I Just Wanted to Slack Off, But I Was Forced to Become Hokage

Chapter 25: The Last of the Chinoike Clan!

The Twelve Guardian Ninja?

Nara Keisuke's brow furrowed slightly. He felt like he had heard the name of this ninja organization somewhere before.

Right, wasn't that the name of the organization that the future Sarutobi Asuma joined after leaving Konoha? It seemed there was also a great monk in it who could summon a "little Gundam"...

Seeing Nara Keisuke frowning in silence, Nara Shikano assumed that he had never heard of the organization.

"This organization is indeed very distant for a fresh Genin graduate like you. It's not surprising that you haven't heard of it." Nara Shikano took the initiative to explain. "The Twelve Guardian Ninja is a ninja organization jointly established by Konoha, the Fire Temple, and the official government of the Land of Fire. Its purpose is to protect the Daimyo of the Land of Fire."

Hearing Nara Shikano's explanation, Nara Keisuke nodded slightly. This wasn't too different from the information he knew.

Although the Daimyo of the Land of Fire was the ruler of a nation, holding a high position of great power, not all ninja respected and revered him. Especially for ninja from other countries, the "Daimyo of the Land of Fire" was, at best, just an ordinary person with a higher status. If their country or ninja village were to specifically assign a mission requiring them to "assassinate the Daimyo of the Land of Fire," and if there was no one specifically protecting him, it would be no more difficult for those ninja to complete the mission than wringing a chicken's neck.

Of course, except in extremely special circumstances, other ninja villages would never put something like "assassinating a Daimyo" on the table. This kind of "assassination of an ordinary leader" was too destructive to the normal operating rules of the international ninja community! Once discovered, it would very likely lead to a siege by multiple countries...

In short, it was very normal for the Daimyo of the Land of Fire to have a ninja team dedicated to his protection.

What Nara Keisuke was curious about was another point. He could completely understand if Konoha and the Land of Fire's government jointly formed the "Twelve Guardian Ninja." But why could the "Fire Temple" be discussed in the same breath as the other two powers? The strength of that ninja temple... didn't seem to be very impressive.

Nara Keisuke decided to directly ask about the doubt in his mind. "Clan Head, I've read about the Fire Temple in my Academy textbooks, but isn't it just a ninja temple?"

"To be precise, it's an extremely rare ninja temple in this day and age that still inherits the 'Ninshū' philosophy of the Sage of Six Paths." Nara Shikano was not surprised by Keisuke's reaction; very few ninja took the power of the ninja temples seriously. "The Fire Temple is also related to the second special reward I mentioned... let's talk about this matter when we get there!"

In the end, Nara Shikano was still keeping him in suspense.

Nara Keisuke pressed his lips together. "Then what do the Twelve Guardian Ninja have to do with the special reward you mentioned?"

"They do," Nara Shikano replied with a nod. "As a ninja organization dedicated to protecting the Daimyo, the Twelve Guardian Ninja are stationed year-round in the Daimyo's estate in Kyoto. Although their daily tasks are somewhat tedious, they are far removed from the threat of war. So, Keisuke, do you want to become one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja? If you want to, with the power and resources of the Nara clan, we can absolutely make you one of them."

Nara Shikano looked at the junior clansman in whom he had placed such high hopes, waiting for his reply.

A position as one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja. This was the first special reward Nara Shikano had prepared for the S-rank family mission, [Eye of Shadow].

Nara Shikano believed he had a relatively clear understanding of Nara Keisuke's strengths and weaknesses, which could be summarized in three points: abundant spiritual energy, deficient physical energy, and insufficient ninja aptitude. Under these circumstances, it was very necessary to create a stable enough training environment for Keisuke, allowing him to improve his physical energy and skill level as much as possible.

The biggest advantage of a "position in the Twelve Guardian Ninja" was safety! At the very least, at this critical juncture with the Third Great Ninja War about to begin, being a "Guardian Ninja" was much safer than being a "Konoha Ninja"!

Nara Keisuke also understood the deeper meaning in Nara Shikano's words and couldn't help but fall into deep thought. Did the Twelve Guardian Ninja hold an attraction for him? The answer was a definite yes.

The professions of "Guardian Ninja" and "Konoha Ninja" were, to Nara Keisuke, like the difference between a "desk job" and a "field job." To carry out missions, Konoha ninja needed to run all over the world, traveling by night and sleeping in the open, never shirking from hardship.

In comparison, a "Guardian Ninja" only needed to work within a fixed area, and it was in the capital of the Land of Fire, one of the most prosperous places in the ninja world. Easy, stable, safe, and peaceful.

If he hadn't awakened the "Lazy System," Nara Keisuke would definitely have been extremely tempted by the clan head's suggestion. Working seriously is exchanging labor for pay. Slacking off at work is the real way to make money.

Damn it, however... Nara Keisuke had already tasted the "sweetness" of the "Lazy System." It was true that the work of a "Guardian Ninja" was easier and safer. But that also meant it was far from high-difficulty missions, far from high-level [Shinobi Secret Scrolls], which would in turn affect the speed of his power growth.

'So, for me, the most suitable method is actually to find a job in Konoha where I can slack off?' Nara Keisuke's thoughts began to wander. 'I think I had a job like that once, but I was fired by my direct supervisor before I even started...'

After a long moment, Nara Keisuke came back to his senses. "I'm sorry, Clan Head. Regarding this matter, I can't give you a definite answer just yet." He apologized to the clan head but didn't shut the door completely. "I want to first see what kind of ninja organization the 'Twelve Guardian Ninja' is before I consider the question of whether to join them."

"It's alright, this matter is indeed of great importance." Nara Shikano didn't think that Keisuke directly accepting this special reward was the most correct choice. "Besides, even if you want to become a Guardian Ninja, it's not something that can be settled in a moment. After this mission is over and you've returned safely to the village, you can also discuss this issue with Shūsuke and Keiko."

Shūsuke and Keiko probably won't object; on the contrary, they'd be happy to see it happen, right? Nara Keisuke was never troubled by the issue of "communicating with his parents." What he was a little worried about now was the clan head. Since accepting the mission, how many flags had the clan head raised along the way? Raising flags can lead to death! Nara Keisuke, on his first mission out of the village, felt a little panicked by this.

Just then, Yamanaka Inoichi flickered over to the deer cart. "Lord Shikano." While on the mission, Yamanaka Inoichi had switched to a more formal title. "I used the Mind Reading Technique to probe the memories of those ninja who attacked the caravan just now. I've basically clarified the situation."

Mind Reading Technique? Sitting in the back, Nara Keisuke quietly perked up his ears. He was actually quite interested in the Yamanaka clan's spiritual secret techniques.

Nara Shikano said unhurriedly, "Was it that group of bounty hunters from the Bounty Station?"

"Yes," Yamanaka Inoichi nodded. "These bounty hunters did indeed accept a mission, which is why they attacked the caravan. However, their mission was not to plunder the caravan's goods and property, but to hunt for the last survivor of the Chinoike clan."

Which clan? The name was very unfamiliar to Nara Keisuke.

"The Chinoike clan?" Nara Shikano also frowned. "I remember, weren't they exiled to the Valley of Hell in the Land of Hot Water by the Uchiha clan, who were hired by the Land of Lightning?"

Well now. Nara Keisuke exclaimed internally. The Land of Lightning hired the Uchiha clan? Is this some new story from this year? Or did this happen before Konoha was founded?

"Those bounty hunters who attacked weren't clear on the full details," Yamanaka Inoichi shook his head. "It's said that a ninja from the Chinoike clan slaughtered all their clan members, escaped from the Land of Hot Water, and fled into the territory of the Land of Fire."

"Slaughtered the whole clan..." Nara Shikano's brow locked tightly. He had never heard of such a horrifying incident. "Was this attack just an accident? Or have the people at the Bounty Station confirmed that the Chinoike clan ninja is in our caravan?"

"It should just be an accident," Yamanaka Inoichi said. "Those bounty hunters' heads didn't contain any concrete evidence. They purely took us for a small passing caravan and wanted to use the pretext of searching for a suspect to extort some money from us."

"Strengthen the guard, expand the sensory range, and continue forward at the current speed," Nara Shikano ordered methodically. "Inform the leaders of the small caravans behind us about the bounty hunter attack, and postpone the noon rest by one hour."

"Yes, Lord Shikano." Yamanaka Inoichi accepted the order and flickered away.

The deer cart continued to move forward. For the rest ofthe journey, no more bounty hunter attacks occurred.

When they made camp in the evening, perhaps sensing that Nara Keisuke was not quite used to spending the night in the wild, Nara Shikano casually comforted him, "It'll be fine after tonight."

Clan Head, if you keep talking like that, I'm really going to worry that something will happen! Nara Keisuke grumbled internally. "Clan Head, you rest first. I want to practice my secret techniques for a while longer."

Due to his status as the mission client, Nara Keisuke didn't have to perform night watch duties like the other ninja on this mission. Plus, he hadn't reached his "pill-popping" quota for the day yet. Nara Keisuke decided to maintain his normal daily routine.

Bidding farewell to the greatly gratified clan head, Nara Keisuke found a large tree nearby, jumped onto a branch, and sat cross-legged in meditation.

One Military Ration Pill went down.

[Stamina +10]

[Stamina: D+]

'Tomorrow morning, my [Stamina] will break through to C-rank!'

Nara Keisuke carefully felt the continuous replenishment of his physical energy and activated his [Lacquer Eye], looking towards the ninja and merchants who were setting up camp.

'One, two... eight.'

'Nine? Ten??'

(Author's Note:)

The Chinoike Clan.

A ninja clan mentioned in the official side story, "Sasuke Shinden: Book of Sunrise."

One of the dōjutsu families.

They possess the special bloodline limit, the "Ketsuryūgan."

This side story novel has been adapted into the anime, in the story after episode 700.

(End of Chapter)