Tsunade was also lying on the sofa, displaying her perfect curves, "This mission of yours isn't simple, so be careful and pay attention to your safety."
Aoba's eyes refocused, and he asked in confusion,
"Is there some special situation?"
Tsunade nodded, "There's a base of Kumogakure in the Land of Whirlpools. You all might encounter Kumogakure's ninjas."
"Kumo? What are they doing running off to the Land of Whirlpools?", Aoba found it a bit hard to understand.
Between Kumogakure and the Land of Whirlpools was Konohagakure, such a long distance, he didn't know what their objective was.
"Hmph!", Tsunade let out a cold snort.
"Those guys love doing sneaky stuff. They're trying to see if they can find any orphans of the Land of Whirlpools and bring them back."
"For this kind of thing, they're repeat offenders."
"You should know, back then, Kumogakure almost managed to kidnap Hinata, right?"
Aoba nodded, "In the end, Uncle Hiashi killed the ambassador from Kumogakure to save Hinata, and the branch family's clan head exchanged his life for a life."
For some reason, he thought of 'zero-dollar purchases'.
Tsunade's face grew colder again, "Hinata is also in the team this time, and Kasui is too. If Kumogakure's ninjas find out, they'll definitely sniff their way over."
"Then what do we do when that happens?", Aoba asked.
Tsunade gave him a look, "Do you think I'm like that old man?"
Aoba shook his head, "No."
Tsunade waved her hand boldly, "Then that's it. Handle it however you need to handle it. Capture them alive if you can, kill them if you have to. No matter what happens, I'll cover for you."
"I understand," Aoba's eyes lit up. He liked talking with people like Tsunade.
Straightforward.
———
[The Next Day]
Team Twelve, plus Kasui, gathered at the gate of Konohagakure.
After the group registered with the two gatekeepers, they exited the village.
"Aoba!"
Team Twelve, full of anticipation, had just exited the village when they ran into Team Ten, led by Sarutobi Asuma.
Then Aoba was hugged by a soft and tender body.
Yakumo's cheeks puffed up like a pufferfish.
Hinata's gaze also flickered.
"Aoba, long time no see. Did you miss me?", Ino hugged Aoba, rubbing her golden hair against his chest.
"Didn't we just see each other two days ago?", Aoba, a master of time management, wouldn't neglect one in favor of another.
"That was two days ago. That's already a long time."
"Ino-chan, we have a mission to do. Let's chat next time when there's time," Kurenai stepped in between the two of them.
She was a firm member of the Yakumo faction… and she also glanced at the equally dissatisfied-looking Hinata.
Now there was also the Hinata faction to consider.
"Um… Kurenai…", Sarutobi Asuma couldn't help but speak. Since they each led different teams, he hadn't really seen Kurenai much during this period.
"Anko said you were busy last time. How about we have dinner together tonight?"
"No time this time either. We're on a mission outside the village, and it's quite far. It'll take a while before we return," Kurenai wasn't intentionally ignoring her childhood friend of many years, it's just that she really didn't have time.
"An outside mission?", Sarutobi Asuma was a bit surprised. He looked at Aoba, who was being hugged by Ino, thought for a moment, then let it go.
"Right, with your strength, you should've been taking on high-level missions already."
"It's been over a month. Your team should be taking on some high-level missions by now too, right?", Kurenai asked with a puzzled expression.
Even for normal teams, after a month, they should be handling missions above D-rank.
Let alone a team like Ino-Shika-Cho, which was an elite team.
Sarutobi Asuma scratched his head, "Actually, we're doing a C-rank mission too. I'm taking them to a nearby village to deal with wild boars."
"...", Kurenai's mouth twitched. That wild boar job probably bordered between D-rank and C-rank.
"Asuma, being too protective of your students isn't always a good thing."
"We'll take it slowly," Sarutobi Asuma had an awkward smile on his face.
"Aoba, how long will your mission take?", Ino looked reluctant.
"Should be a while. I'll come find you as soon as I get back," Aoba patted her on the head.
"Then you have to come early," Ino reluctantly let go of Aoba's arm.
"Mm!"
"Alright, we should get going now," Kurenai led the way.
"Bye, Ino."
Aoba, Yakumo, and Hinata each said goodbye to Ino.
"Bye!"
"Wait, Kurenai…", Asuma, seeing they were in a hurry to leave, tried to set up a dinner appointment with Kurenai for next time.
But before he could finish, Kurenai's group had already gone far.
"Asuma-sensei, you're so lame. If you want to chase a girl, you have to be bolder," Seeing Sarutobi Asuma looking a little lost in spirit, Ino couldn't help but comment.
"I… Kurenai and I aren't like that…", Having his feelings exposed by his student, Sarutobi Asuma felt a bit embarrassed.
"So you're not chasing after Kurenai-sis?"
"I… I'm not…", Sarutobi Asuma was too embarrassed to admit such things in front of his students.
"Asuma-sensei, if you're like this, you won't win the girl you like," Ino had a look of heartfelt pity.
Even though she was the one chasing, that didn't mean she didn't understand how to chase someone.
'If you can't even admit you like someone, how are you going to win her over?'
Back then, Aoba confessed to her in front of the whole class.
Seeing Ino's slightly smug expression, Sarutobi Asuma's mouth twitched, but before he could speak Shikamaru interrupted, "Alright, let's go do our mission. Otherwise, we might not make it back to the village by night."
Hearing Shikamaru's urging, Sarutobi Asuma gloomily took the lead and started walking.
———
Kurenai's group of five wasn't slow on the road.
No need to mention the physical strength of Aoba and Hinata.
Kasui and Yakumo's physical condition had improved greatly under Tsunade's care over the years, and now they weren't any weaker than average chunin.
After a full day's travel, just as the sun was about to set, they arrived at the border of the Land of Fire.
"We'll camp here for the night."
Camping within the Land of Fire was still relatively safer than camping inside the Land of Whirlpools.
"Yakumo, set up the traps; Aoba, keep watch on the surroundings; Hinata, scout the area."
"""Yes!"""
The three of them each got to work.
Kurenai and Kasui started setting up the tents.
They prepared two tents…
If nothing goes wrong, they'll spend the night quietly.
But—
Something's about to go wrong.
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