Minato glanced at Obito, who looked completely calm, then at Kakashi, who remained expressionless. Finally, his gaze fell on Rin, who had also settled down. Suddenly, he felt that, given his team's composition, completing a C-rank mission didn't seem like anything to make a fuss over.
His team members were far from normal… A five-year-old Genin, a six-year-old Chunin, a genius who would be promoted to Jonin by twelve, a man who had spent over a decade as a scheming mastermind in the ninja world and was now reborn… an old silver coin, and a girl who could completely control that old silver coin…
With this lineup, plus himself, the young Minato, they either existed to save the world or to destroy it.
Thinking about this, Minato couldn't help but feel a headache. He doubted whether he could truly manage Team Seven.
He could only sigh and say, "Let's go. We'll explain the situation to the villagers of Suikan Village, and then we can return to the Konoha."
"On the way back, I won't use the Flying Thunder God. We'll camp outside for a night to get used to outdoor survival in advance."
The three nodded immediately, then headed down the mountain.
When the villagers saw the three kids covered in blood, they couldn't help but show expressions of fear and apprehension.
But when they heard that the bandits had been eliminated, they breathed a sigh of relief, showing looks of liberation.
The village chief signed the commission letter with a satisfied evaluation, marking the mission as successfully completed. Minato's team began their return journey.
During the trip, Rin curiously asked, "These bandits have troubled the villagers for so long, right? Why didn't they issue a mission earlier? That way, they wouldn't have had to endure years of looting and suffering."
Obito explained, "It's simple, because they're poor."
"Poverty is a disease in this world, an incurable one. The money needed to issue a C-rank mission is often enough to support the entire village for a long time. That's not an easy decision to make."
"After all… most poor people can't even afford medical treatment. They can only endure it, dragging it out, dragging it out, until their whole body starts to rot…"
"Only in situations like this, when every villager feels fear, can they make up their minds to pool their resources and spend all their wealth to issue a mission."
Rin immediately felt uneasy. She instinctively calculated the rewards for ninja missions and suddenly realized, it was expensive.
"A D-rank mission costs anywhere from five thousand to tens of thousands of ryo. A C-rank mission starts at tens of thousands and can go up to a hundred thousand ryo… That's no small amount. Even my family couldn't afford to spend that much easily," Coming from a poor background, Rin could truly understand how difficult it was to pay for a mission.
She couldn't help but wonder, why had she never thought about this before?
Maybe it was because there were too many simple, everyday missions like finding lost cats and dogs in Konoha.
Obito saw through Rin's thoughts and let out a cold laugh, "The villagers in Konoha who can afford to issue missions, aren't they all wealthy? The times we actually did missions in the real slums can be counted on one hand, and even then, they were sewer-cleaning jobs funded by higher-ups."
"Those missing cats and dogs probably eat better than those villagers we just met. In fact, their lives might even be worth more than those villagers' lives."
Rin fell silent.
Obito always liked to tell her these harsh truths, always making her face the cruel reality of the world.
'But I am just a little girl, why do I need to know all this?'
'Hmph! Can't he just lie to me? Comfort me? Obito is such a blockhead.'
Seeing this, Minato awkwardly raised a hand, "Guys, let's stop discussing such serious and deep topics. Can't we focus on something else, like where we're camping tonight?"
This finally got everyone's attention.
Minato took out a map, and the group eagerly gathered around. After some debate, they finally settled on a location.
They continued traveling and finally reached their campsite just before nightfall.
Minato found a flat piece of land and said, "We'll camp here for the night."
"By the way, when a squad is on a mission, no open flames are allowed in the wild to avoid exposure."
"But since we're still within the Land of Fire and our mission is over, the rules aren't that strict. Tonight, we can enjoy a campfire."
The three nodded. Then, Rin and Kakashi simultaneously turned to look at Obito.
Obito smacked his forehead, he had almost forgotten.
Immediately, he pulled out two sealing scrolls and released them.
POOF!
Two large tents, various living supplies, cooked fish by Kakashi, rice balls prepared by Rin, and other food all appeared.
Minato, who had just taken out a lunchbox Kushina had packed for him, saw this scene and froze.
Then, looking a bit unnatural, he asked, "Hey… You guys are going overboard. Using strategic-level sealing scrolls just to store camping supplies? Are you guys on a mission or a picnic?"
Kakashi spread his hands helplessly, "Honestly, I thought the same thing. But Obito insisted."
Minato turned to Obito.
Obito chuckled, "Well, I'm already an elder of the Uchiha clan now. I might as well use my position for personal gain. They give me stuff, I'd be stupid not to take it."
"What? An elder of the Uchiha clan? Since when?", Minato was shocked.
The Uchiha were Konoha's most prestigious clan. Becoming an elder wasn't something just anyone could do.
Obito turned to Kakashi. "Kakashi, you didn't tell Minato-sensei about this?"
Kakashi coughed, "Compared to other intel about you, this wasn't even worth mentioning. Time was short, I prioritized the important stuff."
Minato thought back to all the terrifying things Kakashi had reported about Obito, then awkwardly said, "…Yeah, I guess that makes sense."
Obito shrugged and explained, "Fugaku had a talk with me, realized I had the Mangekyō Sharingan, and naturally made me an elder. As an Uchiha elder, what's wrong with enjoying a few perks?"
"Besides… I'm not taking their stuff for free. I've given the Uchiha clan a lot of benefits. Taking some supplies? Totally justified."
Rin was curious, "Obito, what benefits did you give the Uchiha?"
Obito grinned, "I gave Fugaku a lot of strategic advice. All based on my knowledge of the future. In the ninja world, that's all S-rank intel."
Then, with a hint of self-mockery, he added, "Honestly, even if I did nothing, that would be the biggest help to the Uchiha. If they knew the truth, they'd probably beg me to stay still and play dead."
Kakashi blinked in confusion, "Why?"
Obito smirked, "Think about it, when the Nine-Tails attacked, and the villagers realized it was controlled by the Sharingan, who suffered the most?"
Rin and Kakashi both inhaled sharply.
""The Uchiha.""
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