Kushina immediately let out a startled scream.
“Ah!
Oh no!
The noodles…” It was obvious that the homemade lunch Kushina had carefully prepared for Hideki Sato had been completely ruined.
To Hideki, however, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
After all, he wasn’t particularly eager to eat Kushina’s cooking.
Whenever she cooked, she always liked to add her own “special touch,” resulting in some rather…
unusual flavors.
Strangely enough, Kushina herself never seemed to notice anything wrong with the taste.
After cleaning up the disaster in the kitchen, Hideki and Kushina decided to go out for lunch instead.
Once they had eaten their fill, the two walked hand in hand through the bustling streets of Konoha.
Suddenly, Kushina stopped and pointed into the distance.
“Hideki, look over there.
Isn’t that Mikoto?” Following the direction of her finger, Hideki spotted Mikoto.
She wore an annoyed expression as she walked, while a young man dressed in Uchiha clan attire followed a short distance behind her.
At that moment, Mikoto noticed Hideki and Kushina as well.
She said something impatiently to the man behind her before jogging over to greet them.
The moment she arrived, Kushina couldn’t resist asking with obvious curiosity.
“Mikoto, who was that guy just now?
Don’t tell me he’s your…” Before she could finish, Mikoto’s face twisted into one of obvious disgust.
“That annoying guy is Uchiha Fugaku.
He’s always acting like he’s better than everyone else, and I can’t stand him.
Lately, I don’t know what’s gotten into him, but he keeps bothering me every chance he gets.
It’s so irritating.” Seeing how troubled Mikoto looked, Kushina immediately sided with her.
“He looked pretty decent at first glance, but I didn’t expect him to be that kind of person.
Don’t worry, Mikoto.
The next time I see him, I’ll beat him up so badly that he’ll never dare bother you again.” Realizing Kushina was completely serious, Mikoto quickly tried to stop her.
“It hasn’t gotten that far.
Besides, I’ve heard he’s already awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
He’s really strong.” “Hmph!
I don’t care if it’s three tomoe or four.
Next time I see him, I’m definitely beating him up.
Worst case, I’ll just borrow a little chakra from that stupid fox.” Hideki looked at her curiously.
“So you’ve already made peace with the Nine-Tails?” “Nope.
That stupid fox still screams at me every time it sees me.
But I can force it to lend me a little chakra.” As soon as she finished speaking, a crimson layer of chakra began to surround her body.
Hideki quickly stopped her.
If she continued, the Anbu would undoubtedly come investigating.
Releasing the Nine-Tails’ chakra in the middle of a crowded street was far too dangerous.
Since they were teammates, and because of her family’s background, Mikoto had long known that Kushina was the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki, so she wasn’t surprised in the slightest.
Afterward, Mikoto joined them, and the three continued strolling through the village together.
In a way, it could even be considered a little team outing for Hideki’s group.
A few days later, Hideki found himself staring silently at the Anbu standing before him.
“So you’re saying that a newly promoted Chunin like me is supposed to escort a convoy carrying supplies to the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind?” The Anbu replied in an indifferent tone.
“That’s correct.
You won’t be alone, however.
Several Genin will accompany you.
The supply convoy departs tomorrow at noon.
Don’t be late.” With that, the Anbu jumped out through the window and disappeared.
Holding the mission details in his hand, Hideki frowned thoughtfully.
Something about this mission didn’t feel right.
Normally, escorting a supply convoy would require at least five Chunin.
Even with Konoha stretched thin because of the war, it made no sense to assign only a single Chunin and a handful of Genin.
Furthermore, the amount of supplies being transported wasn’t particularly valuable.
It hardly seemed important enough to warrant an escort in the first place.
The entire mission felt suspicious, as though someone behind the scenes had carefully arranged everything.
Unfortunately, the mission orders had already been issued.
There was no backing out now.
Unless…
He stabbed himself with a kunai and withdrew because of an injury.
That would certainly get him out of the mission, but the price would be far too high.
Maybe he was simply overthinking things.
After all, he was only an ordinary Chunin.
Surely no one would go through so much trouble just to target someone like him.
As long as he stayed cautious, everything should be fine.
Hideki comforted himself with that thought.
The next day soon arrived.
After saying goodbye to Kushina and Mikoto, Hideki set out for the border together with a group of unnamed Genin assigned to the mission.
For the first three days, the journey remained completely uneventful.
Everything went so smoothly that Hideki began to think he would earn an easy B-rank mission.
But on the fourth night…
Something unexpected finally happened.
Hideki had been asleep inside his tent when an odd sensation suddenly woke him.
It felt as though someone was watching him.
Opening his eyes, he carefully scanned the tent.
Eventually, he discovered the source of that unsettling feeling.
A tiny insect clung to the side of the tent.
For several seconds, he found himself staring at the bug…
while it seemed to stare back at him.
He shook his head.
I’m getting too paranoid.
It’s just a bug.
There’s nothing strange about that.
The thought had barely crossed his mind before he froze.
His eyes widened.
Without hesitation, he sat upright and summoned Charmeleon.
A bug…
Isn’t that the specialty of the Aburame Clan?
Everything suddenly became clear.
Someone had been watching him all along.
And there was only one person in Konoha capable of arranging a scheme like this.
Danzo.
An ordinary person could never have orchestrated something so carefully.
After casually crushing the insect between his fingers, Hideki left the tent with Charmeleon at his side.
Outside, one of the Genin was standing guard.
The young shinobi looked at him in confusion.
“Chunin Hideki…
did something happen?” ( End of Chapter )
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