I Said, We're Taking This Mission

"Whew..."

Naruto had just dispelled his Shadow Clone. While Tenka was around, he had been so tense that he had not noticed it.

Now that he relaxed, endless exhaustion washed over him. Lying face-down on the ground, he did not even want to move a finger!

After resting for more than ten minutes, he finally recovered a little strength. He painfully turned his head and looked at Sakura!

"Sakura!"

"You were... way too cool today!"

Sakura sat on the ground and habitually brushed a hand through her hair!

Only then did she realize that her hair had long been soaked with sweat and tangled into clumps with dust!

Looking at her hair, she frowned slightly. This was the beautiful hair she had always carefully maintained!

At that moment, Sakura felt that this hair was simply too troublesome. She lowered her hand and looked at her two teammates!

"Was I really that cool?"

"Yeah, super cool!"

Under Sakura's gaze, even Sasuke gave a slight nod in approval!

Sasuke truly found Sakura's performance today somewhat dazzling.

"I'll keep it up from now on. I absolutely won't hold you two back!"

Sakura smiled, confident and beautiful. Naruto and Sasuke both stared blankly for a moment!

They said confident girls were the most beautiful. Perhaps they meant this kind of confident aura!

Otherwise, with how grimy she looked now, it was impossible to tell what she looked like beneath it all.

"Have you rested enough?"

"Let's head back!"

"Tomorrow... will be another new challenge!"

"Our teacher has always meant what he said!"

Sakura looked at the two of them as she asked, full of spirit and without a trace of fear!

"Huh?"

"Wait for me a little longer, I... I still can't get up!"

Naruto tried with all his strength, but he still could not crawl up. Still, he felt like he would be able to soon!

"But don't you... don't you think Teacher Tenka is kind of... scary?"

"Every time I see him, my... my heart starts pounding!"

Naruto looked curiously at the two of them, especially Sakura. Why did he feel like Sakura was not afraid at all? She even seemed a little excited.

"I was scared at first too, but after spending today with him, I think our teacher is pretty good!"

Sakura wore a smile. She genuinely felt that although this teacher was cold, he suited her very well.

"Our teacher isn't stingy at all. What he taught me, with my status..."

"If it weren't for him, I probably would never have had the chance to encounter it in my entire life!"

"Sasuke, what do you think?"

Naruto curled his lips, seemingly dissatisfied that Sakura did not feel the same way he did!

"He's strong!"

"For me, that's enough!"

"I asked around about that assistant!"

"Konoha's Elite Jonin, Kakashi Hatake!"

"He graduated as a Genin at five, became a Chunin at seven, and a Jonin at twelve!"

"He's a famously stingy ninja in Konoha, said to know over a thousand ninjutsu!"

"But before him, I couldn't even withstand a single move!"

"In fact, he didn't even move. I don't know if that counted as one move?"

"Most importantly, that man I want to kill!"

"He was in the same class as him back then and was always instantly defeated by him!"

"He was already that strong as a child. With his guidance, I'll definitely be able to achieve my goal!"

Seeing Sasuke's fanatical expression, Naruto instantly felt exhausted. There was no love left in his life!

Those two... that icy-faced teacher had not even done anything to them!

"Let's go!"

"I still can't get up, hey!"

Although Sasuke and Sakura looked disgusted, they still each took one of Naruto's arms and helped him up. Beneath the afterglow of the setting sun, the three of their shadows stretched long!

Early the next morning, Tenka brought the three of them to the mission hall to accept a mission!

After looking around for a moment, Tenka quickly chose an assassination mission!

C-Rank Mission: Exterminate Bandits!

A band of bandits near Nadeshiko Village had been burning, killing, looting, and committing every evil imaginable!

Passing merchant caravans suffered heavy losses time and again. Unable to endure it any longer, they had asked Konoha to eliminate the bandits!

Mission Reward: 100,000 ryo

As expected of merchants. A C-Rank Mission offered B-Rank pay. Perhaps they really had reached their limit!

"This mission!"

"We're taking it!"

Tenka pointed at the mission and spoke to the staff member.

"All right, please show me your ninja credentials!"

Tenka handed over his ninja credentials. After checking them, the staff member wore a strange expression, seemingly wondering whether they were forged.

"My apologies!"

"Sir, according to convention, you cannot accept this mission!"

"You and your students can only begin with D-Rank Missions!"

The staff member was very polite. Though he had his doubts, he did not voice them publicly and merely explained in a more tactful manner!

"I said!"

"We're taking this mission!"

Tenka had no patience to waste words with him. He knew Konoha's mission acceptance procedures perfectly well!

He was an Elite Jonin, and this man was telling him it went against convention?

What was convention? Was it not meant to be broken?

Besides, Tenka knew that was not the real reason, which irritated him!

Killing intent had already entered his voice. He was getting impatient. He wanted to cut apart all these pointless rules and regulations!

"Sir..."

"Shut up!"

"My apologies, Lord Tenka!"

"He's new and doesn't recognize you!"

"You want to take this mission, correct?"

"I'll register it for you right away!"

The person in charge here happened to appear and sensed the killing intent in the air!

When he looked up, he was nearly frightened to death!

Seeing the sword on Tenka's back stir restlessly, he did not dare delay!

He hurriedly stopped that clueless fool. Was this idiot trying to get everyone at the mission office replaced?

Behind Tenka, Sasuke did not care in the slightest, while Sakura's face merely turned a little pale. Clearly, she had made sufficient mental preparations!

Naruto was in the worst state. His legs trembled as that terrifying aura appeared again and again and again!

Naruto remembered that the last time this aura appeared, that icy-faced teacher had directly killed three people!

Amid Naruto's fear and worry, Tenka coldly glanced at the staff member, and his killing intent slowly receded!

Under Tenka's gaze, the person in charge completed the registration while trembling in fear and handed the mission certificate to Tenka!

Tenka took it and turned to leave. Only after the four of them had disappeared from sight—

did the person in charge finally let out a heavy breath and roar at the staff member:

"Get the fuck out of here! You're fired!"

The staff member stared in disbelief, then sneered.

"Fire me? You dare?"

"I'm from the Sarutobi Clan. Who gave you the authority to fire me?"

"I'm the person in charge here, so I have the authority to decide all personnel matters here!"

"You don't like it?"

"Then go complain to Lord Hokage!"

"This is the mission office, not your Sarutobi Clan!"

The person in charge did not care about the Sarutobi Clan at all. In that man's eyes, they were nothing but shit!

"Just wait!"

"I'll have you removed from your position today!"

The Sarutobi Clan staff member stormed out of the mission office, his face full of fury!