On the second day after the clinic opened, before dawn, a long line formed in front of Wang Han's shop, consisting entirely of ninjas or retired ninjas. Most of them came because Wang Han could treat hidden injuries. Originally, there were a few civilians in line, but after seeing that it was all ninjas queuing, they all consciously left.
"Should we open for business today?" When Wang Han saw the long line in front of the shop, he immediately hesitated about whether to close for the day.
"Traveling merchant, you've arrived! Would you like a bowl of ramen? I'll give you extra noodles for free!" Just as Wang Han hesitated, Ichiraku suddenly shouted. The ninjas in line were also attracted by Ichiraku's voice and noticed Wang Han. Many of them quickly ran towards Wang Han, wanting him to treat them first.
Upon being discovered, Wang Han immediately tried to run away, but unexpectedly, he ran into the Third Hokage as soon as he turned around.
"Mr. Traveling Merchant, I should call you Doctor now. Your business is booming! I was too busy yesterday to come and congratulate you on your opening. Please forgive me." The Third Hokage saw through Wang Han's attempt to slip away at a glance and congratulated him with a smile. Then he said to the ninjas who ran over, "You have to line up to see a doctor. What kind of mess is this?"
Upon hearing the Third Hokage's words, the ninjas who had already run out of line obediently returned to queue up.
Left with no other option, Wang Han opened the door and led the Third Hokage into the shop. Three minutes later, Wang Han produced a notice, written on behalf of the Third Hokage, stating that patients needed to fast for eight hours and avoid noodles. After posting the notice, Wang Han waved to Ichiraku and walked into the shop with a smile.
"Something's wrong. Both Ichiraku Ramen and the mute are suspicious. Ichiraku is a kind old man; he's been in Konoha for almost ten years and has never offended anyone. He even manages to smile at Naruto, whom the villagers despise. The mute is new to Konoha; Ichiraku wouldn't target him out of nowhere. They know each other, and they have a grudge." Seeing Wang Han return to the shop with a grin, the Third Hokage immediately noticed something amiss. "So what exactly is their grudge? Is it a personal one, or something else...? If they have a grudge, why did the mute open a clinic next to Ichiraku Ramen? It seems we need to reinvestigate them."
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"You mean you're going to issue a mission?" Three days later, the Third Hokage guessed with a headache as he looked at the mute man gesturing in front of him.
Wang Han nodded.
"So what level of mission do you want to issue?" the Third Hokage asked. "Mission levels are divided into five levels: S, A, B, C, and D. S is the highest and D is the lowest. Ordinary escort missions are C-level, missions that may involve ninjas are B-level, missions that may involve Jonin are A-level, and missions that involve multiple Jonin or higher are S-level."
Upon hearing this, Wang Han took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to the Third Generation. This was a piece of paper that Inari had written and given to Wang Han when he left the Land of Waves.
“This…” The Third Generation took the paper, looked at the crooked handwriting on it, and was at a loss.
"I'm sorry, Konoha cannot accept this mission." The Third Hokage shook his head and said, "Gado is the president of Gato Corporation, a shipping company in the Land of Waves, and one of the world's richest men. Ninjas cannot attack merchants casually; this is a rule between villages. Moreover, he is not a merchant from the Land of Fire. Although you have evidence of his wrongdoings, if Konoha attacks him, it will cause conflict between the two countries."
Upon hearing this, Wang Han took out a list of medicinal herbs and handed it to the third generation.
"This..." The Third Hokage was even more troubled; the medicine needed to be purchased from the Land of Waves. There were two different price lists and quantities. 'He's threatening to raise prices again, and this time it's tripled. The clinic's prices are already high; many Chunin have already told him the prices are too high, and if he raises them again, he'll be the scapegoat.'
"Ahem..." The Third Hokage coughed and said, "How about this, I'll issue you a B-rank mission and help you choose a Jonin-led team to go to the Land of Waves with you to make purchases."
Upon hearing this, Wang Han pretended to consider it for a moment, seemingly understanding the difficulties of the third generation, and nodded helplessly. The third generation also breathed a sigh of relief. He absolutely could not take the blame for the price increase, but he really could not accept this task.
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'Danaz, that guy really did come looking for me.' Just as Wang Han returned to the clinic, he saw Danaz loitering at the entrance. Back in the Land of Waves, because of Gato's blockade of the Land of Waves, he was arguably the person who had the best life in the Land of Waves. This guy had shamelessly come looking for him many times. If he didn't have to hide his identity, he would have killed him long ago.
“Mr. Traveling Merchant.” Danaz rushed over as soon as he saw Wang Han return and said, “Mr. Traveling Merchant, you must help me this time, and you must also help the Land of Waves. Only when the bridge is built will the Land of Waves have hope.”
Upon hearing this, Wang Han handed the paper written by Inari to Danaz, then pointed to the Hokage's office, shook his head to indicate that he had already been there and there was nothing he could do.
"Why is that?" Danaz asked quickly. "Why isn't Konoha accepting the mission? Is the commission not enough? I have some money here, Mr. Traveling Merchant, why don't you try again?"
Wang Han shook his head and gestured.
“You mean it’s not about the money? Then why?” Danaz asked.
After thinking for a moment, Wang Han pulled a ninja off the street to explain to Danaz, then ignored Danaz, closed the door, and left.
"Why is this happening?" Upon receiving the answer, Danaz immediately became dejected and unconsciously walked into the bar.
"No, there are other ways." By noon, a half-drunk Danaz had come to a realization. "We can't give up like this; everyone's waiting for my good news." (Transition)
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"Mr. Traveling Merchant, let's set off." At noon, right after lunch, Might Guy, along with his three students and Asuma's team, found Wang Han. Upon learning that the traveling merchant had issued a mission to escort him to the Land of Waves to purchase medicinal herbs, Might Guy immediately rushed to the Hokage's office and snatched the mission. Yes, snatched it; the Third Hokage had originally intended to give the mission to two Jonin and three Chunin, but had no choice but to give it to Might Guy, on the condition that he complete the mission with Asuma's team, so that he would feel more at ease.
Wang Han nodded, quickly tidied himself up, and then followed the eight people toward the gates of Konoha.
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