Sasuke: Naruto? Got it!

"No!"

"I choose the first one!"

After a pained expression, Naruto immediately chose the first option.

Sasuke frowned, displeased. "The quota won't change... meaning, how many more of these boring missions do we have to complete... will it still not change if we drag it out?"

"Correct, but no reward." Cangwu ruffled Sasuke's hair.

Naruto immediately cried out miserably, "I don't want to do this kind of thing!"

"It's the Third Hokage's rule, right?"

"How annoying!"

Suddenly, Naruto noticed Sakura was gone and asked in confusion:

"Teacher Cangwu... where's Sakura-chan?"

"Don't tell me she's already gone?"

Cangwu shook his head and said, "She finished her training first, so as a reward, I don't plan on making her do these meaningless missions."

"Compared to her, you two need to do these missions more."

"Why?!" x2

The two questioned simultaneously.

Cangwu tapped each of their foreheads.

He smiled, "These missions may seem tedious and boring, but they are a form of tempering for both of you."

"How about this, no more options."

"From now on, you'll train while doing missions."

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a glance, then looked at Cangwu, awaiting his next words.

"I plan to assign the low-level missions from these past few days to Team 7."

"The money earned... won't go to you."

"Ah~! No way~!" Naruto shrieked.

Sasuke didn't seem to have much of an opinion.

The Uchiha clan had left behind a considerable amount of money.

"If you want them, it'll be according to the normal allocation for a Jonin Instructor and a small squad... but, from now on, you'll have to pay for food, and don't even think about extra portions."

"Take it all, take it all, I have more if it's not enough~!" Naruto's expression changed with incredible speed, and he flipped out his bulging little frog wallet.

Even Sasuke subconsciously reached for his pocket.

Cangwu shook his head and smiled; these two little ones were quite cute.

"No need to rush."

"I'll tell you about your training plan for today."

"Mhm, mhm, mhm!" Naruto quickly sat cross-legged on the ground, his face full of seriousness.

Sasuke, as usual, kept his hands in his pockets, maintaining his cool persona.

"How about this, for example, the first mission is to find a cat. Whoever finds it first gets to use the remaining time to practice water walking."

"If you don't find it, you'll complete the second mission alone."

"Hahaha, is that so? Then Sasuke is going to be doing missions forever~!" Naruto burst into laughter.

Sasuke shot him a glare. "Idiot, it should be you who's going to be doing missions forever."

"How can that be?!" After an astonished gasp, Naruto complained, "Sasuke, you're not allowed to seek help from the ninja cats!"

Sasuke himself was a bit taken aback; he had almost forgotten about that.

Cat Grandma... it's been a while since he'd visited her.

"Hmph."

Sasuke merely snorted coldly, not responding to Naruto's words.

"Damn it... doesn't that mean I'm going to lose forever?!"

Tap--

Cangwu tapped Naruto's forehead.

"Impatient."

"You still have a large number of shadow clones you can use."

He then looked at Sasuke. "Your mind isn't stable either."

"If you two cooperate on this mission, it will be much easier and faster."

"Also, you can practice water walking simultaneously during the mission."

"Your current goal, the two of you, is to get your chakra control down."

The two youngsters exchanged a glance before reluctantly nodding in agreement.

"Alright, no need to look so glum."

"Just treat this mission as training for your state of mind."

Cangwu smiled as he ruffled the two kids' heads.

"Sasuke, gaining power isn't something that happens overnight. You need to calm your mind. You've been feeling a lot of pressure seeing Sakura and Naruto's progress these past two days, haven't you?"

Sasuke turned his head away, neither admitting nor denying it.

Naruto listened quietly, enjoying the feeling of Cangwu patting his head.

It was because no one had ever treated him like an elder.

"Naruto, you're also too impatient."

"Mhm... I know."

"Okay, you two rest here for a bit. I'll go pick up a mission for you."

After Cangwu left.

Sasuke and Naruto glared at each other unhappily.

"Teacher Cangwu just scolded you, you arrogant Sasuke."

"Don't you dare drag me down on the upcoming mission!"

Sasuke sneered in response, "A dead last is a dead last. Without shadow clones, you're probably not even half as good as me!"

"Aren't you Uchiha? You use shadow clones too!" Naruto's eyes darted around as he immediately retorted.

This single sentence left Sasuke silent.

He took a deep breath, crossed his arms, and leaned against a tree trunk, ignoring Naruto, who kept provoking him.

Teacher Cangwu is right... I'm still too impatient.

It's good that this idiot is here... he can serve as training to temper my state of mind.

Missions and such can just be done along the way.

Naruto was still chattering away.

Sasuke glanced at him indifferently and said coldly:

"Hey, dead last."

"What is it, you arrogant guy!" Naruto shot him a glare.

"I will be the first to cultivate new ninjutsu."

"Just leave the mission to me alone to complete."

Saying that, Sasuke lifted his chin, "After all... cooperating with you?"

"That would just hold me back. I can complete it easily by myself."

"While I'm completing the mission, I'll let you practice walking on water first."

"It should take quite a while for a dead last... Hmph, right?"

"You're talking nonsense!!!" Naruto's emotions were immediately stirred up by Sasuke.

"It should be me completing the mission alone while you take the opportunity to train!"

"Deal." Sasuke rolled his eyes at him.

Naruto: "..."

Why is my nose a little red?

"You... you..."

Naruto was so angry his shoulders trembled.

He pointed at Sasuke, wanting to scold him, but couldn't think of any words.

When Cangwu returned after picking up the mission, he saw Naruto angrily drawing circles on the ground, cursing Sasuke.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was sitting leisurely to the side, a rare sight.

"Come over and take a look. There are thirteen low-level missions in total."

"How about I give you a week?"

As soon as Cangwu finished speaking, Sasuke said coldly, "Just leave it all to me. I'll definitely complete them all within three days!"

"I'll do it in two days!" Naruto blurted out without thinking.

As soon as he shouted, he quickly covered his mouth and looked warily at Sasuke.

Cangwu looked at their expressions and guessed what had happened.

He left the mission roster with a smile.

"You two can discuss it yourselves."

With that, he walked towards Sakura, who had already changed her clothes.

Sasuke and Naruto glared at each other.

Finally, Sasuke let out a cold laugh and casually took a cat-finding mission.

Seeing this, Naruto's face contorted in anger.

"Damn it!"

"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Bang bang bang--

The next instant.

A large amount of white smoke appeared out of nowhere.

Naruto had created over a hundred shadow clones.

"I'm not going to lose to you!"

Cangwu glanced back.

"It seems it won't take two days."

"Once they've also completed the water-walking training... what kind of rewards can I expect?"