bookbashuk Page 69
Page 69
If that man really intends to harm Konoha, the consequences will be unimaginable.
He even considered whether he should immediately abandon the current escort mission and rush back to Konoha to report this important information to the Third Hokage in person.
Just as Kakashi was feeling uneasy and weighing the pros and cons, the tent flap was suddenly yanked open.
"Kakashi-sensei! Why aren't you ready yet? The sun's practically high in the sky, we should be heading out!"
Naruto's signature loud voice rang out.
Kakashi looked up and saw Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Tazuna, all dressed and ready to go, standing outside the tent.
"Ah, sorry, sorry." Kakashi quickly responded, getting up from his bedding. "Please wait a moment, I'll be right there."
He quickly packed his bags while rapidly organizing his thoughts.
Although Naruto and his friends' escort mission seemed simple, it was of paramount importance to these three newly graduated genin.
This is related to whether they are qualified to participate in the Chunin Selection Exams, which will be jointly held by Konoha and Sunagakure soon.
The Chunin Exams are not only a test of the genin's strength, but also an important platform for villages to demonstrate their power and secure more high-level missions.
If Class 7 misses this opportunity due to mission failure, it will undoubtedly be a significant blow to their growth.
While Orochimaru's information was extremely urgent, it only came from a dream, and its authenticity still needs to be verified.
If it turns out to be just a false alarm, and it delays the disciples' future, it would be a loss that outweighs the gain.
Kakashi pondered for a moment and quickly made a decision.
He decided to send this information back to Konoha as quickly as possible for the Third Hokage to decide and investigate.
Then, Class 7 sped up as quickly as possible to complete their mission in the Land of Waves and return to their village as soon as possible.
This ensures timely transmission of information without delaying the disciples' participation in the Chunin Exams.
Having made up his mind, Kakashi's movements became more swift.
He quickly packed his bags, took out a blank scroll and pen and ink from his ninja tool bag, and leaned over the simple wooden box to quickly write down the doubts about Orochimaru and his own worries from last night's dream.
After finishing writing, he carefully rolled up the scroll, formed a hand seal, and uttered a low shout: "Spirit Communication Technique!"
"Oh!"
A puff of white smoke dissipated, and a pug with droopy ears, a wrinkled face, and a lazy expression appeared in front of Kakashi.
Wearing a Konoha headband and a blue vest, it is Pakkun, one of Kakashi's ninja dogs.
As soon as Parker appeared, he yawned impatiently and complained in his distinctive hoarse voice, "What's going on, Kakashi? You woke me up so early in the morning, don't you know I'm still asleep?"
"Puck, we have an urgent mission this time." Kakashi's expression was unusually serious. He ignored Puck's complaints and handed over the scroll in his hand.
He solemnly instructed, "Send this back to Konoha immediately and personally deliver it to the Third Hokage. Remember, this information is extremely important; you must do it as quickly as possible, without any delay!"
Seeing Kakashi's serious expression, so different from his usual lazy demeanor, Pakkun immediately dropped his joking thoughts and realized the seriousness of the matter.
It said nothing more, but nodded solemnly, picked up the scroll with its mouth, wagged its tail at Kakashi as a greeting, then warily sniffed the air, identified the direction of Konoha Village, and transformed into a brown shadow, quickly disappearing into the dense forest in the morning light.
Sasuke, standing to the side, watched Kakashi's every move.
He noticed that Kakashi-sensei, who was known for his laziness, was now showing an unprecedentedly serious expression.
'Is it related to what the attacker said yesterday?'
Involuntarily, Orochimaru's sinister face and the words "Konoha is collapsing" appeared in Sasuke's mind...
A hint of seriousness flashed in his dark pupils.
Watching Pakkun's figure disappear completely from sight, Kakashi turned around and said to Naruto and the others in a deep voice, "Alright, let's go! From now on, we need to speed up our progress! We must complete this mission as soon as possible and then return to Konoha!"
……
The straight-line distance between the Land of Waves and Konoha Village in the Land of Fire is actually not that far.
If they traveled at full speed at the normal pace of a ninja, they could arrive within a day.
The reason why Class 7 was so slow before was entirely because there was an ordinary person in the team who was completely powerless.
The client, Dazner, was significantly slowing down the entire team's progress due to his poor physical condition.
However, this problem was not difficult for the experienced Jonin Kakashi Hatake to solve.
Kakashi walked up to Tazuna, who was still yawning, gave him a few brief instructions, and before Tazuna could react, he bent down and hoisted the dumbfounded Tazuna onto his shoulder.
"Kakashi-Mr. Kakashi, what's wrong with you...?"
Tazuna was startled by this sudden action and was about to struggle when Kakashi said in a deep voice, "Hold on tight, Mr. Tazuna, we're going to go full speed ahead!"
Before he finished speaking, Kakashi suddenly exerted force with his feet, and his whole body shot out like an arrow. The speed was so fast that the force of the wind he generated even made Tazuna unable to open his eyes for a moment.
"Hey! Kakashi-sensei, wait for us!"
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were slightly taken aback when they saw this, but they immediately reacted and ran after Kakashi.
As a Jonin, Kakashi has absolute command authority during missions.
Since he decided to speed things up, the three men under his command naturally had to obey unconditionally.
The group of four sped along the forest path.
Fortunately, since they joined forces to "repel" Zabuza Momochi a few days ago, they have not encountered any new enemy attacks during their mission in the Land of Waves.
This made the journey of the seventh class exceptionally smooth and fast.
That afternoon, before the sun had completely sunk below the horizon, Class 7 successfully arrived at the border of the Land of Fire.
Not far ahead is the ferry crossing leading to the Land of Waves.
……
Meanwhile, in Konoha Village, in the Hokage's office.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat behind a large desk, buried in a mountain of official documents, with wisps of smoke filling the office.
"Tuk-tuk-tuk-"
Suddenly, a series of rapid but slight knocking sounds came from the window.
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned slightly, got up and walked towards the window.
He had some doubts in his mind: who would visit in this way at this time?
When he opened a corner of the window, what came into view was a pug covered in dust and sweat, panting heavily.
It was Kakashi's ninja dog, Pakkun.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes instantly sharpened.
He certainly recognized the iconic ninja dog; Kakashi had used Pakkun to deliver urgent intelligence on several occasions in the past.
"Pakkun? What are you doing here?" Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly opened the window completely to let the exhausted ninja dog in.
Parker leaped onto the windowsill and placed the scroll he was holding tightly in his mouth on the desk in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
It was panting, and said in a hoarse voice, "It was...it was Kakashi who sent me...He said...this information...is very important...Phew...I rushed back at full speed...I'm so tired...I'm exhausted...I need to rest..."
Before he finished speaking, Parker's figure turned into a puff of white smoke with a "bang" and disappeared from the spot, obviously dispelling the summoning spell and going to rest.
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned even more as he looked at the scroll on the table, which was covered in a little dirt.
"Isn't Kakashi on an escort mission to the Land of Waves? What urgent matter could have happened that requires Pakkun to be sent back in such a rush?"
An ominous premonition rose in his heart, and he quickly picked up the scroll, carefully untied the rope, and slowly unrolled it.
The handwriting on the scroll was Kakashi's unique, delicate yet powerful style, but the content made Hiruzen Sarutobi's pupils shrink sharply.
"...Check if there are any bodies of examinees who were attacked near Konoha...If there are, it means Orochimaru may be plotting something detrimental to Konoha..."
After reading the contents of the scroll, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression instantly became extremely solemn.
Orochimaru……
This name, like a heavy brand, is deeply engraved in the history of Konoha and in the heart of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
His most promising disciple ultimately embarked on a forbidden path and became an S-rank rogue ninja of Konoha.
"The examinee's corpse... Chunin Exams..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi muttered to himself, his eyes turning unusually cold and sharp, "That Orochimaru guy, is he planning to take advantage of this Chunin Exams to attack Konoha?"
……
With Kakashi pushing himself to the limit regardless of chakra consumption, Team 7 finally arrived at Tazuna's home in the Land of Waves at dusk that day.
However, although the escort mission has come to a temporary end, their mission has not ended.
As agreed, they also need to assist Tazuna until the cross-sea bridge connecting the Land of Waves and the mainland is completely completed before they can return to Konoha.
When they arrived, they could already see the bridge, which was already taking shape, in the distance.
The main structure of the bridge has indeed been mostly completed, with only the final finishing touches remaining.
It seems that in just a few more days, this bridge, which carries the hope for the future of the Land of Waves, will be fully completed.
After a full day of almost non-stop marching, the three little ones were exhausted and felt like they were about to fall apart.
After a simple dinner, everyone found a place to rest.
Naruto and Sakura slumped on the corridor floor, rubbing their aching calves as they complained to Kakashi.
"Kakashi-sensei, you were in such a rush today!" Naruto said weakly. "I'm exhausted, my bones feel like they're going to fall apart!"
“That’s right, Kakashi-sensei!” Sakura rubbed her shoulders and chimed in with a pained expression, “We’ve barely rested all day. Even someone made of iron couldn’t take it.”
Kakashi gave his two disciples his signature deadpan smile: "Well, well, this is also a form of training. When ninjas are on missions, time is of the essence, and they often need to march quickly like today. Getting used to it beforehand will be good for you in the future."
At this moment, Sasuke, who had been silently wiping his kunai, suddenly looked up at Kakashi and abruptly asked, "Kakashi-sensei, since the village may be facing a crisis, why don't we just return to Konoha? Why continue this mission here? Is this bridge... really that important?"
Sasuke's voice was as cold as ever, but the questions in his words were very perceptive.
Upon hearing this, Kakashi raised an eyebrow in surprise, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes as he looked at Sasuke.
He never expected that Sasuke would be able to guess the real reason for his hasty journey from his unusual behavior today.
"As expected of the Uchiha..." Kakashi sighed inwardly, then let out a soft sigh, his smile fading and his expression turning serious.
He said in a deep voice, "Sasuke, you guessed right. The reason I'm in such a hurry is because I received some intelligence about the village possibly being in danger. However, we can't go back immediately."
"This Chunin Selection Exam is extraordinary." Kakashi's gaze swept over Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura as he slowly said, "This exam is jointly organized by our Konoha Village and our ally, Sunagakure Village. It is not only a test of the genin's strength, but also an important opportunity for the two countries to secretly compete and showcase the strength and potential of their respective villages."