he just wants to understand the task content faster and complete the task as soon as possible.

After Kakashi finished speaking, the two Chunin in the team looked at him and took a step back, obviously they do not want to stay with Kakashi very much.

Leading the Jonin to see this scene, he sighed quietly in his heart.

He knew it would be like this.

He stuffed Kakashi into his team, but it was also a helpless move. On the one hand, it was Hokage's entrustment, and on the other hand, his team's combat effectiveness was indeed a bit insufficient.

Adding Kakashi to the team can just make up for the lack of combat power.

Unfortunately, Kakashi's problem is not that he is not strong enough. It is too shocking to become a Chunin at this age.

This also proves that Kakashi's strength is not bad, otherwise it would be impossible to pass the extremely difficult Chunin exam.

"The caravan of the Demon country."

The jonin leader said.

"The country of Demons? Is it that far away?"

Not only Kakashi, but even the other two Chunin frowned.

The Kingdom of Demons is a rare neutral country in the ninja world. It is adjacent to the Land of Snow and the Land of Earth in the north, the Land of Yu and the Land of Bears in the south, and faces the Land of Water and the Land of Thunder to the west across the sea.

Although it is adjacent to many countries, it does not border on the Land of Fire.

The kingdom of Demons and the kingdom of fire are separated by several countries, and it takes a long journey to get there.

"Don't worry, this mission doesn't require us to go to the Kingdom of Demons. In fact, we just need to wait for the caravan in the Kingdom of Rain."

Seeing that the three people in the team did get it, Jonin led the team and explained: "Because the land of fire and the land of Demons are far apart, the other party has hired Iwagakure Shinobi to escort the journey from the land of Demons to the land of rain. As for the second half of the journey, we Konoha ninjas will escort them. Hokage-sama has discussed this matter with Tsuchikage-sama in secret, and there will be no diplomatic problems."

After listening to the explanation of the Jonin leader, the three of them finally understood.

Indeed, at the beginning of the last ninja world war, Iwagakure ninja was also a participant in the war. He had fought against Konoha a few times in the Land of Rain, but Iwagakure's main force was to deal with Hanzo of Rain Village, so the friction with Konoha was not deep.

However, Konoha and Iwagakure are not allies, and the relationship has always been lukewarm.

This kind of special task that requires two village ninjas to hand over the escorts together does require the leaders of the two parties to discuss in advance, so as to avoid some diplomatic disputes in time.

"If there is no problem, let's set off now."

•••

In the Great Forest of the Land of Fire, Konoha's team of four was running fast inside.

"Speaking of which, Captain, why did the caravan from the Kingdom of Demons come to the Kingdom of Fire?"

A chunin member caught up with the Jonin leader, and couldn't help but to ask.

In the process of rushing, it is actually very boring, so I can only find some topics to talk about.

Jonin leader replied: "Not entirely true, this time the caravan we escorted is stationed in our Konoha Village."

The three of them were all surprised.

"Aster Flower Pharmaceutical Technology Company, have you heard of it?"

"Well, I've heard of it. Although it was established only recently, the drugs developed by this company are much better than those on the market. They have been sold in several surrounding countries and have made a lot of money."

"That's right, the caravan escorted this time is the delegation of the Aster Flower Company. They plan to open a branch drugstore in Konoha, and this matter has been approved by Daimyo and Hokage-sama."

"It's really amazing. It seems that this company has been established for less than half a year."

Chunin said with emotion.

"This is the skill of others. If the medicine they develop is very ordinary, they will not get the consent of Daimyo and Hokage-sama."

Of course, the neutral status of the Demon country also provides a lot of convenience.

If the backstage of Aster Flower Company is the land of the earth, the land of the wind and other big countries, the daimyo of the land of fire, and their Hokage-sama, no matter what others say, they will not agree.

This is like the country of iron can open a ninja tool shop in Konoha. The neutral country did not participate in the ninja world war, and the reputation of the country of iron has always been recognized by all countries, so Konoha will open the door of convenience.

Not only that, many ninja villages have weapon merchants from the country of iron settled in, opened branches, and provided sophisticated weapons.

The current business method of Aster Flower Company is just the same as that of Iron Country.

Good reputation, neutral status, and excellent drug research and development capabilities are the important reasons for obtaining permission to settle in.

"I heard that the monthly turnover of this company is very huge. It must be a number that ordinary ninjas like us can't imagine."

"Then work hard to complete the task."

The Jonin leader said to encourage them.

"Captain, it's only a few ryōs to do the mission."

The Chunin complained.

Not to mention D-level and C-level tasks, the rewards of thousands or tens of thousands ryō have been accumulated. After supplementing ninja tools, there is not much money left.

"Then I can't help it. Maybe you can find a part-time job in normal times."

"It's impossible to do it. You still need to practice in normal times. After all, ninjas need to exercise their strength before they can choose higher-level tasks. Then the rewards will be higher."

Kakashi said at this time.

"makes sense."

The jonin leader nodded.

The lower the strength of the ninja, The lower the level of tasks that can be received, and the rewards. They can barely make money for living.

Thinking about it carefully, the profession of ninja really has no money.

It will only change a little when you reach Jonin.

An A-level task is completed, and the minimum is more than a hundred thousand ryō.

As for S-level missions, if you complete one, you will be paid at least a few hundred thousand ryō.

"Okay, let's speed up, we must rush to the meeting point of the Land of Rain as soon as possible. Be careful when you arrive in the Land of Rain, the environment there will be very chaotic."

"yes."

Leading the Jonin and talking about it, the three of them are all in awe.

Although they haven't gone deep into the Land of Rain, they also know that the domestic situation in the Land of Rain is currently in turmoil, bandits are rampant, and there are even rebellious ninjas and wandering ninjas mixed in it.

•••

The Land of Rain, the northern border.

When the Konoha Ninja Team arrived here, it was already around three o'clock in the afternoon the next day.

At the entrance of a rainy town, I saw a caravan delegation from the Aster Flower Company from the land of Demons.

There are a total of twelve carriages used to transport medicines, and each carriage is filled with precious medicines.

After Taking over the task from the four-member team of Iwagakure, Konoha's Jonin leader, signed the paperwork, and the Iwagakure jōnin left with three of his teammates.

Afterwards, the Jonin who led the team looked at the representative of the Aster Flower Company caravan.

The representative is a short young man, about 23 or 24 years old, with round black sunglasses on his face, a spotless black suit on his body, and an umbrella in his hand.

The young man's name is Gato.

[ Translator( me ) - If you forgot gato. He is the guy from the land of waves who hired Zabuza and was killed by Zabuza .]

The president of Aster Flower Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd., a big businessman with extremely powerful business methods.

In less than half a year, from an unknown person to a hot businessman in the world today, the four Konoha ninjas dare not underestimate him, an ordinary person who is not a ninja.

As a rookie representative among businessmen, his head has already offered a reward of five million ryo in the underground black market.

This is already a very expensive reward price for an ordinary person.

Presumably, as Aster Flower Company's rolling capital increases, his head price will also rise, reaching more than tens of millions Ryō.

Because of the sudden entry of Aster Flower Company, many small pharmaceutical companies are on the verge of bankruptcy and squeezed out the interests of others. It is only natural that gato was offered a reward in the black market.

"Everyone in Konoha, let's rest in this small town tonight. I have already booked a hotel. How about leaving early tomorrow morning?"

After shaking hands with the Jonin leader, Gato pushed the black sunglasses on the bridge of his nose with his fingers and smiled calmly.

"That's fine, it's really inappropriate to walk at night at this time."

Besides, the carriage is full of precious medicines, so it would be bad if there was an accident.

Looking at the two guards beside Gato, they were wearing black windbreakers. On the back of the black windbreakers, there was the aster flower logo printed on them, and they knew that these people were not ordinary guards.

Not only that, beside the twelve carriages full of items, there were nearly two dozen guards, all wearing the same style of black windbreaker, with the aster flower logo printed on the back.

It means they are from the same faction.

After thinking about it, the jonin leader was relieved.

Although Aster Flower Company has not been established in the Demon country for a long time, it is estimated that it is only a matter of time before it becomes a giant company in the pharmaceutical industry.

There must be a special department that specializes in training armed personnel to protect their own commodity safety.

However, with so many guards, it seems that the total value of this batch of medicines is so high that ordinary people can't imagine that they need so many guards to protect them.

In short, this is not something I have to consider.

The task of my team is to escort the caravan delegation of Aster Flower Company to Konoha safely.

The rest of the business cooperation is the job of Hokage.

•••

The next morning, Konoha's four-member ninja team and the guards of Aster Flower Company escorted the twelve carriages loaded with medicines and set off in the direction of Konoha, the country of fire.

Because these expensive medicines are to be escorted, the convoy travels very slowly.

It wasn't until two o'clock in the afternoon that I slowly arrived at the junction of the Kingdom of Rain and the Kingdom of Fire.

"Mr. Gato, if we go through the canyon ahead, and walk a little further we will reach the border of the Land of Fire."

The jonin leader pointed to the huge canyon submerged in the rain ahead, and pointed out the direction for Gato.

"Let the people behind move faster."

Gato nodded, and said something to the guard next to him.

The guard went down to convey Gato's order.

"When you reach the border of the Land of Fire, you don't have to worry about bandits on the road. There is our Konoha border defense force at the border."

The jonin leader said with a smile.

"The ability of Konoha Ninja has always been the best in the ninja world, and our company can trust this. In fact, we also came here with the attitude of win-win cooperation this time."

Gato also responded with a smile.

While talking, the convoy slowly drove into the canyon.

When we got here, the rainfall began to decrease, but the road under our feet was still muddy. Not only was it difficult to walk on foot, but the speed of the convoy also needed to be reduced to ensure the safety of the medicines in the carriage.

Jonin and Gato didn't say anything about this. A country like the Land of Rain, which has been in chaos for years, can't even guarantee the safety and life of its own people, let alone invest excess funds in road construction.

"team leader…"

Kakashi and the other Two Chunin came up together at this time, and whispered softly beside the Jonin leader.

"Ah, I know."

Ever since entering the canyon, the Jonin leader has noticed that the atmosphere here is not right, and there is a cold taste mixed in the rain.

Boom!

The sound of the explosion came too suddenly, but the guards escorting the convoy, as well as Konoha Ninja, were not too scared.

As the fire burst on the rock wall, huge rock blocks fell from above.

Kakashi took the lead and pulled out the White Fang dagger on his back, and swung it hard at the falling rock.

The rock is divided into two halves from the middle, and then with the help of the still falling rock, he used it as a pedal to attack towards the top of the rock wall.

Behind him, the captain and two teammates also rushed up.

What greeted them was a large number of kunai and shuriken thrown down from the sky.

Gato stood in the line calmly, and the two black windbreaker guards standing beside him also had unchanged expressions, like stone pillars standing in the rain.

As for the guards wearing black windbreakers, half of them stayed to protect the vehicle, and half of them cooperated with the four Konoha ninjas to annihilate the incoming enemies.

"Really, They couldn't help but want to do it when I got here. It seems that I overestimate these people."

Gato sat on the pedal of a carriage, unmoved by the sound of fighting that appeared in his ears.

Since he took over the company, he has been subjected to such assassination attacks several times a month, but he is still alive and well, which is a proof of the strength of Aster Flower Company.

"It can't be helped, after all, the value of this batch of medicines is too attractive."

"It's worth watching as a sideshow. Let's solve it quickly."

"yes."

Developing the company and making the company profitable is Gato's task.

It is their job to destroy the enemy.

Kakashi, who was fighting the attackers, immediately understood the identities of these people through fighting. They were samurai and knew some chakra techniques. Some of them were wandering ninjas and knew a little practical low-level ninjutsu.

For Kakashi who has learned white Fang sword skills, these people's strength is not enough to pose a threat.

But for the two Chunin companions, it might be a little troublesome.

Seeing the two of them fighting hard, they were almost hit by the enemy's attack several times, but Kakashi just glanced at it, and made sure that the Jonin leader was not far away, and the lives of the two would not be in danger.

So, Kakashi ignored the bitter battle those two faced.

Compared to thinking about this kind of thing, what he wants to do is to destroy the enemy as soon as possible and complete the task as soon as possible.

As one enemy after another fell, Kakashi shuttled through the rain, the blood on the White Fang dagger in his hand was continuously washed by the rain, red and white, white and red again, it was changing repeatedly.

The battle ended after ten minutes.

At the cost of minor injuries to several people, all these people were defeated, and some people saw that the situation was not good, so they ran away directly, and everyone did not pursue it.

"Mr. Gato, we can continue on our way."

The jonin leader wiped off the blood on the clothes on the shoulders, the pungent smell of blood was very faint in the rain.

When Gato pushed the sunglasses on the bridge of his nose and ordered the convoy to move on, Kakashi seemed to have a dispute:

"Hey, Kakashi, what's the matter with you? Didn't you see that we were sending you a support signal just now?"

After the battle, the two Chunin who cooperated with Kakashi for the first time were very dissatisfied with Kakashi's indifferent attitude just now.

Because of the large number of enemies who besieged the two of them, they were not lucky.

"With the strength of the two of you, I feel that even without my assistance, you will be able to deal with them."

Kakashi told the truth.

The strength of these two people is also there, and in the situation of being surrounded, they are enough to defeat the besieged enemies.

Being able to destroy as many enemies as possible, considering the situation at the time, Kakashi thought this was the best choice.

Eliminate the enemy faster, which means that the safety of this batch of medicine will be out of danger sooner.

"What did you say? Do you have the guts to say it again? Aren't we teammates?"

The Chunin grabbed Kakashi's collared clothes.

"As I said, I judged that if the two of you are not in danger, destroying the enemy as quickly as possible was the top priority at that time. The longer the time dragged on, the more dangerous the convoy would be. Compared with you, the safety of this batch of medicines is more important."

The faces of the two Chunin were ashen, completely ugly.

"Okay, you three, don't make it like this for the first time you cooperate. I was also watching at the time, and nothing will happen to the three of you."

The jonin leader smiled apologetically at Gato, and then reluctantly walked to the side of the three to dissuade the relationship between the three from further deteriorating.

"stop. I don't get along with this kind of person at all."

The two Chunin gave up and began to treat the wounds on their bodies.

"I just want to minimize the risk of mission failure."

Kakashi also turned his head to the side, apparently still thinking that his choice was correct.

Jounin captain scratched his head, feeling extremely painful.

He knew it was like this, Kakashi was more difficult to deal with than he imagined.

It is estimated that he will not be able to stay in his team for long.

I really hope that some jonin can educate this genius kid well, and then get him out to perform tasks.

Otherwise, if this continues, a team will not be able to form a good collaborative relationship.

"I am sorry, Mr. Gato, to let you see such an embarrassing side of our Konoha."

"It seems that jonin job is not easy."

Gato said with a smile.

jōnin Leader gave a forced smile helplessly.

He is really not a good ninja.

But he can also understand why Kakashi became like this.

But he found that Kakashi's psychological problems were more serious than he thought, so he gave up the idea of correcting him.

•••

Two days passed, and the Jonin leader arrived at Konoha with the client.

After letting go of Kakashi and the other Two, The jonin leader went to the Hokage Building to report to work.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Hiruzen smiled at Jōnin.

"It's nothing. Although there was a little accident on the road, the problem is not very big and has been successfully resolved."

"I probably already understand things."

Hiruzen looked at the work report submitted by the captain of the ninja, and his face became serious.

"Lord Hokage, is there anything to add?"

"Kakashi, is there really no way to fix his problem?"

Hiruzen asked the question he was most concerned about.

"With my personal ability, I can't correct his problem. I don't know how long I can let him stay in the team, but if Kakashi stays like this... It is estimated that it will take a month at most before I need to find another one."

Jōnin answered truthfully.

It is understandable for Kakashi to become like this, but he does not want such a member of his team to destroy the team relationship.

After all, he wants to proceed with the interests of the team as a whole, not just accommodate Kakashi alone.

"I see, I will think about it carefully. You go down first."

"Please forgive me, Hokage-sama."

Captain Jonin bowed to Hiruzen and walked out of the office.

After Captain Jonin walked out of the room, Hiruzen fell into deep thought.

"Are you really going to put him in Anbu?"

Too young.

Experience is not enough.

Can't reach Anbu's passing level.

Moreover, if Kakashi entered Anbu in this state, it would only make Hiruzen even more worried.

I am entangled in the question of which is more important, the task or the companion, the answer to this kind of question...

Hiruzen sighed in his heart, he was ashamed to tell Kakashi the answer to this kind of question.

Because Kakashi is told one answer, the other must be denied.

How to explain Sakumo's death?

This is an extremely contradictory question.

In other words, he himself didn't have a standard answer for reference.

"Lord Hokage, Mr. Gato, the person in charge of the Aster Flower Company, would like to see you."

An Anbu walked in from the outside and reported to Hiruzen.

"I see, let him in."

Hiruzen tidied up his sad face, and ordered Anbu.

Now Aster Flower Company has cooperated with Rock Village and Sand village, and successfully opened branch drugstores in the two ninja villages. It is said that the problem of shortage of medicines in the two villages has been greatly alleviated, and the results are considerable.

Therefore, this business cooperation is also very important to Konoha.

He can't be rude in front of the guests.

•••

In the evening, Konoha Cemetery.

Only Kakashi stood here, standing in front of the grave of his father Sakumo Hatake, staring blankly at the black and white photos placed there.

The man had a smile on his face, and his eyes contained love for the world.

But this loving gaze gave Kakashi the urge to run away.

He was dressed neatly at the moment, but the overall impression he gave was one of distress, like a stray dog with nowhere to live.

"Father, tell me...why..."

Kakashi's eyes showed a blank look.

He couldn't understand.

I can't understand what I should do and how to do it.

Saving his companions, the father who abandoned his mission was insulted and slandered, and chose to commit suicide.

Then he chose the task first, and the companion second, why is he still rejected?

Kakashi couldn't understand this question, how to answer it.

As the honorable student who graduated from the ninja school at the youngest age, it was the first time for Kakashi to be so confused about a question.

The will of fire he has learned should be based on the starting point that everyone in the village is a family.

Everyone in the village is their own companion, a family-like existence, and something that must be protected even if they die.

But...his father committed suicide.

Because of his behavior of saving his companion, the mission failed.

Therefore, a ninja should give priority to tasks. It is just a tool to perform tasks, and tools don't need to be too loving, so when necessary, the lives of companions can also be given up at will.

Then what is the use of the will of fire that I learned in school...? Kakashi was taken aback by his outrageous thoughts.

Thus, the words companion and task kept jumping in my mind, and I began to do the most intense and cruel struggle.

At this moment, Kakashi suddenly covered his head, his face became contorted.

It's gone.

I can't hold on anymore.

My head hurts to the point of bursting.

This is the only thing Kakashi can feel right now—a headache.

Which one is the correct answer?

Why did I choose the mission and they still didn't accept me?

If I was wrong, then what my father did was right. Why did my father commit suicide?

Should I choose a companion or a mission?

What is the Will of Fire?

Tormented by these two thoughts until his will almost collapsed, Kakashi finally couldn't hold on, and just knelt in front of the grave with his hands on the ground, cold sweat dripping down his face.

"...Damn... My head hurts... Tell me... What is the right thing to do, Father..."

In the woods next to the cemetery, a figure leaned against a tree, with only half of his face exposed, while the other half of his face was shrouded in darkness.

This is the face of a young male.

It was Shiraishi.

He was leaning against the tree like this, with his hands in his trouser pockets, quietly listening to Kakashi's vaguely painful voices.

He stopped there for a while, then disappeared from behind the trees without leaving a trace.

(end of this chapter)