Nawaki had just returned from a mission, and he was so exhausted that he collapsed onto the couch.

He didn't even have the energy to take a bath; all he wanted was to sleep.

"Hey sis, did you make any food? I'm starving," he called out.

"Make food? Are you kidding? When have I ever cooked? Get your lazy self up and go take a bath," Tsunade snapped, grabbing Nawaki and tossing him toward the bathroom.

"After you're done, go buy some food. I'm hungry too."

…

Most siblings had an older sister taking care of her younger brother, but in his case, it was the other way around.

My sister is so harsh...

Nawaki thought, rubbing the sore spot where he'd landed. His exhaustion had suddenly disappeared, replaced by a strong urge to get cleaned up and buy food.

Otherwise, knowing Tsunade, he'd be in for another round of scolding.

It was a rough life, but there was no one he could complain to since everyone he might talk to was just as scared of Tsunade as he was.

The assignment of teams for new genin was finally complete, and under the guidance of their assigned Jonin, the squads began taking on missions.

There were tasks like catching stray cats, picking up trash, or even helping with farming.

The entire mission office was in complete chaos.

"Are there no decent missions left?" Mikoto asked, noticing that Takuya had been staring at the mission scrolls for a long time, his frown deepening.

"All the good ones are taken," Takuya replied, frustrated. As soon as the new genin squads were released, most of the suitable D-rank missions were snatched up.

Mikoto peered over his shoulder at the scrolls, her expression turning sour. She didn't want to be stuck with the leftover tasks, especially not something like cleaning toilets.

Takuya wasn't thrilled about that either.

So, he turned his attention to the C-rank missions. Generally, he and Mikoto were capable of handling those.

"Can we take this mission?" Takuya asked, pointing to one of the scrolls.

The mission office worker glanced at it and replied, "Your squad can take it, but the client is in a hurry. They need to arrive at the Daimyo's residence by noon tomorrow."

"Alright, we'll take it," Takuya decided.

Since there were no suitable D-rank missions left, he chose a C-rank mission to escort a merchant to the Daimyo's residence.

The pay for this mission was on the lower end for C-rank tasks, but Takuya didn't care about that. He was more interested in the mission itself.

Escorting someone to the Daimyo's residence was far better than cleaning toilets or babysitting.

After handing over their ninja IDs and accepting the mission, Takuya and Mikoto headed to the village gate to wait for the client.

Someone from the mission office would notify the client to meet them there.

It didn't take long before the merchant, looking quite flustered, arrived at the gate.

Even though Takuya and Mikoto were quite young, the client didn't dare question their abilities.

This was Konoha, after all—the strongest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages and the one with the most mission requests.

Another C-rank mission wouldn't make much difference to Konoha, but if a client doubted the abilities of Konoha's ninjas or caused trouble, the village had the right to cancel the mission entirely.

And worse, they might even get taken in for questioning by the police force, suspected of being a spy.

After completing the necessary paperwork, the three of them set out from Konoha, heading toward the Daimyo's residence.

The merchant wasn't much of a talker, remaining silent throughout the journey, seemingly anxious to get back to the Daimyo's residence.

"Stay alert. We might face some trouble on the road," Takuya whispered to Mikoto when they scouted ahead together.

Something about this escort mission felt off.

Low pay, a rush job, and the client's anxious demeanor—all signs pointed to trouble.

Maybe someone had their eye on him—whether ordinary people or other ninjas.

"Got it," Mikoto replied, her expression turning serious as she scanned the surroundings for any signs of an ambush.

If it had just been Takuya and Mikoto, they could have made it to the Daimyo's residence in a day, but with an ordinary person in tow, the journey would take much longer.

"You should get some rest. I'll take the first watch," Takuya offered when they stopped to camp for the night.

Mikoto looked concerned. "How about I take the first half of the night? It'll be tough for you to stay up all night, especially since we have to keep moving tomorrow."

"I'm fine," Takuya said, seizing the moment to pinch Mikoto's cheek playfully, pulling her face into a wide, exaggerated expression.

Smack!

Ouch!

She really hits hard!

It turned out you couldn't mess with a girl's face—even if she was still young.

Takuya rubbed the back of his hand, which was now red from the slap.

Mikoto, despite being teased, didn't resist anymore. She obediently leaped up into a nearby tree, settling down against the trunk to rest.

"You two look great together, kid. I didn't have such a pretty girlfriend when I was your age," the merchant joked, warming himself by the campfire while reminiscing about his younger days.

"She's not my girlfriend," Takuya replied with a smile, tossing a few more sticks into the fire.

"Better get some sleep, old man. We've got an early start tomorrow, and you want to reach the Daimyo's residence by noon, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, you're right," the merchant muttered, realizing Takuya wasn't in the mood for chatting. With a sigh, he leaned against a nearby rock and closed his eyes.

Takuya added a bit more wood to the fire before climbing into a tree some distance from the camp.

Then, he summoned Snowy.

"Snowy, you're on watch duty tonight. If anyone approaches, let me know, no matter their intentions. And if they mean harm, take them out," Takuya instructed.

There was no way he was going to stay up all night.

That's what Snowy was for. She didn't get out much, so this was the perfect chance for her to stretch her legs.

After receiving her orders, Snowy disappeared into the forest, leaving Takuya to rest easy and close his eyes.

To be honest, sleeping outdoors was never comfortable. He tossed and turned against the rough tree bark for a while before finally drifting off.

The night passed without incident.

Nothing happened, which wasn't too surprising since this was peacetime. The Land of Fire was generally peaceful, especially near Konoha.

At dawn, the team had a quick meal and continued their journey.

"Looks like we're in for some trouble," Takuya noted, surprised that the calm night had given way to issues not long after they resumed their journey.

*****************
P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 280+ at patreon.com/Emik01.