Escort Mission

The next day, the three members of Team 3 did not train, instead preparing for the upcoming mission.

Konoha, Training Ground 7.

Orochimaru looked at his three students, who had changed greatly compared to half a year ago, and felt quite satisfied. Sarutobi Saku's Chakra output had finally increased. At the very least, he could now cast three C-rank Ninjutsu. Nawaki had also become proficient with the Ninjutsu he had learned, and his grasp of the battlefield had reached a satisfactory level. Combined with Uchiha Kiyoshi's current abilities, this team could finally be called truly mature.

Uchiha Kiyoshi had once roughly sensed the amount of Chakra the three of them possessed. He currently had over three hundred and fifty Ka of Chakra. Even the Substitution Technique at a distance of ten meters could be used two or even three times.

Nawaki was still the same. Kiyoshi could only roughly judge that he had five or six times as much Chakra as himself—at least one thousand Ka. That was already terrifying for the Genin stage. It was just that his Chakra control was still inadequate, so he could not learn many B-rank Ninjutsu and could only fight using C-rank Ninjutsu. However, the consequence was that Nawaki had become a turret. Well, a ninja with one thousand Ka of Chakra who could only use C-rank Ninjutsu that consumed several dozen Ka—one could say that no ninja could escape being bombarded by him. Uh, Genin could not. Chunin still had ways to evade it.

Sarutobi Saku had the least, just over two hundred Ka, but that was already enough for him to last through a battle. After all, unlike Nawaki, Sarutobi Saku was well-rounded in other areas besides Ninjutsu. Taijutsu, ninja tools, and so on—he ranked among the top five in this class.

"Alright, yesterday I accepted a C-rank Mission for you. We're setting out today. I've already reminded you of all the preparations you need to make, so let's go meet the client. This is an escort mission. A merchant caravan is heading to the Land of Earth to purchase goods. Our task is to escort them there, wait until they finish purchasing their goods, then safely escort them back. Missions like this are generally quite safe, but we may occasionally encounter robbers. Dealing with them is also part of our mission.

"If the journey is safe, the reward will be seventy thousand. If bandits appear along the way, the price will increase afterward. In other words, the base reward for this mission is seventy thousand. If we encounter bandits, the payment will increase accordingly based on their strength and numbers. In theory, there is no upper limit. If you run into enough bandits, earning two or three hundred thousand won't be a problem. Of course, that is only hypothetical. Order in the Five Great Nations is still fairly good. There are regular bandit-clearing missions, so there cannot be that many bandits."

Along the way, Orochimaru explained the mission details to them.

"The usual rules apply. You will complete this mission yourselves, and I will not interfere. Unless there is an accident like last time, do not blame me for being harsh if you make any mistakes."

As he spoke, Orochimaru stared at Nawaki for a while, seemingly looking forward to him making some mistake. He unconsciously stuck out his tongue and licked the corner of his lips.

Nawaki's scalp went numb under that stare. He secretly resolved to be extra careful this time and absolutely not let anything go wrong, or he would be done for. At the thought of Orochimaru's punishment, Nawaki shuddered all over, as though he had recalled something.

Sarutobi Saku also felt uncomfortable. He remembered the extra training Orochimaru had put him through after he had just left the hospital. That period had truly been miserable. "Yeah, I definitely have to keep an eye on Nawaki. Can't let anything go wrong."

Thinking that, Sarutobi Saku looked over at Nawaki as well.

That glance made Nawaki's hackles rise.

"What is this?! Why are you all looking at me? Are you saying that if something goes wrong, it'll all be my fault?"

"No, no. It's just that you're the most likely one to make a mistake."

Uchiha Kiyoshi showed no mercy, directly exposing that "cruel" truth. Nawaki had wanted to argue, but after thinking about it, he let it go. Hmph, he would not lower himself to their level.

On the road, Uchiha Kiyoshi ran into several familiar faces, including Uchiha Tao and a few other classmates.

Compared to Team 3, the ninjas from the other teams who had graduated at the same time had not started taking C-rank Missions so early. They had been training in their respective areas, so they rarely met.

When they saw that Team 3 had already begun carrying out C-rank Missions, many newly graduated Genin had clamored about leaving the village to take missions as well. But after Sarutobi Saku returned to the village injured and spent half a month in the hospital, they stopped shouting about going out. Even Sarutobi Saku, who ranked in the top five of their class with Taijutsu and ninja tools alone, and could rank among the top three with Ninjutsu included, had ended up like that. They had no confidence that they were stronger than him.

Only then did the other instructors finally breathe a sigh of relief. Their students clamoring every day to leave the village for missions had been quite annoying.

By now, around nine months had passed since graduation, and the various teams were only beginning to take C-rank Missions one after another.

Seeing their former classmates, they were not particularly close, but their relationships were not bad either, so Uchiha Kiyoshi and the others naturally greeted one another.

"Uchiha Tao, are you heading out to do a mission too?"

"Oh, no. We just got back from a mission. Sigh, we've completed five C-rank Missions in the past two months."

Before Uchiha Tao could speak, another ninja from his team spoke up.

For Nawaki, who had been unable to leave the village for missions for half a year, that was no small provocation. When he had first been allowed to take C-rank Missions, he had bragged about it to quite a few people. And now karma had come for him. Over the past two months, he had often been provoked like this, making him green with envy.

"Wah, wah, wah, don't get cocky! Hmph, we can take missions now too.

"And don't forget, we completed a B-rank Mission last time. Even five C-rank Missions can't compare to that."

As he spoke, Nawaki became smug again.

"What B-rank Mission? You were just lucky. You think someone like you can complete a B-rank Mission?"

"Hey! Are you looking down on me? You're just jealous, hahahaha!"

Ignoring Nawaki's argument with them, Orochimaru, Uchiha Kiyoshi, and Sarutobi Saku silently continued walking, leaving Nawaki behind to debate by himself.

"Kiyoshi, don't you think so?

"Huh? Sensei, Kiyoshi, why did you leave? You didn't even wait for me.

"Slow down! Wait for me!"

Finally noticing that Team 3 had already gone far ahead, Nawaki stopped arguing and hurried after them.

"Kiyoshi, you guys are too much. You just left without saying anything."

"There's no point arguing with them about that. Instead of wasting your energy on it, you might as well complete a few more missions."

And so, amid Nawaki's incessant grumbling, the four arrived at the place in Konoha where clients were received.

This place had been specially prepared for clients posting missions. Foreign clients generally stayed here until someone accepted their mission, and meetings were also usually held here.

Following the mission description, Orochimaru quickly found their client—a potbellied middle-aged man who greeted Orochimaru and the others with a smile.

Ishimura Yukito had been doing business in Konoha for several years. Even if he did not know who the man leading the group was, the aura he gave off allowed him to roughly understand what sort of team had accepted his mission.

Probably a team of newly graduated Genin. That was nothing. Though newly graduated Genin might be weaker, having a team leader made things different. Generally, only ninjas who were at least Special Jonin served as instructors. Even the worst among them would be outstanding Elite Chunin, more than capable of completing this mission.

Familiar with the process, Ishimura Yukito did not wait for Uchiha Kiyoshi to ask before directly introducing the details of the mission.

"We are heading to Great Tree City in the Land of Earth to purchase a batch of lumber. Great Tree City is a city on the side of the Land of Earth closest to Konoha, so we will not be going very deep. The danger level of this trip is not high. We may only encounter some bandits along the way. As long as we are careful, we should not run into Iwagakure ninjas.

"So, sir, when shall we depart?"

After introducing the mission details, he looked to Orochimaru, seemingly seeking his opinion.

Orochimaru did not answer. Instead, he looked at Uchiha Kiyoshi and let him make the decision.

Over this period of time, Uchiha Kiyoshi had gradually become the core of the team. Whenever Orochimaru did not concern himself with things, Kiyoshi was the one issuing orders.

"Time is of the essence. Let's leave immediately."

Ishimura Yukito was not disappointed. Though he was the client, he still had to defer to them. After all, strength was what mattered.

The group set out, heading toward the Land of Earth.