[Ding!]
[Special Challenge Mission 1 Issued: Kill the Konoha's Ninja, Might Duy. Reward: Reiatsu +30,000, Random Kido x1]
[Mission 2: Kill the Konoha's Ninja, Might Guy. Reward: Random]
[Special Series - Storyline Mission Issued: Capture the Konoha's Ninja, Nohara Rin. Reward: Reiatsu +50,000, Random High-Level Kido x1, Special Reward x1]
[Kill the Konoha's Ninja, Hatake Kakashi. Reward: Random]
[Defeat the Akatsuki's member, Uchiha Obito. Reward: Random]
[Kill the Konoha's Ninja, Namikaze Minato. Reward: Special High-Level Random Reward]
[Reward is obtained upon completing the corresponding special mission. No penalty for uncompleted missions. This series of missions has no time limit.]
…
'Huh?'
'Did the system genuinely improve after the 10th anniversary?'
When that series of prompts sounded, even Sora, who usually maintained a calm demeanor, couldn't suppress a flicker of excitement on his face.
In ten years, he had only triggered that one special mission with Mei.
But after the 10th anniversary, in just these few short days, Sora had triggered several lucrative special missions in a row!!!
This was simply amazing!
'Could it be that the system's special missions have a particularly high trigger rate on those famous Ninjas from the original plot?'
Sora seemed to have an epiphany.
Before, it was Hizashi, Shisui and Jiraiya!
This time,
It's the Might father-son duo, and the Team Minato package!
Nohara Rin, Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Obito!
Capture! Kill! Defeat!
This meant that the crucial plot point of Obito's turn to darkness indeed hadn't started yet.
Rin and Kakashi should still be somewhere in the Land of Fire, waiting for the mastermind to make his move.
Moreover,
The rewards for this batch of missions were exceptionally generous.
Killing Duy explicitly offered 30,000 Reiatsu points, and capturing Rin had a reward of 50,000 Reiatsu points!
It's simply outrageous!
Sora could hardly imagine how abundant the rewards would be if he managed to take down Konoha's Yellow Flash according to the mission flow!
Special High-Level Random Reward...
Just from the name of the reward-
One could only say it lived up to the future Fourth Hokage, the prestige of this mission reward alone seemed to overflow.
Unfortunately-
While the rewards were good, the mission difficulty had also skyrocketed.
The Eight Gates user Might Duy and the Yellow Flash Namikaze Minato were both top-tier tough enemies in the current Ninja World.
Only the close friends, Guy and Kakashi seemed like relatively softer targets.
'Then...'
'I'll have to start with you two!'
'However...'
'Why is the reward for capturing Nohara Rin higher than for killing Might Duy?'
Sora's brow furrowed slightly.
Logically, with the cooperation of the Kirigakure's Anbu and the inertia of the plot, capturing Rin should be a near certainty, with a difficulty B-Rank at most. How could its reward be higher than killing the Eight Gates user, Might Duy!??
…
At that moment,
The terrifying roar not only caught the attention of Sora, Yagura, and Mei but also drew several Konoha's Ninja Teams from dozens of kilometers around towards its source.
The sound was too loud!
Any idiot would know something major had happened!
20 kilometers away, beside a stream.
Several Konoha's Ninjas wearing Jonin flak jackets were collecting water.
Nearby, there's a burly man in a red haori and geta… He's none other than Konoha's Sannin, Jiraiya.
At that moment, the sound wave also reached them.
Jiraiya was the first to look towards the origin of the explosion.
Beside him, the several Konoha's Jonin also looked up with surprised expressions.
"Something big is happening!"
Jiraiya frowned, staring intently into the distance, "I have a foreboding feeling. Something major is definitely going down!"
"Perhaps..."
"That Ice Release youth has appeared!"
"Let's go there!"
Jiraiya waved his hand and instantly vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.
The Konoha's Jonin by the stream didn't hesitate for a second, following at their fastest speed.
…
On the other side.
Yagura placed his hands on Sora's shoulders, his face full of moved and sincere emotion. "Sora, have you truly decided to challenge Jiraiya?"
The air fell silent.
Even the usually noisy Mei looked at Sora with a somewhat stunned gaze.
"Yes."
Sora nodded, his expression solemn. "I am an Anbu's Ninja. I should be on the most difficult battlefield."
"Sora!"
"This level of resolve..."
"It's so like you!"
Yagura was overjoyed, shaking Sora's shoulders vigorously.
As for Mei, her gaze towards Sora shifted from stunned to a mix of three parts admiration, three parts respect, and three parts shame.
Yes.
Shame!
Despite Mei's earlier bravado, shouting about that dead fatso Fuguki stealing credit, if she were truly asked to face Jiraiya directly, she would be deeply unwilling from the bottom of her heart.
People fear death.
Even geniuses are no exception.
Everyone knew that facing Jiraiya head-on was the most difficult and dangerous part of this mission. Calling it a slim chance of survival was an understatement.
Intercepting Konoha's reinforcements was certainly difficult too, but it absolutely couldn't compare to fighting Jiraiya.
Therefore, while some among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen might have been motivated by credit in this mission assignment, at the very least, Fuguki had some intention of protecting Kirigakure's younger generation.
He genuinely cared about the village.
After all,
Whether it was Sora, Yagura, or Mei, they were all genius Ninjas who had proven their talent. Losing such young powerhouses prematurely would be a tremendous blow to Kirigakure's future.
Hence,
Fuguki assigned the three of them to the 'besiege the point, attack reinforcements' role. If they were middle-aged Jonin from the village, he would have long since dragged them to the main battlefield as cannon fodder to absorb damage.
The human heart remains the most complex thing in this world.
Soon,
Under the two's complex gazes,
Sora turned, leaving behind a resolute back.
Yagura was fine.
But Mei beside him, her beautiful eyes dazed, lowered her head in shame, feeling utterly outclassed by Sora in this moment.
Ashamed.
Deeply ashamed.
Facing the same battle with a slim chance of survival, why didn't she have the courage to step forward and shoulder this responsibility?