Water bears at the beginning, wet bone forest eating old people

"Shinzo, what do you think of this kid?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Kozō had been following behind Kushina, and Hiruzen was naturally asking about Kushina.

"It wasn't quite right. Maybe it was her first time. She hit him a little too hard, leaving marks on the little kid. But she waited until there was no one around before striking again. It was quite impressive. Even though it was an unconscious action, it was still acceptable."

Kozo narrowed his eyes, but what he said made Hiruzen sweat.

This guy, Hiruzen initially thought that Kozo was considering the problem from the perspective of a child, but what he just said was from the perspective of a ninja, a perspective of killing!

"And compared to Kushina and Hiruzen, don't you think that kid named Namikaze Minato is very talented?"

"talent?"

Hiruzen couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. The kid had been following him but didn't make any move. Where did his talent come from?

"From our perspective, Namikaze Minato seemed a bit childish, but to those kids, he never showed up, yet he was able to keep up with the four of them, from the busy city outside the school to the quiet woods."

"He hides his talents very well, and his sense of direction and anticipation are all good."

After hearing Gu Zang's analysis, Hiruzen immediately felt that it made sense. This kid really has a good talent!

"The important thing is that the child is different from Kushina. He is soft-hearted and gentle to everyone. He obviously likes Kushina, but he is willing to care for the child who was knocked down by Kushina~"

"Ah, no...that's right...wait."

Hiruzen felt like he was about to be taught like an elementary school student by Kozō, but he reacted immediately.

Like Kushina? That won't do! Kushina is the pre-selected candidate for the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. She must be in the hands of the village. There's no way she can be handed over to a civilian ninja!

"That child's talent is enough to become Hokage."

The surprise on Hiruzen's face faded, and he frowned. He looked at Kozang thoughtfully.

Why?

You are a Chunin who can only serve as a teacher in a ninja school. How dare you assert that a child who hasn't even grown all his hair can become Hokage?

If someone else said this, Hiruzen would think that person was blindly praising him.

But even though Hiruzen kept asking himself why in his heart, he still believed in what Shinzo said, the Chunin teacher named Shinzo.

This was the impression Shinzo left on Hiruzen, a reliable one with a basis in reason, not just a feeling.

"Hahaha, sorry for the embarrassing performance. I wonder what you called me here for, Hiruzen?"

Kozo laughed, interrupting Hiruzen's thoughts.

"Oh, right."

Hiruzen then remembered his secondary purpose for coming to the ninja school.

The main purpose is naturally to see how Kushina is doing in school. This was instructed by Senju Tobirama.

The secondary purpose is to find a teammate, which was also instructed by Senju Tobirama.

Due to the tense situation on the front lines between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rain, Konoha sent a number of ninjas to support them. Although they did not directly engage in a war, they were stationed on the border to observe the situation in case of a surprise attack.

Therefore, there are not many ninjas left in Konoha Village, and most of them are busy with their work.

Senju Tobirama gave Sarutobi Hiruzen a mission to go to the Daimyo's mansion in the Land of Fire and deliver a document to him.

Sarutobi Hiruzen guessed that the content should be related to the application for war funds and the application for a visit from the Cloud Ninja.

This mission may seem like a simple intelligence delivery mission, but it is actually quite dangerous.

Because the Cloud Ninja Visit Application has not yet been delivered to the Cloud Ninja Village. It’s not because the speed is slow, but because it was intercepted.

There is an unknown force hiding in the Land of Fire that is blocking the Konoha ninja from delivering the letter.

So Senju Tobirama asked Sarutobi Hiruzen to take two teammates to deliver the letter and eliminate the hostile forces hidden in the territory of the Land of Fire. Now there is still one person missing.

It is difficult to find ninjas at this time, so Sarutobi Hiruzen came directly to the ninja school to recruit young men.

Although being a teacher in a ninja school is a stable job that is actually a guaranteed job for ninjas who have no talent but have a strong will of fire, it does not mean that all teachers in ninja schools are good-for-nothings.

For example, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt that the teacher in front of him named Shinzo was definitely not just a simple civilian Chunin. Like his other teammate, he was a low-key guy who hid himself.

"Sending a letter?"

Gu Zang thought about it. Since Kushina's existence was discovered on the first day, Gu Zang expected that this class would definitely receive attention from the top management.

As an instructor, he must also be noticed, so that night, after returning to the Senju residence, he left behind a shadow clone that was enough to last for a long time.

Although Gu Zang has no talent in ninjutsu, his chakra amount is huge enough. As early as after swallowing Hashirama's cells, his chakra amount has already exceeded the level of the tailed beast. It is impossible to judge the exact amount, after all, Kakashi has not come out yet.

It's just a shadow clone that can last for a few days. If nothing unexpected happens, there shouldn't be any serious trouble. Moreover, with the speed of Sarutobi Hiruzen's team, it will only take one day to travel to and from the Daimyo's mansion.

"How's the pay?"

Gu Zang turned around and asked Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was stunned.

No, where's your Will of Fire? It's Tobirama Senju! This is a mission assigned by the Second Hokage himself! It's such an honor! Why are you still talking about compensation?!

Another teammate agreed without saying anything and didn't ask any questions. Now it's your turn and you're asking for money?

Hiruzen pursed his face, took out his cigarette and took two puffs.

He calculated that this mission could probably be considered a B to A level mission. According to the normal mission process, the reward could reach more than 150,000 taels. Moreover, once the reward was given to Xinzang, he could not favor one over the other and had to give it to another teammate as well.

Well, Sarutobi Hiruzen calculated that his own small treasury could barely support this amount. He could only pay for this money himself. Should he ask Senju Tobirama for it? He had to ask himself the same question: what about the Will of Fire?

"Treat it as a B-level mission, 150,000 taels. If the mission becomes more difficult, the maximum price will be 250,000 taels. This is the highest price I can offer."

Hiruzen's heart was bleeding, his little treasury was used to buy tobacco, which was one of his few hobbies!

"Ahaha, I thought the missions assigned by Nidaime-sama were unpaid. It's great that there is a reward~"

Gu Zang clapped his hands happily.

"Where's the other teammate? Are we leaving now?"

Hiruzen opened his mouth and said, "There's something I want to say but I don't know whether I should say it or not. Why didn't you say it earlier?"

It's too late to regret now! If he says there's no reward at this time, then he will not only hit Sarutobi Hiruzen in the face, but also Senju Tobirama's face!

Gaba --

Hiruzen broke the pipe with one blow.

"Ahem...it's been taking a while, and I'm a bit tired. I'll take you to see another teammate."

Hiruzen sulked, pulling out his other pipe and leading Kozo to another open area on the edge of the village.

A middle-aged man dressed very maturely was fishing by the river.

Gu Zang took a quick glance at the man's face; it was very ordinary and he couldn't recognize him. But when he saw the big black pot placed on the ground next to him, Gu Zang began to remember the man's identity.

"Gujie, I found my teammates."

"Oh? Mr. Hiruzen, so soon? Let's get going then."

Maruboshi Kosuke smiled, put away his fishing rod, poured out all the water that had been boiled in the black pot for stewing fish, and put it on his back.

It seems that this kind of wandering life has become commonplace for him.

"Nice to meet you, Shinzo."

Gu Zang extended his hand.

Gu Jie is very easy to talk to and has a warm smile on his face.

"Hello, my name is Maruboshi Kosuke, just call me Kosuke, no need to be too polite."