After spending a long time picking missions at the mission assembly hall, the five quickly set off.
It was still wartime, and due to a shortage of manpower, a large number of missions had accumulated in the mission assembly hall, so the commissions for missions were generally quite high now.
Jiraiya spent a long time sifting through them and found a mission to escort a merchant caravan.
During this time, he also spent a long time explaining to the four youngsters how to choose the most cost-effective missions, which greatly changed Uchiha Yakoto's impression of Jiraiya.
In Yakoto's impression, Jiraiya was the person who completed the most missions among the Hokage.
Uchiha Yakoto had always thought Jiraiya was the diligent, hardworking type, believing he would take any mission that came his way.
He never expected Jiraiya to have this side to him.
“It's wartime now, and many merchant caravans are involved in smuggling, and due to the war, there will be more wandering samurai and Ninja.”
“Although the risk is greater, their offers will also be higher accordingly.”
“And the kind I just picked belongs to the more reasonably priced ones.”
“Remember, never be greedy for small advantages; you must be cautious when accepting missions with very high offers.”
Perhaps it was his first time taking children out on a mission, but Jiraiya seemed a bit overly cautious and naggy.
After Jiraiya's constant admonitions, the group quickly arrived at the designated location.
“Are you the client, Kimura Kazuki?”
“Yes, that's me, that's me!”
Hearing Jiraiya's voice, the client eagerly came forward, nervously rubbing his hands.
“I wonder if the Ninja-sama needs to rest? If not, then let's depart immediately.”
“Then let's go.” Jiraiya waved his hand grandly, and the group followed Kimura Kazuki on their way.
Kimura Kazuki thoughtfully arranged two separate carriages for the five.
Although they had just left Konoha and it wasn't very dangerous yet, what needed to be done still had to be done.
Uchiha Yakoto volunteered to take on the Vigilance mission.
Now, only Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya were in the carriage.
“Teacher, do you think I have a chance to catch up with Uchiha Yakoto?”
Hearing Minato Namikaze's question, Jiraiya thought carefully.
“It's difficult. To be honest, in all my years traveling the Ninja World, a Genius like Uchiha Yakoto is truly unique.”
“But it's not entirely without a chance. Uchiha Yakoto is gifted, but you, Minato Namikaze, are not bad either.”
“What you lack is only the previous level of education, but I believe...”
“You, Minato Namikaze, under my, the Great Toad Immortal Jiraiya's, guidance, will certainly not be inferior to Uchiha Yakoto.”
Minato Namikaze nodded seriously, his eyes shining with firm resolve.
“I will definitely not let down Teacher's expectations!”
“Good, very spirited.” Seeing Minato Namikaze's reaction, Jiraiya nodded in satisfaction.
Uchiha Yakoto was sitting at the highest point of the entire convoy, enjoying the scenery outside Konoha Village.
To be honest, this was Uchiha Yakoto's first time leaving Konoha and seeing the outside world.
Uchiha Yakoto comfortably enjoyed the breeze, savoring the rare leisure.
Jiraiya, appearing from who-knows-where, climbed up and sat beside Uchiha Yakoto.
“How is it? The view from up high is pretty good, isn't it?”
Seeing Jiraiya sitting beside him, Uchiha Yakoto was slightly surprised for a moment, then returned to his usual demeanor.
“Hmm.”
He's really aloof, just like Orochimaru.
But it doesn't matter. I, Jiraiya, have experience dealing with aloof people.
Didn't you see I even managed to win over Orochimaru?
Jiraiya seemed not to notice Uchiha Yakoto's coolness and continued speaking to himself.
“Do you still remember the Hokage Rock in Konoha?”
“When they were children, First Hokage Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara made a vow on that rock to bring peace to the chaotic world.”
Uchiha Yakoto's mouth twitched slightly. Alright, he's here to preach the will of fire.
But it must be said that Jiraiya's salesmanship was still far inferior to Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.
He still needs practice.
“Yakoto, what do you think of the Village?”
Hearing Jiraiya's question, Uchiha Yakoto didn't think much and quickly gave his answer.
“The Village is where home is, and home is the harbor where the people I love and who love me reside.”
“Home?”
Listening to Uchiha Yakoto's words, Jiraiya also gazed into the distance, uncharacteristically thinking of his own home and parents.
That was a very, very distant past.
So distant that Jiraiya could no longer remember his parents' faces; the memories of that time were like a hazy phantom.
It seemed to have existed, and yet it seemed not to have.
“I never expected you to say that...” Jiraiya said with some emotion.
“It seems you value your family very much.”
“If one day, the Village and your family come into conflict, how will you choose?”
Uchiha Yakoto was silent for a moment, then replied indifferently.
“I have already answered that question.”
The Village is where home is. If there was no home, then the Village would mean nothing to Uchiha Yakoto.
Understanding Uchiha Yakoto's words, Jiraiya was slightly surprised. After hearing about the will of fire for so many years at the Ninja Academy, it seemed Uchiha Yakoto hadn't taken any of it to heart.
How strange, I remember this kid had very high scores in civics class.
Uchiha Yakoto: Laughs, you clearly don't understand the power of nine-year compulsory education.
Those were just pretty platitudes; Uchiha Yakoto could rattle them off without thinking.
Although Uchiha Yakoto seemed completely indifferent to the will of fire, Jiraiya felt it didn't matter.
To be honest, he didn't feel much about it either; when the Old Man used to talk about it, his eyelids never separated.
That stuff was probably only something Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi liked to constantly talk about.
The sun gradually set in the west, and neither Jiraiya nor Uchiha Yakoto spoke again, simply watching the sunset in silence.
Weeks passed by.
Uchiha Yakoto's journey had been surprisingly calm and uneventful.
Along the way, let alone wandering Ninja, even bandits and robbers were rare.
During a leisurely moment, Jiraiya pulled Kimura Kazuki and the youngsters, excluding Hyuga Kana who was on Vigilance duty, to play cards.
Shizune said as she played a card.
“It's a B-rank mission, yet there hasn't been any danger at all during the mission. Forget enemies, we haven't even encountered a few wild beasts.”
“My turn.” Seeing the card Shizune played, Kimura Kazuki quickly followed suit, saying as he played his card.
“I've heard about this. It seems Konoha has completely ended its conflicts with the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning, in addition to the Land of Rain which had already ceased hostilities.”
“Now, Konoha only has the Sand Village as an enemy.”
“With a significant surplus of troops, Konoha has dispatched many Ninja to the Land of Wind, preparing to completely end the Second Ninja World War.”
“Those Ninja who were transferred from the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning passed through here and conveniently cleared out a lot of bandits.”