First Time Awkward, Second Time Familiar—Do It Enough and You'll Get Used to It

Over at Shigure's, he was basking in the home-like warmth of the cozy ramen shop and the joy brought by his growing strength.

Meanwhile, Naruto's situation was the exact opposite.

Team 7's first official mission day was nothing like the excitement and challenges Naruto had imagined.

What awaited them were all sorts of trivial D-rank missions.

Helping a wealthy lady find her lost pet cat...

Pulling weeds in an overgrown field for a farmer...

Walking the neighbor lady's dog...

Painting the fences along Leaf Village's streets...

After an entire day, Naruto felt more like a handyman than a ninja.

That evening, when Kakashi announced that the day's missions were over, Naruto finally couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Teacher Kakashi, you call these ninja missions? Catching cats, pulling weeds, walking dogs, painting fences... Isn't this way too boring? I want tougher missions, the kind... the kind where I can show what I've got, protect everyone, and become a hero, y'know!"

Even Sasuke unusually voiced his agreement. Leaning against a tree trunk nearby, he said coldly, "Hmph. These low-level missions do nothing for my training. They're just a waste of time."

Sakura was tired too, but she habitually chimed in, "Exactly, exactly! Teacher Kakashi, when will we get to take higher-ranking missions?"

Faced with the three of their complaints, Kakashi remained as lazy as ever and gave an awkward laugh. "Now, now... For new genin, gaining experience is important. These basic missions are also part of ninja training. One step at a time, one step at a time."

He casually brushed them off with a few words, then immediately found an excuse. "Ah, right. I just remembered I have some personal business to take care of. Same meeting time and place tomorrow. Go home and get some proper rest. Dismissed!"

Without waiting for Naruto and the others to say anything else, Kakashi vanished from the spot with a bang, using the Body Flicker Technique.

"Hey! Teacher Kakashi!!"

Naruto stared at the empty space, so angry he stomped his feet.

Sasuke and Sakura wore equally helpless expressions.

In the end, the three exhausted genin could only say goodbye to one another and drag their heavy feet home.

However, Kakashi had not really gone home.

He did not even have time for dinner. Using the Body Flicker Technique, he went straight to a heavily guarded secret location in Leaf Village—the ANBU archives.

The archives lay deep underground, with two ANBU ninja wearing animal masks guarding the entrance.

When they saw Kakashi appear, one of the ANBU members immediately stepped forward and said in a low, respectful voice, "Senior Kakashi."

Kakashi nodded. His expression was unusually grave, with none of his usual laziness. "I need to look through some files."

Seeing Kakashi's serious expression, the ANBU member did not dare delay. He immediately rose and opened the heavy iron door leading into the archives. "Yes! Please enter, Senior!"

Though Kakashi had publicly left the ANBU long ago and become a jonin instructor,

everyone knew that he remained one of the Third Hokage's most trusted confidants and often accepted and completed all kinds of secret missions.

Thus, he still had the authority to enter and leave the ANBU archives whenever he wished.

Kakashi said nothing more and walked straight inside.

It was no different from what he remembered. The air was filled with the scent of old scrolls and ink. Row after row of massive bookshelves were crammed with countless scrolls and documents, recording most of Leaf Village's secret information, ninjutsu materials, and... those hidden darknesses no one knew about.

Kakashi made his way familiarly to the section marked "Genjutsu" and began carefully examining the scrolls one by one.

He had come here for only one reason.

To find clues related to that bizarre dream from last night.

He firmly believed it had not been a simple dream.

It was very likely some brilliant and rare special genjutsu that acted on the mind...

Or perhaps a similar forbidden technique!

He carefully reviewed records of all kinds of genjutsu and forbidden techniques involving mental attacks, dream invasion, memory reading, shared perception, and even matters related to the soul.

However...

Second by second, time passed, and the sky outside had long since turned completely dark.

Kakashi had practically gone through every possibly relevant scroll, yet he still found nothing.

There was no known technique in the ANBU archives capable of silently pulling multiple consciousnesses into the same space as it had last night, then precisely playing back—or even altering—a specific person's dreams, while also manifesting images whose existence even the dreamer himself did not know.

"How could this be... Not a single clue..."

Late at night, Kakashi left the ANBU archives even more exhausted and returned to his empty room.

He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, his heart filled with distress and unease.

Even among the vast sea of ANBU records, there was no similar account.

Did that mean the caster's abilities had already surpassed the bounds of what ordinary ninja could comprehend?

And what worried Kakashi even more was this.

That mysterious caster's target... seemed to be Naruto!

What exactly did they want to do to Naruto?

Was it for the Nine-Tails?

Or was there some other, deeper purpose?

Amid endless exhaustion and doubts he could not shake, Kakashi's eyelids grew heavier, and his consciousness... began to blur once more...

That familiar sensation of weightlessness returned.

When Kakashi opened his eyes again, unsurprisingly, he had appeared once more in that dim and bizarre screening room.

"..." He let out an almost inaudible sigh.

Here it was again.

This time, he was not as panicked as he had been the first time, nor was he in a hurry to investigate his surroundings.

As the saying went, the first time was awkward, the second time familiar. With last night's experience, he had calmed down somewhat.

He looked around. Sure enough, Sasuke and Sakura had arrived before him. Still dressed in pajamas, they sat in seats not far away, their faces carrying resigned helplessness and a little curiosity.

It seemed they had also realized that this was not some dangerous trap, but more like an inescapable "rule."

Kakashi greeted the two of them, casually found an empty seat, and sat down. Relaxing his body, he fixed his gaze on the enormous pitch-black screen ahead and waited patiently.

According to last night's pattern, the screen would light up not long after he arrived.

Today would probably be the same.

Sure enough.

Less than half a minute after he sat down—

Ssssh—

The screen lit up again without warning.

The scene still centered on Naruto.

But...