Taking on Missions

The next morning.

Team 7 arrived at Training Ground Seven bright and early.

The three little ones exchanged glances.

Naruto suddenly turned around.

"I think I forgot something. I'll head home and grab it."

Sakura lightly tapped herself on the forehead, too.

"Oh no, I forgot something as well. Teacher Cangwu isn't here yet, anyway, so I'll go get it."

A moment later.

Naruto and Sakura, sneaking around, met downstairs at Cangwu's place.

"Sakura-chan... Are you here to wake Teacher Cangwu, too?"

Hearing that, Sakura, who'd been feeling a little awkward, quickly seized the excuse.

"Y-yeah, exactly."

"Sasuke-kun... What about you?"

Only then did Naruto notice that Sasuke had come along, too.

"Hmph."

Sasuke snorted, folded his arms, and turned his head away.

Just then, the door to Cangwu's home opened.

"I'm so full~"

"Teacher Cangwu, can I come learn how to cook from you tonight?"

"Ino..."

"What? Hinata, you want to come, too?"

"N-no..."

"Okay, okay, time to head back. We have a mission this morning. Ino, the same goes for the Tenth Squad, right?"

Yūhi Kurenai came out last, her pretty face flushed.

She ruffled both girls' hair.

"Yeah. Another boring cat-and-dog-finding job. It's so annoying," Ino said helplessly.

Then the three girls left together.

The three little ones stared wide-eyed.

"W-what's going on?" Naruto asked, dumbfounded.

"Wait, Naruto! Someone else is coming out!" Sakura hurriedly grabbed Naruto before he could go up to the door.

She still looked completely incredulous.

She hadn't expected there to be more than just the three of them hoping to score a free meal.

Wait... Could there be something more to it than the food?

But she soon understood why Ino had suddenly stopped "competing" with her for Sasuke.

It turned out Ino had discovered a real treasure.

"I'm not done eating yet~!!"

A striking figure was pushed out the door.

Anko's cheeks were puffed out, and she kept pounding on the door.

Cangwu's voice came from inside, sounding mildly exasperated.

"You've already eaten your fill... You just wanted to wait for me to leave, then stay at home, didn't you?"

"So what?" Anko yelled back defiantly.

"Isn't that what you do every day?!"

"Then can you do your own laundry?" Cangwu asked, his voice a little impatient.

"Honestly, I help you with yours all the time, don't I?!"

"Besides, didn't you buy a washing machine a while ago?!"

Anko kept banging on the door, refusing to give in.

"Then where did all my savings go?"

"Rice dumplings~!"

Cangwu: "..."

Creak—

The door opened.

Anko's face lit up, and she tried to slip inside.

But a large hand caught her.

Cangwu stepped out helplessly and noticed the three little ones below.

"I knew you'd come. I made breakfast for you, too."

"What about me?!" Anko pouted.

"Go do some work. I can barely afford to keep you fed."

Whoosh—

The two of them disappeared.

The three little ones stood there awkwardly.

In the end, Naruto couldn't resist the delicious aroma coming from inside the house.

He went in first.

Sakura and Sasuke were eventually defeated by their appetites, too.

They joined the feast.

That afternoon.

Drenched to the skin, Sakura shivered.

"Teacher Cangwu... I finished training." She made her way over to him, trembling.

"Not bad. About as long as I expected."

Cangwu wasn't surprised that Sakura had finished her water-walking training so quickly.

"Go home and change. I'll take you to meet your new teacher in a bit."

Sakura nodded at once.

After figuring out what Cangwu was like, Sakura no longer felt as intimidated as she had at first.

While Cangwu wasn't looking, she stole his jacket and hurried home with it draped over her shoulders.

Cangwu opened his mouth, but Sakura called back with a red face, without turning around. "My clothes are soaked... I'll wash this and return it to you~!"

Watching her go, Cangwu could only let it go. He shook his head and was about to check on how the two love-hate rivals were doing.

Whoosh—

A figure appeared in front of him.

She wore an animal mask, and her long purple hair gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight.

She stood before Cangwu as if on official business, her tone icy.

"Cangwu, why hasn't Team 7 taken any missions?"

That tone told him she was here to deliver a message from Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Of course it's so Team 7 can better understand the true meaning of the Will of Fire."

Cangwu smiled.

Uzuki Yugao was stunned for a moment.

Even though the three sisters shared information, now that the moment had come, Yugao still found it hard to believe.

Where had the little brother she knew gone—the one who, even if he'd scoffed at the Will of Fire, would never have spoken so casually?

"Is that so?"

"Then I'll pass on your answer exactly as you said it."

"Including the tone."

For some reason, Yugao hadn't spoken in her usual worklike manner.

"That's fine." Cangwu naturally didn't believe her.

Yugao rolled her eyes at him. "Got it. I don't think the Hokage will have anything more to say once he hears your answer."

"Then... I'll get going?"

Cangwu nodded slightly.

But Yugao didn't move.

"A few days ago, Gekko Hayate came to see me again. He wanted to discuss Sword Technique."

Cangwu nodded again.

The two stood quietly together for a while.

In the end, Yugao gave in.

"Don't you have anything to say?"

"Sorry for the trouble, Big Sis Yugao."

Though he couldn't see her face behind the mask, he could tell from her tone how she felt.

"Leave it to your big sister."

Yugao left, satisfied.

Cangwu watched her go helplessly.

He wondered if she'd learned this from Yūhi Kurenai.

They wouldn't be satisfied unless he called them Big Sis.

Though Anko was even worse!

At least Big Sis Yugao and Big Sis Kurenai... gave him pocket money now and then!

Once he was strong enough, he'd make her pay for what she should have paid long ago!

But... would that really count as punishment?

Damn it... That'd just be another kind of exploitation... What a loss!

"Okay, that's enough tree-climbing practice for now."

Cangwu came over to the tree and watched the two love-hate rivals, who could now walk normally, racing to see who could run faster and more steadily.

"You smug Sasuke, you still won't admit defeat?"

"Hmph, you idiot dead-last. Want to beat me? You're a hundred years too early!"

Although they were still trading insults, both of them obediently climbed down.

They came over to Cangwu.

"All right, all right. Stop arguing."

"Now, you have two options."

"What options?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke looked up at Cangwu, too.

"First, keep working on the advanced training. You'll move from tree climbing to water walking."

"Water walking?" they both exclaimed.

"That's right. By the way, Sakura only needed an hour to complete the training."

"What?!" they both exclaimed.

"Sakura-chan's amazing~"

"That annoying girl... How is that possible?!"

The two reacted in completely opposite ways.

"What's the second option?" Sasuke quickly asked.

He should've chosen the first option without hesitation, but he cautiously asked about the second one anyway.

Cangwu smiled. "New students get a transition period."

"For example, the other teams already started taking missions yesterday."

"I used the excuse that I was teaching you the true meaning of the Will of Fire to get out of it."

"Once you finish training, you'll start taking missions, but your mission quota won't change."

Naruto looked excited. "Ninja missions?"

"Teacher Cangwu, can we go fight now?"

Sasuke had been frowning, but as soon as he heard they could fight, anticipation appeared in his eyes, too.

"No. The missions you'll get are D- and E-rank ones, like finding lost cats and dogs or helping farmers with their work."