"I didn't expect Big Bro would entrust such an important mission to them."
Tsunade lay lazily in Kawaki's arms, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction.
She playfully stretched out her index finger, drawing circles on Kawaki's stomach.
Her half-covered body was partially visible, half-revealed, teasingly concealed.
"Don't always treat them like children."
"When we were their age, we weren't half as good as they are now."
The ticklish sensation on his stomach kept distracting Kawaki.
He gently patted Tsunade's arm and felt the worry beneath her touch.
To be honest, he felt the same too. Back when Minato and Nawaki led a mission to the Land of Earth, they had been anxious as well.
Fortunately, everyone not only completed the mission successfully, but Nawaki even returned with Misaki in tow.
It was a happy ending for all!
"That was *you*. I was unstoppable when I was young."
"Even the idiot Jiraiya and Orochimaru couldn't beat me."
Tsunade looked up at Kawaki, her expression brimming with pride, though she refused to admit it.
"Haha, sure."
"You're the strongest."
Kawaki chuckled. He couldn't remember who was actually the strongest among the three back then.
All he remembered was during the classic Bell Test, Jiraiya got buried underground by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Only Hiruzen himself could probably answer that question accurately.
Anyway, he wouldn't dwell on whether it was true or false—going along with Tsunade's claim was the safest bet.
"Sigh, I wonder where they are now?"
Tsunade turned the conversation back again, still clearly anxious underneath.
Nawaki was her younger brother, and Minato and the others were disciples he held dear.
Those three Anbu members were also rare elite warriors.
If any of them ran into trouble, she'd be devastated.
"Don't worry, the Flying Thunder God is at the Water Gate; even if he can't defeat him, he can still escape."
"Don't worry. Minato has the Flying Thunder God technique. Even if he can't win, he can escape."
Ropes can also fly, and in the Land of Water, his water release techniques become even more powerful.
"Nawaki can fly. In the Land of Water, his Water Release abilities will reach its full potential."
You know about Nagato's Rinnegan; if he encounters a desperate situation, the power he unleashes will surely draw everyone's attention.
"You know about Nagato's Rinnegan. If he ever faces a desperate situation, the power he unleashes would leave everyone stunned."
Don't underestimate Xiao Nan's youth; the Paper Release ability is still quite troublesome.
"Don't underestimate Konan just because she's young. Her Paper Release ability is quite formidable."
"In the Land of Water, Minato can demonstrate strength surpassing his usual capabilities."
"Yahiko can perform even better than usual in the Land of Water."
Kawaki reassured Tsunade by praising each member of the younger generation.
If he had known more about Nawaki's subordinates, he would've complimented them too.
As he spoke, he found himself growing more confident. This mission shouldn't be a problem for Minato and the rest, should it?
"What you said makes sense. I guess I'm worrying too much."
After hearing Kawaki's enthusiastic praise, Tsunade nodded and finally felt reassured.
Eventually, fledglings must learn to spread their wings and fly. They couldn't protect them forever.
That wouldn't be beneficial for Minato and the others either.
"Just believe in them. Maybe tomorrow they'll return with members of the Snow Clan in tow."
"You should focus on how to integrate them into the village."
Kawaki joked lightly, though deep down, he knew they wouldn't return that soon.
"If they come to Konoha, they won't have much of a choice anyway."
"Even if I give them nothing but a shed, they'll still have to smile and thank me."
Tsunade seemed to truly envision members of the Snow Clan standing before her, her voice filled with authority.
"Long live Hokage-sama!"
"Uh, I'm all rested now."
Kawaki teased, grabbing the hand Tsunade had resting on his stomach.
"Aren't you worried about damaging your kidneys?"
Tsunade shot him a look; this guy was hopeless.
"But then you can help me recover, right?"
Undeterred, Kawaki flipped over and climbed on top.
"Oh~ Be gentle..."
As the bed creaked softly, Kawaki was once again working hard to help the Hatake family grow their household.
...
Several days later, Minato's group boarded a ship heading to the Land of Water from the Fire Nation border.
It was a cargo ship from the Land of Fire, operated by a crew member who served as an intelligence agent for Konoha Village.
Making regular trips between the two countries, he had also passed secret reports back to Konoha.
"Uncle Hong Shu, I've heard things are getting really weird in Kiri lately?"
Minato had already taken off his mask, and everyone was dressed casually like crew members.
"Yeah, since the Third took over as Mizukage a few years ago, his personality completely changed."
"He's ruling with an iron fist and using brutal methods to train ninja."
"They force aspiring ninja to kill each other before they're even officially made shinobi. Only those who survive get to live."
"With training like that, all he's doing is raising cold-blooded killers."
"He's also been targeting Kekkei Genkai clans—that's why the Snow Clan came to us for help."
"There are rumors circulating throughout the Land of Water calling it the Bloody Mist Village."
Captain Hong Shu was a middle-aged man with a potbelly and a thick gold chain around his neck—every inch the picture of a wealthy merchant.
As he described the situation in Kiri, his brows furrowed tightly.
Indeed, the current state of Kiri was unsettling.
"According to what you're saying, doesn't anyone resist this kind of rule?"
Nawaki couldn't believe it. By comparison, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt almost gentle.
"How could there be no resistance?"
"It's just that most of them are smaller clans."
"Without enough strength, they've already been wiped out."
Hong Shu sighed at their misfortune—being born into that village must feel like starting life in hell.
"So did the Snow Clan resist too?"
Konan asked curiously. She could sympathize with the feeling of losing one's family.
She'd already decided that the Third Mizukage—who she'd never even met—was pure evil. Someone like that deserved to die!!
"The Snow Clan? Speaking of them... Well, it's really tragic. In the end, it was just bad luck they were born in Kiri."
"At first, the Snow Clan kept quiet and endured hardships, managing to survive within Kiri."
"But then, this generation started producing a lot of incredible talent."
"Ice Release awakenings were increasing too."
"Isn't that something positive for any clan?"
Hong Shu challenged with a question. Seeing everyone nod together, he continued explaining.
"This naturally drew the attention of the Third Mizukage."
"Perhaps he felt they posed a threat."
"Overnight, the Third Mizukage dispatched forces to launch a massive crackdown on the Snow Clan."
"It was absolutely horrifying!!"
At this point, everyone present understood the implications.
The Snow Clan didn't rebel willingly—they were backed into it.
If it turned out to be some notorious criminal, they'd hardly accept a rescue mission.
They might end up just loitering aimlessly and heading back—it wasn't like this was a mandatory mission anyway.
"Such problems would never happen if you came to our Konoha."
"My sister *will* treat them right."
Nawaki declared with full confidence in Tsunade.
"That's right. Konoha is nothing like the Village Hidden in the Mist."
Hong Shu smiled at everyone, feeling deeply connected to Konoha.
...
Years of doing business had made Hong Shu a remarkably sociable person.
After wrapping up the mission talk, the group chatted idly for a bit longer.
"Well then, get some rest."
"When we're close, I'll let you know."
With that, Hong Shu stood up to leave; he still had other matters to attend to.
"Alright, take care on your way out."
Minato and the others greatly respected these intelligence agents who treated life and death with such indifference.
They may not have possessed overwhelming power, but each one had a heart ready to give everything for the village.
The voyage from the Land of Fire to the Land of Water was long, yet a week slipped by like the blink of an eye.
As they drew closer to the Land of Water, the sea fog grew thicker and denser.
Without experienced sailors, it'd be easy to lose your bearings.
Compared to land, living conditions aboard the ship were significantly rougher.
Fortunately, none of Minato's team showed signs of seasickness, allowing them to maintain good combat readiness.
In the original plot, Gai had terrible seasickness. After landing, he needed help walking—there was no question of any fighting ability left then.
One day, someone knocked on the cabin door where the group was staying.
"Hey folks, we're almost there."
"Get ready."
Hong Shu briefly stopped by to give them a heads-up before hurrying off again.
"We're here."
Minato stepped out first, heading toward the deck. The faint outline of the port was already visible.
Crew members on the ship were unloading cargo.
"Just to remind you one last time—your safety comes first on this mission."
"Got it?"
Nawaki barked out.
"Got it!"
All six members responded in unison.
"Let's get to work."
With that, Minato led by example, lifting heavy crates. Soon enough, they fell into rhythm with the crew.
Their movements became so skilled that they were indistinguishable from the regular dockhands.
Before long, the ship began to slow down as it prepared to dock.
The harbor buzzed with activity, bustling with laborers coming and going.
Hong Shu disembarked to talk with the port officials before issuing orders to unload the cargo.
Naturally, Minato and his team followed the workers and started unloading freight off the boat.
To avoid suspicion due to their young age, Konan and the others used Transformation Jutsu to disguise their appearances.
Using child labor wasn't unheard of, but bringing in kids barely five or six years old? That would certainly draw attention.
What made matters worse was that she could actually lift those crates—that was sure to raise suspicion.
By midday, they finally had time to grab something to eat.
Not until nightfall had the entire ship's cargo been unloaded.
Cargo was stacked neatly on the harbor, awaiting pickup.
After completing the handover with his longtime contact, Hong Shu led the crew to a restaurant near the port for lodging.
Despite thriving on trade, the Land of Water maintained strict controls.
Everyone only had one night to spend at the harbor.
It was also a form of support for the trade routes. Life at sea really wasn't pleasant.
Ever since disembarking, Hong Shu had shown no special favor toward Minato and the others, not even saying a single word to them.
Minato and his group followed the crew to a restaurant where they stayed in an open, dormitory-style room.
It must've been intentional on Hong Shu's part, arranging for them all to stay in the same room.
Eight per room—they fit perfectly.
After finally reaching land, some of the crew immediately started seeking entertainment.
Some gambled while others searched for female company,
relieving the loneliness and emptiness accumulated during their sea voyage.
Minato and his companions returned to their room after dinner without joining the others' activities.
As the night deepened, the group began their next move.
"Let's go."
Minato called out softly and led the way outside, with the others following closely behind.
Under the cover of darkness, the eight slipped away from the harbor, heading deeper into the Land of Water.
Inside the room remained eight sleeping shadow clones.
"I'm about to lose my connection to the shadow clones."
After traveling an unknown distance, Konan stopped walking.
"Then we'll rest here."
"We'll depart again tomorrow."
Minato quickly made the decision, though they were still far from his maximum range.
But Minato understood—Konan was young, with limited chakra reserves.
Not everyone could perform large-scale battlefield searches using shadow clones like Naruto—he had his own protagonist aura for that.
"Stay hidden."
Nawaki said before ducking into a thick, leafy branch to hide.
Caution was never overkill when entering another nation's territory—especially on a mission.
"Got it."
Each of them found hiding spots—sleeping in trees was second nature to them.
This chapter isn't finished yet—more excitement ahead!
If you enjoy Naruto: Starting from Pursuing Tsunade, please remember to add it to your favorites: (m.
Nothing eventful happened throughout the night until dawn broke the next day.
The awakened crew washed up and enjoyed a satisfying meal before orderly boarding their ship.
Hong Shu was counting heads while a Land of Water official supervised beside him.
"...Eighty, eighty-one."
"Sir, everyone's here."
After finishing the headcount, Hong Shu reported to the official beside him.
"Hmm, wish you all smooth sailing."
The official made a checkmark in his notebook and smiled at Hong Shu.
They weren't strangers to working together.
"Haha, then I'll be off."
Hong Shu even patted the official's shoulder, showing absolutely no unusual behavior, just as usual.
As he boarded the ship, the cargo vessel slowly reversed and turned around.
Hong Shu arrived at the cabin where Minato and his group had previously stayed.
Inside were eight neatly arranged shadow clones.
"Uncle Hong Shu, are we safe now?"
One of Minato's shadow clones asked upon seeing Hong Shu.
"Yeah, how far have you guys gone?"
Hong Shu nodded; everything was going according to plan.
"We're not exactly sure either, but pretty far from the harbor."
One of Nawaki's shadow clones responded with a yawn.
"Ahhh, I can't hold on anymore!"
As the boat drifted further away, Konan's shadow clone spoke one last sentence before vanishing with a loud pop.
"Haha, you all take care."
"Wouldn't want to keep you from your mission."
Hong Shu chuckled at Konan's playful act, waved his hand and turned to leave.
By the time he locked the door behind him, the cabin was already completely empty.
His task had been completed. Now it was up to Minato and the others.
When the memories from the clone merged with the original, Minato and the others gathered beneath a tree.
After a whole night outdoors, they were soaked in dew and appeared quite ragged.
They each munched on dry rations to stave off hunger—given the circumstances, there wouldn't be much good food ahead.
They needed to avoid people entirely, without risking detection even slightly.
After quickly finishing their rations, Minato pulled out a map to confirm their location before speaking calmly.
"We've completed the first step."
"Next, we need to locate the Snow Clan."
"We still have a long way to go before we reach their reported coordinates."
"When we get close, watch carefully for this mark."
With that, he used a branch to draw a special symbol on the ground.
This was the symbol the Snow Clan used in their distress signal.
"What kind of doodle is that? Got it memorized."
"What about you guys?"
Nawaki gave it a quick glance before asking the others.
With Minato around, he barely needed to worry; all he had to do was follow orders.
"Remembered."
Everyone replied in unison, while Konan hastily finished her ration and nearly choked.
"Slow down, there's no rush right now."
Minato gave his little sister an affectionate look.
"I'm done!"
Konan flashed an innocent smile and opened her mouth proudly.
"Alright then, we're setting off."
Minato put the map away and ran northward.
The group of eight swiftly maneuvered through the trees, heading straight for the Snow Clan's hideout.
Meanwhile, the Snow Clan was teetering on the edge of despair. No rescue had arrived despite how long they'd waited.
Due to the relentless pursuit by Kiri's Anbu, their room for survival had drastically diminished.
It was only a matter of time before they were uncovered. Whether they could last long enough for Minato and the others to arrive remained uncertain.
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