Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Elders and Mission Report
Team 10 managed to reach Konohagakure in an impressive time of less than three hours, as Inoichi used the opportunity to push their traveling speed and improve their stamina. All three genin were happy to finally spot the familiar walls surrounding the village. Inoichi was also glad to be home again so he could see his family, as they had been away for over a week.
Finishing the paperwork at the gate, Inoichi announced, "Let's head directly towards the Hokage Office and turn the mission in."
"Yes, Sensei," nodded the three genin, happy to finally be done with it.
At the Hokage Office, they had to wait for 15 minutes until the Hokage was available and his secretary let them in, as he was still in an important meeting. On their way in, they met three elderly people leaving the office. Only Inoichi recognized them instantly; it took Tekku a few moments to realize who they were as he only knew them in two-dimensional form from anime and manga.
One particular person in that elderly three-man group gave him the final hint, as Inoichi had a grim look the moment he saw that man. A frail-looking, old man walking with a cane, he had black, shaggy hair, and his right eye was bandaged. On his chin was an X-shaped scar. He wore a white shirt with a black robe concealing his right side.
"Danzo Shimura." A flash of recognition lit up; he also recognized the other two elders accompanying him. 'It seems something is going on if all three of them are meeting with the Third Hokage. I wonder if he already has a Sharingan,' pondered Tekku as he watched the bandaged right eyes. It wasn't impossible for him to snatch a Sharingan from somewhere, but then he remembered that he used Izanagi when he killed Shisui before the massacre, so he already should have one. Well, Kagami Uchiha died pretty young, it is possible that Danzo had a hand in it.
"Ah, Inoichi-kun, are you back from your mission? How did your genin team do?" greeted Koharu amiably as she observed the genin, her eyes stopping at Tekku longer than at the others.
Danzo meanwhile also intensely stared at Tekku for a moment before removing his eyes disinterestedly from him. 'Hopefully the Puppet arts won't be of great interest for him, as it isn't known for having a particularly high level of power in the upper levels. He shouldn't be interested in me,' thought Tekku, as Danzo was a reason he particularly focused on Puppeteering, besides his knowledge from beyond this universe.
"Yes, they did very well for their first C-Rank. I let them complete it themselves, and they couldn't have performed better for their current level," nodded Inoichi with a strained smile, trying to ignore Danzo. The darkness of Konoha wasn't particularly liked amongst the ninja clans of Konoha since he is using all kinds of underhanded means to forcefully recruit members from their clans that they would never see again. One such case was one of Inoichi's younger cousins, Fu Yamanaka, who was recruited by Danzo into Root, to his dismay.
"That's good to hear. Keep working hard, you youngsters are the future of Konoha," encouraged Koharu kindly as she continued on with the other two elders of the council, who only nodded while passing.
Team 10 also continued towards the Hokage Office and knocked on the door. "Come in!" came the reply shortly after.
"Ah, Team 10, welcome back. I hope everything went well?" asked Hiruzen, who was sitting behind his desk with much less paperwork than last time. The Shadow Clone Technique must work wonders.
"Yes, Hokage-sama, the mission was completed successfully," nodded Inoichi with a proud smile before he added, "I will let my team report the mission as they did the main part."
And with that sign, all three genin provided the mission report to the Hokage, who smiled as he listened to them. Each of them included their own perspectives related to the mission. When Tekku reported his first kills, he could see a sad glint in the eyes of the Third Hokage.
"Well, I am glad that you all completed your mission successfully. You can collect your pay at the mission counter once you handed this scroll in," said the Hokage, handing them a scroll he had just put his signature on. "Dismissed! Tekku-kun, could you stay behind for a moment?" requested the elderly Hokage.
"Yes, Hokage-sama," nodded Tekku as his team began to leave.
"We will wait at the mission desk for you. Don't take too long," said Inoichi before closing the door.
"I am glad that you returned safely, Tekku-kun. Don't forget that if you should need help with what you experienced, there are people who can assist you. Your own sensei or one of the experts in the hospital are also available," explained Hiruzen with a worried expression as he took a deep breath from his pipe, releasing the smoke into the room.
"Thank you for your concern, Hokage-sama. I will keep that in mind," nodded Tekku, but he really hadn't any problems after the initial shock. The cold and calculating part of him made him accept his new reality with logic.
"As for your request about gaining your certification as a sealing expert, I completed all the paperwork for you. You will have your exam next week on the third day of the week. I will personally oversee the exam as one of the sealing masters of the village. Normally there would be two other sealing experts holding the exam, but let's just say I am personally interested in your progress," announced the Hokage with a smile. "That would be all. If you don't have any other requests, you are dismissed."
"No, I have nothing for now, Hokage-sama. Thank you for accepting my request. Until next week," nodded Tekku as he also left the Hokage Office, walking down the administrative building of the academy.
Soon he arrived at the mission desk where the rest of Team 10 was already waiting for him. Once Tekku was there, they headed to the chunin working at the desk currently and handed their scroll over, completing the mission and receiving their fourth of the payment in their bank account at Konoha's Central Bank.
The reward was not bad, with 20,000 Ryo per person, but he earned around 10 times more by clearing out the stash of the deputy leader. So overall, he earned 220,000 Ryo during this mission, basically the pay of an A-Rank mission. Not bad for his first decent mission that wasn't a chore. These funds should be able to help him complete some of his projects. There were blueprints for some better production machines and tools he designed with his engineering and advanced understanding of Fuinjutsu.
After receiving their rewards, the four members of Team 10 said goodbye to each other before splitting up and returning to their respective homes with a smile. Once Tekku opened the door to his small apartment, he decided to take the rest of the day off as he had free time until his Fuinjutsu Exam. Inoichi decided the team should take a holiday for a week before they returned to their training, as rest was important.
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