No Matter the Size of the Mission, It's About Protecting the Village

At the entrance of the Hokage Building, three human children stood in a row.

"Who do you think our teacher will be?"

"Have no idea."

"Could it be something really powerful?" Shin-chan gestured with his hands. "Like, the kind that can fly."

"I've never seen a flying Ninja." Kakashi shook his head.

"Could it be Pretty Big Sister?"

Uchiha Toru glanced at him. "Can't you think of something else?"

"This is important," Shin-chan said earnestly. "It's more motivating to be taught by Pretty Big Sister."

"It can't be the older sister."

"Why?"

There aren't many women among the Jonin.

As soon as he finished speaking, the doors of the Hokage Building opened.

The three cubs raised their heads at the same time.

A man wearing a green vest emerged, with a short knife hanging from his waist and a pot slung over his back.

Shin-chan's eyes lit up immediately. "Wow, a big iron pot!"

The man walked up to them, a smile on his face, "Kakashi Hatake, Uchiha Toru, Shin Nohara."

"It's me," Shin-chan raised his hand and asked, "Why are you carrying a pot on your back? Are you a chef?"

The man smiled but did not answer the questions.

"Come with me."

After saying that, he turned around and gestured for them to follow.

Shin-chan leaned closer, looking up at him. "Who are you? Where are we going? You haven't answered my questions yet."

"My name is Maruboshi Kosuke." The man wasn't embarrassed at all. "I'm just a Genin."

"Genin?" Shin-chan was taken aback. "But we're Genin too."

"That's right, you're all Genin." Maruboshi Kosuke smiled. "The Third Hokage said he wanted me to train you all and familiarize you with the Genin mission process."

So, are you our teacher?

Maruboshi Kosuke shook his head. "Not a teacher."

Shin-chan thought for a moment and asked, "So, are you very good?"

"Not bad." Maruboshi Kosuke shook his head again, his tone quite frank. "It's just that I've been Genin for a bit too long."

How long?

"A very, very long time." Maruboshi Kosuke smiled, without elaborating.

Shin-chan- chan said "Oh," and then changed the subject. "So, are you going to treat us to a meal?"

"The mission is done. I'll cook you noodles. See that pot behind me? It's perfect for cooking noodles."

Shin-chan's eyes lit up immediately. "Really?"

"Real."

Do you put meat in your noodles?

Outside the Third's office in the Hokage Building.

A line of people stood in the corridor, all Ninja waiting to receive missions.

There were four people standing at the back of the line.

Maruboshi Kosuke had his hands tucked into his sleeves, with three little kids following behind him.

Hearing the commotion behind them, some of the people in front of the queue turned around to look.

"Hey, isn't this the Eternal Genin?"

The sound wasn't too loud or too soft; it could be heard throughout the entire corridor.

"Kosuke, how old are you to still be queuing up for missions? When the Third Hokage gave them to you, didn't you feel ashamed?"

"What's so shameful about him?" another Ninja with a buzz cut chimed in. "He's been a Genin his whole life; he's developed a thick skin."

Several people laughed.

Laughter echoed down the corridor, and the people in line ahead of them glanced back furtively, but no one spoke.

Maruboshi Kosuke still had that same smiling face, as if he wasn't the one being talked about.

Seeing that he remained silent, the group became even more emboldened, taking half a step forward and looking down at Maruboshi Kosuke.

"Hey old man, can't you have any ambition? Even the Third Hokage is soft-hearted, always giving you missions. If you ask me, an Eternal Genin..."

Shin-chan appeared beside them at some point. "Do you want some noodles cooked by the old man too?"

The crew-cut Ninja frowned. "What kind of noodles?"

"It's the noodle soup cooked in that pot behind the uncle," Shin-chan said with a hint of confusion. "But the uncle's pot is only so big; it can only cook enough for three people at a time. If you want some too, you'll have to wait for the second batch."

The corridor fell silent for a moment.

The Ninja with the buzz cut blushed. "Who wants to eat his noodles?"

"No, I'm not eating." Shin-chan- chan nodded, then looked at the person who had spoken first, "What about you? Are you eating?"

The man choked, momentarily at a loss for words to respond to the child's absurd question.

"Kid, you..." The crew-cut Ninja came to his senses, somewhat embarrassed and angry.

Just then, a Ninja at the front of the line suddenly spoke up, "That's enough, why are you arguing with a child?"

The Ninja with the buzz cut paused in his movements.

"Just graduated Genin, just lining up for a mission." The Ninja's tone carried a hint of warning. "Besides, if I'm not mistaken, this white-haired kid is from the Hatake Household, and the one next to him is from the Uchiha."

The crew-cut Ninja and his companion's expressions changed slightly, and Ziguang looked back and forth between Kakashi and Che in surprise and doubt.

Whispers filled the corridor, "Hatake? Could it be his son—"

"Did the Uchiha Clan have students graduating this year?"

"I heard there are three geniuses graduating early this year, could it be—"

The provocative Ninja exchanged glances, looking embarrassed, and ultimately said nothing more, turning away dejectedly.

The line moved forward slowly.

One by one, the people in front of me went into the third-generation office and then came out again.

Finally, it was Maruboshi Kosuke's turn.

He straightened the pot on his back, pushed open the door, and walked in with his three little ones.

The Third Hokage sat behind his desk, with several mission sheets spread out on the table in front of him.

"Kosuke has arrived."

Maruboshi Kosuke turned slightly to the side. "The person has been brought."

The third generation pulled one of the task sheets from the stack on the table, placed it on top, and tapped it with his finger.

"D-rank mission, Konoha West District, near the back mountain, there's a family named Tanaka who has a vegetable garden and needs help watering it."

"Grandpa Hokage." Shin-chan raised his hand.

"Explain."

"Why do we need Ninja to water the plants?" Shin-chan tilted his head. "Can't we just grab a bucket and water them ourselves? Shouldn't Ninja be fighting bad guys and doing really tough missions?"

"When Tanaka was young, he was a bricklayer in Konoha. He built many houses in the village, including the walls of the Hokage Building."

The Third Hokage paused for a moment, then said, "Now that he's old, and his son is away on a mission and can't come back, do you think we should help him?"

Shin-chan thought for a moment and said, "Yes."

Why should it be?

"Because—they're on our side?" Shin-chan tilted his head, his tone uncertain.

The Third Hokage laughed, "Yes, they're on our side."

Shin-chan said "Oh," and then asked, "So their son is on a mission outside, protecting the village, right?"

"Right."

"If he protects the village and we help him take care of his parents, aren't we also protecting the village?"

"Of course," the Third Hokage said, "No matter the size of the mission, it's all about protecting the village."

Maruboshi Kosuke looked at Shin-chan, seemingly lost in thought.

"Alright, go do your mission." The Third Hokage waved his hand.