As soon as Kakashi stepped out of the Hokage Tower, he found that Naruto was nowhere to be seen.
'So exhausting…'
'This team is so difficult to lead!'
If it's already like this before they even leave the village. Kakashi didn't even want to think about what kind of chaos would unfold once they did.
"Where's Naruto?"
Sasuke just glanced aside and shrugged. Sakura thought for a moment, then pointed back toward the Hokage Tower and said with a hint of uncertainty, "I think I saw Naruto turn around and go back inside."
"Maybe he went to see Sandaime-sama?"
Kakashi looked up at the sky, feeling exhausted both physically and mentally.
'I was starting to understand how Sensei must've felt back then.'
'But honestly, Naruto was even harder to deal with than Obito ever was.'
With those thoughts swirling, Kakashi quietly mourned his departed best friend as he led Sasuke and Sakura back to the Hokage Tower.
And then…
They saw Naruto arguing loudly with a short, grumpy old man.
"Old geezer, you are here to cause trouble, right?"
"I already told you I'm a Genin from Konoha!"
"I can take your mission!"
"And the price is totally fair!"
Naruto was just barely holding himself back from killing his potential client.
He had politely run up earlier and greeted the guy with a friendly 'Grandpa'.
But this old fool was so ignorant that he just waved his hand and told Naruto to go somewhere else.
He was saying something like 'Little brat, don't come here and make trouble'.
Fine, fine.
It was his fault that he didn't wear the forehead protector.
But even when he took it out and showed it to the guy, the old man didn't even look at him, and his eyes were always scanning the Chunin and Jonin in the hall.
"How much would it cost to hire you?"
Dazna finally couldn't stand this kid anymore and asked casually, but his eyes were constantly glancing at the missions on the board while mentally calculating the money he had on him.
As someone who has always lacked theoretical knowledge of Shinobi, this question directly stumped Naruto.
Even though he had watched Naruto in his previous life, he honestly had no clue how much it cost to hire a Shinobi, let alone how much money it would take to hire their Team 7.
Thinking back to the task that Hiruzen had just given to Team 7...
'20 million taels = C-Rank mission'
'Maybe this is a bit exaggerated, but cutting it down to one-tenth shouldn't be unreasonable, right?'
Without even thinking it through, Naruto blurted out, "Two million ryo!"
'At a tenth of the cost, this old geezer had to be able to afford that, right?'
When Tazuna heard the price, his face turned darker than the bottom of a pot.
'2 million ryo!?'
'Why don't you just go and rob me!'
'The total amount of money I had was less than 300,000 ryo!'
He immediately waved to the little brat in front of him, telling him to disappear from his sight.
One thought the price he quoted was very fair, while the other thought the other party was trying to scam him.
And so, they started shouting at each other in the mission hall.
"Shoo, shoo, shoo!"
"You're obviously just here to make trouble!"
"I came to issue a simple escort mission, and you start by asking for 2 million ryo?"
"Are all of you Konoha's Shinobi made of solid gold?!"
Naruto was really pissed off by this old man.
Not only was he defeated by the Konoha's Shinobi today using despicable means, but now, even the 'quest NPC' is not assigning quests to him properly.
He'd even refrained from shouting 'Skip!' when he saw Tazuna earlier, which was him being respectful!
Now the guy wouldn't even give him the mission, how could he not be furious?
However, what Naruto didn't realize was, he'd just casually quoted the reward for an S-Rank mission.
"I think you came to Konoha just to cause trouble!"
Naruto immediately pulled out a diamond sword from the system, waved it at the old man and shouted angrily.
It seemed that he was about to rush up and chop the other party in the next second.
"Naruto, calm down!"
"Take a breath! Let's talk it out!"
Seeing that the situation was getting worse, the two Konoha's gate guards, Izumo and Kotetsu, immediately rushed forward. One of them hugged Naruto's waist and the other grabbed his hand. It took everything they had to hold Naruto back.
They were really afraid that the Kyubi's Jinchuriki would hack a mission client to death in the Hokage Tower.
But what really confused them was...
'Where the hell did this kid get so much strength?'
"Uncles, let me go!"
"I only asked for a mission reward of 2 million ryo. How is that high?!"
Izumo: "…"
Kotetsu: "…"
Both of them were completely stunned by the number Naruto quoted.
'No wonder this old man started to criticize him directly.'
'Is it really okay for you to ask an old man for an S-Rank mission's reward?'
"That…"
"Naruto, have you considered the possibility that maybe… just maybe… 2 million ryo was a bit much?"
Izumo stayed quiet for a moment before finally muttering a deadpan complaint.
"No way!"
"The old man Sandaime had just assigned a C-Rank mission for us. It's for us to go outside the village and play for a month, then we will get a reward of 20 million ryo."
"I'm already asking for one-tenth of that!"
"How is that unreasonable!?"
Hearing that this mission was tied to Team 7's recent assignment, the two guards fell silent again.
Because they chipped in on that payout too.
After all, who doesn't have a few relatives who just graduated from the Academy?
At this moment, the two of them felt really embarrassed when they heard the person in question suddenly bring it up.
'Also…'
'Could it be that this kid has some misunderstanding about the mission reward?'
'Did he even understand what 20 million ryo meant?'
'It took more than 300 Shinobi and 1,000 villagers from all over the village, as well as the generous sponsorship of the Hyuga Clan, to raise these 20 million ryo.'
'It's all just for you to stop doing low-rank missions in the village.'
If this continues, he, Uzumaki Naruto, won't have to farm anymore, but the Shinobi in Konoha Village will have to farm, otherwise, they won't be able to survive.
And as for why the Hyuga Clan was so generous to sponsor them...
It can only be said that those who understand, will understand.
Kakashi's eye twitched as he watched the chaos unfold.
'I'd only taken my eye off him for a few minutes...'
'How did Naruto get himself into trouble again!?'
'I'm so tired...'
'When is Jiraiya-sama coming back to the village?'
Kakashi had never wanted Jiraiya to return more than he did right now.
Since Naruto is the son of Jiraiya-sama's disciple...
It would be reasonable for him to throw Naruto to him when the time comes, right?
After all, Hiruzen has done the same thing.
Kakashi rubbed his temples. He was starting to think he should ask Hiruzen what meds he was taking to stay sane...
With a look of pure resignation, Kakashi stepped in front of Naruto, pressing a hand gently to the boy's head.
"Naruto..."
"Two million ryo is already the reward for an S-Rank mission."
Hearing this, Naruto's face changed. His anger rose instantly, and he almost lost control of the Kyubi's Chakra in his body.
'These people in Konoha are really going too far!'
'How on earth could they have the nerve to spend their own money on the rewards for 20 S-Rank missions just to send me outside the village?!'
'Haven't I, Uzumaki Naruto, made any contribution to the village?!'
'So cold!'
Everyone looked at Naruto who was grunting, and no one dared to continue provoking him, for fear that the Kyubi's Chakra would get out of control.
Kakashi had watched enough to piece together what Naruto was trying to do.
He turned to the old man and looked him up and down.
"Sir, I am the Jonin Instructor of this kid's team."
"What kind of mission are you trying to request?"
When Tazuna heard Kakashi is a Jonin, his expression softened noticeably, but his heart skipped a beat again.
'Hiring a Jonin…'
'Shouldn't be cheap, right?'
'However, this guy looks much more reliable than that kid.'
Tazuna's eyes lit up and a plan came to his mind.
Putting on his best poker face, he said to Kakashi: "I need you to escort me to the Land of Waves."
"I just checked the mission board that the escort mission is considered a C-Rank mission. As for the mission reward..."
"I can only afford 250,000 ryo."