A Daimyō?

  Asuma’s eyes widened in shock.

  A mission this important—no wohey assigwo Jōnin.

  But…

  Would they really work well together?

  Asuma hesitated, unsure whether to voice his s.

  “Kyoichi, should we divide the tasks?” Minato asked while running, gng over at him.

  “You and Asuma will protect the Daimyō. I’ll assess the situation myself. If you get held up, the other three will follow Asuma’s lead. He’ll be in charge.”

  Kyoichi didn’t hesitate.

  The three of them together barely made up two and a half brains.

  Ba the sed round of the in Exams, it was clear that Aoba couldn’t trol Obito—only Asuma could.

  Obito waue.

  But…

  He had heard about Asuma’s performan the in Exams afterward.

  Brave. Fierce.

  If he hadn’t sacrificed himself to save his teammates, there was no way he would’ve been eliminated.

  pared to that, his own performance seemed…

  Sigh.

  Obito let out a quiet sigh.

  Minato and Kyoichi didn’t bother f him.

  This kid never learned from his mistakes. If they soled him now, he’d probably fet the lesson from the in Exams in no time.

  Still…

  Asuma seemed unusually excited.

  Kyoichi gave him a strange look.

  e on, you’re the Third Hokage’s son. Why are you ag like you’re meeting a celebrity?

  And it wasn’t like they had evehe Daimyō yet!

  ---

  On the road from Konoha to the capital, the prosperity of the towns along the way was evident at a gnce.

  “This road ects Konoha and the capital. The more turbulent the times, the busier it gets.”

  “I tell.” Kyoiodded.

  The streets were packed!

  Not just with merts, but also with mahy refugees who had fled innd. Now that the war was settling down, they were traveli with their possessions—some even hiring Konoha shinobi as escorts.

  Asuma couldn’t stop staring.

  “See a girl you like? Should I ask your old man te a marriage?” Kyoichi teased.

  Asuma’s face turned bright red as he stammered, “No, I just… I just think they’re pitiful…”

  “Pitiful? These people? They had enough moo hire escorts and escape when the war broke out. You know who’s really pitiful? The ones who couldn’t even run.”

  Kyoichi shook his head.

  This was the shinobi world. Even he wasn’t sure how long he’d survive—who had time to worry about strangers?

  Asuma was at a loss for words.

  He fell silent but tinued the people around him. Slowly, he started to uand what Kyoichi meant.

  Those who made it this far were mostly the wealthy.

  In times of war, bandits roamed freely. If you couldn’t afford to hire shinobi, you’d likely never even reach this point. pared to those who perished, these people were the lucky ones.

  Many had no say in their own fate—including shinobi.

  With their speed, the group reached the capital in no time.

  “Minato, you’ll meet with the Daimyō. I’ll stay outside in case anything happens.”

  “Alright.”

  Since Minato would be esc the Daimyō ter, it made sense for him to hahe formalities.

  Kyoichi leaned against a post, twirling a kunai in his hand while surveying the area.

  The capital itself was retively safe.

  No shinobi would dare cause trouble in the heart of a nation—if they did, assassinations would bee an everyday occurrence. Every try had an unspoken rule: you didn’t target a Daimyō within their own domain.

  However…

  Ohey left the capital, things could ge.

  Some “missing-nin” had a tendency to ighe rules—especially with the war barely over and chaos still lingering.

  Then again…

  Kyoichi suspected this might be a trap set by the Third Hokage.

  “Kyoichi-sensei, um… could you…”

  Yamashiro Aoba hesitated, his face flushing slightly.

  It was obvious—he wao ask fuidance.

  During the in Exams, he had voluntarily stayed behind to cover fht Guy. But in his heart, he wasn’t satisfied.

  He had already e to terms with being slower than Might Guy.

  But losing to Obito? That was harder to accept.

  At the Academy, Obito had always been called the “dead st.” Sure, most of that was due to his terrible academic scores, but Aoba had never really sidered him a rival.

  Yet in the in Exams…

  Obito and Guy had taken off like lightning, leaving him behind like a fool.

  Even now, the memory stung.

  Seeing Kyoichi again reminded him of their Academy days. He couldn’t resist ing forward to ask for advice.

  But…

  He was also afraid of getting scolded.

  “What are you so scared of? I don’t bite. Sit.” Kyoichi patted the stone ledge beside him.

  Aoba sat down.

  Asuma looked on enviously—Kyoichi had never spoken to him so gently.

  As for Obito…

  He had no idea what a normal versation with Kyoichi felt like.

  Ever since graduation, every time they met, he got scolded. A, deep down, he knew Kyoichi looked out for him.

  It was fusing.

  “Your performan the in Exams was actually pretty good. If your skills were just a bit stronger, you would’ve had a real shot.”

  “Sensei, what about me?”

  The moment Obito heard “in Exams,” his sleepiness vanished.

  As soon as he spoke…

  The other three turo look at him.

  Their expressions said it all.

  They didn’t o say anything—their gazes alone were insult enough.

  “Hey! What’s with those looks?!” Obito shouted, frustrated.

  “Obito, if you had just followed Aoba’s instrus, your team wouldn’t have been elimio be ho, Aoba was dragged down by you.”

  “I wasn’t strong enough to keep up with them,” Aoba quickly defended.

  “See? That’s how you take responsibility.” Kyoichi chuckled.

  Obito fumed but couldn’t argue back.

  Seeing Aoba’s ear attitude, Asuma asked, “Sensei, what exactly was Aoba’s problem?”

  “No rush. We’ve got plenty of time on the road, but since we’re free now, I’ll say a few words.”

  In truth, Kyoichi had been trying to recall something.

  Aoba’s abilities…

  He couldn’t quite remember the details.

  Then it hit him.

  He raised crows.

  After a moment’s thought, Kyoichi asked, “Your raises crows, right? And you have your ow teiques?”

  “Yes…” Aoba nodded.

  “Have you ever sidered usisu with your crows?”

  Aoba hesitated. “Genjutsu?”

  “Yeah. Your ’s crows are impressive. Why not develop teiques that incorporate them? Also, you really o improve your taijutsu—ying way too far behind.”

  Aoba was a lot like Kyoichi.

  He dabbled ihing but wasn’t particurly strong in any one area.

  However…

  Kyoichi had the system, plus access to the Senju and Third Hokage’s teags, which helped him cover his weaknesses. He also trained his taijutsu daily.

  Aoba hadn’t dohe same.

  He saw himself primarily as a scout and support specialist.

  Which was fine…

  But his current taijutsu level was embarrassing—even Obito was better.

  And really…

  A crow keeper who doesn’t use genjutsu? What a waste!

  “As a shinobi, the worst thing you do is bee pt. Always keep improving.”

  Kyoichi patted Aoba’s shoulder.

  Then…

  He turo face the Daimyō’s estate.

  Minato had emerged.

  The Daimyō wouldn’t be leaving immediately—he still had to finalize the details of his journey.

  But sihey had received prior notice…

  The process moved quickly.

  By the afternoon, a messenger arrived with the expected news—

  The Daimyō was ready to depart.

  Gcell