Preparing to Enter the Instance

"You two, explain yourselves."

In the living room of the Hyuga Clan head's residence, Naruto and Hinata sat on the floor before the faintly furious Hyuga Hiashi.

"It went like this: Hinata and I were looking at the moon, then whoosh, then bam, and finally boom—it turned out like this."

How could Naruto possibly let Hinata take the blame? He stepped forward first and vividly described what had happened.

"Father, it was my fault. I shouldn't have acted recklessly. This only happened because I injected my Chakra into Naruto's ninjutsu."

Hinata had been stunned by the power of the Rasengan. Her selfishness had nearly hurt Naruto, the person she liked most, and now that she saw Naruto intending to take all the responsibility, she hurriedly spoke up.

"A Combination Jutsu? That's quite impressive for your age."

A Combination Jutsu fused two people's Chakra together to create a more powerful technique. But no matter what, the Chakra of two twelve-year-old brats should not have been able to produce destructive power close to S-rank ninjutsu.

One thing was certain: the Nine-Tails had not been involved. Otherwise, it would not have been the Konoha Military Police Force coming to investigate, but the Third Hokage himself.

"It was really an accident. I didn't expect it to turn out like that after adding Hinata's Chakra."

Naruto sensed that Hyuga Hiashi was not angry at all, and even seemed to be offering a hint of praise. Embarrassed, he scratched his head.

"Don't play in the courtyard next time. Since no one was hurt this time, we'll let it go."

"Oh, you're not angry? Uncle Hiashi really is a good person."

"Who said I'm not angry? Your punishment is to fill in the hole in my courtyard!"

"Okay..."

Naruto, who had just been cheering, was immediately crushed. He lowered his head and shuffled out of the living room.

At such a young age, he can create a Combination Jutsu close to S-rank ninjutsu. Could this brat be a genius?

Hyuga Hiashi watched Naruto and Hinata's retreating backs and could not help thinking so.

"You freeloader bastard! You destroyed my backyard!"

Hanabi Hyuga was furious—furious enough to explode. Naruto not only came to her house from time to time to mooch meals, but had now destroyed her favorite garden. The moment he came out, she pounced on him, straddled him, grabbed his cheeks, and angrily shouted.

"Please forgive me..."

Naruto knew he was in the wrong and did not resist, apologizing weakly.

"Hanabi, let Naruto go! This was mainly my fault..."

Hinata hurriedly tried to pull her sister away, but got dragged in as well. The three of them rolled into a ball, unable to tell who was who.

"Must have been an illusion."

Hyuga Hiashi watched Naruto get beaten up by Hanabi with a resigned look, then shook his head and cast the unrealistic thought from his mind.

"Honey, are you in a good mood?"

Hina Hyuga stepped around the three children rolling in a heap and gently sat beside Hyuga Hiashi. She could sense that her husband had put down a long-held worry.

"Yes. I've worried about Hinata's future ever since she was little. With her personality, she could never inherit the Main Family. Even among the Hyuga Clan, her talent is inferior to Hanabi's..."

"Someone with a personality that should have made her the least likely to attract any pursuers has an outstanding young ninja who has liked her for years without wavering. That puts your mind at ease, doesn't it?"

Hina Hyuga finished the rest for her husband. She knew a grown man would be too embarrassed to say such things himself.

"Ahem. The two of them created a ninjutsu like this at such a young age. Becoming elite jonin should not be a problem. If Hinata can achieve that much, I'll be satisfied."

Hyuga Hiashi coughed awkwardly. He did not expect Hinata to dominate the ninja world or anything. The most important thing was that she had the ability to protect herself and survive dangerous missions again and again.

"That's wonderful. It would be nice if Hanabi could find a good match too."

"I'm so bored! Teacher Kakashi, aren't there any other missions? We've just been doing odd jobs!"

After completing a laundry mission, Naruto finally could not take it anymore. Their missions over the past few days had been pulling weeds, clearing trash, washing Hokage Rock, and so on. Other than the last one, which Naruto had handled with ease, the rest had nearly bored him to death.

"Well, I figured you were about to lose patience. Sasuke and Sakura too, right?"

Kakashi put away his little book. D-Rank Missions were originally meant to build teamwork and assess the strength of a three-person team. They had developed teamwork, and Naruto and Sasuke had demonstrated sufficient strength. As for Sakura, although she only had eyes for Sasuke, her Chakra control was still very good.

"I want a mission that can improve my strength."

Sasuke coldly tossed out those words and fell silent again. Naturally, he also did not want to keep doing these useless missions.

"I-I'm happy as long as I'm with Sasuke."

"Since you've all done pretty well normally, I'll ask the Third Hokage for you."

"Oh! Teacher Kakashi, you're the best!"

Mission Assignment Center

"No, no. Genin can only carry out D-Rank Missions."

The Third Hokage, pipe in his mouth, refused without hesitation. He also explained the strict mission-ranking system to the three of them.

"You're so stingy, Grandpa Third. You're way too stingy."

"These are the rules, not me being stingy."

"Sexy Jutsu...!"

Naruto formed Hand Seals with both hands, preparing to use the Sexy Jutsu.

"You really are a headache, brat. There is indeed a C-rank escort mission that genin can take. Since you won't encounter any ninja, there should probably only be some gangs or bandits."

The Third Hokage vanished from his seat and appeared beside Naruto, pressing down his hands with a headache. He did not want to embarrass himself in public. More importantly, mission clients from all over were gathered here. If they saw Naruto's Sexy Jutsu, who knew what they would say about Konoha? This brat would ruin the village's reputation.

"Oh, an escort mission? That sounds awesome!"

Naruto happily accepted after hearing that, and the Third Hokage handed the mission file to Kakashi.

"Escorting someone to the Land of Waves? There really shouldn't be much danger. What about you two? Do you agree?"

Kakashi glanced at the file. It was merely a small country without even a single ninja, so there was basically no danger. He turned to ask Sasuke and Sakura.

"I'll take it!"

"I have no problem with it."

"Mr. Tazuna, could you come out?"

The Third Hokage called toward the waiting room. Before long, a man wearing small glasses, carrying a bamboo basket on his back, and holding a bottle of White Liquor staggered out. A strong smell of alcohol clung to him, and all three members of Team Seven took a step back.

"Lord Hokage, have you found suitable people?"

"For this escort mission, it'll be these four."

"What? They're all just brats. And that guy wearing a mask doesn't look like a good person."

"Doesn't look like a good person?"

Kakashi touched his face. Though no one could see his expression beneath the mask, he was probably pretty hurt right now.

"Hahaha, Teacher Kakashi, he said you don't look like a good person."

"And there's also an underdeveloped runt."

"A runt? Who's he talking about?"

"..."

Sasuke and Sakura looked at Naruto together with the expressions one would use for an idiot.

"I'm going to kill you!"

"Stop it. What kind of ninja kills the person they're supposed to protect?"

"Mr. Tazuna, children are Konoha's foundation. Once they leave the village, they are no longer children, but ninja capable of standing on their own. Naturally, they will not fail to protect you."

The Third Hokage looked at Tazuna, who kept finding faults everywhere, and gave his solemn assurance.

"Yes, yes. Then I'll look forward to tomorrow's journey."

"Since we've been looked down on, prove yourselves with your strength. Meet at Konoha Gate at eight tomorrow."

Kakashi patted the heads of Team Seven's three members, soothing their emotions before vanishing from the hall.

"You're leaving the village? That's amazing, Naruto. We're still doing odd-job missions."

When Hinata heard Naruto say that he was leaving the village for a mission, she excitedly grabbed his hand. This meant Naruto had been acknowledged and possessed the strength to leave the village. She was even happier than if she herself had been acknowledged.

"Of course. I'll bring you back a gift."

"But... outside the village is dangerous. You have to be careful."

Worry showed in her Byakugan, and Hinata's grip on Naruto's hand tightened.

"Don't worry. No matter what happens, I'll come back to your side. Let's make a promise."

Naruto smiled and agreed. His gentle smile washed away the unease in Hinata's heart.

"Mm."

Hinata blushed and closed her eyes. A promise meant they were going to kiss, right...? Ever since Naruto had accidentally kissed her last time, he had never kissed her again.

"Huh? What are you doing?"

Hinata opened her eyes and saw Naruto merely holding out his little finger to her, ready to pinky swear.

"Hmph... idiot Naruto. Go get kicked by a horse!"

"A horse?"

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PS: The first boss battle really had to be Zabuza.