The goofball, the airhead, and the idiot trio!

The next day, Tōka slept until after ten o'clock before waking up groggily.

Picking up the alarm clock from the bedside table, Tōka gradually woke up from her drowsy state. "It's past ten o'clock. Something special seems to be happening today, right?"

Etc!

"The Ninja Academy, the agreed time should be around eight or nine o'clock." Tōka rubbed his temples. He had been thinking about a problem all night and didn't fall asleep until midnight, and he still had a bit of a headache.

That Fox from the Third Hokage is becoming increasingly unpredictable; it's time to find an opportunity to discuss something with Orochimaru.

The thought flashed through his mind, and Tōka had already put on his mountain clothes and washed up. At this moment, he was walking on the path leading to the Ninja Academy.

Konoha seemed a little different today, perhaps due to the graduation of the new generation of Genin. The neighbors all had indescribable smiles on their faces.

Although Tōka has "lived" here for more than ten years, he basically doesn't know these people.

After turning a few corners, the main road leading straight to the Ninja Academy came into view. Those kids must be getting impatient.

Tōka's figure blurred, and in the blink of an eye, he covered a distance of a hundred meters. With a whoosh, a gray shadow disappeared into the open gate of the Ninja Academy.

The sound of footsteps echoed in the spacious corridor.

The footsteps were getting closer, heading towards the classroom whose door was ajar.

Tōka, who was about to open the wooden door and walk in, had his slender fingers resting on the door frame when he suddenly remembered something. He subconsciously looked up at the lintel.

Really!

That idiot Naruto...

Tōka slowly retracted his outstretched arm, then held it upright in front of him, forming a hand Hand Seals.

Buzz!

Body Flicker Technique!

A ghostly figure flashed into the classroom. In the empty classroom, only three mischievous children were present: one looked excited, one looked expectant, and one was indifferent.

"Hello everyone, from now on I will be your mentor." Tōka stood by the window next to Sasuke with his arms crossed, smiling as he watched the three of them.

The sudden sound made the three people who were staring at the gate freeze, and they turned around in shock.

When they saw Tōka, they looked like they'd seen a ghost!

When did they appear here?! Sasuke, who was sitting in his seat, suddenly stood up, his dark eyes flashing uncertainly.

"Oh!! You were the substitute teacher back then!" Sakura remembered Tōka, or more accurately, she remembered Tōka's face! It was an absolutely unbearable face!

"Isn't the substitute teacher Chunin?"

Does this mean our instructor is just a Chunin?

Sasuke could vaguely sense that Tōka was different from others, and he learned most of his information about Tōka from that man.

"Really..." Sakura pouted, the words of complaint just about to come out of her mouth.

Sasuke swept a cold glance at her, and her face froze instantly, unable to utter the words she was about to say.

"Since everyone already knows each other, let's skip the self-introductions and come with me." With that, Tōka turned and walked towards the door.

After hesitating for a moment, Sasuke silently lifted his leg and followed.

What's most surprising is Naruto. The Naruto who loves to make a ruckus and attract attention is now acting like a quiet, obedient child, silently following behind Tōka.

Seeing this, Sakura, filled with questions, walked to the back of the line.

Sasuke and Naruto seemed to know this teacher, and not just in a casual, superficial way.

On the Teaching Building, the familiar building had been completely renovated. Tōka had been here many times. During his year at the Ninja Academy, this was his favorite place.

Footsteps sounded behind him. Tōka leaned against the railing, watching the three approaching figures with a blank expression.

He gestured with his chin, indicating that the three of them should find a place to sit down.

"To be honest, I'm not really keen on being your mentor." Tōka was too lazy to tell others what was on his mind, not only because he didn't have the purpose of targeting the Third Hokage of the Bai family, but also because he didn't like teaching students.

What was said in jest was taken seriously by the listeners. Upon hearing these words, Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura felt a jolt in their hearts.

I feel like I'm being disliked...

The three remained silent, and Tōka didn't continue the topic. After all, he had already taken over, and saying this was just to tell the three kids a piece of information.

He doesn't really like the three of them!

"I won't go into details. Also, meet at the Hokage Building at 8:00 AM tomorrow morning, and I'll take you there to receive your mission."

Before the three of them could even speak, Tōka's body turned into a puff of White Smoke with a bang.

Shadow Clone?!

The three of them twitched. Others might not know, but Naruto knew this move because he had learned the Shadow Clone just last night!

"So, the one he was talking to us about just now was Shadow Clone?" Naruto muttered to himself.

Upon hearing this, Sasuke's expression changed again. How could he have failed to detect when the other party had activated the Shadow Clone Technique, even with his Sharingan?

Sasuke was certain that the Tōka who entered the classroom was the Original Body.

I don't know how to explain it, but I just had that feeling. After that, I walked from the classroom to the Rooftop. The distance wasn't short, but it wasn't too far either, and he caught up with Tōka immediately.

Tōka remained within his sight, giving him no time to activate his Shadow Clone.

"He seems stronger than I imagined," Sasuke said, getting up and walking down the stairs with a haughty expression.

With Sasuke gone, Sakura had no reason to stay, and Naruto followed suit and left as well.

The meeting between the mentor and the three students ended abruptly that day.

The following morning, at the foot of the Hokage Building.

In order to make a good impression on this teacher who didn't like them, the three kids arrived at the agreed-upon underground location half an hour early.

The three of them coincidentally met at the corner.

"Sakura, good morning!" Naruto was the first to recover from his shock, and he shamelessly moved closer to Sakura.

Sakura, however, moved closer to Sasuke with a lovesick expression, "Good morning, Sasuke-kun!"

"..." Sasuke a cold face, ignored the two and walked straight past them into the building.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps grew louder and louder beneath the Hokage Building.

Someone came downstairs.

The three of them subconsciously looked up and saw Tōka, dressed casually and looking more like a rich young master than a ninja, walking down the street.

"Teacher Tōka?!"

Wasn't it supposed to be eight o'clock? They deliberately arrived half an hour early.

Judging from Tōka's appearance, she must have arrived much earlier!

"Oh, you're here early!" Tōka glanced at the time, but didn't care about such a small matter.

Changing the subject, Tōka gestured for the three to follow, "We've accepted the mission; our destination is the pasture east of the village!"

Pasture?

It should be a D-level task, like cleaning houses or herding livestock.

Sakura thought to herself, hoping it was the latter, at least she wouldn't get all dirty. She glanced at her newly changed clothes.

Given that it was their first day of mission, Sasuke and Naruto, being boys, weren't as observant as Sakura, so they naturally didn't inquire about these matters.

The ninja mission levels are something we learned in school.

Sasuke wouldn't care at all, and Naruto was completely unaware.

Konoha may look like just a village, but it's actually very large. It took the three kids a full thirty minutes to walk east from the Hokage Building in the center to the ranch.

Tōka neither sped up nor slowed down; he was observing the three people's stamina.

How long can the three maintain their optimal speed?

It must be said that Sasuke, as the top graduate, is indeed very strong; he barely showed any signs of being out of breath during his 30-minute jog.

Naruto is also good; after all, he's a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan, with abundant chakra and strong vitality.

As for Sakura...

It was alright; my chest was heaving, and I was slightly out of breath, but at least I could keep up with my two companions.

"We're here, this is it." Tōka paused, stopping abruptly without leaning forward at all, as if he had always been standing there.

Upon seeing this, the three of them immediately stopped in their tracks, but they couldn't stop as easily as Tōka.

The inertia caused the three of them to fall forward violently, but their physical fitness was quite good, and they managed to avoid embarrassment.

"Hehe, you've all arrived quite early!" The ranch owner noticed the arrival of Tōka and his companions and greeted them with a smile, walking briskly towards them.

The fence opened, and the ranch owner came out.

He was an elderly man with slightly graying hair, but he looked quite robust. "My name is Sai Hao. You're the ninjas who came here to help on this mission, right?"

"Yes, it's those three kids." Tōka nodded and introduced them from left to right, "Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura."

"Uncle Sai Hao." The three understood and quickly greeted him respectfully in unison.

Respect for elders is something even someone as expressionless and cold as Sasuke does; it reflects a person's character and true kindness.

Tōka was quite satisfied with this.

Uncle Sai Hao couldn't stop smiling. He had seen too many Genin who came to carry out missions, and many of the newly graduated brats were arrogant.

There were quite a few polite ones, Uncle Sai Hao naturally liked the polite little ninja.

"Alright then, you three little ninjas can help herd the animals for a day. I'm going out today, so I'll leave them in your care."

As he spoke, Uncle Sai Hao pointed to the large house in the middle of the ranch, where three or five cattle and sheep were grazing outside.

Herding livestock is wonderful! As if worried that Uncle Sai Hao might change his mind, Sakura happily agreed, "Don't worry, Uncle Sai Hao!"

"Then I'll leave it to you." Sai Hao, carrying a bundle, led an oxcart, which rumbled along, towards the distant woods.

"Take care, Uncle Sai Hao!" the three called out respectfully in unison, seemingly finding today's task quite easy.

At the same time, I'm also curious about ranches; herding livestock must be a lot of fun!

During the conversation, Tōka remained silent after the initial introduction.

This is also a form of training; when a ninja accepts a mission, he must understand the detailed mission requirements.

Commonly known as intelligence gathering.

The quest Scroll Tōka received contained only a few simple sentences: a D-level quest; help was needed at Uncle Sai Hao's ranch on the east side of the village; the reward was eight thousand taels of silver.

Eight thousand taels is considered a high amount for a D-level mission.

As for the specifics of the assistance, that remains to be discussed. As long as there is no danger to life, some trivial matters can be included within the scope of the task.

Seeing that the three children were very polite and humble, Uncle Sai Hao only let them herd livestock and did not ask them to clean the house.

However...

As Naruto was rushing the fastest, approached the large house and was about to reach out to lead a cow over, he glanced sideways through the house's window.

You won't believe it until you see it, and what you find will shock you.

As far as the eye could see, there were cattle and sheep, neatly separated by fences; there must have been at least a hundred of them!

"Sasuke, Sakura, you, you guys come here right now!" Naruto shouted, his face pale and his voice trembling.

Sakura, who was following behind Sasuke and enjoying their stroll through the grassland world, was startled by the shout. The dreamlike world around her shattered like a mirror.

Her face darkened, and she strode up behind Naruto, raising her fist and slamming Naruto to the ground with a thud.

"What are you yelling and shouting for? What if you scare the cattle and sheep?!"

What she said made sense, but her voice was the loudest!

Sasuke walked in with a frown. He knew Naruto must have seen something, and he peered through the window...

Really!

"Uncle Sai Hao doesn't mean releasing these few cattle and sheep, but all the hundreds of cattle and sheep in the entire livestock shed!" Sasuke's eye twitched, and he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.

It's even more terrifying than the Genin Exams—no, the Genin Exams are practically heaven!

Hundreds of cattle and sheep were packed together in a large room. Although they were arranged in an orderly manner, they still looked like a densely packed mass.

"The first lesson of a ninja is that missions aren't just about appearances; even the most difficult missions must be completed." Tōka's figure appeared behind the three of them at some point, suddenly uttering a string of words.

The three of them were taken aback. Although they felt that Tōka was unreliable and didn't seem like a ninja at all, they all agreed with what he said.

This is how I feel right now!

They thought it would be an easy task to take care of just three or five cattle and sheep, but they never expected that they would have to take care of hundreds of cattle and sheep. Even if they had three heads and six arms, it would be difficult to complete.

However, Tōka's second statement was also correct.

Even the most difficult tasks must be completed; think before you act.

Uncle Sai Hao wouldn't entrust three Genin kids with an impossible task, especially since this task wasn't a one-time thing.

Many "predecessors" have already done the tasks on the ranch on the east side of the village.

While the three little devils were deep in thought, Tōka leisurely turned around and Earth Flow, at the same time a faint voice came from behind.

"You guys were given a D-rank mission, and to secure such a high-paying one for you, I got up before dawn and ran to the Hokage Building."

Tōka let out a long yawn and waved to the three of them, signaling them to keep going.

"Hmm... I'm going to take a nap first. Wake me up for lunch!"

Upon hearing this, the three men's faces twitched, and they exchanged bewildered glances. Surprisingly, the same thought flashed through their eyes...

Did we... get on the wrong bus?!