| This article is about the chapter. For the episode, see The Steam Ninja Scrolls: The S-Rank Mission!. |
"S-Rank Mission!!" (S級任務!!, S-Kyū Ninmu!!) is chapter 2 of the Konoha Shinden manga.
Summary[]
Mirai is sent on a mission to secure a bandit hideout. She's able to defeat all of the bandits without incident, but her use of chakra blades is still lacking due to her poor control over her chakra. Nevertheless, when some Konoha-nin arrive to take the bandits into custody, they note how skilled she is, just like her father and grandfather. Mirai is flattered, but feels anxious as she walks home afterwards, wondering if the comparisons to her father she's received her whole life are her only reason for becoming a ninja.
On the day of a Five Kage Summit taking place in Konoha, Mirai gets ready to leave on a mission, praying to a picture of her father before she goes. Her mother, Kurenai, asks if she'll be guarding the Seventh Hokage during the Summit, as she's done before. Mirai reports that she's actually accompanying Might Guy and Kakashi Hatake. Kurenai is surprised and asks her to be careful, which Mirai promises that she will; she reports she'll be gone for a couple of days. On her way to meet Guy and Kakashi, Mirai reflects on when Shikamaru gave her this assignment: to escort Kakashi and Guy as they inspect the border region between the Land of Fire and Land of Hot Water. Mirai was surprised by the assignment, but accepted when Shikamaru told her that the Seventh Hokage specifically recommended her.
From Shikamaru's words, Mirai guesses that the Seventh had some special reason for assigning her this mission. Her assumption is that Kakashi, the former Hokage, must be under constant threat of assassination, and therefore requires a ninja of Mirai's calibre to protect him. Mirai vows that Kakashi will come to no harm. Her vow comes true, as not a single attempt is made on Kakashi's life when they leave Konoha, not even by an elderly couple that Mirai suspects may be terrorists in disguise. Instead, Kakashi and Guy are able to enjoy a discussion of birds and reminisce about the past as they slowly walk to their first destination: a small town within the Land of Fire's borders where they'll spend the night. Mirai is frustrated that they haven't made more progress on their first day, but is quieted when Kakashi points to the Land of Hot Water visible in the distance, the homeland of her father's killer.
