First Mission

[So you just left us here to sleep for a day?!]

Looking at Orochimaru before him, Haku roared with disbelief.

A full night had passed since they were attacked by Orochimaru. The bastard teacher Orochimaru had ambushed and knocked them all out yesterday. Then he had dumped them here and sent away Duy, who had come looking for him and Yu, as well as the Hyuga clan members who had come looking for Riko.

Facing Haku's questioning, Orochimaru responded calmly.

[Haku! Your vigilance is too low. How can you not consider the possibility of an attack just because you're in the village? While the three of you have decent strength, you have no teamwork at all. Letting you sleep here for a night is your punishment.]

Hearing Orochimaru's words, Haku began to ponder if he could have done better yesterday. Then he heard Orochimaru utter something that broke through Haku, Uchiha Yu, and Hyuga Riko's defenses.

[Given your performance this time, I will conduct periodic tests on your team from now on. If you fail, I will still leave you outside to reflect. Ho ho!]

Ignoring their murderous expressions, Orochimaru pulled a scroll from his clothes and tossed it to Haku.

[This is your team's first mission, a B-rank mission. Go back and prepare, you'll be going out with another team tomorrow.]

[As my first mission as your team leader, don't embarrass me!]

When Haku heard that Orochimaru had assigned their team a B-rank mission as their first, he almost exploded. But in the next moment, he remembered that Orochimaru's strength was such that he could handle S-rank missions. He turned his thoughts to what benefits he could gain from this mission.

However, before Haku's mood could settle, Orochimaru's calm voice reached him again.

[Of course, I have other more important tasks, so I won't be accompanying you on this mission.]

After saying that, he ignored Haku's ravenous gaze and left the training ground on his own.

Watching Orochimaru leave, the three members of the team fell silent. A B-rank mission meant they could encounter other ninja, which was nothing like the beasts they faced in C-rank missions. Their first mission being B-rank was a difficult task for them.

[What do we do?]

Uchiha Yu, who was closer to Yu, broke the silence and asked.

[With our team's strength, I guessed they wouldn't assign us D-rank missions, but I didn't expect our first mission to be B-rank. I originally thought it would be a C-rank mission, at most encountering some bandits to get us used to combat.]

Haku said with difficulty.

[However, with our current skill level, we can complete this mission, but we need to be careful during the process.]

Listening to Haku's statement, Hyuga Riko also chimed in. [Now that the mission has been handed to us, there's no changing it. Furthermore, when the village assigns a mission to ninja, ninja cannot refuse. As Haku said, we just need to be careful during the mission. I'll try to activate my Byakugan as much as possible to check our surroundings. There won't be any problems.]

Uchiha Yu followed up on Hyuga Riko's words. [Let's look at the mission details first. The village won't give us a suicidal mission. Perhaps this mission is also an opportunity for us.]

Upon hearing Yu's words, Haku no longer hesitated. Talking about anything before seeing the specific mission details was useless. It was more practical to first look at the mission and then prepare their ninja tools.

Half an hour later, the three dispersed to prepare the necessary supplies for the mission and agreed to meet at the village gate early the next morning.

Hokage's Office.

[Orochimaru, what mission did you give them as their first?]

Looking at Orochimaru before him, the Third Hokage felt a headache regarding his disciple. Orochimaru was originally his most promising disciple, and he had intended to groom him as the successor to the Hokage. However, after Nawaki's sacrifice, Orochimaru seemed to no longer place as much importance on the position of Hokage.

[It's the mission to eliminate bandits in the Land of Grass. A ninja team previously undertook a mission there, and now new bandits have appeared. The intelligence division suspects that ninja from other ninja villages have established an intelligence post there.]

Hearing the mission Orochimaru had assigned to Haku's team, the Third Hokage frowned deeply.

[That's a B-rank mission, isn't it? It's too soon for them. Their first mission should be a C-rank mission to get a feel for things! I have a mission here to deliver a letter to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, would you like to switch to that?]

[No need! This mission is fine. Another team is also undertaking this mission, and I will be secretly following them. After they complete this mission, I will pass through the Land of Grass on my way to the front lines of the battlefield with Kumogakure.]