I'm in Naruto, but the system says I'm in One Piece.

Minato was slightly taken aback upon seeing this, then smiled and said:

"Then you'd better go easy on me. I can't beat the genius boy of Konoha right now, Lord Hoshino Yu."

Hahaha~

The two burst into laughter, as if they had returned to those carefree days of the past.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

dong dong dong-

Upon seeing this, Hoshino Yu stood up and stepped forward. With his Observation Haki, he naturally knew who the newcomer was.

As soon as the door opened, a group of ANBU ninjas dressed in long robes, trench coats, and masks came into view.

"Hoshino Yu, the Hokage requests your presence."

He remained as cold and direct as ever.

But something has changed a little.

The Hokage invited him, rather than sending him, which makes the implication quite clear.

In terms of pure strength, he has been officially recognized by the higher-ups, and is no longer just known as a genius or Orochimaru's disciple.

Hoshino Yu guessed it was Orochimaru and told Hiruzen Sarutobi about how Orochimaru instantly killed two Sand Village Chunin, used a wide-range Lightning Release ninjutsu, and encountered Kakuzu.

Now that the meeting about the front lines is over, I'll naturally go and ask him about it.

That's how realistic the ninja world is; it's all about strength. If you're strong, you have a voice.

"I understand, I'll be there in a bit."

After saying that, the ANBU ninja nodded slightly and then disappeared in front of the door.

"Yu, hurry up and go. The Hokage is waiting. He probably has something important to discuss. Don't delay him."

"Okay, I'll go first then. You should get some rest. I'll have to test you again in a couple of days."

With that, Hoshino Yu went out the door and headed towards the Hokage Building.

......

"Lord Hokage, that's the situation. It's basically the same as what Orochimaru-sensei said."

"We did fight Kakuzu back then, but I was no match for him," Hoshino said to Hiruzen Sarutobi as he sat at the Hokage's desk. "If it weren't for the Sand Shinobi finding us and Orochimaru-sensei arriving, I'd probably be lying in a cemetery by now."

Seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi was smoking and had a gentle expression, he took out a scroll and began to write as he spoke:

"The Lightning Release ninjutsu, Thunder Bird, was developed by me in secret. I was planning to give Orochimaru-sensei a surprise once I was more proficient in using the ninjutsu, but I didn't expect to encounter Orochimaru-sensei fighting that Sand Ninja at that time."

"In desperation, I couldn't care about anything else and could only use the ninjutsu that I hadn't fully developed, and luckily it worked that time."

"As for the handprint, it's just a single 'ugly' mark."

"Heh heh, a single-seal lightning release ninjutsu," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a laugh, taking off his pipe and exhaling smoke rings. "According to Orochimaru, that kind of ninjutsu is even comparable to an S-rank ninjutsu."

"As expected of a genius, Yu, I'm increasingly optimistic about you."

Upon hearing this, Hoshino Yu closed the scroll containing the training methods for Lightning Release, and then said to Sarutobi Hiruzen:

"Lord Hokage, this scroll contains the details of my Lightning Release ninjutsu. Orochimaru-sensei wanted it. Please take a look..."

"It's alright, you can give these to Orochimaru first," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a smile, then placed several scrolls on the table in front of Yu Hoshino, "These Lightning Release ninjutsu scrolls are yours."

"In terms of Lightning Release ninjutsu alone, no one in the village can compare to you, Yu. This is what you deserve for this mission."

Seeing this, Hoshino Yu was naturally delighted.

Before him, no one believed that such an S-rank mission would appear on the resume of a newly graduated genin.

Hoshino said that it was because they hadn't met Kakashi.

He graduated at five, became a Chunin at six, and a Jonin at twelve. Putting aside his Jonin status, the speed at which he rose to Chunin in just one year was truly unprecedented.

After explaining everything, Hoshino Yu put away the scroll and went to Orochimaru's house to explain his prepared statement to Orochimaru in detail before arriving at the mission hall.

He came here hoping to find a mission related to the Land of Rivers, so that he could use it as a cover to go to the Thunder Gorge in the Land of Rivers and see if he could practice the Immortal Mode there.

Otherwise, given the previous situation, it would be impossible to leave the village without a mission.

With the backing of Orochimaru and the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hoshino Yu, despite being a genin, had no problem taking on a B-rank mission on his own.

"Uncle, do you have any missions to go to the Land of Rivers?" Hoshino Yu asked the middle-aged ninja who was assigning tasks.

"A mission to the Land of Rivers, huh? Let me see..."

The ninja looked at the mission assignment manual in his hand, flipping through it for a moment before finally speaking:

"Yes, there is one. The mission requires delivering a secret message to the border of the Land of Rivers and taking it to the liaison point in Konoha stationed there."

"Hey, that works out. How much is the payment?"

"The base reward is 100,000 taels. If the delivery is successful and the contact point is found to be abnormal, an additional 50,000 taels will be added, so the actual reward should be 150,000 taels."

As he spoke, the middle-aged ninja handed the scroll containing the mission details to Hoshino Yu.

The latter quickly glanced through the document and roughly understood the task at hand.

The general background is that secret communication between Konoha and somewhere in the Land of Rivers was interrupted, and it is suspected that spies from the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth sealed off the border.

The secret message, hidden in a specially made ninja tool scroll, must be carried by a single person, avoiding the main road, and secretly delivered to the contact person in Rakuka Village via the border of the Land of Rivers. At the same time, the contact point must be confirmed to be safe and free from any betrayal.

The sole objective is to deliver the secret message and then bring back information about the contact point to Konoha.

Hoshino Yu nodded, returned the mission scroll to the middle-aged ninja, and said:

"Okay, I'll take this task. Please make the arrangements for me, sir."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged ninja glanced at Hoshino Yu and then asked while filling out the mission form:

"Are you alone? Aren't you afraid of any danger?"

"Uncle, I just came back from the Land of Rivers. The route to Luoxia Village is very familiar to me."

Upon hearing this, the ninja who was registering the mission said no more.

After completing the name registration and receiving the mission certificate, Hoshino Yu looked at the specially made ninja tool scroll that he needed to bring.

The spool is a large spool that needs to be carried on your back to be portable.

However, Hoshino Yu stated that he has an inventory, and once he leaves the village, he can put the item into his inventory, so there's no way he'll reveal anything.

With the scroll slung over his back, Hoshino Yu greeted the ninja who had issued the mission, then headed out towards his home.

He sped along and saw that the lights were still on at home. Sensing through his Observation Haki that Minato was still inside, he opened the door and went inside.

"Yo, Minato, still awake?"

Hearing Hoshino Yu's voice, Minato, who was sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper, looked up and saw a large scroll on his friend's back. He couldn't help but ask in surprise:

"Yu, are we going on another mission?"

"Yes, it's a secret mission; we have to go to the Land of Rivers."

There's no way around it; that's just how life is for cattle and horses—they have to do one task after another.

However, he wouldn't have been so diligent if it weren't to see if there was any possibility of cultivating immortal techniques.

Writing another Jin Ping Mei would not only soothe the mind but also earn royalties. Wouldn't that be great?