Naruto: I wrote in my diary that I exposed the Otsutsuki's arrival.

Chapter 41 marks the official start of the story.

Kitahara Kaede cooked so quickly that he killed all the ninjas there in no time. Suzuki Ryujin's head was also cut off and sealed in a scroll, ready to be taken back.

Then he plunged a shuriken into the heads of several other genin, destroying their brains, before turning and leaving.

"Let's go back and report!"

Kitahara Kaede.

Two days later, outside the gates of Konoha Village, Kitahara Kaede and his two companions finally completed their mission and returned to Konoha, having made the journey relatively uneventful.

To prevent Danzo from taking the risk of sending the Root Squad to deal with him again, the three of them did not take the same route back this time, but took a different route, and rushed back without much rest.

By noon that day, they finally hurriedly returned to Konoha.

After completing the registration and confirming that they were going out to carry out a mission, Kitahara Kaede and his two companions were allowed to enter Konoha by the Chunin guarding the gate.

The first thing Kitahara Kaede and his two companions did was head to the Hokage Mission Building to turn in their mission. Everything went smoothly; it was just a routine B-rank mission, hunting down an elite Chunin-level rogue ninja.

Not long after Suzuki Ryujin's head was handed over, an ANBU member came and took it away. It was likely that a ninja from the Nakayama clan came to examine the contents of his head.

As previously discussed with Kitahara Kaede and his two teammates, they did not report the encounter with the Root Squad, and even acted as if the incident had never happened.

After all the formalities were completed, the Jonin from the Nara family who was in charge of the registration glanced at Kitahara Kaede and said, "The mission process has been confirmed. The mission pay will be deposited into your accounts within one month."

Kitahara Kaede and the other two nodded, offering no objections.

"Let's go, let's go, finally back to Konoha! I'll treat everyone to barbecue. My mouth has been so bland from eating just soldier rations these past few days."

Xiang Tianyuanlong raised his hands to the sky and said.

This period of time was extremely grueling for the three of them. Not only were they exposed to the elements while on a mission, but they could only eat a few ration pills when they were hungry, and they could only travel in silence the whole way.

There's also the psychological pressure of potentially encountering the Root Squad again at any time. Ninjas are, after all, just human beings, so they naturally need to relax.

"So willing to spend that much? That's a huge financial burden."

Kitahara Kaede burst into laughter.

Barbecue in Konoha Village isn't cheap.

"Of course!"

Xiang Tianyuanlong said, "I haven't properly thanked you for saving me last time. Come on, let's go!"

The three walked out of the Hokage Building chatting and laughing, only to see a group of people heading in that direction.

Kitahara Kaede looked closely and realized that these four people were none other than Team 7, the protagonist of Naruto Shippuden.

Leading the way was the energetic Naruto Uzumaki, followed by Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura. Bringing up the rear was none other than Kakashi Hatake, Konoha's top sculptor.

When Kakashi Hatake saw Kitahara Kaede's team, he was taken aback for a moment. However, he suddenly remembered the contents of yesterday's diary. Calculating the time, today should be the day Kitahara Kaede returned to hand in the mission. He just didn't expect that their team would encounter Kitahara Kaede on their very first day of receiving the mission.

However, he had to pretend he didn't know Kitahara Kaede, since they probably hadn't interacted before.

The second person to be excited was Uchiha Sasuke. When he saw Kitahara Kaede, he couldn't help but show some excitement on his face. In his mind, this might be one of the few remaining members of the Uchiha clan in the ninja world.

As for Itachi Uchiha, he already regarded him as a dead man, a sinner who had killed his entire clan, and unworthy of being called Uchiha.

Naruto Uzumaki saw Kitahara Kaede and immediately rushed forward with joy, saying, "Brother Kaede, hahaha, look, I've become a ninja!"

Naruto Uzumaki casually stepped forward, showing off his ninja headband, and grinned, saying, "Didn't expect that, did you? I passed the tests of the academy and Kakashi-sensei, and now I'm a real genin."

Congratulations, Naruto!

Kitahara Kaede gave a thumbs up, even though he had just been assassinated by Danzo because of his contact with Naruto Uzumaki.

But since he had already done it, he wouldn't regret it.

"hey-hey!"

Naruto Uzumaki grinned. He didn't have many friends, especially those who weren't hostile towards him. Now that he had achieved something, he really wanted to show Kitahara Kaede what he had accomplished.

"Brother Feng, let me introduce you. This is my teammate, Sakura." When Naruto mentioned Sakura, a funny expression appeared on his face, meaning, Brother Feng, you know what I mean.

Kitahara Kaede couldn't help but laugh when he saw this; he was, of course, aware of what was happening.

At this point in time, Naruto Uzumaki really liked Sakura, and he continued to like her for several years afterward.

Hinata won't rise to power until the Fourth Shinobi World War.

"That smug-faced guy is Uchiha Sasuke," Naruto Uzumaki introduced.

Sasuke Uchiha was speechless, but when he saw Kitahara Kaede, he held back from cursing Naruto Uzumaki.

"And also, this is my teacher, Kakashi Hatake."

Naruto Uzumaki explained.

The two people behind Kitahara Kaede also showed some surprise. This was none other than Hatake Kakashi, the clone ninja famous throughout Konoha.

The two nodded quickly in acknowledgment. In terms of ninja status, they were Chunin, while Kakashi Hatake was an elite Jonin, a huge difference in their abilities.

"Are you going to pick up a mission?" Kitahara Kaede asked.

"Yes, this is our first mission since Team 7 was formed!" Naruto Uzumaki quickly replied.

"You just got back?" Kakashi Hatake asked casually, his deadpan eyes wide.

From Kitahara Kaede's diary, he learned that this seemingly insignificant squad had just completed a counterattack against the Root Squad.

This level of strength is comparable to many Jonin teams, but this team consists of only three Chunin who have recently been promoted.

"Yes, I just finished the mission."

Kitahara Kaede said.

"We need to go back and rest, so we won't bother you any longer."

After saying goodbye, Kitahara Kaede and the other two headed towards the barbecue restaurant.

"It's so nice to be young, taking on a mission for the first time." Xiangtian Yuanlong recalled how energetic and full of anticipation he was when he first became a ninja.

The three of them then exchanged a smile, because they all knew what kind of missions a newly graduated genin could possibly receive.

It's nothing more than tasks like cleaning up trash, catching cats and playing with dogs.

It was interesting at first, but it got completely boring later on.

However, for genin, looking back many years later, these may be rare and beautiful memories, where no one dies, no blood is shed, and no one faces separation or death.