Naruto, my father's name is Uchiha Madara.

Page 275

However... when Naruto's gaze fell on the client's name, he paused slightly.

This name... it sounds familiar.

I seem to have heard it somewhere?

He frowned and tried to recall, but couldn't remember for the time being.

After all, it seemed that none of the people he knew had the surname Yamamoto.

"Waaah... Brother Naruto... I know I was wrong..."

Konohamaru covered his swollen, red bottom and tearfully admitted his mistake.

But a hint of longing for a C-level mission lingered in his eyes.

Moegi and Udon cautiously approached, looking at Naruto with expectant eyes.

Naruto looked at the three little guys, then at the mission scroll in his hand, and finally let out a long, deep sigh, as if he had resigned himself to his fate.

He rubbed his temples, which were still throbbing, and glared at Konohamaru with annoyance: "Fine! We've already accepted it! It's too late to say anything now!"

He put away the mission scroll and glanced at Konohamaru, whose face was covered in tears and snot and whose buttocks were probably already raw.

In the end, he softened and snorted, "I'll deal with you when I get back from the mission! Now, right now, go back and pack your gear!"

"Meet at the village entrance in half an hour! If you're even a minute late, you'll have to write ten more mission reports... oops, I mean, ten more laps of handstand running around the village!"

Yes! I promise I'll be there on time!

Upon hearing that the mission seemed promising, Konohamaru forgot all about his aching buttocks.

He immediately stopped crying and started laughing, grabbing Menghuang and Wudong, and limped out of the mission reception center with great excitement to go back and prepare.

Naruto watched their carefree backs as they walked away.

He looked down again at the name on the scroll that caught his attention—Yamamoto Misaki.

He had a vague, uneasy feeling, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

"Sigh... I hope this time... it's just a regular C-rank mission... Please don't let anything else go wrong... Report... my report..."

He sighed and dragged his heavy steps toward home.

Prepare to face the inevitable and inescapable "C-level nightmare" and the ensuing... hell of lengthy reports.

Chapter 295 Reencounter with Misaki Yamamoto

Half an hour later, at the gate of Konoha Village.

Naruto leaned against the doorpost with his hands in his pockets and a look of utter despair on his face.

Looking at the sky, it was as if I was mourning the passing of the happy times when I didn't have to write long reports.

Konohamaru, whose buttocks were still aching, along with Moegi and Udon, stood obediently beside him.

His face showed both excitement at taking on a C-rank mission and a hint of worry about Naruto settling scores later.

Just then, a simply decorated but rather sturdy-looking freight wagon appeared.

Driven by an old driver, the car slowly drove to the village entrance and stopped.

The carriage curtain was lifted, and a figure gracefully jumped down.

She was a girl of about seventeen or eighteen years old, dressed in travel clothes that were easy to move in, the style of which outlined her gradually maturing figure.

She had long, smooth brown hair tied in a neat ponytail, and her face was lightly made up.

Her eyes and brows carried the shrewdness and competence unique to a merchant family, but compared to three years ago, she also possessed a brighter and more confident demeanor, a result of a young woman's transformation.

When she saw the blond Jonin standing at the door with a sullen expression, her eyes lit up noticeably.

A delighted smile appeared on his face, and he quickly walked over:

"Naruto-san! It really is you!"

Upon hearing the voice, Naruto snapped out of his resentment towards the report and looked at the person who had entered with a puzzled expression.

When his gaze fell on the other person's face, he was taken aback for a moment.

Then the floodgates of memory opened, and a name slipped out:

"Ah! You are...Misaki?"

He remembered!

Several years ago, when he was still a genin, he carried out a C-rank escort mission with Kiba, Shino, and Hinata from Team 8.

They were protecting the Yamamoto family's caravan.

And the girl in front of us is the daughter of that caravan owner!

I remember it quite well, mainly because after they dealt with the enemy, Misaki called him into the tent and chatted with him about this and that, and then she came out looking completely bewildered.

"It's been a long time, Ms. Misaki."

Despite his complaints, Naruto still put on a polite smile and temporarily put aside his worries about the report.

It's always nice to run into someone you know, and the Yamamoto family are legitimate businessmen, so the escort mission shouldn't be too risky... right?

At least it's much better than the Land of the Moon, where coups happen all the time and a bunch of rogue ninjas emerge!

The report should be written more simply!

Naruto prayed silently in his heart.

Misaki was secretly pleased to see that Naruto recognized her at a glance.

She automatically assumed that Naruto had accepted the request because he "had always remembered" her and had done it on purpose.

After all, she is no longer the naive young girl she was three years ago.

She has grown into a graceful young woman, attracting many eyes when she walks down the street.

She was quite confident in her charm.

'Hmph, as expected, men are all visual creatures. He ignored me back then, but now he's actively taking on my tasks.'

Misaki was secretly delighted, and her smile grew even sweeter.

There was even a hint of barely perceptible superiority in his voice: "Yes, it's been a long time, Mr. Naruto!"

"I never expected that you would personally come to accept this request. What a coincidence, or rather... is Mr. Naruto giving us special treatment?"

Her words carried a hint of suggestion and provocation, and she looked at Naruto expectantly.

However, Naruto's thought process is clearly on a completely different level from hers.

"Huh? Special attention? No, not at all."

Naruto scratched his head and answered honestly, "The missions are all randomly assigned... uh, they were just picked up by my student."

He almost let slip that Konohamaru had secretly taken the job, so he quickly corrected himself: "But it's quite a coincidence that we were able to receive another request from Misaki-san's family, which puts my mind at ease."

"After all, we've worked together before, so we know each other well. The mission risk is low, and the report... uh, I mean the mission should go relatively smoothly."

All he could think about was: "It's good to know someone! Knowing someone means the client is reliable! They won't cause trouble halfway through! The task is simple! The report is short! Oh yeah!"

Misaki: "..."

Her smile stiffened slightly.

Low risk? Smooth process? This is completely different from the script she expected: "You only took the mission because you're interested in me!"

But she quickly recovered and realized that Naruto might be pretending to be reserved, or perhaps he was too embarrassed to admit it to her face.

Yes, that must be the case!

She maintained her polite smile: "I see."

"In any case, it is our honor to be escorted by Mr. Naruto once again."

"This time, we are transporting a batch of medicinal herbs to Duan Ce Street. The journey is not far, so it shouldn't be too much trouble for you."

"No problem, no problem! We're experts at escort missions!"

Naruto patted his chest, but what he was really thinking was: Tanabata Street! Great! Close by! Quick to get there! And the report will be much shorter!

And so, one of them became engrossed in his own self-deception, believing that "he must be interested in me."

A humble joy immersed in the thought that "the report can be written less."

They were completely on different wavelengths, yet they could still chat animatedly, like two birds with one stone.

At this moment, Konohamaru, who had been curiously observing for a while, couldn't help but come over.

Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Misaki, exclaiming in amazement, "Wow! Naruto-nii-san! You actually know such a beautiful older sister?"

Moegi and Udon also came over, looking at Misaki with curiosity.

Hearing Konohamaru's praise, Misaki felt even more pleased, and her smile became even brighter.

Naruto lightly slapped Konohamaru on the back of the head: "You brat, don't be disrespectful."

Then she introduced, "This is Ms. Misaki Yamamoto, the client who commissioned this mission."

"When I was still a genin, I went on a mission with Kiba, Shino, Hinata and the others to escort the caravan of Misaki's family."

He then introduced Misaki to them: "Miss Misaki, these three are my current students: Genin Sarutobi Konohamaru, Kazamatsuri Moegi, and Ise Udon."

Misaki smiled and nodded to the three children, saying, "Hello! So you're Naruto's students. You're all very promising young people."

She deliberately projected the image of a gentle and approachable older sister, her gaze lingering particularly long on Konohamaru, thinking that the boy had good taste.

"Hello, Misaki-neechan!"

Konohamaru and the other two greeted each other in unison.

Konohamaru secretly winked at Naruto, silently mouthing, "Naruto-nii, you're awesome!"

There was clearly a misunderstanding.

Naruto glared at him irritably, then glanced at the sky and said, "Alright, let's talk about this on the way."

She then glanced at the carriage behind her and asked, "Miss Misaki, have you finished loading your goods?"

"If we're ready, let's set off as soon as possible. The sooner we get to Tanabata Street, the more at ease everyone will feel."