Escort Mission

The next day, the three members of Team 3 did not train and instead prepared 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 was quite satisfied. Sarutobi Saku's Chakra output had finally increased. At the very least, he could now use three C-rank Ninjutsu. Nawaki had also become proficient with the Ninjutsu he had learned, and his grasp of battle situations had reached an acceptable standard. Combined with Uchiha Kiyoshi's current abilities, this team could finally be considered truly mature.

Uchiha Kiyoshi had roughly sensed the Chakra reserves of the three of them before. His own Chakra was now over three hundred and fifty Ka. Even a Substitution Technique over a distance of ten meters could be used two or even three times.

Nawaki was still the same. Kiyoshi could only roughly judge that his Chakra was five or six times Kiyoshi's own, meaning at least one thousand Ka. That was already frightening for a Genin. It was just that his Chakra control was still not up to standard, so he could not learn many B-rank Ninjutsu and could only fight with C-rank Ninjutsu. However, the consequence was that Nawaki had become a turret. Well, a ninja with a thousand Chakra who could only use C-rank Ninjutsu that consumed a few dozen Ka could bombard virtually any ninja without letting them escape. Uh... Genin, anyway. Chunin still had ways to avoid it.

Sarutobi Saku had the least, with just over two hundred Ka, but that was already enough for him to last through a battle. Unlike Nawaki, Sarutobi Saku was well-rounded beyond Ninjutsu. His Taijutsu, ninja tools, and everything else were all among the top five of their class.

"Alright, I accepted a C-rank Mission for you yesterday. We'll be setting off today. I've already reminded you of everything you need to prepare, so let's go meet the client. This is an escort mission. A merchant caravan needs to travel to the Land of Earth to purchase goods. Our task is to escort them to the Land of Earth, wait until they have finished purchasing their goods, then escort them safely back. Missions like this are generally quite safe, though we may occasionally run into bandits. Stopping those robbers is also part of our task.

"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, additional payment will be added according to their strength and numbers. Theoretically, 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 details of the mission to them.

"The usual rule applies. You will complete this mission yourselves, and I will not interfere. Unless something unexpected happens like last time, if you make any mistakes on your own, don't blame me for being harsh."

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 beneath that stare. He secretly resolved to be careful this time and absolutely not let anything go wrong, or he would be finished. Thinking of Orochimaru's punishments made him shudder all over, as though he had remembered something.

Sarutobi Saku also felt uneasy. He recalled Orochimaru's extra training after he had just left the hospital. That period had truly been painful. "Mm, I have to keep an eye on Nawaki. I can't let anything go wrong."

With those thoughts in mind, Sarutobi Saku glanced at Nawaki as well.

That glance made Nawaki's hair stand on end.

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

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

Uchiha Kiyoshi showed no mercy and directly exposed that "cruel" truth. Nawaki had wanted to argue, but after thinking about it, he gave up. Hmph, he would not bother with them.

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 begun taking C-rank Missions so early. They had been training in their respective areas, so they rarely saw one another.

When they saw that Team 3 had begun taking C-rank Missions, many newly graduated Genin had clamored to leave the village and carry out missions. But after Sarutobi Saku returned to the village injured and spent half a month in the hospital, they stopped shouting about going out. Sarutobi Saku, who could rank in the top five of their class relying only on Taijutsu and ninja tools, and perhaps even top three with Ninjutsu included, had ended up like that. They had no confidence that they were stronger than him.

Only then had the other teachers breathed a sigh of relief. It had been quite annoying for their students to demand missions outside the village every day.

By now, about nine months had passed since graduation, and the various teams had only begun taking C-rank Missions one after another.

Seeing their former classmates, they were not particularly close, but their relationships were not bad either. Naturally, Uchiha Kiyoshi and the others exchanged greetings with them.

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

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

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

For Nawaki, who had been unable to go out on missions for half a year, this was quite a blow. When he had first been allowed to take C-rank Missions, he had bragged about it to plenty of people. Now karma had come for him. Over the past two months, he had often been provoked like this, and it made him incredibly jealous.

"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 once more.

"What B-rank Mission? You were just lucky. You think someone like you could 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 walked on silently, leaving Nawaki alone behind them to keep debating.

"Kiyoshi, don't you agree?

"Huh? Sensei, Kiyoshi, why have you all gone ahead? You didn't even wait for me.

"Slow down! Wait for me!"

Only when he finally noticed that Team 3 had already gone far ahead did Nawaki stop arguing and hurriedly chase after them.

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

"There's no point arguing with them over that. Rather than wasting your energy on it, you should just complete more missions."

Thus, amid Nawaki's incessant muttering, the four of them arrived at the place in Konoha where clients were received.

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

Following the mission description, Orochimaru quickly found their client for this mission: a pot-bellied middle-aged man who greeted Orochimaru and the others with a broad smile.

Although Ishimura Yukito had been doing business in Konoha for several years and did not know who the man leading the team was, he could roughly tell from the aura he gave off what kind of team had accepted his mission.

It was probably a newly graduated Genin team. That was nothing to worry about. They might be weaker just after graduation, but having a team leader was different. Usually, only ninjas at the level of Special Jonin or above served as instructors. Even the weakest among them would be an outstanding Elite Chunin, more than capable of completing his mission.

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

"We're going 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 closer to Konoha, so it isn't too far in. The danger level of this trip is not high. There may only be some bandits along the road. As long as we are careful, we won't run into Iwagakure ninjas.

"So, sir, when shall we depart?"

After explaining the mission details, he looked toward 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 could not be bothered to handle things, Kiyoshi was the one giving orders.

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

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

The group set off toward the Land of Earth.