In the forest, two figures would stop from time to time to check for any suspicious tracks.
It was Mikoto Uchiha and Minato.
"I didn't find anything here," Mikoto said to Minato after checking the surroundings.
"I didn't find anything either. Let's keep searching," Minato said, and then continued to search the surroundings with Mikoto Uchiha.
It had been an hour since they left the cave.
But they had found nothing after searching the area.
This made Minato's heart tighten. It seemed the other party was not a simple character. Otherwise, ordinary bandits wouldn't have cleaned up their tracks so thoroughly.
Could it be that people from other countries were disguised as bandits, carrying out some ulterior motive? Minato made a bold guess.
But it was not impossible. It was wartime, and some countries' supplies couldn't keep up. It was also possible that they were taking advantage of the Land of Fire's situation to avoid attracting Konoha's attention, only robbing those merchants.
But it was also strange that it was too frequent. After a while, someone finally issued a mission to Konoha. If this continued, they wouldn't be able to make any money. Some people had even lost two batches of goods.
Thinking of this, Minato decided to discuss it with Jiraiya after the two hours were up.
After searching for a while longer and finding no clues, Minato led Mikoto Uchiha back to the cave. Not long after, Jiraiya and the other two also returned.
"We didn't find anything. What about you?" Seeing Jiraiya, Minato immediately reported the results of their investigation.
"Me neither. It's strange. Could it be that the location on the mission scroll is fake, and those bandits have escaped?" Jiraiya said.
"Teacher Jiraiya, perhaps the situation is not what we think. The intelligence on the mission scroll may be wrong. Those people are not ordinary bandits, but ninjas from other countries," Minato told Jiraiya his speculation.
"Ah! After you said that, I realized I was indeed stuck in a rut. I've been searching based on the information provided on the mission scroll. The person who issued the mission may not have understood the situation at all."
Jiraiya had a sudden realization. It was a bit embarrassing. Such a simple problem had to be pointed out by his disciple before he noticed the anomaly.
"Let's rest first, eat something to replenish our stamina and spirit, and then we'll go search those deserted places," Minato continued to suggest.
Jiraiya looked at Minato with admiration. Although it was his first mission, he had arranged things in an orderly manner. In the future, he would definitely be a powerful ninja who could stand on his own.
Just as Jiraiya and the other two were about to take out their soldier pills and dry rations to eat, they found that Minato had not prepared anything.
"Haha, I told you not to prepare, kid. Now you have nothing to eat, right? Do you want me to share some with you?" Jiraiya chuckled. He had finally caught Minato in an embarrassing situation and could mock him for a bit. Heaven knows how miserably he had been ridiculed by this disciple recently.
"No need. I have food," Minato curled his lips, not caring at all. If you have the guts, don't beg me later, old pervert.
"Minato, I have extra dry rations here. Let me give you some," the gentle Mikoto Uchiha said, directly slapping Jiraiya in the face with her actions.
"Thank you. Unlike a certain pervy toad, who calls himself a master," Minato said, taking the dry rations from Mikoto Uchiha and eating them.
"Tch, I'm not the only one who didn't give him any. Didn't Gekko not give him any either?" Jiraiya pointed at Hayate Gekko, unconvinced.
Hayate Gekko silently ate his dry rations without a word, his face as stoic as ever.
"Swoosh!"
A golden flash, and a figure appeared beside Minato. It was a shadow clone.
But this shadow clone was holding a freshly roasted chicken.
"Poof!"
After taking the roasted chicken, Minato dispelled the shadow clone.
"Here, thank you for the dry rations just now," Minato said, tearing off a chicken leg and handing it to Mikoto Uchiha.
"Thank you, Minato." Who would be willing to eat dry rations when there was roasted chicken? As for where it came from, it was no longer important.
Then, under Jiraiya's expectant gaze, Minato tore off the other chicken leg and put it in his own mouth.
Jiraiya was dumbfounded. This brat didn't give him a chicken leg.
"Look, go eat your dry rations," facing Jiraiya's gaze, Minato retorted fiercely, then took a bite of the chicken leg.
Jiraiya instantly exploded. This kid was too hateful. He had to teach him a good lesson.
"Where did you get the roasted chicken? Don't you know you can't cook on a mission like this? What if you're discovered by the enemy?" Jiraiya scolded Minato righteously.
But his gaze, which occasionally glanced at the roasted chicken in Minato's hand, exposed his true thoughts.
"Don't worry. My shadow clone roasted it in a very distant place and then sent it over with the Flying Thunder God Technique," Minato said, waving his hand nonchalantly.
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