Orochimaru Didn't Want to Take Students

Unlike her other two teammates, who had the Hokage as a father or came from the Uchiha Clan, the foremost noble clan in the shinobi world, the Utsuki Clan had always been a minor family. Throughout its history, it had never produced any truly top-tier experts; it had only ever had one or two Jonin at most. Now that such an opportunity had finally come along, how could she possibly be willing to give it up?

"That's right, Senior Orochimaru. Don't assume that just because I'm the Hokage's son, I'm someone who only knows how to rely on his father!"

Sarutobi Enju followed Utsuki Ruri's lead, his voice brimming with enthusiasm.

A trace of disdain flashed through Orochimaru's eyes as he looked at Sarutobi Enju's fiery expression.

His dead disciple had been just as passionate. In the end, he had charged headfirst into an enemy trap and died completely.

"I don't think Senior Orochimaru has truly rejected us. You're giving us a chance in your own way, aren't you? Otherwise, there would have been no need for you to bring us out of the village."

Orochimaru turned his gaze toward Uchiha Gen.

He truly did not want to lead this squad. It was far too troublesome. Sarutobi Enju's status as the Hokage's son was sensitive—nothing could happen to him. But to Orochimaru, Uchiha Gen was even more troublesome.

Raise another Uchiha like Kagami Uchiha?

That meant Orochimaru would not only have to cultivate Uchiha Gen's strength, but also guide his thinking and turn him into one of his own. It wasn't enough simply to keep him from getting hurt.

However...

"You're not stupid. You're right. I hope you'll react just as quickly when you encounter danger."

As Orochimaru spoke, he tossed a Mission Scroll to Uchiha Gen.

"I won't be like other Jonin, arranging some meaningless survival exercise right from the start. Let's get straight to it. I carefully selected this mission yesterday. Use it to prove that you have what it takes to earn my approval. Otherwise, have Teacher Sarutobi assign you another Jonin squad leader. I have no interest in babysitting cannon fodder destined to die on the battlefield."

Orochimaru's move left Sarutobi Enju and Utsuki Ruri somewhat dumbfounded.

They had just graduated, and they were already leaving the village for a mission? Was that really appropriate?

Meanwhile, Uchiha Gen had already spread open the scroll he had received and begun reading it.

Extraordinary people did extraordinary things. Orochimaru truly was someone who did not rigidly adhere to rules and possessed an exceptionally strong sense of personal will.

Coupled with the fact that his status differed from that of an ordinary Jonin, something like this was unexpected, yet understandable.

Once Sarutobi Enju and Utsuki Ruri came to their senses, they leaned over as well and began reading the contents of the scroll.

[C-rank mission: Locate and eliminate bandits, recover tax funds]

[Mission client: Orochimaru Squad]

[Commissioning party: Lord of River Valley Town, Land of Fire]

[Mission reward: Sixty Thousand Ryo]

[Mission details: ...]

A C-rank mission?

Their very first mission as newly minted Genin was a C-rank mission. This was probably unprecedented in all of Konoha, perhaps even among the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

And the Third Hokage had actually agreed to issue a mission like this to Orochimaru Squad? Wasn't he afraid something might go wrong?

Uchiha Gen glanced at Orochimaru from the corner of his eye.

Well, with Orochimaru present, even if he was not yet at his peak, his abilities were far beyond those of an ordinary Jonin. There should not be any problems.

For Orochimaru and Hiruzen Sarutobi, it was better for an accident to happen on a mission of this level than for one to happen after they went to war.

At least now, Orochimaru was strong enough to handle anything that came up.

And for Uchiha Gen, being able to take on a C-rank mission at this stage was also a good thing.

At the very least, the experience he could gain would definitely be far greater than if he spent his days miserably carrying out D-rank missions like ordinary Genin.

He just did not know what hidden catch this seemingly uncomplicated C-rank mission might contain.

After all, Orochimaru had said earlier that he had carefully selected it.

Before long, after registering their Ninja Numbers and other information with the Chunin guarding Konoha's gates, the group set off together and left the village.

This mission's destination was a relatively remote river valley town. Though it was not especially far from Konoha, transportation there was inconvenient. For anyone other than shinobi, getting there was quite troublesome.

Naturally, the town had certain advantages that had allowed it to develop.

Aside from its inconvenient transportation, the soil here was fairly fertile. The surrounding mountains also contained abundant mineral veins and forestry resources, enough for the town to sustain itself and sell ore and other resources abroad for wealth. Every year, it provided the Daimyo with taxes worth several million ryo.

However, shortly after the Ninja World War broke out, a group of bandits appeared nearby. Not only had they been robbing merchant caravans, but a few days ago, they had also stolen the tax funds and supplies the town had prepared to offer to the Daimyo.

If they had merely robbed merchant caravans, Konoha might not necessarily have sent anyone to wipe them out. Their presence made merchants traveling through the area feel unsafe, causing them to hire Konoha Ninja and thus increasing Konoha's mission volume. But robbing taxes was an entirely different matter.

The bulk of Konoha's military funding came from the Daimyo's allocations, and the Daimyo's wealth mainly came from taxes.

In other words, part of the money they had stolen belonged to Konoha.

That could not be tolerated.

Shinobi traveled quickly. The group left Konoha's gates in the morning, and by mealtime, they had already reached their destination.

"From here on, it all depends on you. I will only observe your performance and will not interfere. Go."

Orochimaru stood on a tree trunk with his arms folded, looking at the distant town as he spoke to the three Genin behind him.

"Yes!" ×3

Three figures shot forward in unison, heading for the town gates.

"Wait a moment."

Uchiha Gen suddenly spoke.

Sarutobi Enju asked, "What is it, Gen?"

"Do you think we should just head straight in like this?"

Uchiha Gen said to his two teammates.

Utsuki Ruri tilted her head, her purple hair drifting in the wind.

"You mean we should disguise ourselves before entering the town, so the spies left behind by those bandits don't see that Konoha has sent ninja and warn them in advance, letting them escape?"

"That makes sense, Gen. You really are thorough!"

Sarutobi Enju gave Uchiha Gen a thumbs-up.

"Not only that, this mission was arranged by Senior Orochimaru as an assessment trial for us. Although it's only C-rank, it definitely won't be as simple as finding the bandits, killing them all, and recovering the taxes. Not to mention, we've never carried out a C-rank mission before—and this time, we're doing it without a team leader.

So no matter how cautious we are, it won't be excessive. Before formally carrying out the mission, we still need to gather some intelligence first."