Fugaku pushed the door open and entered.
Seeing that Gento still had a smile on his face, clearly in a good mood today, he quickly stepped forward and said:
"Clan Head, those two hundred missions from last time are almost finished by the clan members. But now… many of our ninjas are idle, with no missions to take."
"I went to the Third Hokage to request more missions, but he refused me outright."
Hearing this, Gento frowned slightly and straightened his posture:
"Refused?"
He understood immediately.
That old man Hiruzen looked kind on the surface, but behind the scenes he was definitely making things difficult for the Uchiha again.
After all, ever since he had taken over as Clan Head, the development of the Uchiha clan had visibly improved.
The strength of the clan's ninjas had increased, and their mission completion rate was high. Seeing this, Hiruzen was surely displeased.
But the problem was, the clan's Mission Hall had only just begun. Its reputation hadn't spread yet, so it couldn't receive external commissions.
If the Hokage's office didn't provide missions, the Mission Hall would likely struggle to develop.
He glanced out the window. The sky had darkened.
"This won't do."
Gento pondered for a moment.
"Tomorrow morning, I'll personally take you to the Hokage's office and ask the Third Hokage for an explanation."
Fugaku nodded, responding with a solemn expression.
…
Early the next morning, Gento brought Fugaku to the Hokage Tower.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was sitting behind his desk, a pipe in his mouth, flipping through a report.
Hearing the movement, he raised his head, exhaled a puff of smoke, and greeted them with a kind smile:
"Oh, Gento. So early in the morning. What brings you here?"
Gento didn't beat around the bush and spoke:
"Third Hokage, we've come regarding mission commissions. Many of our clan's ninjas are currently idle with no missions to take, so we'd like to receive some assignments from the Hokage's office."
Hiruzen took a slow puff of his pipe and nodded:
"Oh, that matter. I already told Fugaku before. There aren't many spare commissions in the village lately."
He spread his hands, looking helpless.
Just as Gento was about to speak again, the office door was suddenly pushed open.
A young ninja wearing sunglasses and a green flak jacket rushed in.
"Hokage-sama, this is bad!"
Hiruzen frowned, his pipe pausing midair, displeasure on his face:
"Ebisu! What are you panicking for!"
Ebisu took a breath and hurriedly said:
"Hokage-sama, there are too many backlogged commissions in the village that haven't been completed. Many clients are causing trouble, saying they want to cancel their requests!"
Hiruzen's expression changed slightly. He cast a sideways glance at Gento and began giving Ebisu frantic eye signals.
Seeing this, Ebisu was confused at first and asked in puzzlement:
"Hokage-sama, what's wrong with your eyes? Are they uncomfortable? Why are you blinking like that?"
When Hiruzen stopped blinking, Ebisu continued speaking fast:
"The village is severely short on manpower right now. Missions have been delayed too long, and the backlog has piled up like a mountain!"
"There's a merchant who posted an escort mission to the Land of Wind. We were supposed to send someone to escort him, but no ninja has been assigned. It's already been delayed for half a month! The merchant comes every day to urge us, saying his goods can't be held any longer!"
"There's also a letter that needs to be delivered to the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire. The reward is really high, but they specifically require a Jonin squad. But where can we find idle Jonin right now? We simply can't assign anyone!"
"And also…"
Ebisu listed over a dozen urgent commissions in one breath, growing more anxious as he spoke, completely failing to notice that Hiruzen's face had turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.
"Enough!"
Hiruzen finally couldn't take it anymore and slammed the table.
Ebisu was startled and finally shut his mouth.
Yet his expression still showed a trace of reluctance, clearly having more urgent commissions left to report.
Hiruzen took a deep breath, turned to Gento, and forced an awkward smile:
"Well… it seems this old man may have remembered incorrectly and thought there weren't many commissions in the village."
"I'm getting old, my memory isn't what it used to be. Since that's the case…"
He paused and waved to Ebisu:
"Ebisu, go select five hundred of the most urgent commissions and hand them over to Clan Head Gento. Since the village's ninjas are too busy, let the Uchiha share the burden."
Hearing this, Ebisu was overjoyed:
"That's great! With the Uchiha helping, we can finally breathe a little easier!"
After saying that, he turned and ran off, moving as fast as the wind.
Before long, Ebisu returned carrying a large box. It was stuffed full, entirely packed with scrolls.
"These are the ones!"
He handed the box directly toward Gento.
"These commissions have all been delayed for a long time, and they have requirements for ninja qualifications; just right for the Uchiha to handle."
"And there are actually more than five hundred urgent ones. I just brought them all over in one go. I'm counting on you!"
Gento looked at the box, the corner of his mouth twitching, but he didn't reach out to take it.
This guy really had no sense… who just shoves things straight into the boss's arms like that?
Fortunately, Fugaku behind him reacted quickly and immediately stepped forward to take the box.
Gento didn't linger any longer. He nodded to Hiruzen:
"In that case, we'll head back first."
With that, he turned to leave.
Hiruzen suddenly narrowed his eyes and spoke slowly:
"Gento, there's something I need to remind you of."
"Since the Uchiha now have the right to accept missions independently, from now on you should handle dealings with clients yourselves. This batch of missions will be the last time the Hokage's office transfers them to you."
Gento paused mid-step, then turned back, meeting Hiruzen's seemingly gentle yet deeply calculating gaze.
He understood. Hiruzen was waiting to see the Uchiha make fools of themselves.
Without assignments from the Hokage's office, how many commissions could the Uchiha Mission Hall really receive?
Albeit he knew that with the system's support, the Mission Hall's reputation would spread sooner or later. There was no need to worry about lacking missions.
So he nodded calmly:
"Of course."
He left with Fugaku in large strides.
Watching the two leave, Ebisu still hadn't sensed the subtle tension. With a face full of excitement, he said to Hiruzen:
"That's great, Third Hokage-sama! With the Uchiha helping, the village's urgent problem is finally solved!"
"The Uchiha are strong. Those escort missions will definitely be completed smoothly!"
Hearing this, Hiruzen suddenly raised an eyebrow, his tone turning faintly ominous:
"What rank of missions did you give them?"
Ebisu answered right away:
"They're all A-rank and B-rank missions that we're short-handed on. After the three Great Shinobi Wars and the Nine-Tails incident, the village is seriously lacking Chunin. These missions have been backlogged for a long time."
Hearing this, Hiruzen felt a sharp pang in his heart.
Those missions carried generous rewards, yet they had now been handed over to the Uchiha for free.
He took several deep puffs of his pipe, fell silent for a moment, and spoke:
"…In the future, you shouldn't stay in the office anymore. I'll transfer you to the Ninja Academy."
Hearing this, Ebisu's face reddened with excitement:
"Thank you for your trust, Third Hokage-sama! I'll definitely become a dedicated teacher and properly train the next generation!"
…
Meanwhile, Gento returned to the Mission Hall with Fugaku.
He placed the box on the table, casually pulled out a few scrolls and flipped through them. His eyebrows lifted, a trace of surprise appearing.
"Oh? These missions aren't like last time, full of low-level chores."
Hearing this, Fugaku quickly picked up several scrolls to examine them. Joy gradually appeared on his face:
"It's true! These are all high-level missions with generous rewards! Mostly A-rank and B-rank–and there are even a few S-rank ones!"
The more he looked, the more excited he became:
"That's great! Not only will the clan members have missions to do, they'll also earn a substantial reward upon completion!"
Gento smiled and patted his shoulder:
"Do a good job and distribute these commissions."
"Remember, from now on we'll have to secure missions ourselves. Make sure the clan members maintain good relationships with the clients."
"If you handle this well, at the next clan meeting I'll officially appoint you as the director of the Mission Hall!"
Hearing this, Fugaku's fighting spirit surged:
"Clan Head, rest assured! I'll handle it!"
He looked at the pile of scrolls stacked like a small mountain, then scratched his head:
"With so many scrolls, just assigning them will take quite a while. Looks like I'll be working late again these next few days."
Hearing this, something stirred in Gento's mind.
His expression remained unchanged as he nodded:
"Alright, get to work. I'll be leaving."
After leaving the Mission Hall, Gento glanced back in the direction of Fugaku's office, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his lips.
Since Fugaku would be working late…
That meant he could take the opportunity to go see Mikoto.
He raised his hand and formed several swift hand seals, activating the Slave Mark on Mikoto:
"Yin Sealing: Slave Mark!"
...
If you want to support, please consider Patreon, and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going! [Patreon.com/RedZTL]