"Morning, Manager. It's just you again today, huh?"
"Morning, Kakashi."
Yuto, with dark circles under his eyes, had been working nonstop these days.
The amount of work that would have taken a team a week in his previous life, he had managed to complete alone.
Fortunately, he could exchange resource quota for ready-made assets, which saved him a lot of trouble.
But hearing Kakashi's greeting, Yuto couldn't help but feel annoyed.
"What do you mean 'just me again'? You're the one who hasn't been helping me promote the shop..."
"Uh... I've been busy with the team lately, so I got held up. Next time, definitely next time..."
Yuto didn't press further and casually asked, "How's the team leading going?"
Kakashi's face fell and he said, "Sigh, those three aren't just problem children… they're problem children in their rebellious phase. It's so exhausting. It makes me appreciate how amazing Minato-sensei was."
"And on top of that, we've been doing nothing but low-level missions. Not only am I bored, but they're starting to get fed up too."
Yuto laughed heartily, 'Serves you right for not bringing me customers.'
"Hahaha... That sounds rough. So, what brings you here today? Got some free time?"
Kakashi sighed and said, "Even Ninja have the right to rest when they're not on missions..."
"I gave the three of them a day off today. If I made them do another cat-chasing or dog-catching mission, they'd probably revolt."
Yuto chuckled in understanding. His bad mood from the recent lack of income vanished, and he quickly said, "Well, perfect timing. The game's about to get an update. Help me test the new version."
Kakashi, who had been looking listless, immediately perked up after hearing these words.
"Are you serious, Manager?!"
"Of course!"
With that, Yuto updated the game with the new patch.
"Alright, just log in now."
Kakashi eagerly launched the game.
Sure enough, an update prompt appeared.
The required storage wasn't much, as Yuto had only added two new characters and a new story volume.
Kakashi quickly finished the update, but as soon as he entered the game, an event message popped up.
[The Demon of the Hidden Mist, an ambitious man born from the Bloody Mist]
Accompanying the text was a shadowy figure.
The silhouette didn't reveal much, but paired with the text, it sparked Kakashi's curiosity.
Kakashi didn't dwell on it and dove straight into the story mode.
The Arena had become a way for him to pass the time, but compared to the story mode, he was more interested in the plot.
'Volume 2 has indeed been unlocked!'
The volume name is [Land of Waves], which made Kakashi think of many things.
'I recalled the Land of Waves was a country without Ninja or a hidden village. Their economy wasn't strong, but they managed by selling local specialties, so they weren't exactly poor.'
'But why would such a small country deserve its own volume?'
Kakashi was a little confused, but he still clicked into the volume and opened the first level.
The first level is titled [Kirigakure Assault]
Kakashi's heart skipped a beat, 'Kirigakure?!'
'The Land of Waves was indeed located between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water, though it was closer to the Land of Fire.'
'The Land of Waves had no Ninja and was a neutral country. It shouldn't be affected by wars or Ninja conflicts. But for Kirigakure Ninjas to invade so recklessly... were they trying to stir up unnecessary trouble?'
Kakashi continued watching, and the level began with a cutscene.
Well, it wasn't exactly a cutscene, as it's just a few images with text.
[A few days after the formation of Team 7, Naruto and the others embarked on a new 'escort mission']
[This time, they were to safely escort the bridge builder, Tazuna, back to the Land of Waves]
[However, a mysterious threat was closing in, and a sudden attack targeted Tazuna]
[Team 7, who was caught off guard, was plunged into a tense situation...]
---
The cutscene ended, and Kakashi entered the familiar dialogue sequence.
[Hatake Kakashi: Next, we'll pass through this forest and reach the docks...]
[Kirigakure Ninja: Hehehehe... The first one!]
With that, two Ninja dressed in Kirigakure's attire swung their swords at Kakashi.
The real Kakashi, looking at the in-game Kirigakure Ninja, thought they looked similar to what he remembered.
And they also seemed to favor swords as weapons.
Among the five great Ninja Villages, Kumogakure Ninja were known for their love of swords.
But compared to Kumogakure, Kirigakure Ninja were even more skilled with swords! Their Jonin were almost all master swordsmen.
Aside from those with special Kekkei Genkai or clan Jutsu, most Kirigakure Ninja used swords as their primary weapons.
For example, their elite force, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, were all master swordsmen.
However, seeing his in-game self get ambushed by two no-name Kirigakure Ninja, Kakashi couldn't help but laugh.
He didn't think he was that easy to deal with, so he continued without much concern.
[Haruno Sakura: K-Kakashi-sensei...]
[Uzumaki Naruto: H-how could this happen?!]
[Kirigakure Ninja: The second one took the bait!]
Just when the Kirigakure Ninja were about to attack, Sasuke intercepted them.
[Uchiha Sasuke: Protect Tazuna!]
[Haruno Sakura: Okay!]
[Uzumaki Naruto: You bastards!]
---
The dialogue ended, and Kakashi, controlling his in-game character [Hatake Kakashi], breezed through the level.
At the second checkpoint, another cutscene played.
[Kirigakure Leader: Hmph, if you want to live, hand over Tazuna!]
---
This Kirigakure Leader was noticeably tougher than the others, with a much larger health pool.
But Kakashi, who had fought countless battles against AI, made quick work of him with his skilled operation.
At this time, the level ended, and the concluding dialogue played.
[Hatake Kakashi: Hmm, you did better than I expected...]
[Team 7: Kakashi-sensei? So that was a Body Replacement Technique earlier!]
[Victory!]
---
This level didn't surprise Kakashi much, but it left him with many questions.
'Why... would Kirigakure send their Ninjas to a neutral country?'
It must be known that missions from the Land of Waves were usually sent to the Land of Fire, which then forwarded them to Konoha.
While there was no strict rule, small countries near great nations typically followed this unspoken agreement.
So it is highly likely that the possibility that these Kirigakure Ninja had been officially dispatched to the Land of Waves can be ruled out.