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"It's another beautiful day..." Akio sighed as he pushed open the window. The sunlight streamed in brightly. "Huh, feels like I said the same thing yesterday."
"Land of Lightning... it's that place where it thunders but never rains, right?" Akio muttered. It had been two days since he arrived in the Land of Lightning. Although the sound of thunder often rumbled overhead, the sky remained perpetually clear.
"Time to pack up. Next time I come back, I won't be called Namikaze Minato anymoreâwait, why is this guy here again? He even tracked me down to the inn."
"Namikaze Minato, come with me," said Bi, the same tone, the same personâbut this time, Akio's response was different.
"Not going!" Akio slung his pack over his shoulder and turned to leave. He was debt-free now, without a care in the world.
Bi frowned. "My big brother is looking for you!"
Akio muttered under his breath, "Your big brother, your big grandpa, I don't care."
"We dissolved our employment contract yesterday, and I don't owe anyone anything. Why are you still looking for me?"
Surprisingly, Bi forced a smile, pulled a few banknotes from his chest, and handed them to Akio.
Akio took them and gave a quick countâfive million ryo. He thought to himself, Was my money-grubbing act yesterday really that convincing? They're actually trying to bribe me... But I've already made up my mind to leave...
Before he could refuse, Bi said, "I have a mission that's perfect for you. Should only take about ten days to half a month to complete. This five million ryo is the reward."
"A mission suited for me? Five million ryo? An S-rank mission?" Akio raised an eyebrow. He didn't really need the money, but his curiosity was piqued.
Seeing Akio's interest, Bi continued, "Come with me. Let my big brother explain the details."
Akio found himself once again standing inside the Raikage Building, face-to-face with the Second Raikage.
This time, as soon as the Second Raikage saw him, he spoke up, "Namikaze Minato, how skilled are you at forging?"
Akio frowned slightly, thinking, You want my help with forging? That doesn't seem right... But he quickly put on a smile and replied, "Eighth-grade craftsman. Solid skills."
Now it was the Second Raikage's turn to frown, clearly unsure what "eighth-grade craftsman" even meant.
After an awkward silence, Bi cleared his throat twice.
The Second Raikage snapped out of it and studied Akio again, feeling a bit uneasy about entrusting him with this mission.
Akio scratched his head. "If there's nothing important, I'll get going. The caravan's departure time is coming up."
The Second Raikage took a deep breath, as if resigning himself. "There's a mission for you. It involves forging."
"You've been to the forge, right? Didn't you notice the shortage of blacksmiths?"
Akio nodded. "Weren't they reassigned to make some kind of cannon?" He had found that odd tooâhe didn't recall Kumogakure ever having cannons in the original timeline...
The Second Raikage's face twitched. Inwardly, he cursed the Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers for their terrible security measures, allowing outsiders to catch wind of such secrets.
Sighing, he continued, "It's a special weapon called the Chakra Diffusion Cannon. Your task is to infiltrate the blacksmiths, record the weapon's manufacturing process, and if possible, steal a finished product."
Akio grinned. "How interesting. The Raikage of Kumogakure is hiring me to steal Kumogakure's secret weapon. Sorry, I'm busyâdealing in millions by the minute. See ya!"
"Wait!" The Second Raikage massaged his forehead, clearly overwhelmed by Akio's unpredictable responses.
"Bi! You explain it to him," he ordered, clearly done dealing with Akio himself.
Bi then explained the backstory behind the mission, including the role of Kinkaku and Ginkaku within the village.
"So, the materials for this so-called cannon were actually the ones I escorted here?" Akio asked, a frown forming. If I hadn't delivered those materials, the future Third Raikage would've intercepted them. Did I accidentally set off a major event...?
Bi hesitated before answering, "I'm not entirely sure about its full power, but it's rumored to be comparable to a Tailed Beast Bomb. Oh, you might not know what that isâ"
Akio didn't bother listening any further. He knew exactly how powerful a Tailed Beast Bomb was. More than that, he could even use it himself.
Damn it, Kumogakure. Why do you guys have such cursed black technology... and why is it my fault? Akio cursed silently. One or two cannons wouldn't bother him much, but if there were five or more, things could get ugly fast.
Sigh... It's a mess of my own making. I'll just have to clean it up, tears or no tears... Akio thought, glancing at Bi, who was still explaining about Tailed Beast Bombs, and asked:
"Why choose me?"
The Second Raikage, who had been silently observing, finally answered, "You're the perfect fit for this mission. There aren't many ninja skilled in forging. Plus, you previously helped escort the materials, so you'll be more easily trusted."
Akio frowned. "I've been moving freely around the village for the past two days without any secrecy. Won't they catch on?"
"Don't worry about that," Bi said. "Kinkaku and Ginkaku haven't been in the village for a while."
Akio frozeâand then his expression darkened.
I've been running around this village, thinking I was under surveillance... and they weren't even here?! No wonder I didn't bump into them... If I'd just used my Kagura Shingan, I would've known right away!
Since arriving in Kumogakure, he hadn't used his sensory abilities, just in case they had countermeasures in place.
So basically, I made a pointless trip, ended up creating a cursed cannon, and now I have to fix it myself... Akio felt like nothing ever went smoothly for him. Maybe he really was better suited to quietly living out his days as a retired old ninja.
"Fine. I'll take the mission," Akio finally agreed, determined to clean up the mess and return to Konoha as soon as possible. As for Tobirama, they could go forge an alliance together later.
The Second Raikage nodded. "It's settled, then. I'll arrange for your transfer shortly."
Akio was about to nod when he remembered something. "Wait, I need to say goodbye to someone at the caravan first."
The Raikage frowned. "The caravan... those are Kinkaku and Ginkaku's people too."
Akio shook his head. "It's fine. I only need to say goodbye to one person."
This time, the Raikage didn't object. Akio quickly rushed to the broker's residence, bumping into the man just as he was heading out.
"Big bro?!" the broker said in surprise, lighting up. "I was just about to go look for you!"
Akio smiled. "I just accepted a sudden mission. You head back first. Whether it takes half a month or a full one, I'll meet you in the Land of Hot Water afterward."
The broker hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, big bro!"
After exchanging a few words, Akio sent the broker off. The caravan's assembly time had arrived.
"Alright then... Time for me to see what kind of black technology exists in the world of shinobi..."
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