Task Rookies

The next day, after finishing their morning training, Sasuke took a cold shower, got dressed, and headed straight to the Mission Hall. The other two had arrived as well, along with members of two other teams.

"Yo, didn't expect you guys to pass the assessment too." Kiba swaggered over to greet them. This guy was better left to Naruto. Sure enough, Naruto immediately jumped in front of him, and the two launched into a battle of words. Asuma and Kurenai Yuhi were not in the habit of being late, so they arrived quickly and took their teams to accept missions. Sasuke and the others could only keep waiting.

"Ah, good morning." Kakashi was inevitably late. "I left home early today, but I ran into an old lady..."

"You're lying," Sakura and Naruto shouted at once. "Ahem, anyway, let's go accept a mission..." He awkwardly changed the subject again.

D-Rank Missions were extremely tedious. The Third Hokage first assigned them a weeding job. Missions like this came up often. There had been one in the anime too, except Naruto had pulled out all the Herbs along with the Weeds.

"Then I'll be counting on you. Please pull out all the Weeds." Team 7 arrived at the client's home. The courtyard outside was filled with Herbs, and of course Weeds as well. The problem was telling them apart. This was no challenge for Sasuke. During his final years at the academy, he had read extensively, so he could distinguish the Weeds from the Herbs.

Kakashi naturally stood off to the side reading his book. It was not because he loved studying. Meanwhile, Sasuke explained to the other two how to tell the plants in the ground apart.

"You two, come here. I'll tell you which ones are Herbs, so you don't pull out the wrong ones later." Sasuke began explaining them to the two. Sakura caught on easily, but Naruto could not. With no other choice, Sasuke used the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, having one clone work while another instructed Naruto.

"Hm? The Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. It seems they didn't go all out when they fought me, or perhaps they never had the chance to. I heard Naruto could use this technique too." Kakashi was not about to leave them completely unattended. Observation was necessary.

"You need to put your heart into this. Although the mission is simple, we can still train ourselves through it. First, there's identifying Herbs. Of course, if Sakura becomes a medical ninja in the future, things will be much more convenient for us. At the same time, pulling Weeds is training too. It helps with physical coordination, and using both hands and feet together is also good practice." Because of Sasuke, they did not pull out any Herbs this time, so they received their payment, though it was a very small amount.

"You did well. Dismissed for lunch. We'll continue this afternoon." Kakashi left again after saying that, leaving the three of them to find food on their own. This time, Sasuke took them out for Dumplings. Naruto was a Ramen fanatic, but Sasuke was not. It was better to try different flavors.

Their afternoon mission was to look after the children at the Orphanage. Konoha's Orphanage had always taken in war orphans, especially young children. These children were taken in before they understood anything. Once they grew up, they became a reserve force for ninjas, and as long as they had been taken in while still ignorant, they would grow into loyal supporters of Konoha.

"Ah, I'm going crazy! Why are these kids so hard to deal with?" Naruto complained loudly. Sasuke used the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. There were simply too many children, so he had no choice.

"Be patient. You need to temper your patience. We are ninjas, and we'll face all kinds of situations in the future, so patience is important. Don't think this is merely looking after children. What would you do if you encountered this sort of situation in the future? So be patient. The 'endure' in ninja is not there for nothing."

In the end, Naruto still could not handle them. Sasuke and Sakura did everything. Their day of missions ended just like that. Kakashi had slipped away early, and the three of them felt thoroughly exhausted. It took not only physical labor but mental effort as well. Sasuke had gained a new understanding of missions. These D-Rank Missions were the most common. They looked like trivial tasks, but why did they have to be completed by ninjas? Could ordinary villagers not do them? Looking after children and pulling Weeds—ordinary villagers might have been more suitable for such tasks than freshly graduated ninjas like them. Yet the village assigned these missions to them, which meant it was not so simple. Kakashi had not explained it, but why had he accompanied them through every mission? He was a Jonin. A Jonin accompanying three Genin on D-Rank Missions was unusual in itself.

As the three walked back, Sasuke shared his thoughts with them.

"Sasuke, do you think the village's D-Rank Missions are all training for us?" Naruto was more concerned with training.

"That's right. Different missions train us in different ways, and they also let us interact with many clients so that we can adapt to different kinds of people. Starting from C-Rank Missions, we might encounter combat. Before then, we need to gain plenty of experience by meeting people from different professions and observing the characteristics of every person and profession. That is how experience accumulates. Why do Genin advance to Chunin after completing a certain number of missions? Because they have accumulated a great deal of experience. Chunin do not necessarily need outstanding combat ability, but they must have abundant experience. Chunin are ninjas who lead teams. At the same time, these tedious missions can cultivate teamwork between us. That is very important and will bring many benefits in future battles."

"Wow, just as expected of Sasuke. You actually thought of all that." Sakura looked at Sasuke again with hearts in her eyes. Naruto, meanwhile, curled his lip. "Hmph, I'm going to become Hokage. There's no need to care about such trivial things. We should be taking more difficult missions."

"Idiot, what can you even do? Why would they give you harder missions?" Sakura said as she violently smacked Naruto on the head.

"Naruto, don't underestimate these missions. I dare say you might not be able to complete future missions either. If you don't believe me, we'll just wait and see." Sasuke smiled mischievously.

"I don't believe it." The three went home separately and agreed to gather at the Mission Hall again the next day.

As expected, Kakashi was late. Sasuke really wanted to take everyone to accept a mission himself, but that would not follow the rules, so he could only endure it. Today's mission was to clear debris from the River. Sasuke smiled faintly. He had not expected to receive this mission so soon. He had long since mastered Water Walking. To practice Chakra control, Sasuke had already begun training in Tree Climbing and Water Walking, later even practicing basic Medical Ninjutsu to train himself.

The three carried bamboo baskets and large tongs as they followed Kakashi to the riverbank. Sasuke did not go into the water himself. Instead, he immediately used the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, handed the equipment to a clone, and had it complete the mission while he sat beneath a nearby tree to train. The clone stepped directly onto the water's surface and began working.

"Wow, Sasuke, why can your clone walk on water?" Naruto hurried over to ask. He felt that he had fallen behind again and needed to catch up immediately.

"It's very simple. Ninjas have to fight on different kinds of terrain. Haven't you considered that? In trees, on water, on rooftops, in the mountains—how would you fight in those places?"

"Right, but how do you do it? What should I do?"

"How about this? Give all the equipment to me. I'll have my clones work, and the two of you can start practicing Tree Climbing. Don't use your hands. Walk up step by step instead. Concentrate Chakra in your feet and adhere yourself to the trunk as you walk upward. You cannot use too little Chakra, or the adhesion will not be strong enough. But you cannot use too much either, or you'll crush the bark. This requires long-term practice, and it will also benefit your Chakra control." Sasuke created two more clones, sent them off with the tools, and had Naruto and Sakura practice beneath separate trees.