First D-Rank Mission (Please Vote, Follow, and Recommend)

By morning, the sleeping Konoha had fully awakened. People streamed through the streets, and the whole village was once again thriving with life.

Konoha's Mission Hall never lacked ninja looking for work. Taiichi, who had arrived half an hour early, spotted his teammates from afar.

After joining them and asking around, he learned that they were simply too excited to stay home, so they had come to wait at the Mission Hall instead.

Poor kids. If they knew they could only take D-rank chores, what kind of expressions would they make?

"Captain Yamaguchi isn't here yet?" Taiichi looked around but did not see Captain Yamaguchi.

"There's still half an hour until nine. The captain probably wouldn't arrive that early," Saori said timidly.

"Then let's wait a little longer." Yohei was already impatient, eager to carry out his first mission.

"Ah! How could this happen?"

Everyone was drawn by the cry and turned toward its source.

There was a ninja squad there. One of its members had apparently just been complaining to the captain about how terrible their assigned mission was.

"I'll go take a look. That looks like Tatsuya Kawasaki and his team," Yohei said, volunteering to head over.

Seeing the situation over there, Taiichi already understood what was going on.

"Tatsuya, it really is you guys." After approaching and seeing that they were indeed his old classmates, Yohei happily said, "What happened just now? Everyone in the Mission Hall was looking at you!"

When Tatsuya heard someone call his name, he turned around. He was quite happy to see the top student from their old class, but at the question that followed, his face reddened in embarrassment.

"Don't mention it. We just took a D-rank mission to catch a cat..."

"D-rank... catching a cat..." Yohei was stunned as well.

Seeing Yohei's shocked expression, Tatsuya and his teammates all wore expressions that said, Just as expected.

After learning what had happened, Yohei returned to his teammates and explained the details to Taiichi and Saori. Neither of them seemed particularly surprised.

"You two don't seem surprised at all," Yohei said in confusion.

"I asked my father about it," Saori said softly.

"Looks like you don't know much about the kinds of missions ninja of each rank can usually accept." A deep voice came from behind Yohei, startling him.

"Captain Yamaguchi." x3

"Captain, does that mean we'll also have to take D-rank missions like catching cats?" Yohei asked.

"Of course. Every newly graduated Genin squad must complete a certain number of D-rank missions before they can accept higher-rank missions."

"Besides, this rule was established so rookie Genin like you can quickly familiarize yourselves with the mission process and learn to work as a team," Captain Yamaguchi said seriously.

"That may be true, but these missions are way too easy," Yohei said, still somewhat unwilling.

"You need to understand that you don't know anything yet. If you rashly take on high-rank missions and run into danger, can you bear the responsibility? You should know that even C-rank missions can involve enemies," Captain Yamaguchi said earnestly.

"All right, follow me. I'll show you how missions are accepted." With that, the captain led the way toward the Mission Office.

The three exchanged glances, then followed their captain as he walked away.

At the mission counter, Captain Yamaguchi retrieved a scroll listing D-rank missions. After briefly looking it over, he handed it to Taiichi and the others.

The three opened the scroll and leaned together to read the mission descriptions:

Find a dog: Mrs. Morita's dog went missing at the market... Requirement: Find the puppy within two days. Reward: 1,000 ryo.

Pull weeds: The Matsuda family's fields east of the village need weeding... Requirement: Do not damage the crops. Complete within one week. Reward: 800 ryo.

Clear the river: Trash has piled up in the Xiao Nai River west of the village... Requirement: Clear the trash and keep the river flowing freely. Complete within two days. Reward: 5,000 ryo.

Looking at the densely packed list of missions on the scroll, the three felt increasingly disheartened. They were all trivial village chores, and just reading them felt dull.

In the end, they chose the river-clearing mission. At the very least, it paid the most.

The three handed the scroll to Captain Yamaguchi. "Captain, we'll take the river-clearing mission."

Masasuke Yamaguchi took the scroll, read the mission description, then handed it back to the Chunin receptionist. He submitted the mission application and explained the process of accepting missions to the three while it was being processed.

Soon, they finished the necessary procedures, collected their mission tools and proof of assignment, and left the hall.

Taiichi and the other two each had a large bamboo basket on their backs, filled with garbage bags and collection tools.

Captain Yamaguchi looked at the mission details in his hand and explained the points they needed to pay attention to. "Pay special attention to the mission's departure time, destination, and required deadline."

"You're only dealing with D-rank missions right now, but starting from C-rank missions, there will be special requirements. More importantly, you must pay attention to the mission's confidentiality level. Do not reveal mission information to unrelated people," Captain Yamaguchi sternly instructed them.

"Trying to learn the details of someone else's mission like you did earlier is extremely taboo in higher-rank missions. You could even be considered spies," Captain Yamaguchi continued.

The three nodded repeatedly. Yohei in particular blushed deeply. He had been the one who went to ask about someone else's mission without a second thought.

"All right, we'll head to the mission site now—the Xiao Nai River west of the village." The four immediately began running toward the western side of the village, listening to their captain explain the mission as they ran.

"The Xiao Nai River is about twenty meters wide, and the current is slow. Garbage washed down from upstream often blocks it, affecting irrigation for the nearby farmers. That's why the local farmers joined together to regularly post river-cleaning missions for the village," Captain Yamaguchi explained calmly.

"This mission was posted yesterday, which means we only have today left to complete it. The workload is fairly heavy."

Twenty minutes later, the four arrived at the Xiao Nai River. Seeing the broad river surface and the hundred-meter stretch they had to clear, the three finally understood what their captain meant by a heavy workload. They would have to work until evening, wouldn't they?

"All right, stop being surprised and listen to me." Captain Yamaguchi drew their attention.

"From the way you traveled and fought before, I can tell that all of you have undergone tree-climbing training. Then you should all know about water-walking too, right?"

The three nodded, though Yohei Uchiha looked somewhat uneasy.

"Since you know about it, I won't say much more. For this river-clearing mission, my requirement is that you work while standing on the water. You are not allowed to stand directly on the riverbed while cleaning."

"Ah, Captain, I'm still not very good at water-walking!" Yohei immediately said in distress.

"If you're not good at it, practice more. You don't want to hold your teammates back because of your own shortcomings, do you?" Captain Yamaguchi rejected his complaint without room for argument.

"Yes..." Yohei looked utterly lifeless.

"Get to it!"

Taiichi and Saori then casually stepped onto the river's surface. Only faint ripples spread beneath their feet as they walked steadily across the water, using their tools to pick up trash and place it in the bamboo baskets on their backs.

Yohei, on the other hand, cautiously stretched out one foot. After confirming that he had not sunk into the water, he moved his other foot forward. He wobbled his way toward the middle of the river.

Just as he opened his mouth to boast, his expression abruptly changed. His body tilted, and with a splash, he fell into the water.

The sound caught Taiichi and Saori's attention. Seeing Yohei climb out of the water, drenched from head to toe, the two burst out laughing.

"Yohei, keep it up. We're waiting for you to join us," Taiichi encouraged him from nearby.

"Just wait, I'll be there soon!"

Splash! Yohei fell in again right after speaking. This drew another round of quiet laughter.

Half an hour passed, yet Yohei still could not stand steadily on the water's surface.

"Yohei, just focus on practicing water-walking. I'll handle your share of the mission," Taiichi said, worried about their progress.

Without waiting for Yohei's answer, he formed hand seals and used the Water Clone Technique. A stream of water rose from the river in front of him. When it reached the height of a person, it took on Taiichi's appearance.