A Shinobi's Take on this Wonderful World

Soft Banned

'Hm... That's weird. I could have sworn there were harder quests on the board.'

Naruto thought as his eyes darted across the quest board for a challenging looking quest. He also noticed a lack of easy quests on the board as well. In fact, there was hardly anything on the board at all.

Not that he was in dire need of money, as the payment from the cabbage hunt had been passed out earlier that day. Naruto had earned about five-hundred thousand Eris with the cabbages he had managed to stash away before Megumin's Explosion magic hit. The money he would have had if it weren't for that troublesome spell... Oh well.

'I haven't seen Aqua yet today, but it didn't look like she caught much...'

Naruto thought before going back to his search.

"Slay a One-Shot Bear. Nah, too easy. Investigate dirty lake. Can't do that since it requires a Priest... Dang, what happened to that one quest that sounded like a real challenge?"

Turning on his heal, Naruto walked towards the reception desks.

Luna, who was cleaning counters, noticed the ninja walking towards her and smiled.

"Good afternoon, Naruto-san. How can I help you?"

"Where's that one really hard quest? You know, the one with the two monsters fighting and causing trouble? I could have sworn there was a hard quest like that on the board the other day, and now I can't find it so there's nothing good."

Naruto asked while pointing at the quest board.

"U-um... That quest is actually for large parties only, and since no one was taking it I took it down for the time being."

Luna said while adverting her gaze.

Naruto narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Something didn't feel right about this.

"That's okay! As you saw during the Cabbage Hunt, I'm a one-man army. Since no one else is accepting that quest, and I'm bored, let me take it!"

"W-well... This is a very difficult quest for someone to take on alone. If Naruto-san formed a party, it would be a different story but..."

Luna continued to deny access to the quest.

"What are you saying? I can easily complete this quest by myself! Come on, let me accept the quest!"

Naruto fumed. Why was she being so difficult about this quest? He'd be just fine without a party!

"No! If something were to happen to Naruto-san because I let you take on this quest all by yourself, it would be on my conscious for the rest of my life!"

Luna yelled, before she blushed when she realized she unintentionally raised her voice.

"Aw, are you worried about me Luna-chan? You don't have to worry though, I can take care of myself. So just let me go on that quest."

Naruto said with a cheeky grin on his face, he wouldn't fall for her tricks again.

"No."

Luna flatly said, causing the shinobi to falter in his stance.

Was she talking about him, or the quest?

"T-that's cruel... But why!? There's nothing else on the board that looks like a challenge! Fighting two giant monsters sounds fun!"

Naruto persisted after straightening himself, stomping his foot to emphasize his frustration.

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow a rookie adventurer, capable as they may seem to be, to go on a difficult quest such as this all by themselves. If you want to take on this quest, then please form a party."