Naruto, my father's name is Uchiha Madara.

Page 351

In the end, traces of a fierce battle were only found in a scorching lava valley.

And some broken pieces of clothing belonging to Lao Zi.

The site was filled with the strong aura of Water Release chakra, which seemed out of place in the scorching lava environment.

It is speculated that the attacker was a powerful individual extremely skilled in Water Release techniques, who forcibly defeated and kidnapped Rōshi in a battle where the elemental advantage was extremely disadvantageous.

The series of tailed beast disappearances was like several boulders thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring up a huge wave in the upper echelons of the ninja world!

Panic and tension began to spread. All the villages that still possessed tailed beasts—

Cloud Village (Eight-Tails), Mist Village (Six-Tails), Rock Village (Five-Tails), and Leaf Village (Nine-Tails)?

Almost simultaneously, they entered a state of martial law at the highest level.

The village's defensive barrier was strengthened to the extreme, the protection force of the Anbu and Jinchūriki was increased several times, and all outings were subject to strict vetting.

Konoha Village, Hokage's office.

The atmosphere was unusually oppressive.

Tsunade frowned as she looked at the mountain of urgent communications and intelligence summaries from various villages piled up on the table, her fingers unconsciously tapping the surface.

"The man with the vortex mask... a ninja skilled in water-style ninjutsu... with a clear objective, swift action, and strength enough to suppress a perfect Jinchuriki or even a wild Tailed Beast..."

She muttered to herself, her face growing increasingly grim: "The remnants of the Akatsuki... no, it's that masked man leading a new round of arrests!"

"Their ultimate goal is indeed to collect all the tailed beasts!"

"Where is Naruto now?" She suddenly looked up at Shizune beside her.

“Naruto just finished instructing Konohamaru’s team and should be heading back to his apartment now,” Shizune replied immediately.

"Send the order immediately!"

Tsunade's tone was resolute: "From this day forward, Naruto Uzumaki is forbidden from accepting any missions that require him to leave Konoha Village!"

"No one may leave the village's security perimeter without my personal approval!"

"Yes!" Knowing the seriousness of the situation, Shizune immediately turned around and went out to relay the order.

The order was quickly delivered to Naruto.

Naruto was somewhat annoyed by this, but he also expressed his understanding.

He knew that the Nine-Tails within him was one of the enemy's ultimate targets.

In such a tense and anxious situation, staying in the village is the safest option.

However, this order caused great distress to the other three people—

Sarutobi Konohamaru, Kazamatsuri Moegi, and Ise Udon.

"Aaaaaah! Why?!"

Konohamaru slumped onto the table at the mission posting area and let out a wail: "Why can't I suddenly accept missions of rank C or higher anymore!"

"Finding cats, taking care of kids, digging sweet potatoes... I'm sick of doing these D-level missions!"

Moegi pouted, listlessly fiddling with her ninja bag: "I was just saying... I wanted to try out some new ninjutsu to deal with the bad guys... but instead I'm just helping the dessert shop move flour again, and my clothes are all white now..."

Udon sniffed and whispered in agreement, "Besides... the task of cleaning up the river garbage... the smell is a bit strong..."

Because of the restriction that Jonin Naruto could only accept simple missions within or around the village, he was limited to doing so.

Their "Naruto Team" mission level plummeted, and they were once again overwhelmed by a large number of D-rank missions.

This is undoubtedly a "disaster" for young boys and girls who are eager to grow up faster and experience real ninja missions.

These past few days, they've been like wilted eggplants when carrying out their missions—dejected and looking gloomy.

In contrast, their mentor, Naruto Uzumaki, presented a completely different picture.

"Alright! Today's goal is—to help the old man organize the warehouse! Let's go!"

Naruto waved energetically, his face beaming with a relaxed, even joyful, smile.

Seeing his three disciples looking listless, Naruto patted Konohamaru on the shoulder: "Hey, don't be so dejected!"

"No task is too small; it's all about contributing to the village! And look, organizing the warehouse is great—it's good exercise, and you get to listen to the old man tell you lots of interesting stories!"

Konohamaru looked up at Naruto with a resentful gaze: "Naruto-nii... at least you've had an S-rank mission before..."

"Huh? Really? Hahaha!"

Naruto chuckled, his eyes darting around: "That was due to unforeseen circumstances, and now I've discovered that D-rank missions actually have a lot of advantages!"

He counted on his fingers, saying, "See, first, it's absolutely safe! You don't have to worry about running into any strange guys!"

"Secondly, no more eating and sleeping outdoors! I can go home and eat Ichiraku Ramen every day!"

"Third! And most importantly!"

Naruto's face lit up with an expression as if he had discovered a treasure. He lowered his voice and smugly said, "I don't have to write such a long mission report!!"

"You guys have no idea how troublesome mission reports for Rank C and above are! You have to write about the mission process, enemy analysis, tactical summary, and personal reflections... Ugh, just thinking about it gives me a headache!"

"D-rank missions are so much better! A few simple lines like 'Successfully found the cat' or 'Successfully moved the goods' and it's done! Iruka-sensei won't even complain! It's like heaven!"

Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon: "..."

Good heavens! They're not even going to act anymore!

The three genin looked at their elite jonin teacher, who was genuinely happy that he "didn't have to write reports."

For a moment, I was speechless, and the sorrow in my heart seemed to be somewhat relieved by this absurd reason.

It turned into a deep sense of helplessness.

Thus, this scene was added to the everyday tapestry of Konoha:

Three teenagers were doing various trivial chores with worried expressions.

Meanwhile, their renowned and exceptionally skilled Jonin instructor was happily mingling among them.

He would occasionally be scolded by Iruka for slacking off, or he would drag his disciples to finish work early and go eat ramen because he finished too quickly.

However, beneath this seemingly carefree and joyful daily life, Naruto never let his guard down.

Every night, the hellish simulation of battle with Uchiha Madara in the space of consciousness never stopped.

Each time he was utterly humiliated, he became more acutely aware of just how terrifying the enemies he might face in the future could be.

He would often look beyond the village's barrier, a hint of worry in his eyes.

He knew that the outside world was undergoing dramatic changes, and a storm was brewing.

That masked man, that Shennong, they will never stop.

The current tranquility may just be a brief calm before the storm.

He must make good use of this time to become stronger, strong enough to protect this seemingly trivial yet incredibly precious daily life.

It would be perfect if I could never have to write those damn mission reports.

Naruto looked out the window and thought to himself.

Chapter 371 The Strange Cave

After several days of continuous rain, Konoha Village finally welcomed a bright and sunny morning.

The air was fresh, carrying the fragrance of earth and grass.

But for Team Naruto, what's more important is—

Today's task is finally not about finding the cat, mowing the lawn, or taking care of the kids!

At the mission posting area, Konohamaru practically snatched the mission scroll from the staff member and eagerly opened it.

"Cleanup task... Due to the heavy rain the day before yesterday, a landslide occurred upstream of the Namga River, burying some sections of the road."

"The entrance to an abandoned ancient sacrificial cave has been breached, and the rubble needs to be cleared."

"Assess the internal structural stability and carry out preliminary reinforcement to prevent secondary collapse... Level... Grade D!"

Konohamaru read it out loud, and although it was still rank D, his eyes lit up.

"Clearing the ruins of a landslide? And ancient caves?"

Meng Huang also came over, a look of interest on her face: "That sounds much more interesting than sifting flour for a dessert shop!"

Even Udon, who usually lacks enthusiasm, sniffed and unusually agreed: "Hmm... at least... it's not like we're picking up trash by the river..."

Naruto looked at his three disciples who had instantly regained their energy, and chuckled, stroking his chin. "Oh? An ancient ritual cave? Sounds like there might be some treasure there!"

"Alright! That's our goal for today! Let's go!"

"Oh—!" the three little ones responded in unison, full of enthusiasm.

The group quickly arrived at the mission location upstream of the Nanga River.

The heavy rains of the past few days have indeed caused considerable damage, with large amounts of mud, gravel, and broken trees piling up on the original path.

One side of the mountain showed obvious signs of a landslide, exposing a fresh soil cross-section.

In the center of the landslide, a dark cave entrance, about two people high, is clearly visible.

More rubble was scattered around, clearly freshly washed out.

"Alright! Everyone, get to work! Clear the path first, and be careful!"

"Udon, use your earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a technique in Chinese fantasy novels) to move the big rocks away!"

"Moegi, use your Wind Release to blow away the fine sand!"

"Konohamaru, you're in charge of... uh... commanding and supervising!"

Naruto, hands on his hips, expertly assigned tasks, though the task assigned to Konohamaru sounded somewhat perfunctory.

"Yes, Naruto-sensei!" The three immediately sprang into action.

Udon formed hand seals and carefully moved the larger rocks using a variation of Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall, which he was not yet very proficient in.

Moegi puffed out her cheeks and used what could be described as a mini version of Wind Release: Great Breakthrough to blow away the accumulated soil and fallen leaves;

Konohamaru acted like a little supervisor, looking around and pointing things out. Although he didn't do anything practical, he was extremely serious about it.