"Wonder if what I've done is right or wrong?"
Haruki murmured to himself as he watched Jiraiya and the other three waving goodbye in the distance.
A butterfly flapping its wings can trigger a tsunami.
What he did today would surely bring about different changes one day.
But he had no idea if these changes would be beneficial to him.
Thinking of this, he smiled.
After all, he was a time-traveler with a cheat. If he only aimed to keep the plot of the original story intact, how could he expect a different ending?
"Let's go, Minato."
Haruki patted him on the head.
Minato Namikaze then put down his right hand that had been waving, with a reluctant look on his face.
He had unexpectedly hit it off with Yahiko and the others.
"Teacher, when can I see them again next time?"
Minato Namikaze followed behind Haruki and couldn't help asking.
Although he was only ten, in the precocious world of Naruto, he was almost like an adult. So he was well aware of the three's situation.
Staying in Amegakure Village where Hanzo, known as the Demi-God, was located, no one could predict where their future would lead.
"You'll meet again."
After Haruki said that, he suddenly remembered that according to the original story, they would never meet.
Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki both died in the Nine-Tailed Fox Incident.
"Minato, you've really gotten a great deal by becoming my student."
"Huh? What do you mean, teacher?"
Haruki's inexplicable musings left Minato Namikaze quite puzzled. Apart from the rather special medical Jonin, he couldn't see what kind of deal he had gotten.
Haruki didn't explain and instead started talking about this B-Rank Mission.
"The bandits to be exterminated are holed up on a peak in the Aso Mountains of the Land of Fire. The road is narrow and easy to defend but hard to attack. So your current task is to plan a relatively safe route of advance."
"Me?" Minato Namikaze pointed at himself. "Wasn't I here just to tag along and split the reward?"
"Of course it's you."
Haruki said with a smile, "Getting paid for work is what a Ninja should do. Hurry up. You only have one day."
Minato Namikaze immediately took out the map and pen he had brought, found the Aso Mountains, and started to draw the route.
Haruki was a bit surprised when he saw this.
He didn't expect Minato to be so well-prepared.
"Done."
After a while, Minato Namikaze put down the pen and handed the map to Haruki.
"Not bad."
Haruki glanced at the route Minato had drawn. It was very smooth and standard without being at all abrupt.
"Climb up the steepest cliff of the Aso Mountains?"
"Yeah. I heard from you that there's only one Ninja among these bandits. Under normal circumstances, there won't be any Jonin. Their main defense must be deployed on the northern mountain path. And the southern cliff is too straight and exposed, not suitable for a large force, so the defensive strength will be relatively less."
Minato Namikaze paused for a moment and then smiled, "Of course, teacher, as a Jonin, it's too easy for you to sneak in unnoticed by the bandits. This route is actually planned for myself."
Haruki returned the map to him.
Hearing the last sentence, he glanced at Minato but said nothing.
An hour later, the towering peaks came into view.
They were bare, with little vegetation.
Only some greenery surrounded the mountaintops.
"Teacher, how should we proceed?"
Minato Namikaze took out a kunai from his satchel and looked around warily.
"Teacher? Teac..."
There was no response. He turned around and found that Haruki had vanished.
For a moment, he was a bit dazed.
First, he ruled out the possibility that Haruki had been abducted. After all, it was extremely difficult to take away a Jonin silently.
As for the remaining... Minato Namikaze sighed.
What about the promised easy victory?
Haruki landed gently on a tree on the mountaintop like a bird. He activated his Sensor ability and detected eight bandits guarding the area.
He didn't pay much attention and looked down.
Minato Namikaze was leaping between the mountain cliffs.
A faint layer of Chakra enveloped his body, making him blend with the cliff like a chameleon. One would hardly notice him without a careful look.
A few minutes later, Minato Namikaze approached the mountaintop.
He hid behind a protruding rock and didn't act rashly, seemingly observing the guards' situation.
After a moment, he jumped up, spreading his hands outward and throwing eight kunai.
The next second, grunts sounded.
The eight bandits fell, all with their throats pierced.
Minato Namikaze landed on the ground and let out a soft sigh.
Without time to think further, he looked ahead.
Four white two - storey buildings came into view.
They were simple wooden huts.
Since it was daytime, the fires had gone out.
Minato Namikaze roughly estimated the number of people. After a moment of thought, he climbed a tree not far from the huts.
He stared at the largest building in the middle and activated his Sensor ability. Faint traces of Chakra were detected.
He took a shallow breath and minimized his body movements.
He slowly approached the wooden hut in the middle.
Maybe it was the bandits' base, or perhaps it was the overconfidence of the Ninja.
There were no bandits patrolling around.
Minato Namikaze took advantage of the guards' blind spots, intertwined wire with kunai, and set up a simple booby trap.
Then he reached into his satchel with his right hand, took out three black pellets, and quickly threw them into the air.
He began to make Hand Seal. Serpent - Dragon - Rabbit - Tiger.
Three strange noises from the Flash Bombs exploded in the air first, and a strong, blinding flash enveloped the mountaintop.
"Who's there?!"
A middle - aged Ninja in a black robe came out first. He felt the Chakra fluctuation of the flash bombs, but his eyes involuntarily closed due to the sudden strong light.
Oh, no!
Minato Namikaze stopped making Hand Seal.
He opened his mouth slightly, and a fiery red dragon rushed out rapidly.
Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!
But it didn't go straight for the middle - aged Ninja. Instead, it started from the wooden hut near him, and in an instant, the entire base was ablaze.
Screams and roars followed.
Minato Namikaze vanished from the spot using the Shifting Body Technique.
At the same time, he hooked his right finger.
The buried kunai flew out of the ground, spinning and forming a ring, and rushed towards the middle - aged Ninja.
Hearing the sound of the wind, the middle - aged Ninja nimbly dodged the kunai.
The kunai landed around him.
"Damn it!"
Where the hell are you hiding, you damn rat!
A series of attacks took the middle - aged ninja by surprise.
He just blinked, and things had already started to go from bad to worse.
The middle - aged ninja angrily searched for Minato Namikaze's figure.
But the scene was really chaotic.
The Fire Release and the bandits scurrying around made it hard for him to spot [Minato Namikaze].
The middle - aged ninja regained a bit of his composure. Since this person had been lurking in the dark, it meant his strength was inferior to his own.
Thinking of this, he immediately formed Hand Seals with both hands.
First, extinguish the fire.
But suddenly, he detected some abnormal noises and suddenly turned his head. One of the Kunai that Minato Namikaze had dropped was quietly burning.
Explosive Tag?
It's all over.
As if time had frozen, in an instant, the firelight imploded and then exploded.
Layers of heat waves suddenly spread from the mountaintop, mixing with the previous Fire Release. After a moment of spreading, it had turned into a sea of fire.
Haruki showed himself.
Minato Namikaze sped up his finishing blows. Eventually, not a single bandit was left alive; the entire group was wiped out.
Since the mission details recorded the bandits' countless evil deeds, he had no qualms about killing them.
"Teacher."
Minato Namikaze walked up to him, a bit out of breath.
Taking out a large number of enemies in a short time had taken a heavy toll on his stamina.
"Not bad."
Haruki nodded. He had been observing in the dark.
Minato Namikaze's performance was flawless.
Thinking about the future, he couldn't help but sigh. If he didn't lack the protagonist's charisma, there might not be a chance for his son.
Hearing the praise, Minato Namikaze's tired little face showed a shy smile and he modestly said, "They were just a bunch of bandits. No big deal."
Haruki raised his eyebrows.
He turned around and, through the thick smoke, saw a group of Sand Ninjas.
"The bandits are really nothing, but what about the ninjas from [Sunagakure]?"
Haruki looked at the ninjas gradually encircling the peaks, rubbed Minato Namikaze's head, and said, "Do you have the confidence to have a big fight?"
"??? "
I was just joking!
Minato Namikaze also spotted the Sand Ninjas.
There were not only a large number of them, but also several Jonin.
"Um... Teacher, let's run away quickly."
Minato Namikaze immediately chickened out. He was a ninja, not a hothead.
In a hopeless situation, of course, one should run.
But Haruki remained unmoved. He softly said, "Next is the teacher's show. Watch carefully. You only get one chance."