"A Genin like me, getting assigned to an A-rank mission right off the bat—how the hell is that even reasonable?" Nara Kazuki muttered while dashing alongside Kakashi.
"First off," Kakashi shot him a sideways glance mid-sprint, "I'm the one actually assigned to this mission. You're just tagging along as the tactical advisor your teacher insisted on sending."
Kazuki gave a speechless sigh. He hadn't seen this coming at all. He'd just wrapped up another round of Youthful Training™ with Guy, returned home planning to continue grinding his skills solo, and then—boom—Uncle Suzaku dragged him out the door.
That's when he learned: the Hokage himself had personally assigned him to participate in an A-rank mission.
Kazuki's brain had gone straight into blue screen mode.
A-rank? Me? Is this a prank?
In that moment, he felt like some random background NPC, suddenly pulled into a final boss fight against Full-Power Sukuna. And his supposed teammate? The kind of guy who'd just say, "Don't worry—we got this."
Now that he thought about it, Kakashi's silver hair really did have a Gojo Satoru vibe.
"Tactical advisor, huh," Kazuki muttered, trotting behind him.
The Nara clan had always been... different. Whether it was genetics or something else, members of the clan tended to have sharp minds—put plainly, they were smart as hell.
Even the average Nara civilian outpaced most in intellect, to the point that their clan held strategist positions even within the Daimyō's court.
Of course, those in the Daimyō's court were non-combatants. The real ninja Naras remained in Konoha.
Still, sending a Genin on an A-rank mission felt way over the top.
An A-rank mission meant what? Typically the domain of Jonin. High-risk, high-stakes assignments involving potential wars or solving critical village problems—combat against enemy ninja was almost a certainty.
Kazuki could maybe see himself handling a B-rank. Maybe.
"This mission's target is a small town near the border of the Land of Fire," Kakashi explained as they ran. "Locals sent a distress signal—said some weird group arrived out of nowhere, preaching about their 'god' and promising immortality. Intel says there are shinobi among them."
Kazuki raised an eyebrow.
God? Immortality?
Those two words paired together instantly made him think of one person—a certain late-game lunatic always screaming about "K-ketsu-kyoku..."
Hidan.
Though right now, Hidan should still be just a punk kid. After all, when Shikamaru buried him alive, he was only twenty-two—barely an adult by ninja standards.
"This is getting interesting," Kazuki muttered, cracking his knuckles.
He'd always been curious how someone like Hidan pulled off true immortality. Even after being dismembered by Shikamaru, the guy still kept talking. That kind of vitality was next-level. Sure, according to Kishimoto, Hidan eventually died of starvation due to lack of nutrients while buried...
But surviving dismemberment? That was insane.
Kakashi continued running, sneaking a glance at Kazuki. He had his suspicions: this mission was probably something Kazuki's teacher arranged as a trial. No way an A-rank mission would only be assigned to the two of them under normal circumstances.
His guess? The mission's actual rank was B. The whole "A-rank" label was a way to put pressure on Kazuki, test his mettle. Even the reward was substandard for an A—fit better with B-rank payout.
Around noon, they stopped for a meal and cracked open some instant ramen.
"Hey... mind controlling your shadow a little?" Kakashi sighed. "It's wobbling all over the place while you eat. Dead giveaway you're using a clan jutsu."
"This is called training even while eating," Kazuki replied, face completely serious.
After leveling up his Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique, Kazuki had shifted focus to Shadow Imitation Jutsu—the Nara clan's bread and butter. Uncle Suzaku had straight-up told him that mastering it was how he made Jonin.
Kazuki wasn't fully convinced; probably just Uncle's way of nudging him to stop spamming fireballs 24/7.
Still, Kazuki kept practicing his daily chakra ball stacking. Every stack made him just a little bit stronger—it was measurable.
Plus, his progress bar for Shadow Imitation was nearly full. He couldn't wait to see what new options the next upgrade would unlock.
Kakashi rolled his eyes, slurped his noodles, and dragged Kazuki back on the road.
Even then, it still took them another two to three days to finally reach the mission site.
"What do you think?" Kakashi crouched on a tree branch overlooking the town.
A small, ordinary village. Most of the people were civilians, toiling to bring the war-scarred earth back into workable farmland.
But scattered through the town were robed figures in black, holding up signs and placards, openly preaching in the marketplace—some even trying to convert married women right in front of their husbands.
"Let's gather intel first. Confirm whether they actually have ninja among them," Kazuki said.
Despite being a transmigrant, Kazuki hadn't been slacking off. He'd done his homework. He knew ninja habits, knew how missions worked.
More importantly, a certain legendary shinobi once said: "The true battlefield for ninja... is information."
Intel was everything. Even in his past world's modern warfare, intelligence was king.
Kakashi nodded, and proceeded to give Kazuki a perfect demonstration of textbook stealth and reconnaissance. Kazuki slipped in right behind him.
"Stealth... stealth... I mean, if I just kill everyone, that still counts as perfect stealth, right?" Kazuki grumbled inwardly as he crept along—but stayed cautious.
The goal was to gauge their top-tier strength. If they were weak, hit fast and hard before Kakashi snatched all the credit.
If they were strong, back Kakashi up and unleash a properly specced Great Fireball. Let them feel what it meant to fight someone with full blue points in ninjutsu.
Then he saw it.
A kid in a black robe, preaching to a group of toddlers making mud pies.
Kazuki twitched.
You bastard... recruiting kids now? That little shit better not be Hidan.