Team 7's Mission

In the Hokage's office, Kakashi reported the results of the test to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, explaining why he had passed Naruto and the others.

"Gathering intelligence!" Hiruzen Sarutobi was somewhat surprised by Naruto's performance.

Kakashi nodded. "That's right, Lord Hokage. Their performance exceeded my expectations."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded lightly and smiled. "It seems Naruto has improved quite a bit after what happened with Mizuki. I'll leave Naruto to you, Kakashi."

"Yeah!" Kakashi's dead-fish eyes looked utterly listless.

Genin like them generally started with the lowest-ranking D-rank missions. Such missions were simple but tedious.

That day, Naruto held a black cat with a ribbon tied around its right ear—the missing target pet, Little Tiger. Mission complete.

The cat called Little Tiger struggled desperately, trying with all its might to escape. On the way to the Hokage's office, Naruto thought, Is it already time?

At the mission assembly hall, Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke returned Little Tiger to its original owner, Lady Chishimi, the wife of the Land of Fire's daimyo.

The daimyo's wife had enough flesh on her to compete with the Akimichi Clan. Hugging her pet cat, Little Tiger, she kept rubbing against it. "Ah, my adorable Little Tiger! I was worried sick about you!"

"Meow..." Little Tiger seemed to be crying. Seeing its miserable state, Naruto laughed gleefully. "Hahaha... you stupid cat, now you're in for it! Hahaha..."

"No wonder it always runs away," Sakura commented.

Naruto stepped forward and seriously looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who sat at the center. "Grandpa Hokage, please, don't assign us missions like this anymore. Can't you give us something else? We've already done more than ten D-rank missions."

"He's right!" Sasuke wholeheartedly agreed with Naruto.

Iruka shouted, "Idiot! You're still rookies. Everyone starts out by working their way up through simple missions."

Naruto hurriedly said, "Iruka-sensei, we've already done more than ten missions, and we completed every one of them. We're not asking for difficult B-rank or A-rank missions, but a C-rank mission should be fine."

Naruto first thumped his chest. "First, there's me, the future Hokage. Sasuke is the Uchiha Clan's super genius, first in the entire class. And there's Kakashi-sensei, who's famous far and wide. Sakura..."

When he got to Sakura, Naruto suddenly got stuck. After thinking for a moment, he quickly added, "She's a female ninja with extremely extensive theoretical knowledge."

"Naruto, if you can't find anything to praise me for, you don't have to say anything. I know I'm still not very good." Sakura rolled her eyes at Naruto and complained weakly. If it had been before, she would have punched him immediately.

But during the survival exercise, Naruto's performance had been too dazzling. On top of that, Naruto no longer clung to her like he used to, leaving Sakura feeling a little uneasy. Now, Sakura no longer punched Naruto violently whenever something displeased her.

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Naruto, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. That prank-loving little brat had grown up quite a bit. So much time had passed again!

"Since that's the case, I'll give you a C-rank mission: protect someone. Please come in!"

As soon as Hiruzen Sarutobi finished speaking, a man wearing small glasses, carrying a bamboo basket on his back, and holding a bottle of alcohol staggered in, looking thoroughly drunk.

It really is him. Kurama, it's Tazuna. The Land of Waves arc is about to begin, Naruto mentally transmitted.

The Nine-Tails' voice directly entered Naruto's mind as well. "Don't disturb me while I'm watching a movie."

Tazuna narrowed his eyes. "What's this? You're all just a bunch of kids, and that short little runt looks foolish too. Are you really ninjas?"

Sakura and Sasuke turned to look at Naruto in unison.

Naruto did not get angry. Instead, he smiled and showed off. "A person cannot be judged by appearance, just as the sea cannot be measured with a bucket. Sir, please don't judge people by their looks. My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm the man who'll become Hokage someday."

"Hm?" Tazuna looked Naruto over, let out an alcoholic belch, and said, "I am the renowned master builder Tazuna. Risk your lives to protect me along the way, until I return home and finish building the bridge!"

The C-rank mission was to escort Tazuna safely back to the Land of Waves, an escort mission that took them out of the village. Although Naruto knew all of this from Awen's memories, this was still his first time seeing the world outside Konoha Village with his own eyes.

Outside Konoha Village lay an ancient forest stretching for thousands of miles. Naruto looked left and right, turning around at every sight. Everything fascinated him, and he was extremely excited.

Tazuna pointed at Naruto and asked Kakashi, "Hey, is this kid called Naruto really reliable?"

Kakashi chuckled and reassured him, "Don't worry, you have a Jonin like me here too. It's probably Naruto's first time leaving the village, so he's a little excited."

Like a stream of fanfiction protagonists, the Demon Brothers were destined to become disposable fodder. When they passed a puddle, Kakashi deliberately gave it a look.

Naruto noticed it too, and Sasuke noticed the issue as well. The two exchanged a glance and began slowing their pace, while Sakura continued forward with her head down.

After Kakashi, who was at the very back, passed by, two ninjas wearing gas masks emerged from the water one after another. Together, they swung their serrated chains around Kakashi, trapping him and instantly tearing him apart.

"Ahhh... Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura screamed when she saw Kakashi being torn apart.

Sasuke was the first to throw a shuriken, pinning the center of the chain to a tree. Naruto drew two kunai and hurled them at the Demon Brothers.

The Demon Brothers exchanged a glance, released the chains in their hands, and lunged at Naruto, who looked easier to deal with.

Sakura pulled out a kunai and stood before Tazuna, her face full of determination.

"Wahh..." The Demon Brothers let out two miserable screams.

Kakashi suddenly appeared. He locked his arms around the Demon Brothers' necks, then slammed them hard together, knocking both of them unconscious.

Naruto and Sasuke, who had been preparing to strike, both looked disappointed. Kakashi had stolen all the glory. But his speed was so fast that they could not see his movements at all. They were still far from having the strength of a Jonin like Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei isn't dead!" Sakura cried out in surprise. The body that had been torn apart earlier had only been a log used for the Substitution Technique.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head and smiled. "Sorry, I scared you. I could have dealt with these two at any time. I wanted to see who their target was. Mr. Tazuna, I think you have something to tell us, don't you?"

"W-what, I..." Tazuna was drenched in sweat, not daring to meet Kakashi's eyes. The appearance of ninja meant the mission was at least B-rank. Tazuna had concealed the mission's true circumstances.