Early the next morning, after washing up, Isamu arrived at the mission hall ahead of time. He wanted to pick up a mission before Jiraiya and the others arrived.
"Lord Isamu, you're here. What kind of mission would you like to take this time? Another D-rank mission?" the ninja in charge of assigning missions asked. Unlike before, he didn't make any assumptions and decided to ask directly.
"Give me a C-rank mission today. One that pays well and looks simple."
That was right—Isamu wanted a mission similar to the one Naruto's team had in the Land of Waves. In his opinion, a mission only really counted if ninja combat was involved.
"Th-this… let me check."
Hearing Isamu's request, the mission officer hesitated. Missions that were both simple and well-paid were extremely popular, and he wasn't even sure one was available. Still, he began searching.
About ten minutes later, he finally found one.
"Here it is, Lord Isamu. This is a simple C-rank escort mission with a good reward. The only issue is that the journey is a bit long."
Isamu took the mission scroll and glanced over it. A faint smile appeared on his face.
This was exactly the kind of mission he wanted.
The scroll stated that the client was a man named Tōwa, and the mission was to escort him safely to the Land of Hot Springs. The reward was quite generous.
The Land of Hot Springs was a small country. Although it didn't have ninjas, it did have samurai. The fact that someone had come all the way to Konoha to post this mission clearly meant something suspicious was going on.
"Alright. We'll take this mission."
Isamu accepted it without hesitation.
"Very well, Lord Isamu. I'll notify the client right away," the mission officer said before leaving to call him over.
Soon, the client arrived. He wasn't an old man, but a middle-aged man in his thirties.
"Tōwa, this is the captain who will be taking your mission. It's a four-person squad, and your C-rank mission will be handled by them."
Turning to Isamu, he added, "Lord Isamu, this is the client."
Tōwa looked Isamu up and down with suspicion.
"Is he really capable? He looks so young."
"You—"
The mission officer was about to respond, but Isamu stopped him.
"You don't need to worry," Isamu said calmly. "I'm a ninja who has participated in war. Even if dozens of jonin attacked me at once, I wouldn't be afraid."
He leaned slightly closer and whispered into Tōwa's ear.
"Does that reassure you?"
"That's right. Lord Isamu's strength is extraordinary. If he weren't leading a squad, he wouldn't even consider a mission like this," the mission officer quickly added.
Hearing this, Tōwa finally relaxed.
"When shall we depart?" he asked eagerly.
"No rush," Isamu replied. "I'm waiting for three genin. If you're in a hurry, wait for us at Konoha's main gate. We'll leave as soon as they arrive."
"Fine. I'll wait at the gate. Please try to be quick."
Since he was on someone else's territory, Tōwa didn't push further and left immediately.
Watching him leave, Isamu muttered quietly to himself,
"Let's see what kind of tricks you're planning."
After that, he sat down near the entrance of the mission hall to wait for the three youngsters.
He had arrived unusually early today. Checking the time, he realized it was only 7:30 a.m.
"Still half an hour left. I'll take a nap."
Isamu leaned against a pillar and quickly fell asleep.
He felt relatively safe inside Konoha. Out in the wild, falling asleep so easily could easily mean never waking up again.
Before long, ninjas coming to accept missions noticed someone sleeping at the entrance—with drool running down the corner of his mouth.
"Why is someone sleeping at the entrance?"
"This guy's amazing. He can sleep anywhere."
"Shh! Lower your voice! Don't you see who that is? That's Uchiha Isamu. Who would dare disturb someone like him?"
"Wait—seriously? The one who killed hundreds of Cloud ninjas?"
"Yeah! Don't get close. If we wake him up, we're dead."
Just then, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru arrived.
"Didn't we say we'd meet here today? Big Brother Isamu isn't here yet. Did he oversleep?" Jiraiya said, looking around.
Bam!
"Stop talking nonsense," Tsunade snapped, punching Jiraiya on the head.
"Big Brother Isamu never oversleeps. If he isn't here, something must have happened."
"Ouch… you flat-chested tomboy," Jiraiya muttered while rubbing his head.
"Huh? Why is there such a crowd here?" he added, squeezing into the group.
A moment later, his eyes widened.
"Oh! Isn't that Big Brother Isamu? Why is he sleeping here?"
"Tsunade! Orochimaru! Come quick! Big Brother Isamu is over here!"
The two quickly pushed their way through the crowd.
"Seriously… it really is him," Tsunade said, slapping her forehead.
"Not only is he sleeping here, he's drooling too!"
It was incredibly embarrassing.
She had just insisted he would never oversleep—and here he was, sleeping at the entrance of the mission hall with a crowd watching.
That realization hit her fast.
"So many people are watching. If he doesn't wake up soon, this will be too embarrassing. This idiot…"
She raised her fist.
BAM!
"Who! Who attacked me?!"
Isamu jolted awake, clutching his bruised face.
"Who dared to ambush me?! If you've got the guts, step forward!"
Seeing his furious expression, the surrounding crowd instinctively stepped back.
Jiraiya and Orochimaru quickly retreated with them.
"I hit you," Tsunade said calmly as she stepped forward.
"You brat! How dare you hit your—"
Isamu froze when he saw who it was.
"…Tsunade?"
"Why did you hit me?"
"I should ask you that!" Tsunade snapped.
"You're supposed to be a legendary ninja. And yet you're sleeping here and drooling in front of everyone. Aren't you embarrassed?"
Last night, she had admired him greatly. She had even spent the whole night thinking about him.
But today?
Her admiration had vanished instantly.
"Hey, what's the big deal?" Isamu replied casually.
"I came early to pick up a mission. When I saw you hadn't arrived yet, I took a quick nap and accidentally fell asleep."
"Besides, if a ninja falls asleep while waiting for a mission, that's nothing to be ashamed of."
"Then why didn't you sleep inside the mission hall?" Tsunade shot back.
"There are chairs in there! Did you really have to embarrass yourself out here?"
"Alright, alright," Isamu said quickly.
"Stop arguing. There are too many people watching. I already accepted the mission, so let's meet at the main gate of Konoha."
The moment he finished speaking, he ran off.
Even with his thick skin, being punched and scolded by a girl in front of a crowd was still embarrassing.
"Hmph. Embarrassed, my foot," Tsunade muttered while watching him flee.
"Who would believe that excuse?"
Then she noticed the surrounding crowd still staring at her.
"What are you looking at?! If you keep staring, I'll beat you all up too!"
Everyone immediately recognized her.
This was Princess Tsunade of the Senju clan. If she hit someone, there was nowhere to complain.
In an instant, the crowd scattered, leaving only Jiraiya and Orochimaru behind.
"…That was still a bit embarrassing," Tsunade admitted after a moment.
"Let's go to the gate too."
Jiraiya and Orochimaru nodded quickly.
The two secretly exchanged glances.
Anyone who dared to punch Isamu in front of everyone and threaten a crowd of ninjas like that…
…was someone they definitely shouldn't mess with.
With that, the three of them headed toward the main gate of Konoha.