C-Rank Mission

Before their first day as Genin was over, Genma Shiranui informed the three of them that they would start taking missions tomorrow. They were to meet at Kage Rock at seven in the morning.

At exactly seven the next morning, everyone in Kamizuki's team gathered at Kage Rock.

Led by Genma Shiranui, an old hand at this, the three brats trailed after him with eager little steps as they headed for the Hokage Building.

Since this was Kamizuki's first mission and the team had yet to build up much rapport, Genma Shiranui decided they would start with a D-Rank mission to give the kids some practice.

Just as Genma Shiranui was about to take a mission to find a missing pet belonging to the wife of the Land of Fire's daimyo,

a ninja suddenly came rushing in from outside the mission hall, shouting urgently, "Emergency... C-Rank... mission... must be carried out... immediately..."

The panicked ninja's shouts drew everyone's attention in the mission hall.

Even Genma Shiranui, who had just been about to accept a mission, stopped with his hand outstretched.

After hearing the so-called "urgent C-Rank mission," Genma Shiranui's usually carefree face broke into an amused smile. He accepted the mission right away and led his three teammates out of the Hokage Building.

I made it sound slow, but all of this happened in just three minutes.

When Kamizuki heard what the mission was and saw Genma Shiranui accept such a bizarre assignment—though that didn't seem quite right. "Strange" was probably a better word—he couldn't help but smile bitterly and think, Naruto Uzumaki, you took my first time.

That's right! You read that correctly. Naruto Uzumaki had taken Hyuga Kamizuki's first time.

Oh! Sorry, I didn't explain that very well.

To be precise, this urgent C-Rank mission had been caused by Naruto Uzumaki, a brat who never did anything useful and was always messing around.

Here's what happened:

Naruto Uzumaki was supposed to be in class today, but for some reason, he sneaked out of school.

Somewhere along the way, Naruto found a bucket of paint. He carried it in his left hand and held a small brush in his right.

He hummed, "I'm a little painter, and painting is my strong suit... la la la la... I paint the roof and then the walls... Oh no! My little nose has changed its shape..."

While Naruto hummed his hopelessly off-key song, he had thoroughly painted over the faces of every Hokage carved into Kage Rock.

Someone discovered what had happened and reported it to the Third, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had been in a pretty good mood that day, leisurely painting in his study, when someone suddenly told him about the incident.

He thought of that child, the boy named Naruto Uzumaki. Sarutobi Hiruzen cared deeply about him.

Not only was he the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, he was also the Fourth Hokage's son. Sarutobi Hiruzen had always felt troubled about that.

He believed Konoha had failed Naruto Uzumaki. His parents had both died saving Konoha; they were heroes of the village, and his father had even been the Fourth Hokage.

But for certain reasons that had to remain secret, Sarutobi Hiruzen had kept Naruto's parentage hidden. As a result, for all these years, the villagers had known him only as the Nine-Tailed Fox's Jinchuriki and treated him like a monster. Naruto had suffered a great deal growing up.

Thinking about all this, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but smile bitterly. That little brat really was hard to deal with.

In the end, Sarutobi Hiruzen issued this "urgent C-Rank mission": capture Naruto Uzumaki without hurting him at all and bring him to Sarutobi Hiruzen safely.

Under the guidance of the experienced old hand Genma Shiranui, Kamizuki and the others soon arrived at the base of Kage Rock.

As soon as Genma's team reached the foot of Kage Rock, they heard Naruto Uzumaki's wailing song.

The song gave the whole group a taste of what it meant to sing like someone who valued their life over their money.

Genma Shiranui truly was an old hand. He pulled four devices resembling wireless radios from his equipment pouch and handed one to each of them.

They worked much like radios, except they blocked out surrounding sounds while letting them communicate with one another.

Once they had put on the devices, Genma explained his plan to his subordinates. After making sure they all understood, they began the capture mission.

The four of them spread out beneath Kage Rock. Taichi and Mangetsu hid in a concealed spot first, waiting for Kamizuki to drive Naruto into their trap.

Genma Shiranui didn't plan to take part in the capture himself. He simply found a comfortable spot with a good view and watched the rookies in action. He would step in only if they ran into danger.

Kamizuki climbed onto Kage Rock and shouted at Naruto, "Naruto, why the hell aren't you in school? What are you doing here, messing around? Get your ass back with me!"

Naruto saw Kamizuki wearing a forehead protector. Hinata had told him that Kamizuki had become a Genin.

So when Naruto saw Kamizuki arrive, he made a face at him, then ran in the opposite direction with his paint bucket and little brush.

Naruto ran straight toward the spot where Taichi and Mangetsu were lying in wait.

He wasn't running very fast, but Kamizuki didn't chase him too hard either. He simply kept a short distance behind Naruto.

Whether by coincidence or not, Kamizuki saw Naruto stop right where Taichi and Mangetsu were hiding.

Naruto stopped and somehow pulled out a piece of cloth resembling a section of fence. He leaned against the fence and used the cloth to cover himself.

Running right behind Naruto, Kamizuki saw all his little tricks clearly. Still, he pretended not to notice and kept chasing in the direction Naruto had run.

Just as Kamizuki was about to pass the fence where Naruto was hiding, he called out with a mischievous grin, "Naruto, don't run! When I catch you, I'm gonna smack your ass!"

Only after Kamizuki had passed did Naruto lower the cloth. A triumphant grin spread across his face, and he laughed, "Idiot."

Just as Naruto thought he had escaped Kamizuki's capture, a large net dropped from above and snared him.

Caught in the net, Naruto kicked at it repeatedly with his short legs, cursing and yelling the whole time.

Genma Shiranui, Kamizuki, Taichi, and Mangetsu appeared together in front of the trapped Naruto.

Genma Shiranui announced, "Mission accomplished perfectly."