Chương 133

For several long seconds, nobody spoke. The decision had been made so casually that it almost sounded reasonable. Yet to those who truly cared about Rei, it felt like another obstacle thrown before a boy who had already accomplished what no one of his generation could even dream of achieving. Then... The wind changed. A cold gust swept across the training ground without warning, carrying fallen leaves high into the air.

The bright afternoon sky darkened with unnatural speed as heavy gray clouds rolled across the village, swallowing the sunlight. A distant rumble echoed above Konoha, followed almost immediately by another, louder than the last. Within moments, forks of lightning danced silently between the gathering storm clouds. Everyone instinctively looked upward.

"... What is going on?" one jonin muttered.

"There hasn't been any signs of rain today." another whispered. The sudden shift wasn't limited to the weather alone. The air itself felt heavier, charged with an invisible pressure that made even experienced shinobi instinctively tense. Several ANBU subtly reached for their weapons, believing an enemy attack might be imminent. Only four people immediately understood what was happening, excluding Rei. And most importantly Sasuke could feel it.

He felt as if the clouds and lightning up ahead were his friends, calling upon him. But he also knew that it wasn't him who had called upon this. Thus his eyes, along with the others in Team 7, turned toward Hana and Daichi. Both of Rei's parents stood absolutely still. Neither had spoken a single word since Danzo proposed the S-rank mission. Yet their expressions alone revealed everything. Daichi's fists had tightened until his knuckles turned white, while Hana's eyes trembled with restrained fury.

Neither of them was releasing killing intent. Rei's eyes widened slightly.

"... No way..." He had never expected Thor's physique to influence the weather to even this extent. It wasn't the overwhelming dominion of the post-Ragnarok God of Thunder, but seeing clouds gather and lightning answer his parents' emotions so naturally still stunned even him. He couldn't believe that even without the upgrade their anger was able to influence here too. This was unprecedented. Without wasting another second, Rei hurried toward them.

"Mom... Dad..." Before either of them could say anything, Rei simply wrapped both of them in a hug.

"I'm alright." His voice remained gentle.

"I promised you I'd be careful, remember? This is only another mission. Nothing more." For several long moments neither Hana nor Daichi responded. Then, almost imperceptibly, their tense shoulders relaxed. Daichi let out a slow breath while Hana rested one hand atop Rei's head.

"... You always make us worry."

"And you'll keep doing it..." Daichi muttered with a helpless smile. Almost immediately, the oppressive atmosphere began fading. The roaring wind weakened, the thunder grew distant once more, and small patches of blue sky gradually pushed through the heavy cloud cover overhead. The training ground collectively released a breath nobody realized they had been holding. Danzo silently watched the entire exchange. His visible eye shifted from the clearing sky... to Rei... then finally toward Hana and Daichi.

"... Interesting..." He said nothing further. But he had noticed that the weather had begun changing when the parents became furious... And it had started calming only after Rei embraced them. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Whether coincidence or something else, Danzo couldn't tell. Yet for the first time that day, the old shinobi looked at Rei's parents with the same scrutiny he had reserved only for Rei himself.

Rei slowly stepped away from his parents before turning toward Danzo, the council and finally Tsunade. There wasn't the slightest trace of resentment on his face. If anything, he appeared unusually composed, as though he had already expected another hurdle to appear the moment the evaluation ended.

"If an independent S-rank mission is what the village requires before accepting me as one of Lady Tsunade's guards, then I have no objection." Rei gaze briefly swept across everyone present.

"I accepted this position because I wished to help the Hokage and the village, not because I wanted a title, as I have mentioned this before too. Title can never save a person's life or an ego. If completing one mission settles every future argument, then I'd rather do that than spend weeks debating." Several jonin exchanged surprised glances. They had expected the young genin to protest after everything he had already demonstrated today. Instead, Rei had accepted the decision with remarkable maturity.

Even the ANBU Commander silently inclined his head a fraction, acknowledging the calmness with which the boy had handled the political dispute. Unlike Danzo, he didn't like the fact that Rei was being pushed for an official S class mission. He had done more than enough to earn his position.

Others might not know it, but he knew that one of the reasons why Sungakure surrendered so willingly was because their elite Jonin, one who would be the future advisor and someone who was loved everywhere in the village was taken by Rei himself. Baki was one of the factors why Sungakure gave full surrender. And Rei was the one who brought him back sealed and cuffed. This was a huge achievement, but since he did this under his own volition and not village sponsored assignment.

But now there was nothing to do about it and from the looks of it, Rei didn't seem to be bothered at all. Tsunade, however, was having none of it. The moment Rei finished speaking, she slammed a fist onto the nearby railing hard enough to leave fresh cracks running across the stone.

"Don't think this discussion is over!" she barked toward Danzo, Homura and Koharu.

"The Hokage chooses her own guard. None of you have the authority to dictate every appointment I make!" Rei merely sighed before looking toward Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and his parents.

"Come on," he said with a faint smile.

"They're going to be arguing for another hour at least. I'd rather not stand here listening to politics." Without waiting for the debate to finish, he calmly turned around and began walking away from the training ground, the others naturally following behind him. Once they were far enough away that Tsunade's raised voice could no longer be heard, Hana finally let out the breath she had been holding.

"You accepted that far too easily," she complained softly.

"Do you know what an S-rank mission means? Even veteran jonin hesitate before accepting those." Daichi nodded in agreement, though the pride in his eyes remained impossible to hide despite his concern. Rei chuckled lightly before placing both hands behind his head.

"Mom, Dad... you've both become much stronger than you realize, so you should understand how powerful I should be now. Besides, if I refused now, Lady Tsunade would probably argue with the council for the next three days without sleeping. I'd rather finish one mission than watch that happen."

"Then I'll come with you!" Naruto declared without hesitation. Sakura sighed before smacking the back of his head.

"Idiot. He said independent mission."

"It should be an average mission for you." Sasuke said.

"And if it becomes problematic you can call upon the Moon Knight abilities too."

"Eh.. I wouldn't need them. Besides I haven't been able to uncover any new ability so maybe the Moon Knight is very exclusive to you." Rei replied. Sasuke was surprised as he thought some of the Moon Knight ability like flying and using the suit should have come easily for Rei but it seemed it didn't work that way. It also showed that how dangerous and powerful Moon Knight's ability might be. Not long afterward, another familiar figure landed atop a nearby tree branch before dropping lightly onto the forest path.

Jiraiya brushed a few leaves from his shoulders and grinned sheepishly.

"Looks like I missed quite a show," he admitted.

"Mount Myōboku ended up taking longer than I expected. Those old toads never stop talking once they get started." After hearing a quick summary of everything that had happened, Jiraiya rubbed his chin thoughtfully instead of laughing.

"Before you leave for that S-rank mission," he said, looking directly at Rei, "I'd like you to visit Mount Myōboku with me. You don't need to become a sage, but there are things there worth seeing. After everything we've learned about other worlds, gods and natural energy, I have a feeling that mountain might answer questions we haven't even thought to ask yet."

"Alright," he replied.

"If the Great Toads are willing to receive me, then I'll gladly pay them a visit before undertaking the mission. But for now, let's have lunch together. I am starved." The words of Rei made Hana alert as she quickened her steps towards home, in order to feed everyone. The others to followed as Daichi invited them. Soon everyone found themselves at Rei's home, joking and enjoying talking about both the worlds. And at the end they were also joined by Shizune and Tsunade.

The Hokage was still fuming but once she was given a bacon egg and cheese sandwich, which had recently become her favorite food, she calmed down a bit.