Team Seven's First Mission / Black Zetsu Is Fuming

"I'd like to borrow a team of men from you."

"Oh?" Hyuga Hiashi realized that Uchiha Shingen probably wanted to borrow ninjas from the Hyuga Clan. "No problem, who do you want to keep an eye on?"

"That teacher named Mizuki is dishonest; I suspect he's colluding with outsiders."

Upon hearing this, Hyuga Hiashi's expression turned serious.

He is the head of the Hyuga Clan, and his daughter and Neji Hyuga are not the only Hyuga Clan children attending the Ninja Academy.

Similarly, Uchiha Sasuke was not the only member of the Uchiha Clan to attend the Ninja Academy.

Nowadays, all ninja clans send their children to schools, and Ninja Academy have become Leaf Village's largest repository of bloodline limits and secret techniques. Stealing secret techniques and bloodline limits has always been a major topic of competition between various ninja villages in secret.

The Ninja Academy was strictly protected by the ninja village, but no matter how strict the defenses were, they could not stop the instigation of traitors.

Therefore, although the teachers at the Ninja Academy are all Chunin and Genin, and their ranks are not high, the screening process is extremely strict. However, the unpredictability of human beings means that no mechanism can provide absolute exemption, and these teachers at the Ninja Academy will also have to go on missions. Once they go out, anything can happen.

"This Mizuki is a Chunin; if he's colluding with outsiders, he could be a threat," Hyuga Hiashi assessed. "I'll assign a special team to keep an eye on him."

"You don't need to keep such a close eye on him. My main concern is that he might be up to something recently, and I'm worried he might take a risk and harm the students."

Uchiha Shingen genuinely suspected this.

Orochimaru definitely had more than just Kabuto Yakushi as a spy in Leaf Village.

This Mizuki might be one of them; he vaguely remembered there being such a setting.

Otherwise, why would he bother with Mizuki?

Who knows if Orochimaru might suddenly decide to cause trouble in Leaf Village?

"Don't worry, Shingen." Hyuga Hiashi's tone was laced with murderous intent. "If he makes any dangerous moves, arrest him immediately."

"Thank you for your Hiashi, Lord Hiashi."

"No trouble at all, it's nothing."

Chapter Six, Team 7's First Mission

To Hidden Leaf Village today, Mizuki, the first villain to appear in the manga, is not even worth mentioning. If it weren't for his particularly despicable personality, which allows him to attack students in the school, Uchiha Shingen wouldn't have bothered with him.

After chatting with Hyuga Hiashi, the matter was considered settled by him. With a squad of the Hyuga Clan ninjas, Mizuki wouldn't be able to utter a single word.

The next day, he arrived at the agreed-upon location with the students.

Over the years, with the implementation of a large-scale infrastructure project in Hidden Leaf Village, the western area is no longer as desolate as it used to be.

Although the population here is still mainly agricultural, the farmers in Leaf Village have also begun to grow cash crops, and thus the western district has developed a deep processing industry.

However, the forest coverage remains very high.

The meeting point for Team 7 is located south of the river and north of the large lake. It was chosen because there used to be a secret base of the Root here, which was later destroyed.

Although the base was destroyed, it remained vacant because it was never reactivated by the ANBU. Finally, the Konoha Military Police Force, adhering to the principle of not wasting resources, reported an expense to convert it into a garrison, where three squads of soldiers are stationed daily.

This collection is the best.

It's easy to recognize with landmarks.

Considering Naruto Uzumaki and Uchiha Sasuke's terrible lifestyle habits, Uchiha Shingen still brought breakfast with him before leaving home.

When he arrived at the station's canteen, just as he expected, the three kids were there, mooching off the station's meals.

In principle, the garrison is not allowed to let three children come in for a free meal, but among the ninjas of the garrison's Konoha Military Police Force are Uchiha Clan Hyuga Clan. When they see their own clan's children looking pitiful because they haven't eaten breakfast, of course they let them in for a meal.

Uchiha Shingen walked to the table where the three were eating and put down the breakfast he had brought for them.

"When you eat, chew slowly and carefully," Uchiha Shingen said. "Forget the steamed buns, but everyone get a serving of soy milk."

Honestly, although Uchiha Sasuke and Naruto Uzumaki ate very quickly, they were still a tiny bit slower than Hinata Hyuga next to them.

The key point is that Hinata ate the fastest and her movements were the most graceful.

As expected of a child from a family specializing in Nintaijutsu.

After finishing his meal, Uchiha Shingen greeted the ninjas at the camp, then led the three students out of the camp and into the forest.

Ninjas have a much stronger digestive system than ordinary people. Graduates of the Ninja Academy can usually engage in strenuous physical activity just ten minutes after a meal.

If it were Military Ration Pill, then there would be no such thing as digestion after meals.

Finding a relatively open spot in the forest, Uchiha Shingen stopped and turned to face the three.

"Let me start with the usual rule: you haven't really graduated yet."

"Huh?" Naruto Uzumaki and Uchiha Sasuke both exclaimed in surprise, "Didn't the exams already end? And we got our Forehead Protector too."

Both of them wore their Forehead Protector in a conventional way.

"That thing can be taken back, don't worry about such a small thing," Uchiha Shingen said. "The real graduation exam is with me; this time it's a team assessment. Oh, right..."

He took a mission scroll out of his storage bag and handed it to the three of them.

"This is the mission for this time. Open it and take a look."

Upon hearing the word "mission, "Uchiha Sasuke and Naruto Uzumaki's eyes lit up, and the two happily lay down on the ground to open the scroll.

Hinata Hyuga the two of them sticking their butts out.

After a while, Uchiha Sasuke and Naruto Uzumaki raised their heads.

"Teacher, we'll take this task!"

His tone was excited, as if a big shot who had come to find fault had bumped into someone crying out for justice on the street.

"You make it sound like you can refuse," Uchiha Shingen said, glaring at him irritably. "Now tell me, what are the bodyguards supposed to do?"

"Eat and sleep with him, and if anyone comes near, beat them to a pulp!"

Naruto Uzumaki said bravely.

Uchiha Shingen looked at him with an expression that said, "There's someone to carry on the family line."

"Didn't you notice? The person you're protecting is a woman, the same age as you. Are you sure you want to sleep together?"

"Huh?" Naruto Uzumaki was disappointed; it was a girl.

Although he knows nothing about that kind of thing between men and women, he does know that boys and girls shouldn't sleep together unless they're married.

"Then..." He entered deep thought mode.

"I have a plan." Uchiha Sasuke hands. "I can summon larger snakes now. I'll have Haku sleep with her."

Uchiha Shingen: "..."

He decided to ask someone else, not to show favoritism, since Hinata was too introverted and he needed to take the initiative to guide her.

"Hinata, tell me your thoughts... Sasuke, you're holding down the scroll! Move aside, let Hinata see it!"

Uchiha Sasuke knew that this was a tacit rejection of his idea, and reluctantly handed over the scroll.

Hinata Hyuga for a long time, and in the end, she only gave a template answer from a Ninja Academy professor.

"Yes, Hinata is right, that's excellent," praised Uchiha Shingen.

Actually, there's a solution. The key to the missions he used to undertake was to proactively eliminate threats.

Once he becomes Jonin, he can simply open a barrier and use Flying Thunder God Technique on the client.

This is far more useful than any other solution.

He actually just wanted to remind those two overpowered kids that Hinata is also very talented, and they shouldn't just focus on their own fun.

After retrieving the mission scroll, Uchiha Shingen immediately announced the departure.

Leading the three men, he passed through the forest and exited Hidden Leaf Village through the west gate.

The destination is the Land of Rivers.

Nowadays, most of Leaf Village's bodyguard missions come from the Land of Rivers.

There was no other way. This country used to have many wandering or wild ninjas, but last time they were wiped out by the combined forces of Sand Village and Leaf Village. The underground Bounty Exchange had no business, so they simply withdrew.

This resulted in the country's nobles only being able to entrust tasks to the Sand Village, Rain Village, and Leaf Village.

Leaf Village is the best, so it gets the most orders.

For clients who commission missions to ninja villages, they cannot determine the mission's level themselves; that level is determined by the ninja village.

C and D-rank missions that do not require ninjas to participate in combat have clear definition standards, allowing the staff of the government affairs hall to make on-site decisions.

Any mission that doesn't require ninjas to participate in combat but may result in injury is classified as Rank C. In the original timeline, the Team 7's mission to the Land of Waves was classified as Rank C because the client concealed the fact that they would be attacked by ninjas.

In the Land of Rivers, the vast majority of bodyguard missions are classified as C-level.

A fight is needed, but the opponent has no ninjas, which suits the current level of Team 7 perfectly.

Uchiha Shingen led Team 7 smoothly into the Land of Land of Rivers; no one was hiding in puddles to launch attacks along the way.

However, throughout the journey, Uchiha Shingen still required Team 7 to conduct their reconnaissance work according to standard procedures.

Hinata Hyuga's Byakugan and Uchiha Sasuke's Summoning Technique worked together very well.

Naruto Uzumaki is less adept at this.

However, he also had his strengths, such as the Body Flicker Technique. His speed and sustainability in using the Body Flicker Technique were better than Uchiha Sasuke's, so he took on the role of scout in the group.

Naruto Uzumaki's Body Flicker Technique was taught to him by Namikaze Minato, and this Taijutsu suits his active and energetic nature perfectly.

Although, in Uchiha Shingen's eyes, neither Naruto Uzumaki nor Uchiha Sasuke could be considered to have passed the Body Flicker Technique.

For example, they didn't know how to control the power of the Body Flicker Technique, so they could only go straight for the target.

After entering the Land of Rivers, Uchiha Shingen led them towards the town where his client was located, while also paying a little more attention to the situation.

After all, the situation in the Land of Rivers is more complicated than before.

Chapter Seven: Black Zetsu's Resentment is Huge

The towns and cities of the Land of Rivers are largely similar to those of the Land of Fire.

This country is also known as the Land of Rivers and the Land of Valleys.

The country's terrain is a mix of lowlands and hills, with a humid climate, numerous rivers, fertile soil, and high-quality grains. Due to its well-developed water system, residents build houses along the rivers and live near the water.

Among the small countries surrounding the Land of Fire, it has one of the best agricultural environments.

However, this country did not develop into a powerful ninja nation. Sandwiched between the two behemoths, Sand Village and Leaf Village, and with Rain Village, a smaller power, to the northwest, the Land of Rivers did not have the same social customs as the Land of Rain. Moreover, it was not situated between more than two major powers at the same time. Therefore, it did not have the conditions to develop a powerful ninja organization from the beginning.

The mission that Uchiha Shingen accepted was issued by a minor nobleman from the Land of Rivers.

They weren't quite at the level of a famous owner, but they were still considered wealthy.

Upon arriving at the fiefdom of this minor nobleman, Uchiha Shingen was warmly invited into the mansion by the nobleman's servants, where he met the client.

The three kids in Team 7 took their first mission as ninjas very seriously. Even the usually mischievous Naruto Uzumaki and Uchiha Sasuke acted like ninjas, while the Hinata Hyuga straightened her back and boosted her spirits.

The three kids had heard this countless times since they were little, that they represented both Leaf Village and their clan.

But they don't have a deep understanding of this point.

Naruto Uzumaki and Uchiha Sasuke truly understood was bamboo shoots stir-fried with pork.

Hinata Hyuga, is simply obedient; she does whatever the adults tell her to do.

This noble family, whose surname Daigo, was overjoyed that their mission would be undertaken by a Jonin from Leaf Village, and not just any Jonin, but the incredibly famous Uchiha Shingen.

But when he learned from Uchiha Shingen the identities of the three Genin had come on the mission, it wasn't a pleasant surprise, it was horrifying.

In the Hokage world, those who can become officially granted noble titles are generally quite shrewd and know exactly what kind of ninjas they can hire.

He felt that the treatment he received— the Hokage, the son of the Hokage's assistant, and the princess of the powerful Hyuga Clan —was completely mismatched with him.

Adding Uchiha Shingen to the mix, he began to wonder if he had been dragged into something and made cannon fodder.

There's no way around it; the Land of Rivers was just thoroughly purged a couple of years ago, and the memory is still fresh.

Uchiha Shingen could tell what he was thinking just by looking at his expression.

"Daigo, you're overthinking it. They're just Genin who recently graduated from the academy. They were lucky to receive your request."

"Not at all, not at all," the Daigo Territory chuckled dryly, "It's my honor."

The children of the three clan leaders —the Uzumaki Clan, Uchiha Clan, and Hyuga Clan —came to work as bodyguards for him. No matter how you look at it, this was a ticking time bomb.