Chapter 340: Yearning for Heroes

"What is it? What is it?" Obito asked, looking at Sawada Kazuya with an expectant expression.

"It's a mission to serve as the princess's guard, issued by the Land of Snow," Sawada Kazuya recalled briefly and answered concisely.

"A guard? That's pretty much the same as rescuing a princess, right? We'll take this mission." Obito immediately wanted to accept the mission.

In Obito's understanding, since it was a guard mission, they were bound to encounter enemies, and after encountering enemies, it would turn into rescuing the princess.

"Unfortunately, no." After glancing at the scroll, Sawada Kazuya shook his head with a regretful expression.

"Why not? Uncle Sawada, aren't you just messing with us? You tell us about it and then say no." Obito grew anxious.

This was the closest he had ever come to being the protagonist of a ninja novel.

"Is it because the mission rank is B-rank or above?" Kakashi analyzed and asked.

Since Sawada Kazuya had mentioned it, the mission must exist. If he wouldn't let them take it, the problem had to be on their side.

Sawada Kazuya nodded and explained, "I just confirmed the mission rank. It's an A-rank mission. If you want to take an A-rank mission, you need Jonin Minato to lead your team."

Obito's face instantly fell, because Minato had just recently gone to the battlefield to carry out a mission.

"Uncle Sawada, can't you bend the rules a bit? You know how strong our team is." Obito didn't want to give up this opportunity.

"There's no way to bend the rules. If I really let you take it, you'd never see me here again." Sawada Kazuya indicated that he still wanted to keep his job for a few more years.

Obito sighed. He wasn't a rookie fresh to missions anymore, so he could somewhat understand Sawada Kazuya's difficulty.

"Obito, how about we switch to another mission? Teacher Minato probably won't be back anytime soon," Rin Nohara suggested.

"I know that, but..." Obito's expression was very conflicted.

Not only was it a mission he wanted to do—guarding a princess—but it was also in a country he had never been to. This mission was really tempting for Obito.

"Does it have to be Teacher Minato? As long as there's a Jonin leading the team, it should be fine, right?" Kakashi thought for a moment and asked.

He could see that Obito really wanted to go. Also, based on Kakashi's impression, the Land of Snow was an island country far to the north, and the wars between the major hidden villages didn't affect it, meaning an accident was unlikely.

Sawada Kazuya nodded and replied, "Other Jonin are fine too. An A-rank mission requires at least a Special Jonin to lead the team."

Hearing Sawada Kazuya's words, Obito's previously dim eyes lit up again. Minato was on a mission and couldn't come, but Muyue was in Konoha and had just finished training at the Ninja Academy, so he was resting.

"Let's go find Teacher Muyue." Obito turned and walked out of the Hokage Building, heading toward Muyue's house.

Watching Obito's hurried pace, Kakashi shook his head and quickly followed.

Actually, Kakashi wanted to ask other Jonin he knew. Obito didn't think too much, but Kakashi knew the Ninja Academy would reopen in a few days.

Seeing both of them leave, Rin Nohara also followed them out of the Hokage Building.

Worried that someone else might take the mission, Obito jogged forward, wanting to reach Muyue's house as fast as possible.

On the way, he saw Hiruzen Sarutobi but didn't have time to greet him.

"Did I see a bit of blood on the Third Hokage's nose? Was I mistaken?" Obito wondered. Who was strong enough to make the Hokage bleed in Konoha?

Obito didn't think much about it. His top priority now was to quickly secure the mission.

With the help of his breathing technique, Obito ran very fast and reached Muyue's house before long.

"Teacher Muyue, are you home?" Obito called out loudly from outside the door.

Obito was lucky; Muyue was at home studying sealing techniques.

Muyue put down the scroll in his hand, opened the door, and asked, "Obito, is there something you need?"

"Teacher Muyue, could you please lead our team on a mission? There's a mission to protect a princess that I really want to do, but it's A-rank and requires a Jonin to lead the team." Obito explained his purpose and reasons.

Muyue showed a thoughtful expression. Because of the extra week of training added to the vacation, although the special training had just ended, it was now very close to the Ninja Academy's reopening day.

"Which country's princess?" Muyue didn't agree immediately but asked about the specific details of the mission.

Generally, missions like protecting a princess or a national dignitary were S-rank or even assigned to Konoha's renowned elites. A-rank missions of this type were relatively rare, because a Special Jonin leading a few Chūnin or Genin could take an A-rank mission, so the team's lower strength threshold was low.

Muyue thought of three possibilities: first, the country had already arranged its own protection forces and issued the request to Konoha just for peace of mind; second, this princess wasn't highly valued; third, the mission itself had little danger, and the request was made for extra security.

"The Land of Snow's." Obito told Muyue everything he knew.

Hearing that name, a flood of memories surged into Muyue's mind. His memory was very good now, so he could recall even things he had seen long ago.

【】

【END】

Muyue immediately ruled out the second possibility. According to her memories, the princess named Fūka Yuki seemed to be the sole heir to the Land of Snow; there was no way she wouldn't be taken seriously.

"Could it be that Kakashi's mission this time is to the Land of Snow?" Muyue remembered that in the Land of Snow storyline, Kakashi went there twice. The first time he was a young boy, the second time he led Team 7 on a mission and was already a reliable adult ninja.

The first time Kakashi went to the Land of Snow on a mission, he fought Snow Ninja and rescued Fūka Yuki. The second time, he took Team 7 to help Fūka Yuki take back the Land of Snow.

Then Muyue shook her head. Based on the conversation between Kakashi and the Snow Ninja, by the time Kakashi first went to the Land of Snow, he was already the Copy Ninja who could replicate techniques. That meant Obito had already turned dark by then, but Obito was only nine years old now, so the timeline clearly didn't match.

"Then the coup should happen at least a few years from now."

Analyzing from the known information, Muyue felt the third possibility was the most reliable, followed by the first, while the second was completely impossible.

"Teacher Muyue, how about I go ask the other jōnin? After all, you still have work at the ninja academy," Kakashi said, noticing Muyue's thoughtful expression.

"Oh, right, it's already September." Prompted by Kakashi, Obito also remembered that the academy was starting.

"Sorry, Teacher Muyue, I forgot about that."

Obito showed an embarrassed smile—he really hadn't thought of it, his mind focused only on the mission.

"I can handle the academy side. Wait here, and I'll go pack some things." Muyue finally agreed to Obito's request.

Based on the plot, she deduced that the coup in the Land of Snow wouldn't happen now, but Muyue wouldn't blindly trust the story since it had already proven to be changing.

The Snow Ninja were fairly strong. If it were just an ordinary jōnin with Obito and the other two, an accident might really get them killed.

"Awesome!" Obito's face lit up with excitement. With Muyue along, he wasn't worried about anything going wrong.

Kakashi's expression also relaxed after hearing that. Going on a mission with Muyue really felt reassuring.

"Teacher Muyue, thank you so much for the trouble," Rin Nohara said, feeling that Muyue was truly kind.

After sealing some essential items into a scroll, Muyue led Obito and the others back to the Hokage Building.

Obito was worried someone else might snatch the mission, so the moment they arrived, he immediately asked Sawada Kazuya about it. Only after confirming the mission was still available did he relax.

"We'll take this mission." Under Obito's expectant gaze, Muyue accepted the escort mission.

Sawada Kazuya promptly completed the registration and handed the documents to Muyue. He could tell Obito really wanted this mission.

"Yeah!" Obito cheered at once. He could already picture it: a beautiful princess, powerful enemies, and his team defeating the foes, rescuing the princess, and becoming heroes of that country.

Even though they hadn't set out yet, Obito was already imagining himself writing an autobiography after his future glory.

Back when Obito was still the dead last, he loved reading ninja novels and longed for the adventures of the protagonists. So to him, who the princess was didn't matter, but rescuing a princess was important—because that was how you became a hero.

Next, Muyue used the information provided by Sawada Kazuya to find Asama Sandayū, who had come to Konoha to issue the request.

"I am Hanyū Muyue, the Konoha jōnin who accepted the mission to escort the princess of the Land of Snow," Muyue introduced herself simply.

Asama Sandayū looked Muyue over and nodded. But when he saw Obito and the others behind her, he frowned slightly. "They're not even ten yet, are they? The Land of Snow is very cold."

Although Asama Sandayū didn't think the princess would be in danger, he felt it was inappropriate to bring three children from another country to the frigid Land of Snow.

The Land of Snow and the Land of Fire had such different environments. Asama Sandayū felt the weather in the Land of Fire was like paradise, perfectly suited for human habitation.

Before Muyue could explain, Obito objected. "Don't let our age fool you. We're the elite of Konoha. We've already been promoted to chūnin. The weather won't affect us."

"All chūnin, huh." Asama Sandayū was a bit surprised. He wasn't completely ignorant about ninjas—he knew something about their rank system.

"They may be a bit young, but they are qualified Konoha ninjas," Muyue added.

Asama Sandayū knew the proper procedures. After confirming everything was fine, he told his men to pack up and get ready to depart.

Since the Land of Snow was an island nation, Muyue and her group had to go to the eastern port of the Land of Fire and take a ship.

But Asama Sandayū had already prepared everything. Muyue and the others just needed to walk to the port and board the ship.

Although being looked down on annoyed Obito a bit, during their conversation on the way he realized Asama Sandayū wasn't the type to look down on children—he was just worried. So the conversation went pretty smoothly.

"Sandayū, is the princess of your Land of Snow pretty?" Obito asked curiously just before boarding.

He had never seen a real princess; his mental image of princesses came entirely from novels.

"Haha, of course she is. She's the most adorable princess," Asama Sandayū replied with a hearty laugh.

"She can't be as cute as Rin," Obito retorted in his mind.

Of course, he only dared to think that—he wasn't bold enough to say it out loud in reality.

"It really stretches on forever, doesn't it?" Rin Nohara said, looking at the endless ocean, her hands clasped behind her back as she smiled. It was her first time coming to the seaside.

Just then a gentle breeze arrived, lightly brushing through Rin Nohara's full head of hair and lifting the hem of her pink dress.

Obito stood to Rin Nohara's left side. Nearby were Rin Nohara's cute profile and her slightly raised hair and skirt hem, while far off were a large ship and the boundless blue ocean. For a moment, Obito was transfixed.

When he came to his senses, Obito took out his camera and snapped a photo of Rin Nohara. At that moment, he was glad he had brought it along.

"What's wrong?" Rin Nohara turned sideways to look at Obito and asked.

"Nothing. It's just that the seaside looks so beautiful, I have to take a lot more photos." Obito waved his hand and replied with a slightly red face.

Rin Nohara nodded in agreement and said, "That's true. Since we came all this way, we can take many photos to keep as memories."

After a simple photo session, Muyue and the others boarded the ship and departed for the Land of Snow.

Since it was his first time on a ship at sea, Obito was very excited at first, but he soon settled down, because there wasn't anything particularly special on board.

Even though it wasn't special, Obito was happy as long as Rin Nohara was beside him, and he kept chatting with her.

Meanwhile, Muyue was discussing the specific details of this mission with Asama Sandayū.

"In October, our country holds its most important festival, the Snow God Festival. After the festival ends, your escort mission will be complete," Asama Sandayū explained.

The Snow God Festival is an important ceremony that has been passed down for a long time in the Land of Snow. On this day, the people of the Land of Snow pray to the Snow God to reduce the heavy snowfall so they can catch more fat fish.

Asama Sandayū, being well-versed in the history of the Land of Snow, even knew that centuries ago, even the daimyo had to personally worship, though that custom is no longer practiced.

Muyue nodded, understanding the specifics of the mission.

In fact, it wasn't much different from ordinary escort missions—only the location and the target were different.

Muyue was a little curious: since the Land of Snow had the Snow Ninja Village, why would they go all the way to Konoha to issue the request? And the daimyo should have some forces of his own.

Muyue thought for a moment and decided this question wasn't important, because the cost of issuing an A-rank mission was mere pocket change for a daimyo, even a small country's daimyo. So there really wasn't much need for a reason.

PS: I've been watching Snow Princess Ninja Art Scroll several times lately to study the details, so the updates have been a bit sparse. I'll try to write more in the next few days.

Since the movie is an anime-original story, some of the settings are a bit exaggerated—for example, the technology in the Land of Snow is almost the same as in Boruto. I'll make some small adjustments to this to make the overall story more harmonious.