"Bang..."
Ishikawa, who had already packed his things, suddenly threw a shuriken, nailing it to the door. Nodding in satisfaction, he opened the door and stepped out.
That mark was a secret signal agreed upon by him and Nohara Rin. Whenever one of them needed to leave the village for a mission, they would embed a shuriken into the door of their house.
This way, the moment the two rooms connected across time and space, both sides could instantly understand each other's whereabouts—eliminating any need for explanation or worry.
If there was an important message to pass on and the other party wasn't present, they would simply leave a letter at the designated spot. They did everything possible to protect their secret.
A few minutes later, at the Konoha gate.
"Izumo, here's our travel authorization for the mission." After regrouping, Kakashi led Ishikawa and the others to register with the famed Konoha gate duo.
"Hold on a sec..." Kamizuki Izumo immediately took the scroll and quickly verified its authenticity, handing it to his companion Kotetsu Hagane for registration.
"Kakashi, I didn't expect you to take your team out of the village so soon. I figured it'd be a while before you'd lead them outside."
While Kotetsu handled the logbook, Izumo smiled casually and greeted him, his curious gaze drifting toward the three young Genin.
He couldn't help but wonder what was so special about these three kids, for them to be personally guided by the infamous Copy Ninja Kakashi.
"Well, what can I say? There aren't many missions left in the village. Might as well bring these rookies out and help them open their eyes a bit," Kakashi replied lazily.
His words made Ishikawa and the other two grimace in unison. Weren't they praised as excellent Genin just yesterday? How had they suddenly been downgraded to rookies again? Couldn't they have a little dignity??
However, both Izumo and Kotetsu understood Kakashi's intent and gave the trio meaningful looks as they completed the paperwork.
"Alright, you three, good luck!" Kotetsu said with a grin. "Your teacher is a legendary Konoha ninja, so don't embarrass him out there."
Hearing that, Taro and Jiro both froze in confusion.
This lazy teacher who's always late, reads inappropriate books in public, and never takes anything seriously—is a legendary ninja? What kind of bad joke was this?!
Kakashi, for his part, didn't bother explaining. He tucked away the mission scroll and waved his hand. "Let's move. Destination: Land of Cedar."
'Land of Cedar? Another tiny country without a hidden village? No wonder we're going there to suppress bandits. I've never even heard of it…' Ishikawa muttered to himself, quickly catching up with his two teammates.
"Um, Teacher Kakashi... That guy earlier said you were a legendary ninja of Konoha. Is that true?" After walking for a while, Taro couldn't suppress his curiosity any longer.
Although Jiro stayed quiet, his skeptical gaze was clearly demanding an answer as well.
"Eh… hahaha... That was just a joke," Kakashi replied half-heartedly, scratching the back of his head. Bragging about his own reputation? That'd just be lame. He wasn't that bored.
"The man who copied over a thousand ninjutsu, the Konoha Ninja renowned across the ninja world as the Copy Ninja—Sharingan Kakashi…"
"That's your teacher's legendary title. And you two? What a disgrace. As his students, you didn't even know!" Just as Taro and Jiro were becoming increasingly suspicious and gloomy, the usually reserved Ishikawa suddenly dropped the bomb.
"No way!!"
"Big Brother, are you messing with us?!"
Hearing that ridiculously intimidating title, the two younger brothers instantly panicked, stumbling over their own feet.
Even Kakashi, who had just been saved from awkwardness, gave Ishikawa a strange look.
"Don't give me that look, Mr. Kakashi. It's your own fault for being so unreliable—showing up late to class, leaving early, and always buried in adult novels!"
Ishikawa replied disdainfully. "I had no choice but to dig up your past from your former Ninja School teacher."
It was simply part of the research he'd done beforehand. After all, Kakashi's name was hardly a secret in Konoha. Even students at the Ninja Academy knew about him!
…Though, to be fair, what they knew was mostly surface-level stuff.
"Ahem... that..." Kakashi gave a dry cough to cover his embarrassment, then quickly adjusted his tone and looked ahead.
"Pick up the pace. We must reach Sugi no sato village in the Land of Cedar before noon tomorrow." With that, Kakashi took the lead and sped up his pace...
"Taro, Jiro, hurry up and keep up." Ishikawa shrugged helplessly, urging the two to follow closely.
'Is Teacher Kakashi really that powerful...?' The two younger brothers exchanged glances, doubt flickering in their eyes, but they didn't say anything more and silently chased after him.
---
Land of Cedar, Sugi no Sato Town.
The early morning sunlight poured into the increasingly lively town. On a broad street, two slender shadows stretched out under the sun, slowly approaching.
"Th-that is..." In front of a casino, a young man drowsily sweeping the floor suddenly widened his eyes in excitement.
"Could it be the legendary—!" Another young man nearby followed with a gasp, his eyes filled with undisguised greed and ecstasy.
The two looked at each other, sparks of excitement flying between them, and without hesitation turned to shout, "Brother! Come out, quick!!"
"What is it now? Why are you two yelling like that? Seriously? I told you to clean the place, and you're already slacking..." Inside the casino, the dozing boss grumbled and cursed, but due to the nature of his work, he still got up.
Grabbing a few underlings armed with sticks and short swords, he stormed outside, prepared to handle troublemakers.
"Brother, look over there!" As soon as he stepped out, the two cleaners shoved him urgently and pointed toward the street.
The furious casino boss glanced in the direction they pointed—and immediately froze.
His eyes bulged, his face flushed red, and he swallowed hard, trying to suppress his excitement and disbelief.
Two stunning women walked gracefully down the street bathed in morning light.
The one on the left had long, light blonde hair tied into a casual ponytail. Her porcelain face, with thin brows, soft red lips, and brown eyes beneath a forehead mark, resembled a hand-sculpted porcelain doll.
But it was her voluptuous, nearly explosive figure that stole every breath in the vicinity.
The woman beside her, though not as eye-catching in build or beauty, still radiated a refreshing charm. She held a tiny pink piglet in one arm and a black leather suitcase in the other.
The moment the suitcase came into view, the greedy gaze of every man—including the casino boss—locked onto it.
"A woman with huge breasts, blonde hair, and a cloak that says 'Gambling'... It has to be her—"
"The legendary Sucker!!"
As the two women approached, the casino boss and his lackeys stared with fiery eyes, hardly believing their fortune.
"Hahaha! You two did great today!" The casino boss slapped the shoulders of his alert underlings in excitement. "Quick, clean up, and get ready to entertain our VIPs. I didn't expect this would be my lucky day!"
There were several casinos in the town, but the money box—that must stay in his place!
"Honored guests, how can we serve you? We've got every kind of gambling you can imagine!" The boss strode forward eagerly, speaking respectfully as he eyed the blonde woman like a hawk, his round eyes glowing green while locked onto the suitcase.
How much money would he win today?!
"Then let's go with this one!" The blonde woman glanced at him with interest and pointed at the casino door with her fair, delicate hand.
"Up to you."
The black-haired woman clutched the money box tighter, gave it a final reluctant look, and sighed bitterly.
'Two days. No, maybe even just today, and this money would be gone for sure! So exhausting... We need to figure out a new way to raise money again!!'