"Mission? We don't have any at the moment," said Kitsune, puzzled as he looked at Nara Kazuki. Little Bear shrugged beside him.
Was this really the Anbu?
"I thought the Anbu always had tons of missions. I want to gain more combat experience," Kazuki said, rubbing his hands together.
His true goal was simple: kill. His recent upgrade meant every enemy ninja he killed increased his chakra reserves by 1%. It was addictively effective.
Unfortunately, it had to be enemy shinobi. Civilians or beasts didn't count.
Kazuki had already tested it. He'd hoped a regular kill might trigger it, but no—only confirmed hostile ninjas worked. No loopholes.
"Sure, we have a lot of missions—but not every assignment is for us. We just finished the capital operation. According to protocol, we're entitled to a ten-day rest," Kitsune explained patiently.
The Anbu had many teams. Not everything could go through theirs. Other squads had their share too.
Kazuki understood, but he was still a bit disappointed.
No missions meant no kills—and no progress.
"Can I take missions from the regular mission desk?" he asked.
Kitsune nodded. "Yes, as long as you don't wear your Anbu mask. It's protocol to avoid exposure. If enemy agents are lurking in the mission hall and recognize your mask, it could compromise your identity."
Kazuki changed into civilian gear and headed to the mission office.
The board was filled with tasks. He skimmed straight to the B-rank missions. Only those reliably involved shinobi combat.
C-rank missions could get messy, but they were usually safe. That infamous Land of Waves bridge-building mission that escalated into A-rank? That was a rare exception.
Normally, such a misclassification would've been grounds for rejection. Only Konoha's reputation—and perhaps Kakashi's intent to train Team 7—explained why it played out that way.
"...Hmm?" Kazuki spotted one.
Escort a merchant to the Land of Waves.
Gatō... Land of Waves... Isn't that the same mission Dazna took later?
His expression turned strange.
In the anime, Gatō was portrayed as a slimy, stereotypical villain. A rich merchant who secretly hired ninjas to eliminate the bridge builder, Dazna, and stop the Land of Waves from becoming economically independent.
Despite hiring strong shinobi like Zabuza and Haku, his plans were foiled—because he ran into Kakashi Hatake.
At that time, Gatō was so overconfident he even charged a weakened Zabuza with a gang of thugs. Not very smart.
"This could be interesting..." Kazuki mused.
He accepted the mission. Gatō was a future tycoon. If he was alive now, then clearly he didn't die during this trip. So the threat level probably wasn't too high.
"Nara Kazuki-san," the receptionist said with a smile. "This mission requires a minimum of two shinobi."
Kazuki scratched his head. "Two, huh..."
Looked like he'd have to find a partner.
"Hey, Kazuki, you're taking missions too?" a familiar voice rang out.
Kazuki heard it and immediately pictured a bowl-cut and a blinding smile.
"Might Guy?" he raised an eyebrow. "You're doing missions?"
"Of course! Hahaha! I need money for food—and more training!" Guy beamed, giving a trademark thumbs-up.
Kazuki nodded in understanding. Missions earned coin, but ninja life was expensive. Thankfully, being in the Anbu meant he had a salary, and missions paid bonuses.
"I've got a B-rank mission here. Want to team up?"
Originally, Kazuki had considered asking Kakashi. But with him being a jōnin, the reward split would heavily favor him.
Guy, however, was a chūnin—same rank as Kazuki. That made things easier.
"Sure!" Guy grinned. Refusal was never in his vocabulary.
The two of them officially accepted the escort mission and met their client: Gatō.
"Honored to meet you, shinobi-sama~!" Gatō greeted politely.
He looked younger than in the anime, not yet the sleazy goblin he'd become. His demeanor was humble, respectful even.
"Gatō-san," Kazuki greeted with a nod, eyeing the merchant's caravan. Only four or five wagons. Modest. Packed with various trade goods—some from Konoha, even a few Nara clan antlers.
So this Gatō was still a traveling businessman, not yet the tyrant of the southern seas.
"We'll protect you," Guy said, gleaming with pride.
Gatō bowed repeatedly, not a hint of the arrogance Kazuki remembered from the show. That alone made Kazuki pause.
"By the way, Gatō-san," Kazuki asked, amused, "why is this mission ranked B-class?"
Escorting merchants was typically C-rank. B-rank meant potential shinobi conflict.
And shinobi didn't usually attack trade caravans. Even in wartime, nations needed merchants to function.