Notes:
Sarutobi Shinnosuke and Konoha’s eight colors appear to be completely made by Naruto fans
At the Underground Bounty Station, a group of trembling staff shrank in a corner.
“Didn’t you say that Chigo was just an ordinary monk?” Kakazu grabbed the person in charge’s collar with a gloomy face. Not only did he fail this mission, but he also lost two lives. If he hadn’t escaped quickly, this miscalculation would have turned fatal for him.
Facing the furious bounty hunter, the trembling station boss said, “Kakazu-sama, that’s what the intelligence said. We investigated him as well and there was no record of him ever taking any action.”
Kakazu didn’t let go and pursued, “Do you know that I almost died there?” The person quickly replied, “Since this happened due to an error in the information, our bounty station will compensate you.”
“Compensation!” Kakazu snorted with disdain before asking, “How much?”
……
In the Hokage Residence, Namikaze Minato and his team reported the successful completion of the mission. Listening to the report and reading the Fire Temple’s letter, Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded with satisfaction and said, “You all did a very good job. Because you encountered three jonin rogue-nin and the rumored bounty hunter, Kakazu, the Fire Temple has increased the reward to 600,000 Ryo. This mission is now promoted to A-rank. Considering Tonan and Kakashi’s excellent performance, both will be promoted to chunin as special cases.”
Tonan and Kakashi bowed to Hiruzen. “Many thanks, Hokage-sama.”
Hiruzen put away the mission sheet and continued, “The mission reward is recorded in your bankbook. Now, take some rest. Hereafter, you don’t need to take any D-ranked missions.”
Seeing the official matter concluded, Tonan smiled. He then took out the gift he bought and placed it in front of Hiruzen. “Hokage-sama, I got you something from Rose Street. Happy Birthday.”
Contrary to expectations, Hiruzen didn’t react as enthusiastically. He merely nodded towards Tonan and said with a smile, “Just the thought was enough. I’ll leave it here, for now, and open it later tonight.” He moved the gift to the side as he spoke.
“Alright.” Tonan nodded without any change in expression. At this time, a middle-aged ninja in high spirits walked into the office. “Hokage-sama!”
The moment Hiruzen saw this person, a sincere smile appeared on his face. “Shinnosuke, you’re back. Come in and meet them, they’re Konoha’s future pillars.”
Minato nodded at Sarutobi Shinnosuke and said, “Hello, Shinnosuke-senpai, I’m Namikaze Minato.”
“Hello.” Shinnosuke nodded with a smile and turned towards Tonan and Kakashi.
“These two are Konoha’s famous geniuses, Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Tonan.” Hiruzen laughed and introduced them to Shinnosuke. “Shinnosuke, as a senpai, you should look after them. These two young fellows just completed an A-ranked mission, and are promoted to chunin. Especially Tonan, he killed a Mist rogue-nin.”
When Shinnosuke heard this, an inexplicable emotion flashed in his eyes. Looking at Tonan, he said, “Truly admirable.”
Tonan adjusted his glasses, and replied with a smile, “It’s not worth mentioning. The opponent was careless and fell for my illusion. I haven’t seen Shinnosuke-senpai in the village before.”
Shinnosuke reached out and patted Tonan’s shoulder. “I’ve been staying at the daimyo’s. A few days ago, I applied for leave and came back to look around. Since I was here, I thought I could also find some outstanding ninjas and take them to the Fire Capital to help maintain order.”
Tonan quietly nodded his head. Minato finally opened his mouth at this time, “Hokage-sama, we’ll leave now.”
Hiruzen’s eyes on Shinnosuke didn’t move and he casually waved his hand. “Go on.”
Tonan bowed towards Hiruzen and turned to leave. “No wonder Hiruzen’s being so cold to me. His biological son’s back. If I recall correctly, Shinnosuke should be among the Konoha eight colors. He has been staying with the daimyo all along… It seems Hiruzen intends to help his son ascend to a higher position.”
“And here I was wondering why I never gained his acknowledgment! Looks like I was nothing more than a dog he wanted to gift to his biological son. Everything he has done so far was to domesticate me for the son in his heart.” Tonan’s steps didn’t pause. But just before leaving the office, he glanced at the happily chatting father and son pair.
……
The next day, in the Konoha Hospital’s corridor, Tonan pushed Sanbo Motoyoshi to the window to bask in the sun. “Grandpa, rest here for a bit. I’ll go get the medical report.”
“Alright.” Motoyoshi waved his hand indifferently. Tonan came to the doctor’s office and handed the token he received after completing the health checkup procedure. The doctor inspected it and took out a medical report from the drawer. “Are you Sanbo Motoyoshi’s relative?”
“Yes, I’m his grandson.”
The doctor looked at various tests results in the report and explained, “There’s nothing wrong with your grandpa. It’s just that, as a person ages, the bodily function inevitably declines.”
Tonan nodded and asked, “Does the decline in bodily function have any effects?”
“It more or less affects the lifespan. Your grandpa is seventy-one this year. He’s already advanced in age.”
“Can he accompany me to adulthood?”
The doctor coughed and handed over the medical report to Tonan. “How’s that possible? In his condition, if he stayed happy, he can live for about five more years. But he has to rest more, and get enough sleep.”
Tonan looked at the medical report, and with a solemn look, he said in a low voice, “Doctor, may I make a request?”
The doctor frowned and asked, “What?”
Tonan continued, “Please don’t tell my grandpa that he can live for only five more years. No matter how he asks you, please say he can live a long life. He wants to see me get married and have children. I know how he is. Once he learns his time is limited, he won’t be able to stop thinking about it.”
The doctor appreciated Tonan’s concern and nodded, “We also understand this. It’s a white lie after all. Don’t worry, I won’t tell him.”
Tonan bowed and thanked, “Thank you, Doctor.”
He crumpled the medical report and threw it into the trash. Smiling brightly, he left the doctor’s office. “Alright grandpa, let’s go home.”
“What took you so long? Where’s the medical report?”
Tonan appeared like he was hiding something and said, “The doctor said that there’s no problem with your body, and you can live a long life. There’s no need to take the report.”
This made Motoyoshi suspicious. “Are you lying to me?”
Tonan smiled stiffly and replied, “Why would I lie to you? You just live to be a hundred years old and hold your great-grandchildren.”
After speaking, he hastily pushed Motoyoshi away. In the corridor, the doctor, who had just come out of the office, saw this and couldn’t help sighing in admiration, “I haven’t seen such a filial young fellow for a long time.”
