Naruto's Perception

"Quick! Old Man Hokage! Get us a C-rank mission!"

As soon as he entered the mission hall, Naruto shouted at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Old Man Hokage?

Hearing that title, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, holding his forehead.

This Naruto wasn't cute at all like when he was little.

Back then, he'd call him Hokage Grandpa all the time, but now?

He only called him Hokage Grandpa when he needed something.

Other times, he'd call him Old Man Hokage.

If Naruto knew what he was thinking, he'd definitely retort, You should be grateful I'm not calling you an old geezer.

"You're going to undertake a C-rank mission right now, is that alright?"

As he spoke, the Third Hokage looked at their jonin leader, Kakashi, to ask for his opinion.

Kakashi stated directly, "No problem, Lord Hokage. I believe they can handle a C-rank mission."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, instantly understanding the meaning behind his words.

It seemed Naruto and Sasuke had grown, and this team was capable enough for such missions.

Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't doubt Kakashi's judgment.

He was a ninja he trusted quite a bit.

"Let me see the recent missions."

Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up the mission roster and saw a C-rank mission posted yesterday.

"Perfect, there's a C-rank mission that came in yesterday afternoon, it's a bandit extermination mission,"

He pointed outside the door and said, "The client has been waiting outside for a while, so this mission will be yours."

Team 7 accepted the mission and found the client to understand the detailed situation.

About a hundred kilometers from Konoha, there was a village. On the mountain near the village, a group of bandits had taken refuge. This group was causing trouble and committing all sorts of evil deeds.

Yesterday morning, they had robbed nearby villagers and killed two of them.

The residents of the village could no longer stand it, so they pooled their money to post this bandit extermination mission.

The other two heard about this mission and were quite excited, but Naruto felt a strange sense of familiarity with it.

"Excellent, this is Team 7's first mission outside the village. Everyone has one hour to pack their things. We'll gather at the village entrance in one hour."

"Okay!" x3

"Wait, Teacher Kakashi."

Naruto suddenly stopped him and asked, "You won't be late this time, right?"

Upon hearing this, Sasuke and Sakura instantly looked at Kakashi.

Anyone could see the suspicion in their eyes.

Uh.

Kakashi felt the embarrassment of being caught doing something wrong.

He had originally planned to go to the Monument of Remembrance to inform them of his departure from the village.

Since that was the case, he'd just forget about it.

"I promise, I definitely won't be late this time," Kakashi said gently.

Seeing his promise, Naruto, afraid he'd go back on his word, said directly, "Then it's settled, Teacher Kakashi. Whoever is late will be a dog for a day."

After speaking, he extended his hand, signaling for the three of them to place theirs on top, sealing the pact.

Sasuke glanced sideways at Naruto.

Hey, you're already so strong, are you still this childish?

Be normal, you idiot. I don't want to lose to a childish brat like you.

However, he still placed his hand on top.

Whether it was childish or not didn't matter. He just didn't want Kakashi to be late. It definitely wasn't because he wanted to see a show.

Yeah, that was all.

Sakura, on the other hand, thought it was just perfect and immediately placed her hand on top without a word.

Her dark personality was practically exploding with joy.

She really wanted to see Teacher Kakashi act like a dog.

It would definitely be hilarious.

Kakashi awkwardly scratched his head, looking at the three hands piled on top of each other. He had no choice.

"It's a deal then."

"Dismissed!"

One hour later, at the village entrance.

Teacher Kakashi was indeed not late. He hadn't even packed anything and came straight over.

None of the three team members were late either.

Seeing this outcome, Naruto just smiled.

Sasuke still had his cool expression, showing no discernible emotion. Sakura, however, clearly looked a little disappointed.

The good show was over.

"Well, since we're all gathered, let's set off."

"Okay!" x3.

On the way.

Because they needed the client to guide them, the team's progress was very slow.

At first, Naruto was full of excitement.

This was his first time leaving the village openly, and during the day at that.

But all he saw was trees, and more trees.

He was getting tired of the scenery.

When would he be able to openly display the Flying Thunder God Technique?

As a Genin, if he wanted to learn such a Ninjutsu, he'd probably need to make a certain contribution, right?

He needed to find more opportunities.

After traveling for a whole day, they finally reached their destination in the late afternoon, nearing evening.

Amidst the village's welcome, Kakashi temporarily refused to be settled and instead chose to lead the team directly up the mountain.

The sooner the mission was completed, the sooner they could relax.

"Naruto, can you sense anything?"

On the way up the mountain, Kakashi seemed to remember that there was a Sensory Ninja in the team.

Naruto thought for a moment and replied frankly, "It seems like there are no signs of any humans on this mountain."

"The entire mountain?"

"Yes, Teacher Kakashi."

Was his sensory range that large?

Even though they hadn't entered the mountain yet, just by glancing at it, Kakashi's experience told him that this mountain was not small in area.

"Mr. Aoki, are you sure this group of bandits was still here yesterday?"

The guide, Aoki, who was following them, replied, "Of course, Mr. Kakashi. They were still coming down the mountain to pillage yesterday."

Kakashi asked again, "Where is their stronghold?"

"Just ahead."

Upon arriving at the stronghold, Naruto finally understood why he felt a sense of familiarity.

This was the place where his clone had made modifications last night, wasn't it?

He really didn't expect that with so many C-rank missions every day, their Team 7 would end up on this one.

He had essentially snatched his own kill.

They searched the stronghold.

There was nothing. It had been cleaned out thoroughly yesterday.

Sensing around, Naruto discovered that even his Flying Thunder God Kunai had been buried more than 3 meters underground using Earth Release.

Furthermore, these Flying Thunder God markers were different.

They weren't the 'early' that Naruto used daily, but 'proper', to distinguish them from Naruto's overt ones.

After searching, Kakashi looked at Naruto strangely, "Naruto, you're a bit quiet today."

Huh?

Naruto was a little speechless. This could be linked to him too?

Kakashi was just concerned about Naruto, thinking he might be nervous.

He turned to Aoki and said, "Mr. Aoki, you can head back now. We'll handle things here.

Don't worry, we Konoha Ninja will definitely help you clear out these bandits."

Hearing this, Aoki nodded and left.

He trusted the Konoha Ninja.

Team 7 simply ate some food.

Then, they began to wait for the rabbit.

From a high vantage point, leaning on a tree branch, Naruto began to think.

It seemed he wouldn't be able to go back today; tonight's modification plan would have to be temporarily postponed.

"Sensei Kakashi," Naruto called out, "I can sense the entire mountain range and monitor this area constantly. Is there really any need for us to be here swatting mosquitoes?"

As soon as he said it, Sasuke and Sakura largely agreed.

Although ninjas had corresponding training, why would they seek out hardship?

But Kakashi said something that left both of them completely bewildered: "Can you sense how many Special Kunai I've placed along the way?"

Glancing at Sensei Kakashi in surprise, Naruto suddenly understood.

On the way here, Kakashi had thrown out a kunai marker at regular intervals.

At the time, Naruto hadn't understood why, but now he realized they were waiting for this.

It was clearly a calculated move.

"There's one near five kilometers, one at ten kilometers, one at fifteen, and another at twenty kilometers."

Twenty kilometers?

Kakashi marveled; that distance was already astonishing.

"And the furthest one is fifty kilometers away."

Huh?

Kakashi suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with disbelief.

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