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"You're talking about Naruto?" Shikaku asked after a short silence.
Akio nodded. "Yeah. The person I'm protecting is Naruto."
"What if one day Naruto becomes a rogue ninja? What would you do then?" Shikaku asked. Given the way the people of Konoha treat Naruto now, there's a real chance he might turn his back on the village. If that happens, what will Akio do?
"That's not gonna happen," Akio said with a shake of his head. "Naruto would never betray Konoha. If that day ever comes... I'll crush my king piece with my own hands." His eyes were locked on the shogi board as he spoke, staring at the king piece. But he was absolutely certain—Naruto would never defect.
"Tomorrow, you'll take on a B-rank mission," Shikaku said with a nod. "You'll be teamed up with Team 3 again."
"A B-rank mission? What kind?" Akio asked.
"You need to be ready—it's an escort mission, and there's a good chance you'll run into enemy shinobi along the way."
"Where are we escorting them to?"
"The Land of Honey. It's a small country. The person you're escorting has been hiding out in Konoha for a while. She's been on the run—turns out, she's a princess from the Land of Honey. She's got a bodyguard with her too, but he's only chunin level."
"A princess? And her guard's just a chunin? So the people chasing her probably aren't stronger than chunin either, right?"
"According to the guard, five chunin were the ones chasing them. They backed off after pushing her into Konoha. But on the way back, there's a real chance we'll run into them again. So go get ready."
"Got it," Akio nodded. "Checkmate."
"Eh!?"
The next morning, Team 3 and Akio met up with Shikaku at the mission office, waiting for the princess of the Land of Honey to arrive. But they stood there from morning till noon before the princess and her guard finally showed up. Judging by her sleepy face, she'd probably just woken up.
She looked about the same age as Akio—fourteen at most.
"This is it? Just a bunch of kids? Does Konoha really care about my safety?" the long-haired girl in a pale yellow kimono said arrogantly.
"Don't worry," Shikaku replied calmly. "We've got two jonin with the group. This is the safest escort team you could possibly get."
Konoha's smartest mind—Shikaku Nara. The strongest in taijutsu—Might Guy. The Hyuga genius—Neji. Akio of the Namikaze clan. Rock Lee, the hardworking prodigy. And Tenten, the kunoichi best known for her weapon skills.
Among the new gen, you really couldn't put together a stronger escort team.
"Fine. Let's go then." The princess seemed relieved after hearing there were two jonin. In a small country like the Land of Honey, jonin-level shinobi were rare. Having two of them escort her? That was way more reassuring.
"You!" She pointed at Lee, then at a massive backpack by the door, likely filled with her snacks. "Carry this!"
"Huh?" Lee blinked, a bit surprised, but he went over and picked up the huge bag anyway. "Think of this as training!" he said, pumping his fist to motivate himself. Clearly, the bag was super heavy.
"Don't drop it! That's my food for the road!" she shouted after him.
"Don't worry, I've got it!" Lee responded confidently.
Akio just sighed. Honestly, the toughest part of this mission might not be fighting enemy shinobi—but babysitting this princess.
"Well then, I'll be counting on all of you." The princess's bodyguard bowed respectfully to Shikaku and Guy. He didn't look very old—seventeen or eighteen, at most.
The group headed toward the village gates. Akio stretched lazily. Finally, he was leaving the village again. And this time to another country. With nothing stronger than chunin waiting for them, this was basically going to be a vacation.
"You! Come carry me!" the princess suddenly pointed at Akio. He stumbled, nearly falling over, then pointed at himself. "Me? Carry you?"
"Princess, I should carry you," the bodyguard stepped in quickly. They'd been using a palanquin before, but it got destroyed when they were attacked. The porters had died, so the guard had been carrying her himself ever since they escaped to Konoha.
"No! I. Want. Him. To. Carry. Me." The princess stared at Akio and said each word slowly and deliberately.
The guard looked into her eyes—those were not the eyes of a spoiled brat throwing a tantrum. No one else might've noticed it, but he'd watched her grow up. He knew what that look meant—she liked this guy.
"Such a pain... no surprise she's royalty," Akio muttered, forming a hand sign. His shadow rose up from the ground, walked over to the princess, and bent down in front of her.
"My shadow'll carry you," he said, then turned and walked away without looking back.
"So that's the Shadow Secret Technique? That's awesome!" Lee said, watching the dark form carry the princess.
"I'd heard Akio created this technique himself, but seeing it in action... that's seriously impressive," Guy added. "Youth really is full of endless possibilities!"
"Yes, Guy-sensei!" The two of them suddenly hugged and burst into tears for no reason at all.
"You!!" the princess stomped her foot in frustration at Akio's back. But in the end, she lay down on the shadow and let it carry her forward.
"That jutsu... that kid..." The bodyguard, a chunin himself, could tell this was something completely original—something he'd never even heard of before. A jutsu this unique... maybe this group really could keep her safe.
"Hey, Akio," Tenten jogged up beside him. "Your charm's something else. That princess totally fell for you."
"Great. Real helpful," Akio said, glancing off to the side. "Not like you don't have a crush on Neji anyway."
"Eh?" Tenten blinked, caught off guard. Wait... no way... "No, no, no, there's no way Akio would like me," she mumbled to herself, shaking her head.
"Stop spacing out. Let's go." Neji's voice cut in. Tenten had frozen for a second and fallen behind. Akio was already a ways ahead. She quickly responded and walked up to Neji's side.
"Hey, you—girl ninja! Come here a second!" the princess shouted to Tenten, who turned around and walked over.
"What is it?" Tenten asked with a friendly smile.
"Tell me about that guy. What's his name? What's he like?" the princess asked while lying on Akio's shadow.
"....."