Chapter 190 Female Star's Reclaiming the Country? Sasuke's Exam
On the way back to Konoha with the prisoners, Naruto and his two companions happened to run into Shikamaru and his two friends who were helping Genji catch crickets all over the mountains.
"Sasuke? Naruto?" Ino couldn't wait to run over as soon as she saw the three. She had really had enough these past few days. To find a cricket that met the Daimyo's requirements, they had been searching in the forests around Konoha for almost a whole week. And that wasn't all; while they were feeding mosquitoes in the forest, their instructor was engrossed in inappropriate books every day.
"It's Ino! Where are Shikamaru and Choji?" Naruto's face lit up with a bright smile as soon as he saw Ino.
"Look, over there." Ino pointed to two figures, one fat and one thin, that were faintly visible in the bushes.
"I heard you passed the Hokage's test, so you don't have to complete the D-rank mission," Ino said. "I'm so envious! You can all leave the village for missions, while we still have to help a kid catch crickets, and our teacher is a middle-aged pervert who only knows how to read indecent books."
"Ahem, next time you catch crickets for me, could you carry me a little further?" As they were talking, a figure suddenly jumped down from the tree branch above. The newcomer, with a deadpan expression, said, "Also, as Konoha ninjas, I think we should show a little more respect to our Daimyo."
"Brother Kakashi!" Naruto greeted Kakashi enthusiastically, then pushed Zabuza, whom he had been watching over the whole way back, forward with a proud look on his face. "Look, we captured an elite Jonin from the Hidden Mist rebels this time!"
"Really?" Kakashi looked closely and recognized the old acquaintance who had dared to ambush him on the battlefield in the Land of Water. He chuckled. "So it was him."
Then, Kakashi turned to look at the Executioner's Blade that Naruto was carrying on his back. "Naruto, if you want to keep this sword as your trophy, you'd better ask your teacher or Karin to inscribe a sealing jutsu on it later. Otherwise, the Hidden Mist Village has ways to summon it away."
Originally, this sword had become Kakashi's trophy during the battle in the Land of Water. However, less than three days after that battle, the sword he had stored in his Kamui dimension was retrieved by the Hidden Mist Village using a special summoning jutsu.
It was then that Kakashi learned that each of the seven Hidden Mist Village swords had its own summoning contract. This was why the seven Hidden Mist Village swords had been passed down for many years, and although many sword owners had died with their swords, the lineage of the seven Hidden Mist Village swords had never been broken.
"However, if you do that, the sword's special abilities will likely be greatly affected by the sealing technique," Kakashi warned.
"Is it really that troublesome?" Naruto looked down at the Executioner's Blade with a regretful expression. Ever since Sasuke received the Purple Lightning Blade as a graduation gift, Naruto, wanting the same for his best friend, had started thinking about getting a ninja sword to show off. After capturing Zabuza, the imposing Executioner's Blade naturally caught his eye, but after hearing Kakashi's words, Naruto immediately lost interest.
"Or, you could ask a craftsman to melt it down and reforge it into a new sword," Kakashi said.
When he first obtained the Executioner's Blade, Kakashi had considered melting it down and reforging it with the special metal to make White Fang, but due to a moment of carelessness, the sword was taken back by Kirigakure, and the idea was abandoned.
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"Forget it, let's not talk about this!" Naruto quickly put the troublesome matter behind him and turned to Ino, saying, "Ino, let's go to Ichiraku Ramen when we're done. To celebrate my first successful mission, I'll treat everyone to ramen!"
"If you want ramen, just say so. Don't make up these excuses." At this moment, Shikamaru also came to Naruto's side and said lazily.
"Hehe, you caught me." Naruto scratched his head and chuckled. "By the way, where are Kiba and the others?"
"Their mission is to help the Minister of Construction's wife find her lost pet dog. They're searching all over Konoha." Shikamaru said.
"Okay, then we'll go back and hand in the mission first," Naruto nodded. "If you see them later, remember to tell them for me that I'll treat them to ramen tonight. See you later." "
See you later." Shikamaru waved goodbye to Naruto and the others and then threw himself back into his work of helping Genji find crickets in the bushes.
...
After Sasuke and his companions escorted Zabuza back to Konoha, the negotiations between Uchiha Touko and Terumi Mei officially began. After some back-and-forth banter, they finally finalized the details of the exchange: Northern Mist Village would exchange a Byakugan for Zabuza.
By the time Ao's Byakugan was returned to the Hyuga clan's shrine, more than a month had passed. During that time, Sasuke and his friends had completed two more C-rank bandit-suppression missions outside the village.
Then, Uchiha Touko saw an interesting mission in his mission requests:
[Escort movie star Fujikaze Yukie to the Land of Snow for filming, Client: Asama Santayu]
Upon seeing this mission, Uchiha Touko casually tossed the report onto the table and called out loudly, "Inahi, have Sasuke come to me."
"Yes, sir!" Inahi, outside the door, acknowledged the order and left.
A short while later, Sasuke arrived at the Hokage's office.
Upon arriving at the Hokage's office, Sasuke saw Uchiha Touko still reviewing documents, so he didn't disturb him directly. Instead, he went to the cabinet where Touko kept his tea, opened it, and asked, "Master, what would you like to drink today?"
"Snowflake tea, please. It's in the fourth box from the left on the second shelf," Touko replied without looking up.
"Yes," Sasuke nodded, took the tea from the cabinet, and went to the tea table where Touko usually brewed his tea, lighting charcoal and boiling water.
Soon, the aroma of tea filled the office. Touko, holding a document, rose and went to the tea table.
Sasuke respectfully presented a cup of hot tea to Touko.
Touko took a sip and nodded, "Not bad, your skills have improved quite a bit."
"Compared to you, Master, I'm still far behind," Sasuke said, bowing his head.
"I wonder what brings you here, Master?" Sasuke asked.
"I have a mission for Team 7," Uchiha Touko said calmly, handing Sasuke the mission information he had just received.
Sasuke took it, examined it carefully, and then looked up at Uchiha Touko with some confusion: "Escort a female celebrity to the Land of Snow to film a movie? Is this kind of mission worth you calling me here for?"
"Of course it is, because this mission is also a test for you," Uchiha Touko chuckled.
"A test?" Sasuke was puzzled.
"Yes, a test," Uchiha Touko nodded, "Of course, not in terms of ninja skills, but a test of the chess-playing skills you've learned from me over the years."
With that, Uchiha Touko took out a document about the coup in the Land of Snow several years ago and handed it to Sasuke.
"Fujifuu Yukie, real name Fuuka Koyuki, is the only daughter of the previous Daimyo of the Land of Snow who died in a bloody palace coup. In other words, this currently hottest star in the ninja world is actually an exiled princess," Uchiha Touko said with a light laugh.
Sasuke's expression turned serious upon hearing Uchiha Touko's words: "Then, teacher, what is the passing standard for this test?"
Uchiha Touko smiled and took out a draft contract from a sealed scroll at his waist, placing it in front of Sasuke. This was a draft of a contract for the Land of Snow to join the Konoha Pact.
Sasuke picked up the contract and examined it carefully, while Uchiha Touko calmly explained, "This is the most basic passing requirement. You just need to get the Daimyo of the Land of Snow to sign this contract. However, if you want to get a higher score from me, it depends on how much benefit you can gain on top of this." "
I won't impose any restrictions on your test. You can use any resources or connections you have. If you're willing, you can even go to the Land of Water to ask your father for help. However, I won't provide you with any assistance. You'll have to bear all the costs yourself," Uchiha Touko said. "However, if you successfully pass my test, then all the benefits beyond the passing standard will belong to you. The village and I will only receive the most basic portion."
After saying this, Uchiha Touko smiled at Sasuke. "So, are you confident in completing this test?"
Upon hearing Uchiha Touko's conditions, Sasuke's face immediately lit up with a bright smile. "Sensei, I want to try. You won't restrict any resources I can mobilize, right?"
"That's right," Uchiha Touko said.
"Neji's current Anbu organization hasn't been abolished yet, has it?" Sasuke asked.
"Not yet," Uchiha Touko said.
"Then, teacher, don't assign any missions to Team 8 and Team 10 these next few days. I'll have Neji, in the name of the Anbu, recruit those two teams to assist Team 7 in this mission."
"Those two teams? Okay." Uchiha Touko nodded with a smile. "It seems you've got your eye on Kakashi and Shisui's strength. But I must warn you, Kakashi, as the captain of the guard unit, can't leave Konoha for too long. So if you plan to recruit them, you can only bring your Shisui brother on this mission at most. However, if you want to hire your Shisui brother as a henchman, you'll have to pay his reward yourself after the mission. Can you afford that price?"
"Do I need to pay that reward?" Sasuke said with a smile. "This manager named Asama Santayu has made a lot of money in the ninja world over the years thanks to this princess. If a Kage-level expert is willing to help them restore their country, they should be willing to pay money, right?"
"It's easy for them to pay for getting Shisui to act," Sasuke rubbed his temples. "However, given your stance over the years that Konoha won't interfere in other countries' internal affairs, if we directly stormed the Snow Country's palace, killed the current daimyo, and installed this little princess on the throne, it would probably affect your plans in the ninja world over the years."
Uchiha Touko smiled at Sasuke and nodded, signaling him to continue.
"Therefore, we can't directly use this as our mission objective. We can only inadvertently get caught up in the Snow Country's royal conflict during our current mission, and out of self-defense, accidentally kill the current daimyo of the Snow Country who attacked our protected target," Sasuke analyzed.
"So, the difficulty of this mission lies in only two points. First, how to gain the complete trust of this exiled princess, help her muster her courage, and then guide her to actively use us to complete her plan to restore her kingdom," Sasuke said. "Second, how to get the daimyo of the Land of Snow to take action against us. Ideally, we ninjas who accepted the escort mission would be unaware of Kazahana Koyuki's identity, and we would be used by the princess of the Land of Snow who intends to restore her kingdom, unexpectedly getting caught up in the power struggle within the Land of Snow's royal family."
"Then... ninjas fight each other, and the daimyo dies suddenly." After a moment of silence, Sasuke slowly uttered these eight words.
"Excellent!" Uchiha Touko clapped lightly, nodding approvingly at Sasuke. "You've already demonstrated a remarkable ability to analyze the game."
"However, the game won't always unfold as you predict," Uchiha Touko chuckled. "A qualified Go player should be able to guide the situation towards their desired outcome amidst constant change. Don't disappoint me, Sasuke."
"Master, just you wait and see," Sasuke nodded confidently, rising to his feet. After bidding farewell to Uchiha Touko, he left his office.
Soon, Sasuke summoned Neji and Naruto, and, armed with the mission information he'd obtained from Uchiha Touko, went to the film crew of "The Great Adventure of the Wind and Cloud Princess," currently residing in a luxury hotel in Konoha, and explained his purpose to the client, Asama Santayu.
"You're the ninjas who took on this mission?" Asama Santayu looked at the three men with some suspicion. "Where's your Jonin leader?" "
Mr. Asama, our Konoha Team 7 is in a rather special situation. Our nominal leader is our Fifth Hokage," Neji said calmly. "And the three of us are all Hokage's personal disciples. Don't let our recent graduation fool you; we already possess Jonin-level strength. Furthermore, Team 7 has a record of single-handedly defeating and capturing elite Jonin from the Water Country rebels. You can easily find out about this with a little investigation in the village. So, our strength is absolutely sufficient to complete this escort mission."
"Yeah, don't underestimate us, Uncle!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly from the side.
"Is that so?" Asama Santayu glanced at the three boys, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.
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(End of Chapter)