"You've already seen the situation, Mr. Dazna. Can you explain why you deliberately lied about the mission's difficulty? When you came to Konoha to commission this mission, someone should have informed you that C-rank missions do not involve combat with enemy ninja, right? This mission is at least B-rank or higher, and judging by the strength of the enemy we encountered just now, it isn't merely B-rank—it is unquestionably an A-rank mission. Even if you claim that you didn't fully understand the enemy's strength, judging from the circumstances alone, you clearly knew that ninja would be involved. Under such conditions, the minimum classification should have been B-rank. That way, Konoha would have dispatched an appropriate team to protect you, not the one you have now! Do you understand the risk this created?!"
Yuhi Kurenai stared directly at Dazna, her voice sharper than it had ever been before.
For Team Eight, this was absolutely not a trivial issue.
Deliberately misreporting a mission's rank.
Encountering enemies with overwhelming strength.
If events had followed the normal course of battle—
Her entire team would have been wiped out here.
Even with Kurenai's usually gentle temperament, it was extremely difficult for her to suppress the anger welling up deep inside her heart.
This anger was not for herself.
It was for the three genin under her command.
They were the hope of Konoha's next generation.
And every one of them came from established ninja clans.
Especially Hyūga Hinata, the heir of the Hyūga clan. (Although Hyūga Hiashi had privately lost faith in his daughter, outsiders were unaware of this. Publicly, Hinata was still the eldest daughter of the clan head. According to Hyūga tradition, she was the future successor of the clan, an identity of great importance within Konoha.)
If Hinata were to die here—
Even worse, if her Byakugan were taken—
Kurenai would have no way to explain such an outcome to the village.
If things had truly reached that point—
Even if there had been a chance to escape—
There was a very real possibility that, in an irrational moment, Kurenai would have chosen to die on the battlefield.
Naturally, toward Dazna, who had deliberately concealed the mission's true difficulty, Kurenai felt nothing but anger.
Kakashi, standing at the side, also looked at Dazna with an expression that appeared calm on the surface, yet his exposed right eye gleamed faintly.
As Kurenai had just stated—
Under normal circumstances, a genin squad led by a jōnin is generally limited to C-rank missions. Only teams with exceptional experience, or genin whose abilities are already approaching chūnin standards, are even considered for B-rank missions. As for missions like today's—ones involving an enemy such as Momochi Zabuza—the classification was unquestionably A-rank.
This was a mission that required a chūnin squad led by a jōnin to even be considered appropriate.
And Team Eight had been established for less than ten days.
Not to mention that their squad leader, Yuhi Kurenai, had only recently been promoted to jōnin.
An A-rank mission?
That was nothing short of a life-and-death assignment.
With such a comparison alone—
If Kurenai and Kakashi were not furious, that would have been truly abnormal.
Standing to the side, the three inexperienced genin of Team Eight reacted differently. Among them, only Aburame Shino seemed to vaguely grasp the gravity of his teacher's accusation. Behind his dark sunglasses, a faint glint flickered in his eyes. The other two—Hyūga Hinata and Inuzuka Kiba—looked back and forth between their teacher and the employer, Dazna, with blank expressions.
Eh?
Concealing the mission rank?
Mr. Dazna?
Eh… eh?
What exactly was going on?
Kiba, whose thoughts often ran in straight lines, looked especially confused, completely unable to process his teacher's words.
Facing Kurenai's anger-filled questioning and Kakashi's quietly oppressive gaze—
"Actually… I didn't intentionally conceal the mission's difficulty…"
Dazna lowered his head, his expression filled with shame. He let out a long sigh and spoke softly.
Then, through Dazna's emotionally laden explanation—
Everyone present came to understand why he had misreported the mission rank.
The reason was simple.
Painfully simple.
One word—poverty.
It wasn't just Dazna who was poor.
It was the entire Land of Waves.
This was almost common knowledge throughout the ninja world.
The three inexperienced genin of Team Eight didn't fully understand.
But Kakashi and Kurenai were very familiar with the harsh reality of the Land of Waves.
Not only were ordinary civilians poor—
Even the nobles and daimyo of that country could hardly be described as wealthy.
In fact, it could be said that their nobles barely resembled nobles at all.
The Land of Waves was originally a small island nation with limited territory. Its lack of wealth, combined with its marginal strategic value, meant that neither the Land of Fire nor the Land of Water paid it much attention.
This was the reality of the entire country.
And as a citizen of the Land of Waves even as the relatively well-known bridge builder Dazna could not expect much income.
Moreover, in every ninja village, the standards for mission difficulty were largely the same.
There was a clear dividing line between C-rank and B-rank missions.
Not only in terms of danger
But in remuneration as well.
Even the simplest B-rank mission paid several times, or even more than ten times, the reward of the most difficult C-rank mission. This was an expense Dazna simply could not afford. Let alone the mission Kakashi had just mentioned, which should clearly be classified as A-rank an amount that was astronomical to someone like him.
Left with no other option, Dazna had chosen this desperate method to hire ninja from Konohagakure to protect him.
"Now that everything is clear, Mr. Dazna, you should also understand this," Kurenai said after taking a deep breath. She looked at him and shook her head firmly, her tone more solemn than ever before. "This mission's difficulty exceeds A-rank. It is not something our Team Eight can undertake especially not under the pretense of a C-rank mission. This violates Konoha's regulations. Our team has no choice but to withdraw from this mission."
Ninja had ninja rules.
And ninja villages had their own laws.
This was especially strict when it came to mission execution.
Deliberately concealing a mission's true rank was itself a form of deception toward the ninja village and a profoundly irresponsible act toward the shinobi risking their lives to complete it.
Such a so-called "C-rank mission"
Kurenai absolutely would not allow her team to continue.
Her words caused Dazna's face to stiffen instantly. Although he had mentally prepared himself for this outcome when he first issued the mission, the moment Kurenai truly said these words aloud, panic flooded his heart.
There was one thing that had to be said.
Setting certain matters aside, Dazna did possess qualities worthy of admiration his willingness to risk his own life, his resolve to pursue his dream for the sake of his country, and his determination to resist oppression. These traits were deserving of recognition and respect.
However, that was from Dazna's perspective.
From the perspective of the Land of Waves' citizens.
If the situation was viewed from Konoha's standpoint
And especially from the perspective of Team Eight
The conclusion was inevitably the opposite.
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