Hattori , Puppet Tyrant in Sand

Hattori suspected that he had gotten involved in an A-rank mission, and he was beginning to worry.

He knew very well that A-rank missions often involved high fatalities, sometimes many deaths.

To understand mission rankings, one has to grasp the basic operational mechanism of the Shinobi Village. Simply put, the village trains shinobi, and shinobi carry out missions to repay the village.

In the world of shinobi, regardless of the village or the shinobi, the main source of income comes from mission rewards funded by nations or employers.

The more missions a shinobi village undertakes and completes, the greater its revenue. With more money, the village can train more shinobi, growing ever stronger—a positive cycle.

The amount of mission compensation is directly tied to mission difficulty.

Though the difficulty definitions vary slightly between nations, they're largely similar.

Overall, shinobi villages categorize missions into five levels: D, C, B, A, and S, from lowest to highest difficulty.

D-rank missions, the easiest, don't involve combat and pose no risk.

These missions are typically for newly graduated genin and consist of tasks like finding lost items, weeding fields, cleaning, or babysitting—essentially odd jobs.

Naturally, these missions don't pay much, usually around 5,000 ryo, split among a team, which means each member would earn about 1,000 ryo.

That's barely enough to buy a single meal of grilled meat in Konoha Village!

So, like in any world, rookies always have it tough.

After some experience, genin gain social skills and teamwork ability, allowing them to take on C-rank missions.

C-rank missions are more challenging, involving tasks like taming or hunting beasts, guarding clients, or tracking and delivering confidential information.

These missions carry a certain level of danger, so the rewards are considerably higher, typically between 30,000 and 100,000 ryo.

With these earnings, diligent genin can start saving up nicely by completing enough C-rank missions.

But B-rank missions aren't open to just anyone.

B-rank missions involve assassinations, protecting targets from other shinobi, or dealing with rogue shinobi, often requiring combat.

Such missions need at least one chunin in the team, and the pay is higher, around 80,000 to 200,000 ryo.

In times of peace, B-rank missions are usually the highest level assigned in a village. But when war breaks out, even higher ranks appear.

For instance, A-rank missions.

Only missions involving the safety of the village or nation qualify as A-rank.

These are war missions, involving battles between shinobi units, led by multiple jonin.

Typically, jonin lead the charge, chunin support, and genin play minor roles.

Even so, the mortality rate among chunin and genin is still very high, so A-rank missions are generously rewarded, ranging from 150,000 to 1,000,000 ryo.

Above A-rank, there are S-rank missions—the highest level.

S-rank missions are essentially upgraded A-ranks, directly impacting the village's or country's safety and usually completed by individuals or small teams.

These missions might involve cutting off enemy supply lines or assassinating enemy commanders to secure victory in a prolonged war.

S-rank missions have huge rewards, starting at a million ryo. Shinobi capable of these missions are often referred to as "S-rank shinobi" or, as Naruto fans would say, "Kage-level powerhouses."

Although Hattori often hyped himself up, he was well aware of his limitations, knowing he couldn't possibly take on an S-rank mission.

At least not yet.

But A-rank missions were a different matter. After all, the Sand Village was in a wartime state, and Hattori was on his way to support the front lines, meaning he might very well be joining an A-rank mission!

Though he trusted that the Third Kazekage wouldn't sacrifice him as cannon fodder, the battlefield is unpredictable—who's to say an enemy won't be sent to execute a beheading operation and take him down in the process?

If it ever came to that, what would he do?

With his current abilities, he wouldn't be able to win a fight, nor could he escape, so that left only two options—being killed or captured.

Since he didn't want to die or be captured, the best strategy was to lay low and avoid drawing attention.

"I'm just a humble medic, and I'm not even on the front lines. As long as I'm careful, I should be able to keep a low profile, right?"

Just as Hattori made up his mind to keep his head down until the mission was over, something unexpected happened.

He suddenly felt a chilling sensation on his neck, followed by a low, gruff voice near his ear: "Don't move. Raise your hands slowly!"

"Uh…"

Hearing the voice, Hattori froze and instinctively raised his hands as instructed.

As he raised his hands, he glanced at Maki and Yashamaru, who were similarly restrained with kunai at their throats.

Seeing this, Hattori felt an overwhelming sense of bitterness.

"Damn, we've all been caught. This is a terrible start! Where is that bastard Rasa when you need him?!"

Silently cursing, Hattori looked up at the person binding Maki and Yashamaru with rope.

But as soon as he looked, he was stunned.

Despite their Leaf shinobi armor and forehead protectors, their personal data didn't match their appearance—

**Name: Rasa** 

**Level: 76** 

**HP: 1260/1260** 

**MP: 830/930** 

**Specialty: Magnet Release · Gold Dust** 

**Combat Power Evaluation: S+**

---

**Name: Chiyo** 

**Level: 70** 

**HP: 926/926** 

**MP: 1100/1103** 

**Specialties: Medical, Poison, Puppetry** 

**Combat Power Evaluation: S**

---

**Name: Ebizō** 

**Level: 65** 

**HP: 828/828** 

**MP: 1040/1046** 

**Specialties: Espionage, Puppetry** 

**Combat Power Evaluation: A+**

---

After reading their information, Hattori's eyes widened, and he was completely baffled.

"What's going on? Is this a data error?"

Then he glanced again at the bound Maki and Yashamaru. Finding no discrepancies in their data, a realization dawned on him.

"I get it! This is a Transformation Jutsu! These three aren't Leaf shinobi; they're Rasa, Chiyo, and Ebizō in disguise!"

Having figured this out, Hattori relaxed and looked at the three with a deeper understanding.

"Alright, let's see what kind of tricks you're up to!" 

*(End of Chapter)*