บท 23: Mission Completed
(Edited)
Although Masaki did not show any hostility, his act of killing the rogue ninja without a word was too shocking for the girl from a farming family. She stood speechless, unable to process what had just happened.
Feeling that it wasn't appropriate for the girl to stay in a room with a corpse, Masaki said, "Let's get out of here," and motioned for the girl to follow him outside.
The girl, still shaken, glanced at the corpse on the ground and shuddered. She quickly followed Masaki out of the room and to the door. Despite her earlier scream, there was still no significant movement in the cottage.
When she had calmed down a little, the girl looked at Masaki's back and asked carefully, "May I ask who you are?"
"Ninja from Konoha," Masaki Fumori replied. "Ichiro-san from your village asked us to come, and we arrived just in time for this situation."
The girl remembered how the village had pooled its financial resources, sending Ichiro to Konoha to ask for help. The villagers, however, had little faith in the plan. They knew nothing about ninjas and were worried that even if the payment was made, the ninjas might not take such a small village's request seriously.
The girl hadn't known what to expect. While fearing for her life at the hands of the bandits, Konoha ninjas had arrived, filling her with both gratitude and nervousness.
At that moment, Masaki murmured, "They should be here soon."
Before the girl could ask what he meant, a loud crash startled her. She looked over to see two figures thrown through a wall, landing on the ground, convulsing. Then, a young man with black hair and red eyes stepped through the wreckage.
When the young man saw Masaki and the girl, his red eyes shifted back to black. The girl blinked, thinking she might have imagined it. The young man walked over and said, "Masaki, it was your side that had the issue."
Masaki nodded.
Uchiha Kagami glanced at the girl and said to Masaki, "Her scream scared me. I was prepared to kill all four inside." He pointed to the broken wall and smiled wryly. "I was startled, so I killed two immediately. The other two weren't much of a challenge, but they still managed to make a move. These guys were more capable than I expected."
Masaki looked at the two men, now lifeless, and said with a smile, "Still, you took care of them without a sound."
"Did I… affect you?" the girl asked hesitantly, her fear resurfacing.
Though Masaki had said he was here to help her village, the harshness of their methods frightened her. Hearing Uchiha Kagami mention her scream, she worried that they might blame her for any inconvenience.
"No, it's fine," Kagami said, surprised. Noticing her fearful expression, he smiled and waved dismissively. "No need to worry about it." Then, looking toward the other part of the cottage, he added, "The others should be done by now. Looks like we lost, Masaki."
"It's fine, a loss is a loss," Masaki replied casually.
A short time later, Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others arrived from other parts of the cottage. Seeing the girl, they understood who had screamed and what had caused the commotion.
"Masaki, Kagami, too bad," Hiruzen said, cracking his knuckles. "Making a sound means losing. Kagami, you killed the most, but that noise counts as a loss. The rest of us killed three each, pretty evenly."
Masaki and Kagami didn't mind the competition much and resigned themselves to the results. They agreed to let it pass this time. The two were then tasked with escorting the girl back to her village, while the others stayed behind to deal with the aftermath in the cottage.
As Masaki and Kagami accompanied the girl back to the village, their friendly demeanor put her at ease. Gradually, her fear faded, and she became deeply grateful to the Konoha ninja for coming to help. They had responded so quickly after receiving payment, proving their trustworthiness.
When they returned to the village, several villagers rushed over, overjoyed to see the girl safe. They asked her if she was hurt, but she smiled and assured them she was unharmed, thanks to the Konoha ninja. As she was about to introduce Masaki and Kagami to the villagers, she realized the two had already disappeared.
To the villagers, the actions of Masaki and his comrades were a blessing in a time of dire need. But for Masaki and the others, they were simply fulfilling a contract. There was no need to stay and accept the villagers' gratitude. Soon after, Masaki and Kagami regrouped with Hiruzen and the others, and they all began their journey back to the village.
When Ichiro woke up, he anxiously asked about the results of the mission he had commissioned. At that moment, Hashirama sent someone to bring Ichiro to the Hokage Tower. Once there, Ichiro saw the seven young ninjas already assembled. With a smile, Hashirama informed him that the bandits in his village had been driven away and would not return.
Ichiro was amazed. He had only been asleep for a short time, yet they had already completed the mission. It sounded almost too good to be true, and he doubted the words at first. But once Hashirama presented the evidence left behind by Masaki and the others, Ichiro believed that the bandits had truly been defeated.
Feeling ashamed for doubting them, Ichiro developed deep trust in Konoha. He asked, "Hokage-sama, if we ever need help again, may we call on you?"
Hashirama smiled warmly and said, "Of course. If you ever need assistance, just send a request to our village. As long as we accept the mission, Konoha will give it everything we've got. We never abandon a mission."
"Thank you so much," Ichiro said, bowing deeply in gratitude before leaving the room to return to his village.
Once Ichiro was gone, Hashirama turned to the seven ninjas and said, "You did well. This mission served as a good practice run for you. How did you feel about it?"
"It was easy," Hiruzen said. "We didn't encounter any real challenges. But those 'bandits' were actually samurai, which was a bit surprising."
"They were just some incompetent guys," Hashirama said lightly. "Still, this shows that the world isn't as stable as it seems. We'll gradually take on more missions like this. You might think these are simple, but it's necessary to get you familiar with missions. When the truly important ones come, you'll be ready."
"We understand," the seven replied quickly. Some had initially felt that small missions like this weren't worth their time, but after hearing Hashirama's reasoning, they understood the value of the experience.
"Review the details of this mission," Hashirama instructed. "If you made any mistakes, remember them, and don't make them again. In tougher missions, such mistakes could cost you your life!"
"Yes!" the seven answered in unison.
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