Konoha: A Shady Peaceful Life System

Kagami spoke coldly, "The moment we met, you were already caught in the illusion of the Mangekyō Sharingan."

Kurōga gnashed his teeth furiously, never expecting to be defeated here today! He felt terrible for his brothers who had followed him; they had died for no clear reason. That ninja could even control clouds and mist—what a bizarre ability!

"Do you think you have me cornered?" Kurōga suddenly laughed loudly. "I, Kurōga, haven't been idle all these years! Even if I have to die, I'll take one of you with me!" Everyone became highly vigilant, showing no carelessness at Kurōga's desperate struggle.

"Wind Release: Blowing Sand!" Kurōga exhaled a violent gust of wind, swirling all the sand on the ground into a small sandstorm. The wind and sand blurred their vision, making it hard to see their surroundings, but this didn't bother Kagami and Chiri. They could clearly discern the enemy's movements through their Sharingan.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!" Flames like fresh flowers, carrying shuriken, plunged into the yellow sand. Then, they heard the clanging of metal. The group immediately pinpointed the direction and simultaneously unleashed their ninjutsu towards where the sound had come from. Yet, it seemed they hit nothing.

"Ice Release: Ice Sword Slash!" Torifū condensed ice into a giant blade and slammed it down onto the ground! The ice blade shattered, scattering countless small ice crystals that merged into the sandstorm, then froze together within it. Gradually, an ice wall formed, and the storm eventually dispersed due to the ice wall's obstruction. Torifū scanned the surroundings but found no trace of Kurōga.

"I can't believe he got away," Hiruzen said, clearly a little annoyed.

Kagami chuckled. "He's someone who's survived in the desert for years; having some tricks up his sleeve isn't strange. As long as he doesn't bother us again, it's fine." Torifū was indifferent to this. If he escaped, it meant he was lucky. As long as he didn't provoke them again, that was all that mattered.

The area had become a mess due to the battle, with corpses scattered everywhere. If someone woke up in the middle of the night to use the restroom and saw all those bodies, it would be quite unpleasant. So, they had to deal with them. The most direct method was to burn them with fire, but that might attract other enemies.

"Crystal Release: Cluster Sprout Growth." Torifū lightly stepped on the ground, and the ground began to tremble slightly. Small crystal sprouts grew beside each corpse, then rapidly expanded. In just a few breaths, they encased all the bodies in crystal. The crystals eventually formed a large cluster and slowly sank underground. With so many crystal-encased bodies buried underground, perhaps in a thousand years, they might be discovered as an unsolved mystery.

After everything was taken care of, they could finally rest peacefully. They rekindled the campfire, raising the surrounding temperature. Torifū also brought out more water and food for everyone. The items in his spatial ring were meant to be shared, and he couldn't eat it all himself anyway.

Full and satisfied, the sky had completely darkened. To prevent Kurōga from making a desperate, suicidal sneak attack in the middle of the night, Kagami volunteered for the first half of the night watch, and Torifū for the second half. When traveling, it was essential to trust your teammates, so everyone rested soundly. The night was peaceful. Kurōga, having narrowly escaped death, didn't choose to avenge his brothers. Perhaps this was the norm in the ninja world: there wasn't so much camaraderie; only one's own survival was paramount. If you died, you truly had nothing left.

...…

Early the next morning, Hiruzen woke everyone up. Their plan for the day was to reach the Land of Fire's borders. So, they set off as soon as dawn broke. They journeyed continuously, maintaining a high speed. When they got tired, they would slightly slow down but always kept moving forward. After two and a half days of continuous travel, they finally returned to Konoha Village.

Seeing the village gates, everyone cheered. Although the mission itself hadn't been difficult, the journey was arduous, and everyone agreed that unless there was a truly crucial mission, they would never go to the Land of Wind again.

Upon returning to the village, the first order of business was to report to the Hokage. So, they immediately hurried to the Hokage's Office. Hashirama already knew the children had returned, so he had been waiting in his office since early morning.

Knock! Knock!!

A knock sounded at the door, and Hashirama smiled. "Come in." The door was pushed open, and it was indeed Hiruzen and the others.

"Hokage-sama, our squad has successfully completed their mission to deliver a letter to Sunagakure."

Hashirama nodded, acknowledging the children's excellence. "You must have endured a lot on this journey, didn't you?"

Hiruzen chuckled heartily. "To complete the mission, we'll endure any hardship."

"Tell me about your experiences. What did you gain from this trip to the Land of Wind?"

Everyone began to speak enthusiastically, with Koharu and Hiruzen sharing the most, seemingly trying to outdo each other. This often made Hashirama laugh. Overall, the journey had broadened everyone's horizons, showing them the differences between other villages and their own, and helping them understand the lifestyle of Sunagakure's people.

Hashirama wrote Hiruzen and the others' names on the S-rank mission scroll, signifying the successful completion of the mission. Another S-rank mission reward was in hand, and everyone was happy. Naori was the happiest of all; this was her first S-rank mission, and she was now truly a ninja.

[Ding - Congratulations to the host for completing S-rank mission - Five Kage Summit - Letter Delivery to the Land of Wind, reward 15,000 Peace Points.]

Torifū secretly nodded. This number satisfied him; it was worth the long journey. Based on the Peace Points rewarded from these two missions, Torifū guessed that the highest reward for an S-rank mission was fifteen thousand Peace Points. However, this was just a guess, as he had completed relatively few missions. He needed to take on more S-rank missions to confirm this.

"Alright, children, you've been exhausted these past few days. Go collect your mission pay, then head home and get some good sleep." Hashirama then added, "Also, you don't need to wake up early for training tomorrow. You're getting a day off."

Hearing about the day off, everyone was naturally delighted. The thought of a full day of rest felt wonderful. Koharu and Naori even began quietly discussing where to play tomorrow, and they secretly asked Torifū. But Torifū only wanted to lie at home, so he declined their invitation. However, Kagami was happy to stroll around with his sister; perhaps that was a basic trait of a doting brother.

After leaving the Hokage's Office, everyone went their separate ways. There were no sentimental farewells. After all, they had been together for days and were quite tired of each other's company. Now they finally had some personal space to enjoy.