Some time later—
Another client arrived at the Hokage’s office.
An elderly man dressed like a common laborer entered while carrying a wine bottle carelessly in one hand.
The strong smell of alcohol immediately spread through the room.
His face was slightly flushed already.
The moment Yoruha saw him—
He immediately recognized the man.
Tazuna.
“The Land of Waves mission is about to begin…”
Yet strangely—
Yoruha felt almost no excitement whatsoever.
This was technically one of the earliest major arcs from the original Naruto story.
A turning point for Team 7.
The beginning of real combat experience.
The appearance of missing-nin and bloodshed.
And eventually—
Zabuza Momochi and Haku.
Still, Yoruha remained indifferent.
Perhaps because after gaining overwhelming power himself, the original storyline no longer felt especially important.
Or perhaps because—
Compared to his current level, the Land of Waves conflict genuinely appeared insignificant now.
Meanwhile, Tazuna looked around the Hokage’s office while scratching his head drunkenly.
He was merely an ordinary bridge engineer from the Land of Waves.
Not a noble.
Not a wealthy merchant.
Certainly not someone familiar with Konoha’s internal structure.
After briefly understanding the mission request, Hiruzen Sarutobi calmly classified it as a C-rank escort mission.
On the surface—
That classification made sense.
A standard escort mission without expected shinobi involvement naturally fell under C-rank difficulty.
Of course—
Yoruha already knew enemy ninja would absolutely appear later.
The Demon Brothers first.
Then Zabuza himself.
Still—
He had no intention of interfering.
Because strictly speaking, the mission report itself was incomplete due to Tazuna concealing information intentionally.
That deception was what caused the situation to escalate originally.
Meanwhile, Tazuna suddenly noticed Yoruha sitting beside the Hokage while organizing stacks of classified documents.
The old bridge builder frowned slightly.
“Are the ninja in Konoha really this young now?”
His gaze lingered on Yoruha suspiciously.
After all—
Yoruha looked roughly the same age as academy students.
Yet he worked directly inside the Hokage’s office itself.
The Third Hokage smiled calmly.
“In Konoha, ability matters more than age.”
Tazuna looked unconvinced.
“Ability?”
His drunken gaze scanned Yoruha again.
Frankly—
Yoruha looked too young and too quiet to inspire confidence naturally.
Still, neither Hiruzen nor Yoruha bothered explaining further.
Soon afterward, the Third Hokage decided to assign the mission officially to Team 7.
Not long later—
The office doors burst open loudly.
Naruto Uzumaki rushed inside first while shouting dramatically:
“Grandpa Hokage!”
“This better finally be a real mission!”
“I’m tired of chasing cats and pulling weeds!”
While complaining loudly, Naruto instinctively glanced toward Yoruha again.
His eyes still carried mixed emotions.
Fear.
Jealousy.
And unwilling admiration.
Fear because of Yoruha’s terrifying strength.
Jealousy because Yoruha skipped the humiliating Genin phase entirely and became a Chunin immediately after graduation.
Meanwhile—
Naruto remained trapped performing endless D-rank chores.
The Third Hokage immediately spoke sternly:
“Naruto.”
“You are still rookie Genin.”
“D-rank missions are appropriate for your current level.”
“Stop complaining constantly.”
Naruto instantly threw himself dramatically onto the floor.
“Grandpa Hokage!”
“Please give us something more exciting!”
“If not, I’m not leaving!”
Nearby, Kakashi Hatake sighed helplessly.
Meanwhile—
Yoruha ignored the entire scene completely.
His attention remained fixed on the enormous mountain of paperwork covering the desk.
Ironically—
Although Yoruha’s salary and allowances already approached elite Jonin levels, the workload itself was genuinely exhausting.
Many of these documents were highly confidential village reports.
Yet Hiruzen casually allowed Yoruha access to nearly everything.
In truth—
Yoruha’s role increasingly resembled a high-level secretary rather than a simple assistant.
Of course, the Third Hokage’s real intention was obvious.
He was gradually teaching Yoruha how to manage village affairs.
Mission logistics.
Administrative structure.
Diplomatic relations.
Internal security.
Budget distribution.
Everything a future Hokage eventually needed to understand.
Meanwhile, standing beside Naruto, Sasuke Uchiha quietly observed Yoruha organizing documents.
His brows slowly furrowed.
“He spends all day handling paperwork…”
“…yet his strength still keeps increasing.”
Sasuke genuinely could not understand it.
Ever since their confrontation earlier, Sasuke completely treated Yoruha as the person he absolutely must surpass.
Yet strangely—
He almost never saw Yoruha training publicly.
No intense taijutsu practice.
No visible chakra exercises.
No weapon drills.
Instead—
Yoruha spent most of his time either inside the Hokage office or quietly at home.
Still, his strength felt increasingly monstrous every time they met.
That contradiction deeply frustrated Sasuke.
Meanwhile, the Third Hokage finally relented after watching Naruto continue his dramatic tantrum.
“…Fine.”
“I’ll assign Team 7 a C-rank mission.”
Naruto instantly jumped upright excitedly.
“A C-rank?!”
“Really?!”
“Are we protecting a princess?!”
“Or maybe the Fire Daimyō?!”
The Third Hokage looked utterly speechless.
“Naruto…”
“Genin are not assigned to protect the Daimyō.”
The Fire Daimyō remained the political ruler of the entire Land of Fire.
Although Konoha operated independently regarding shinobi matters, the Daimyō still possessed supreme national authority officially.
Protecting such figures required elite-level ninja.
Historically—
The Fire Daimyō’s direct protection force included the legendary Twelve Guardian Ninja, all of whom possessed at least Jonin-level ability.
Naruto pouted unhappily.
“Then who are we protecting?”
Kakashi finally interrupted firmly.
“Naruto.”
“Be quiet and listen.”
Once Kakashi became serious, Naruto reluctantly calmed down slightly.
Nearby, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke also focused attentively.
Honestly—
Both of them were equally tired of endless D-rank chores already.
At that moment, Sasuke glanced once more toward Yoruha.
“The gap between us keeps growing…”
“He became Chunin immediately.”
“And now he works directly under the Hokage.”
“Meanwhile…”
“…I’m still wasting time doing village errands with Naruto.”
Sasuke quietly clenched his fist.
“I need to become Chunin quickly.”
“I have to surpass him.”
Of course—
Yoruha remained completely unaware of Sasuke’s internal determination.
And even if he knew—
He likely would not care very much.
Currently, Yoruha honestly viewed himself more like an ordinary office worker than a traditional ninja.
Work during the day.
Return home afterward.
Study techniques occasionally.
A surprisingly peaceful routine.
Strangely enough—
He did not dislike that lifestyle.
Finally, the Third Hokage formally introduced the mission.
“Your objective is simple.”
“You will escort this man safely back to the Land of Waves.”
“Then protect him while bridge construction continues.”
At that moment, Tazuna drunkenly staggered forward while examining Team 7 critically.
“Hokage-sama…”
“Does Konoha seriously not have better ninja available?”
“Why are all the people protecting me just children?”
Then he pointed lazily toward Naruto specifically.
“Especially that short and stupid-looking one.”
Naruto immediately burst into laughter.
“Hahaha!”
“Who are you calling short and stupid?!”
Then—
Gradually—
Naruto realized something horrifying.
He glanced toward Sasuke.
Then toward Sakura.
And finally realized—
He actually was the shortest member of Team 7 currently.
Naruto’s face instantly twisted furiously.
“You old drunk!”
“I’ll kill you!”
Kakashi immediately grabbed Naruto before disaster occurred.
“Idiot.”
“Are you planning to attack the client now?”
Even Kakashi looked exhausted already.
Naruto’s impulsiveness genuinely resembled a walking catastrophe sometimes.
Then—
Almost unconsciously—
Kakashi glanced toward Yoruha again.
Yoruha still calmly organized documents without even looking up.
The contrast felt absurd.
“They’re the same age…”
“…so why is the difference this enormous?”
Then Kakashi suddenly remembered his own childhood team.
Minato Namikaze leading him, Obito Uchiha, and Rin Nohara.
Sasuke resembled young Kakashi heavily.
Naruto resembled Obito.
And oddly enough—
Sakura’s admiration toward Sasuke vaguely mirrored Rin’s feelings years ago.
Meanwhile, Tazuna still looked visibly skeptical toward Team 7 overall.
From his perspective—
One child worked directly inside the Hokage’s office.
And the ninja assigned to protect him were three more children.
None of this inspired confidence whatsoever.
The Third Hokage finally sighed before addressing Naruto seriously:
“Naruto.”
“Do your best during this mission.”
“Do not embarrass Konoha.”
Naruto instantly straightened proudly.
“Don’t worry, Grandpa Hokage!”
“I’ll definitely complete it perfectly!”
“Soon I’ll become a Chunin too!”
“And after that…”
“…you’ll finally pass the Hokage position to me!”
The Third Hokage’s lips twitched faintly.
Still—
He only smiled calmly.
“Just focus on completing the mission first.”
As for the Hokage position—
In truth—
The Third Hokage had already quietly decided who would inherit it someday.