Departure, First Mission Outside the Village

"C-rank mission." Aoba Yamashiro spoke only those three words.

Takuma was in the middle of a yawn, but he froze with his mouth hanging open. Yamada Kenta and Sato Jiro widened their eyes in unison, then exchanged a glance, their faces filled with irrepressible excitement.

After three full months of D-rank missions, they had finally reached a C-rank. It wasn't about finding cats or pulling weeds; it was a real mission outside the village that could be recorded in a ninja's service history.

"Mission details." Aoba Yamashiro unfolded a scroll, his tone as flat as ever, as if he were reading a weather forecast. "Escort a merchant caravan to the Land of Waves. The client is a merchant from the Land of Waves, and the cargo consists of medicinal herbs and fabrics. The route starts from the main gate of Konoha and enters the Land of Waves via the southern official road. Intelligence indicates sporadic bandit activity along the way, with no ninja threats. Assemble at the Konoha main gate at six tomorrow morning. Bring sufficient rations and standard equipment. Dismissed."

He walked away as soon as he finished. The smoke from his Body Flicker Technique dissipated quickly in the morning light, leaving the three genin standing in the training ground.

"The Land of Waves! A mission outside the village!" Yamada Kenta clenched his fist and pumped it, his voice filled with obvious excitement. "Finally, no more looking for cats!"

"The seaside." Sato Jiro rarely took the initiative to speak, his tone tinged with a hint of longing. "I've never seen the sea."

Takuma said nothing. The Land of Waves—the Land of Waves was the destination of Team 7's first mission outside the village. How did it end up falling to Team 12?

He subconsciously waited for a moment.

This shouldn't be the same Land of Waves mission from the original story. Thinking about it carefully, that made sense—Team 7's mission to the Land of Waves was something Kakashi had personally requested, and on this current timeline, Team 7 should still be grinding out D-rank missions.

In the evening, Takuma pushed open the door to Tenten Ninja Tool Shop. Tenten poked her head out from behind a shelf, holding a sealing scroll. A few loose strands of hair had fallen from her buns to stick to her cheeks, and there was a smudge of dust on the tip of her nose.

Takuma sat down at the counter and recounted tomorrow's mission.

After listening, Tenten put down the scroll, her expression becoming more serious. She didn't say anything like "be careful," but instead turned around and began pulling items from the shelves—lightweight shuriken, explosive tags, and smoke bombs.

"The explosive tags are an enhanced version; the blast radius is twenty percent larger than the standard type. Take three extra steps back when you use them, and don't blow yourself up. The smoke bombs are ones I made myself; the smoke lasts eight seconds longer than military-grade ones, which is enough to cover a retreat."

Takuma looked at her earnest face and couldn't help but be snarky. "It's like you're preparing my dowry."

"This is so you can stay alive and come back to pay me back."

The next morning, Takuma arrived at the Konoha main gate. Yamada Kenta was already there, chatting enthusiastically with the gate guards, likely bragging about his first mission outside the village. Sato Jiro arrived shortly after, carrying a backpack that was clearly overstuffed; it made a faint, metallic clinking sound with every step he took.

"Sato, how many shuriken did you bring?" Yamada asked curiously.

"One hundred and twenty," Sato replied seriously. "Six times the normal amount. Just in case."

Yamada opened his mouth, but in the end, he only managed to squeeze out: "Your lower back must be strong."

Takuma rubbed his temples. This teammate had to be an undercover agent sent by the enemy—if he wasn't, how could he let his shuriken clatter like that just by walking?

Not long after, Aoba Yamashiro arrived with the client. The client was a merchant in his fifties named Chubei, with graying hair and wrinkles as deep as a dried-up riverbed. Behind him were three ox carts loaded with goods, the wooden crates and straw bags stacked neatly and tied down tightly with thick hemp rope. Two workers followed the carts; one was young and sturdy, while the other was older, his face showing the seasoned look of someone who had been in the trade for years.

Chubei and Aoba Yamashiro had a brief handover. Takuma noticed that when Chubei swept his gaze over the three genin, there was a clear hint of hesitation in his eyes. He pulled Aoba Yamashiro aside and whispered something; Takuma only vaguely caught words like "children" and "value of the cargo." Aoba Yamashiro's reply was as brief as ever. Chubei nodded after hearing it, and his expression was more relaxed when he walked back.

"Move out." Aoba Yamashiro gave the final order.

The three ox carts rolled out of the Konoha main gate one by one, the wooden wheels grinding against the bluestone road with a rhythmic creaking sound. Takuma walked beside the last cart and looked back. The Konoha main gate looked exceptionally grand in the morning light, the leaf emblem on the gate pillars glowing orange-red in the rising sun. The two chunin gatekeepers yawned, and one of them waved casually at Aoba Yamashiro.

Takuma turned back and took a deep breath.

He was out of the village. Twelve years after transmigrating into this ninja world, he had stepped out of the gates of Konoha for the first time.

Yamada walked at the front of the team, his pace light, turning back every now and then to say a few words to Sato. Sato's replies usually didn't exceed five words, but his posture as he held his shuriken was much more relaxed. Aoba Yamashiro walked at the very end of the line, his stride even, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding vegetation line every few minutes.

The first day passed peacefully.

When they set up camp, Aoba Yamashiro chose a high ground with a wide view beside the official road, with gentle slopes on three sides and a low cliff on the fourth. The ox carts were arranged in a semicircle to serve as a barrier, and a campfire was lit in the center. Chubei wrapped himself in a blanket and leaned against the cart, snoring loudly before long. Yamada and Sato shared the last box of snacks, arguing for ten minutes over the unsolvable question of whether zongzi should be sweet or savory. Takuma sat by the campfire, sharpening the edge of a kunai with a whetstone, the soft rasping sound blending into the crackle of the firewood.

Aoba Yamashiro sat down beside him and took a sip from the canteen Takuma handed him.

"Aoba-sensei," Takuma said without looking up, continuing to sharpen his kunai, "have you been on many C-rank missions?"

"Many times," Aoba Yamashiro replied flatly. "Most C-rank missions don't go wrong. If the intel says there are bandits, nine times out of ten you won't encounter them. If the intel says there are no ninjas, there are no ninjas."

Takuma nodded. He understood what Aoba Yamashiro meant—mission rankings were vetted by the intelligence department, especially for missions involving genin squads. The Hokage wouldn't send a team of newly graduated genin into the jaws of an A-rank rogue ninja; that would be tantamount to murder.

"But it's still different," Aoba Yamashiro suddenly added.

"What's different?"

"Inside the village versus outside the village." Aoba Yamashiro looked at the dancing flames. "If a mission fails inside the village, at most you get scratched by a cat or scolded by a shopkeeper. If a mission fails outside the village, the price is one you cannot afford."

Takuma's hand paused for a moment, then continued the rasping motion. He thought of Team 7's Land of Waves mission from the original story—Kakashi trapped in a water prison, Naruto and Sasuke fighting together for the first time, Haku taking a Chidori for Zabuza. After that mission, Team 7 was no longer the fledgling birds that had just left the academy.

They continued their journey the next day. The midday sun scorched the road until it turned white, and heat haze shimmered on the ground in the distance. Takuma wiped the sweat from his brow and looked up at the sky—not a cloud in sight, another beautiful day.

After crossing a mountain ridge in the afternoon, the air began to carry a faint salty scent. It was the smell of the sea breeze, blowing over from the ocean to the east, crossing layers of hills, yet still retaining the distinct briny tang of the sea. Chubei stood up on the ox cart and sniffed the air, revealing a smile. "We're almost there. Two more days and we'll be in the Land of Waves."

Yamada and Sato both looked expectant. After two days outside the village, they were finally approaching their destination. Takuma also breathed a sigh of relief—perhaps he really had been overthinking it.

The place where they camped that evening was near a stream. The water was crystal clear, and the pebbles had been washed smooth and round by the current. Yamada took off his shoes and waded in the stream, while Sato crouched on the bank, carefully cleaning his canteen. Chubei and the two workers sat around the campfire brewing tea, the aroma of black tea drifting far away. Aoba Yamashiro stood by a large tree on the opposite bank of the stream, his figure half-hidden in the twilight.

They would be in the Land of Waves tomorrow. Once the cargo was handed over to the recipient, the mission would be complete. Then they would return to Konoha the same way, collect their pay, pay back a portion of his debt to Tenten, and then go to the ninja tool shop to buy new equipment on credit. A perfect cycle.