Chapter 12: The Five Great Ninja Villages Agreement, Crisis Approaches!

Close protection refers to protection at close range.

Hanako took it quite literally and ended up sticking to his employer, even sleeping while embracing her.

"So, is this how you provide close protection?" Kakashi's tone was filled with questioning.

"Hanako, do you realize that just based on this, your career as a ninja is over?"

"Huh? My ninja career is over?"

Hanako's eyes lit up, feeling delighted and hopeful.

So he's no longer a ninja?

That's great.

"Then I'll return to the village first."

Leaving those words behind, Hanako turned his head and walked away without looking back.

He didn't give the others a chance to try to persuade him to stay.

As soon as he took a few steps forward, the rain started pouring down.

Blame it on Kakashi's jinxed weather forecast from last night.

Inside the makeshift wooden shelter.

The five of them sat together, the atmosphere unusually quiet.

Only the sound of raindrops hitting the shelter from outside could be heard clearly.

Kakashi crossed his arms and looked up at the ceiling.

He believed that even if Hanako apologized, he still wouldn't deserve the title of a ninja.

Obito felt conflicted.

He wanted to persuade Hanako to admit his mistake, but he didn't want to see Kakashi's victorious face.

Rin felt the same way.

Logically, she agreed with Kakashi, but emotionally, she didn't want Hanako to leave.

Finally.

To the surprise of everyone in Team 9, Meinari, the person involved, broke the silence.

"He did that just to make me speak."

With Meinari's explanation, Hanako's negative image disappeared in an instant.

At that moment, Kakashi felt a burning sensation on his face, as if he had become a clown.

"So, he did it for the mission, to extract information." That's what Kakashi thought.

"If sleeping while embracing a beautiful woman is justifiable, then I can do it too!" Obito shouted inwardly, looking at Hanako with envy and jealousy.

Hanako didn't pay much attention to their reactions.

What he cared about was that today the system doubled his strength attribute?

Strength: 26 (13 * 2) Genin level

"My strength attribute is bottom-tier, even with the doubling, it's still only Genin level."

He didn't have much emotional fluctuation inside. Just let it be.

After all, it's a random doubling.

The rain soon stopped.

Hanako stood up.

But Kakashi stood in front of him, seemingly wanting to apologize but finding it difficult to speak.

Then Obito and Rin each grabbed one of his arms.

The meaning was clear.

You want to leave?

There's no way out.

This is truly a unique way to keep someone.

Team 9 set off once again.

As they just began their journey, Kakashi approached.

"Any new information?"

"Huh?"

Hanako looked at Kakashi in disbelief, wondering if this guy had been possessed?

Just a moment ago, they were engaged in a heated argument, and now he suddenly came to ask for information?

Where's your face!

Nevertheless, as a teammate, Hanako generously shared some of his own doubts with Kakashi.

After all, he couldn't figure it out himself, so it made sense to throw the questions at Kakashi.

"Why didn't Meinari release an A-rank mission instead of a C-rank?" Hanako asked this question.

"That's normal."

Kakashi knew the reason.

"Oh? And that's considered normal?" Hanako couldn't understand.

"Because of the Five Great Ninja Villages Agreement."

Choosing his words carefully, Kakashi continued.

"Oh? What if they enter?" Hanako countered.

"Then it means they've violated the agreement, and the other ninja villages would have the right to send their own high-level ninja into the neutral country as well."

After listening to Kakashi's explanation, Hanako rubbed his chin.

This was the first time he had heard of such an agreement.

With a little thought, he found several loopholes in this agreement.

For example, what if high-level ninjas infiltrate a neutral country in disguise? How would that be handled?

For high-level ninjas, such infiltration wouldn't be too difficult.

Just imagine, if a high-level ninja from the Hidden Cloud Village infiltrated the Land of Hot Springs, subverted its government in secret, and deployed ninja forces along the Hot Spring border.

Meanwhile, the Leaf Village would still abide by the agreement like fools.

If the Hidden Cloud launched a surprise attack, they would likely reach the entrance of the Leaf Village quickly.

So, who came up with this kind of agreement?

Wasn't it specifically designed for launching surprise attacks on other ninja villages?

His thoughts spinning, Hanako couldn't help but ask about the origin of this agreement.

After pondering for a moment, Kakashi truthfully answered.

"This agreement was drafted by the Third Hokage and perfected with assistance from Danzo, and it was ultimately agreed upon by the other ninja villages."

Hanako: "???" No wonder.

No wonder Konoha is always targeted by other ninja villages.

After exchanging information with Kakashi, a sense of urgency arose in Hanako's heart.

The reason was the Five Great Ninja Villages Agreement.

Hanako was a pessimist.

When assessing a situation, he always assumed the worst-case scenario.

So now, Hanako wondered, what if the Land of Hot Springs has already fallen into enemy hands?

In that case, wouldn't it be like four little lambs entering a pack of lions if their team ventured in?

On the border between the Land of Hot Springs and the Land of Fire.

Shinichi Aikawa stood on the east side of the river, gazing at the scenery of the Land of Fire.

This river served as the border between the Land of Hot Springs and the Land of Fire, with the east belonging to the Land of Hot Springs and the west to the Land of Fire.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The quiet atmosphere was shattered as a subordinate rushed over.

"Lord Aikawa, the border unit has assembled."

"Oh? How many are there?" Shinichi Aikawa didn't turn around, speaking in a calm tone.

"A total of 56 chuunin."

"Only 56?"

Muttering to himself, Shinichi Aikawa frowned.

To control the Land of Hot Springs, it was necessary to cleanse the existing factions.

However, after the purge, the number of ninja had drastically decreased.

These 56 chuunin constituted the entire strength of the Land of Hot Springs' border ninja unit.

"Deploy all these ninja here!"

"Remember, if any Leaf Village ninja enter the Land of Hot Springs from here, eliminate them without hesitation."

Shinichi Aikawa's tone was chilling as he issued the command.

This place was the path leading to the Daimyo's mansion in the Land of Hot Springs.

Bound by the Five Great Ninja Villages Agreement, any Leaf Village chuunin and genin who entered the Land of Hot Springs from here were as good as dead.

This was not an order from the rebel leader, Shinichiro Kawa, but a secret directive from the Hidden Cloud Village.