The next day, at ten in the morning.
Li Chuan stood on the coastline, a faint smile gradually appearing on his face as he watched the few people emerge from the forest path.
"They're finally here!"
The one with white hair, a slanted headband covering one eye, and a half-mask was the Elite Jonin Kakashi. The old man in front of him should be Mr. Tazuna, the bridge builder from the Land of Waves.
And the three eleven or twelve-year-old children surrounding Mr. Tazuna, arranged in a standard Ninja escort formation—one with black hair, one with yellow hair, and one with pink hair—were clearly Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura.
"Who are you? This time, My Lord Naruto will take care of you!"
Seeing Li Chuan standing there, Naruto, who was walking at the very front, immediately pulled out a kunai and assumed a combat stance, as did Sasuke and Sakura.
Not long ago, they had just been attacked by two rogue Ninja.
"Don't be so nervous, it shouldn't be an enemy!"
Kakashi quickly scanned Li Chuan, then grabbed Naruto from behind, who was about to rush forward, and pulled him back.
He didn't sense any hostility from Li Chuan, and he also recognized the symbol on Li Chuan's waist, which was exclusive to the Fire Temple's Ninja monks.
"Are you Konoha Ninja?"
Li Chuan took a few steps forward, looked at Naruto's headband, and feigned sudden realization as he spoke.
"Yes, we are on a mission. Are you a Ninja monk from the Fire Temple?"
Kakashi slightly narrowed his dead fish eyes.
Although the other party had the Fire Temple's symbol, he still needed to confirm.
"This humble monk is indeed from the Fire Temple. I am currently traveling and happened to pass by here, intending to visit the Land of Waves ahead. However, I found that there were no boats on the shore that could take me across. Do you know what's going on?"
Li Chuan nodded, looking a bit helpless.
"What is the Fire Temple?"
Naruto, standing nearby, looked confused, clearly having never heard of it.
And Sakura, next to him, smacked him on the head:
"All of this is written in our textbooks from school! The Fire Temple is the only Ninja temple in our Land of Fire. It has many monks who practice Ninjutsu, and they are also allies of Konoha."
Konoha's education system is comprehensive; it doesn't just teach basic Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. It's just that Naruto, being a slacker, slept through cultural classes, so he naturally knew nothing.
"The sea transport to the Land of Waves has long been controlled by Gato. Without his permission, no one can enter or leave the Land of Waves."
At this point, Mr. Tazuna stepped forward to explain.
"Gato, the owner of that shipping company, a World-renowned wealthy man?"
Kakashi, standing to the side, showed a surprised expression.
Mr. Tazuna nodded, sighing slightly.
"Since we've come this far, I'll be honest. You've been asking me why I was attacked by rogue Ninja and who sent them, haven't you?
I'll tell you now, it's this Gato, because—"
Mr. Tazuna then explained the entire situation.
It turned out that Gato used violent means to control the sea transport of the Land of Waves, thereby indirectly controlling its politics, wealth, and people.
To save the people of the Land of Waves, Mr. Tazuna wanted to build a cross-sea bridge to completely free them from Gato's control and achieve freedom.
Unfortunately, the bridge was half-built when he received threats from Gato. He had no choice but to hire Ninja from Konoha to protect him while he continued building the bridge.
However, because he didn't have much money, he had to lie about the mission information, lowering the mission's rank.
"If you cancel the mission now, I will surely be killed before I reach home. But it's nothing, it's understandable, it's not your fault.
It's just that my eight-year-old granddaughter will cry all day, and my daughter will hate Konoha Ninja forever and ever, and then live a lonely life.
Little monk, do you think I'm right?"
After Mr. Tazuna finished his performance, he specifically pointed out Li Chuan, who looked very kind.
Li Chuan did not disappoint him, nodding in an indignant tone:
"There are actually such malicious people in this World!
Mr. Tazuna, don't worry, even if the Konoha Ninja are unwilling to act due to the reward, though this humble monk's strength is not great, I am willing to protect your safety with my life until the bridge is completed."
Li Chuan's intention was consistent with Mr. Tazuna's, so he naturally spoke up for him.
Kakashi and the three Ninja looked at each other, not knowing how to respond for a moment.
At this moment, if they were to follow normal procedure and cancel the mission due to Mr. Tazuna's false reporting, it would feel as if they had committed some heinous crime, leaving them filled with guilt.
Mr. Tazuna hadn't expected Li Chuan to be so kind. He first sincerely thanked Li Chuan, then turned his gaze to Kakashi.
The meaning was clear: look at him, then look at yourselves.
Kakashi scratched his head, then looked at the three Ninja, whose eyes were full of expectation, and nodded helplessly:
"Alright, then we'll continue to protect you!"
He wasn't unaware of Mr. Tazuna's little trick. He just wanted to use this as an opportunity to train his subordinates. Besides, most of Gato's subordinates were rogue Ninja, and he didn't take them seriously.
As for this young monk from the Fire Temple who had just left the temple to travel, in his eyes, he was just a kind and naive little monk who had been deceived by Mr. Tazuna, the old fox's acting.
But to be honest, he also greatly admired Mr. Tazuna's courage in risking his life to build the bridge; otherwise, he wouldn't have agreed so easily.
"That's truly wonderful! When we go back at noon, I'll definitely have my daughter make you all lots of delicious food!"
Hearing Kakashi agree, Mr. Tazuna finally relaxed.
Although the little monk was kind, his strength was certainly not as great as that of the famous Konoha Ninja. If the Konoha Ninja abandoned the mission, he would simply be waiting for death.
"Please wait a moment."
Mr. Tazuna took a small whistle from his pocket, stood on the shore, and blew it hard. A very strange sound carried far away.
About ten minutes later, a young man steered a boat, carefully navigating through the thick fog, and appeared on the shore.
"Mr. Tazuna, quickly get on the boat! Let's hurry back before the fog dissipates, otherwise, it will be troublesome if Gato's men find us."
And so, Li Chuan got on the small boat with Kakashi and the others.
During the sea crossing, Kakashi and the three Ninja, along with Li Chuan, introduced themselves and chatted casually on the small boat.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were just chatting, but Kakashi, during the conversation, kept probing Li Chuan, seemingly trying to further verify his identity.
In fact, when performing a mission like this, suddenly having an unfamiliar Ninja join is not a wise decision.
However, Li Chuan's identity was that of a Fire Temple Ninja monk, and he had originally planned to travel to the Land of Waves anyway, and he was helping out of good intentions, so Kakashi had no way to refuse.
How could Li Chuan not detect Kakashi's probing? It was just that his identity was not problematic to begin with, so he wasn't afraid of Kakashi's probing.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
[patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"