The three of them gathered together to chat.
"Where do you think our mission is taking us? I've grown up this big and have never left Konoha."
Tsunade looked curiously at the flow of people entering and leaving the Village gate.
There were Ninjas returning from completed missions, Ninjas who had just accepted missions and were leaving the Village, merchants from various countries, and civilians coming to live in Konoha Village...
All of this made Tsunade feel curious; her clear pupils reflected this scene full of the hustle and bustle of daily life.
"Teacher Sarutobi said it's a c-rank mission, so logically speaking, c-rank missions are usually for gathering intelligence, escorting, and the like. The probability of encountering Ninjas is low, and they generally don't leave the Land of Fire..."
Orochimaru thought for a moment and said.
"It's probably a mission to escort a merchant to the capital of the Land of Fire."
Uchiha Su said.
Both of them looked at Uchiha Su simultaneously, wondering how he had figured that out.
"If merchants from small places come to Konoha, they would mostly sell their goods directly in Konoha and then leave lightly. Only merchants from the capital of the Land of Fire, besides selling goods in Konoha, would also buy some goods in Konoha to sell back to the capital of the Land of Fire."
Uchiha Su continued: "After all, items related to Ninjas are very sought after by those noble lords in the capital of the Land of Fire."
"Since other merchants from small places came to Konoha and sold their goods, shouldn't they buy some things in Konoha and sell them on the way back? Only that would be more reasonable, and they could earn more money!"
Orochimaru voiced his question; though still young, he had already displayed a sharpness rare among his peers.
"The outside world isn't peaceful right now. They can't afford Konoha Ninjas, and even if they could, the price would be extremely high because most of these missions would involve leaving the country. Once they leave the country, the mission would be at least b-rank, and b-rank missions are worth more than their goods!"
Uchiha Su said softly.
Of course, b-rank missions in Konoha don't earn Ninjas a lot of money because the Village takes a large cut. If the Village issues a mission for 100,000 ryo, that's the money the Ninja can receive, but in reality, the person who commissioned the mission might have paid 200,000 or even 300,000 ryo.
"How do you know about this?" Tsunade asked curiously.
Orochimaru, who was on the side, also looked at Uchiha Su, clearly also somewhat puzzled.
"Because we Uchiha have people who are merchants... Have you forgotten about the summoning animals that have a very good relationship with the Uchiha?"
"The Nekomata Clan that lives in the Empty District?"
Orochimaru said thoughtfully.
In Konoha Village, there is a place called the Empty District. Very few people live here, and it is basically a gathering place for strange merchants.
Uchiha Su nodded and said: "After all, the Uchiha Clan has a large estate, so there must be clansmen going out to do business, otherwise the family's expenses would be in deficit, which is why I know these things."
"Su is correct. Our mission this time is to escort the employer to the capital."
Hiruzen Sarutobi walked over with big strides. Behind him followed a slightly chubby, clean-looking, middle-aged man. He introduced this middle-aged man to the group, "This is our employer for this time."
"Hmm, I will have to trouble you young men for this journey."
The merchant said to the three with a smile. Even though the three were very young and each looked like a little radish, he still did not show any contempt.
The definition of a Ninja is a killing machine. As long as they are a Ninja, no matter how old they are, it means the other party already possesses the skill to kill.
"Besides us escorting the employer, the employer himself has guards. We just need to do the work of filling in the gaps."
Hiruzen Sarutobi took the group and walked towards the outside of the Village. Not long after, they saw a caravan.
There were more than a dozen carriages, and next to each carriage stood several tall, fierce-looking guards.
Uchiha Su noticed that these guards were a bit like samurai, but compared to the group of samurai from the Land of Iron, they were far inferior. At most, they were just samurai who had learned a bit of swordsmanship and were better at fighting than ordinary people.
The Sarutobi team followed this group of carriages along the official road and arrived at the capital on the afternoon of the second day.
To Uchiha Su's surprise, they did not encounter any blind mountain bandits on the way to rob the caravan. The reason the merchant hired them was just for insurance.
The Capital.
After handing over the mission to the merchant, the group received the payment for this mission. As a c-rank mission, the general payment is between 30,000 and 100,000 ryo.
And this merchant also often placed orders in Konoha, so he readily gave 80,000 ryo.
Hiruzen Sarutobi raised the money in his hand and said with a smile: "As the team leader Jonin, according to the rules, I will take half."
After saying that, he took out half of the money and carefully put it into the Ninja tool pouch he kept close to his body.
"I heard that Teacher Sarutobi has been dating recently, and the woman is quite strict, so Teacher Sarutobi is hiding private money."
Hearing this sentence, Uchiha Su was stunned. It wasn't because of Hiruzen Sarutobi's dating, but because the one who said this gossip was...
Orochimaru!
If it had been Tsunade telling this gossip, Uchiha Su wouldn't have been surprised at all, but Orochimaru, you thick-browed and big-eyed guy, do you also like to listen to gossip and spread it around?
"Lord Su?"
Orochimaru looked at Uchiha Su in confusion; the way the other person was looking at him was like seeing some kind of strange species.
"I'm just a bit surprised that you, Orochimaru, would actually talk about gossip."
Uchiha Su muttered softly.
"Oh my, sorry, there's actually 40,000 ryo left..."
Before the two could continue whispering, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly made an exaggerated expression and said with feigned distress.
Swish, swish, swish!
The three of them looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi simultaneously.
"It's a pity there are only three of you. With 40,000 ryo, it's definitely hard to divide. If a conflict arises within the team because of a mere 10,000 ryo, then I, as a teacher, am unqualified."
Hiruzen Sarutobi distressingly took out another 10,000 ryo note and put it into his Ninja tool pouch.
The three:...
However, the three didn't really care about this money. Although Tsunade's allowance was limited quite a bit by the Second Hokage because of gambling, she was still a little rich girl.
And Orochimaru at this time was not short of money either. Because his parents died in battle, the Village gave him some money every month. This money allowed him to buy some Ninja tools and eat well. At least before Orochimaru came into contact with scientific research, this was completely enough.
Not to mention Uchiha Su.
Although they didn't care, the three little ones still looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with disdain.
It was as if they were saying, you're even swindling children's money, you shameless old man!
Perhaps Hiruzen Sarutobi was also a bit embarrassed, so he said: "Normally, after we finish a mission, we definitely need to return to the Village immediately, but given that this is your first time out, I'm prepared to take you back to the Village tomorrow."
"Now is free time. Meet here on time tomorrow noon!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi dared not face the eyes of the three little ones anymore. With a puff of smoke, his figure instantly disappeared.
...
After Hiruzen Sarutobi left, Tsunade was like a wild horse, looking around here and there in the capital of the Land of Fire. These architectural styles, which were so different from Konoha's, indeed made Tsunade very curious.
"I'm planning to go to a bookstore to read some books. Lord Su, are you coming?"
Orochimaru looked at Uchiha Su and asked.
"I won't go. Which bookstore are you planning to go to? I'll come find you later. After all, Teacher Sarutobi hasn't arranged accommodation for us yet, and we might need to find a hotel ourselves."
Uchiha Su shook his head.
"There, right there!"
Orochimaru pointed, and Uchiha Su looked in the direction Orochimaru pointed and indeed saw a bookstore.