Konohamaru

Naruto moved quickly. Each time he landed, he precisely cut through the grass stems without damaging the crops' roots, working far more efficiently than Sakura and Sasuke.

Kakashi sat in a large tree with Make-Out Paradise open across his knees. Every so often, his gaze drifted over the top of the pages toward Naruto. Watching Naruto's steady movements, he seemed lost in thought.

After a full day of weeding, they were all drenched in sweat and covered in dirt.

Sakura wiped away her sweat as she complained about the blisters on her hands. Sasuke simply turned and left. After briefly saying goodbye to them both, Naruto returned to his apartment.

On the way back, Naruto mentally reviewed what he had observed that day.

That farmland wasn't suitable for a secret training spot. Keep looking.

The next day

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Kakashi was over an hour late again. After his usual excuse about getting lost, he assigned the three of them a mission to clean trash from a river.

The mission site was a river at the edge of Konoha. It was not particularly wide, but the current was swift. Someone had apparently dumped all kinds of rubbish into the river, from plastic bags to old drink bottles.

Kakashi sat on a large rock by the river, continuing to read Make-Out Paradise. Occasionally, he looked up and called out, "Over there, over there! You missed a piece!"

Naruto rolled up his pant legs and waded into the river. As he fished out trash, he began observing the terrain around the area.

The river wound through Konoha, and by this point, it was already near the village's edge.

At the end of the riverbed was a natural cliff-like drop. Water poured over the precipice, forming a white waterfall.

The pool beneath the waterfall was surrounded by dense woods. The roar of water filled the air, while mist spread everywhere. Looking down from the top of the waterfall, all one could see was a canopy of green shrouded in vapor.

Naruto's eyes brightened slightly.

He followed the river downstream as he cleared away the trash, studying the area around the waterfall more closely as he went.

This place was quite far from central Konoha. There were no homes or fields nearby. The closest building was an abandoned old watermill hut that looked as though no one had used it in years.

The waterfall was incredibly loud. Even standing beside the pool, people had to raise their voices to be heard. This natural white noise could perfectly conceal any sounds made during training.

Furthermore, because the area was blanketed in mist year-round, the woods were damp and the soil was soft. It was not an environment suited to human gatherings or activity.

Naruto silently placed the waterfall pool at the top of his list of possible locations. He planned to come investigate it properly another day, when he was not being watched, and fully familiarize himself with the surrounding environment.

The third day's mission left Naruto utterly speechless.

Kakashi led the three of them to a wealthy residential district in Konoha and stopped before a mansion with its own large garden.

The door was opened by a middle-aged noblewoman dressed in an extravagant kimono, holding a poodle wearing a little vest in her arms.

She sized up the four ninja through her nostrils, then explained her commission in a condescending tone.

"Our little princess needs to go for a walk today, but I'm not feeling well. Take her for a stroll around Konoha Park. Remember to wipe her paws with wet wipes, and she doesn't like walking on gravel. If she encounters other dogs, pick her up, and also..."

Before she could finish, Sakura's face had already darkened. Sasuke's expression was even darker, while Naruto's mouth twitched.

Without changing expression, Kakashi took the leash and gave his most professional smile. "Please leave it to us!"

And so the four of them began what could only be called the most humiliating mission of their ninja careers: walking a poodle with its own private wardrobe.

Naruto held the leash as he walked in the middle of the group. Just how rich was this woman, to hire ninja to walk her dog?

Konoha's genin missions were famous throughout the ninja world for weeding, finding cats, and picking up trash, but this was Naruto's first time encountering dog-walking.

Still, walking the dog had one advantage: they could wander through all sorts of areas in Konoha openly without arousing anyone's suspicion.

When passersby saw several genin walking a poodle down the street, they would only find it amusing or pitiful. No one would think they were scouting the area.

Taking advantage of the dog-walking mission, Naruto went through several areas along Konoha's outskirts and silently drew a map in his mind.

When their route passed through a stretch of wasteland in the northwest corner of Konoha, Naruto's steps paused slightly.

A conspicuous warning sign stood at the entrance to the wasteland, painted in red with the words: "TRAP AREA. ENTRY STRICTLY PROHIBITED." A ring of thick wooden fencing surrounded it.

Through the gaps in the fence, he could see dense wire traps, animal traps, and pitfall traps scattered across the ground. Some were covered in rust and looked extremely old.

"Kakashi-sensei, what is this place?"

Naruto called out to the dog to keep it from running around, then turned to ask Kakashi.

"Konoha's old trap training grounds..."

In a rare move, Kakashi put away his book. He glanced at the wasteland behind the fence. "It was used during wartime to train genin in setting and disarming traps. Later, it was abandoned. No one cleared out the traps, and they deteriorated over time. There was an accident a few years ago, so it was sealed off afterward."

"What, Naruto? Interested?"

"No. Just passing by. I was only asking."

Naruto shook his head and continued walking the dog.

But in his mind, he had already marked the trap area as a key location.

An abandoned training ground, warning signs, and fenced-off access. Normal people would never enter.

Compared to the waterfall area, this place was closer to the village center, yet it was actually less risky, because everyone assumed no one would go inside.

As for the traps, they were not much of a problem for him. He could take his time clearing them out.

Naruto compared the waterfall area and the trap area in his mind, deciding to choose one as his final location once the time was right.

The dog-walking mission finally ended. The four returned the dog to the mansion without a scratch on it. The noblewoman held the dog and inspected it for a full ten minutes before she was finally satisfied enough to sign the mission confirmation form.

Kakashi led the three of them to the central mission office to collect their pay. Combined, the rewards from three days of D-rank missions were enough for each of them to buy a few bowls of Ichiraku Ramen.

Naruto carefully put the money into his frog wallet and tucked it away before turning toward his apartment.

He had not gone far when, as he passed the entrance to an alley behind a shopping street, he heard faint, shuffling footsteps behind him.

Naruto did not turn around. He could clearly sense three small chakra signatures following behind him, keeping close to the walls. When they approached a large rock near the alley entrance, the rock even shook.

Naruto stopped and sighed.

"Isn't your disguise a little too obvious?"

There was silence behind him for two seconds.

Bang!

Then a burst of smoke erupted from the alley as the Transformation Technique was released.

Three small figures leaped out of the smoke.