Uzumaki Naruto stared at the massive pot wriggling with bugs, his expression frozen in disbelief. Jiraiya had vanished faster than a shadow at sunset, leaving behind only a swirl of dust and an ominous silence. The two great toad sages of Mount Myoboku now loomed over him with unrelenting smiles, their wide, froggy eyes glinting with a strange mixture of pride and anticipation.
"Little Naruto… Eat quickly!!!" one of the sages urged cheerfully.
Naruto blinked, his mouth slightly agape. "This… this is the delicacy you mentioned?"
The sage grinned, stirring the pot of chitin and slime. "Of course! These insects are rich in natural chakra and harmonize with the energy of Mount Myoboku! Eat, and it will help you understand sage arts better!"
"Sage arts?" Naruto repeated, his face twisting.
The other sage nodded solemnly. "Yes. Even your father, Minato Namikaze, ate plenty of these during his training. He always said my cooking was divine!"
Naruto swallowed hard, feeling a storm churn in his gut. He finally understood why Jiraiya had bolted so quickly. Mount Myoboku was filled with toads. What else would they eat if not insects?
Still, the words of the sage echoed in his ears. If his father could eat them, why couldn't he?
"…It's just a few bugs," Naruto muttered to himself, steeling his resolve. "All for sage arts!"
He reached out with trembling fingers, pinched a fat white maggot, and—without hesitation—shoved it into his mouth. The moment it popped, a burst of thick, bitter fluid exploded across his tongue. Naruto's eyes widened, and his face twisted into a horrified grimace as the bug juice dribbled from the corners of his lips.
"H-How is it, little Naruto?" asked the sage eagerly. "Are these insects delicious?!"
"…D-Delicious," Naruto croaked, forcing a smile that looked more like a pained grimace. "Chicken flavor… crunchy!"
As Naruto continued his "meal" with teary determination, back in Konoha, the village was undergoing quiet but significant change. The Scroll of Seals had revealed more secrets, and the villagers—especially those with high chakra reserves—were diving deeper into their training. Sage arts were not something that could be grasped overnight. It was a path of patience and dedication, often taking months or even years.
To accelerate progress, Souta Kazuki introduced a simple yet effective training method to the qualified shinobi: the use of multiple shadow clones. With each clone capable of sharing the burden of sage training, knowledge could be amassed quickly. This method, however, required vast reserves of chakra—something only a few could afford.
Souta himself had been spending more time in the Hokage's office lately, flipping through old missions and classified files, looking for anomalies. One afternoon, as golden light filtered in through the window, he paused upon a recently processed mission.
Protect the bridge builder Tazuna to construct the Wave Country Bridge.
Souta leaned back in his chair, brows narrowing. "Tazuna… Wave Country… This is it."
In another world—another story—this mission had been assigned to Team 7. It had been a turning point, a prelude to the dangerous reality behind even the simplest mission requests. But Souta remembered more than just the history. Tazuna had lied, concealing the true danger of the mission, which had ultimately placed innocent shinobi in mortal peril.
Souta clicked his tongue in irritation. "A C-level mission, huh? That bastard lied about the threat level… and there's a familiar name here… Gato."
He rifled deeper into the dossier, his eyes gleaming. Gato was a prominent merchant, a ruthless tycoon known throughout the ninja world. Wealth flowed through his hands like rivers of ryo. And Souta, ever the strategist, saw opportunity.
He leaned forward and rang the desk bell lightly.
Moments later, Namikaze Minato, Uchiha Fugaku, and Homura Mitokado entered the office.
"You called, Souta?" Minato asked curiously.
Souta handed them each a mission scroll. "Take a look. Tell me what you think."
Fugaku arched a brow. "A C-level mission?"
Minato frowned. "To protect a bridge builder? Isn't this a bit… trivial?"
Homura, the elderly advisor whose wisdom and experience spanned decades, quietly adjusted his robe and muttered, "These mission classifications… They've always been manipulated by desperate clients. We've seen this before."
Souta nodded appreciatively. "Exactly. The mission isn't the issue. The client lied. He's hiding the fact that the mission will involve conflict with one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen—Zabuza Momochi. A Jonin… and there's rumor he may have support from a bloodline wielder, perhaps someone with Ice Release."
The air chilled as the weight of the situation settled.
Fugaku's expression darkened. "This isn't a C-level mission. It's A-rank at the very least. If this had gone to a rookie team, they'd be slaughtered."
"Exactly," Souta said. "Tazuna endangered lives. Lied to our people. But the mission isn't what interests me. It's the man funding the mercenaries… Gato."
Minato's lips curled into a knowing grin. "The rich tycoon."
"Hahahahahaha…" Fugaku chuckled darkly. "I see. So you want us to pay him a visit?"
Souta folded his arms behind his head and smiled. "Konoha Village isn't poor. But if there's ryo floating around in the hands of a criminal, I say we reclaim it. After all, he's indirectly threatening our citizens."
The two nodded in agreement, amused by the plan but also ready for the challenge. But before they could discuss further, the doors to the Hokage's office burst open.
A strong stench of alcohol filled the room.
"Hey! What the hell is going on here?!" a voice bellowed. "I've been waiting for days! Where are the ninja I requested?!"
It was Tazuna. Drunk, belligerent, and completely unaware of the storm he was walking into.
"I didn't expect Konoha to be run by a brat! I should've gone to another village!"
The temperature dropped sharply. Minato and Fugaku both narrowed their eyes, their killing intent thinly veiled. Souta said nothing. He simply tapped the desk once.
In a blink, an ANBU appeared, kneeling silently.
"Take this bridge builder to the Konoha prison," Souta ordered coldly. "He's guilty of hiding mission details, endangering Leaf shinobi, unauthorized entry into the Hokage's office, and insulting the Hokage. Let him sober up behind bars."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
As the ANBU disappeared with a still-shouting Tazuna, silence returned to the office.
Fugaku exhaled slowly. "He got off easy."
Minato smirked. "Let's deal with Kado next."
And with that, the gears of a new operation began to turn. The Leaf would no longer tolerate deceit. Not from the poor… and certainly not from the rich.