Mission

"Oh no, how could I have such a terrifying nightmare?!"

Masayo's face had turned green with fright. Leaning against the headboard in a posture of complete surrender, he felt utterly shattered inside. Why had he dreamed that terrifying nightmare again?

"Damn it, why are you a guy?!"

Masayo was completely unable to sleep now. That dream had been far too frightening; it had practically become his nightmare.

In his previous life, he had also been an anime fan, though not an especially rabid one. Take Naruto, for example: he remembered the general main points, but he had forgotten many of the details.

Mai Sakurajima, Megumi, Konan, Shinobu Kocho, Sanzou... those characters who would make his heart race in the future. It was Dragon Ball, the first anime he encountered, that made him understand the difference between anime and animation.

However, what truly awakened his appreciation for the beauty of female anime characters was Haku from Naruto.

That was right, him. It was because of him that Masayo began developing an appreciation and fondness for female anime characters. Back then, smartphones had not yet become widespread and the internet was underdeveloped. It was only after he entered university and learned that Haku was male that he utterly broke down inside.

He had actually mailed razor blades back then, though he had no idea whether that damn old thief Kishimoto had received them. Ever since then, Masayo occasionally had nightmares like this.

"Damn it, if I get the chance, I'll have to find out whether you're really male or female. If you're a guy, get out of my dreams forever. If you're a girl... uh..."

Masayo pondered for a long time before revealing a faint smile. The expression on his face gradually changed, exposing his true nature. "If you're a girl, that'd be great. Heh heh... If you're a girl, I'll forgive you for always appearing in my dreams."

Outside the mission assembly hall, Masayo, who had fallen asleep again, still got up late. Yet Kakashi had not arrived either, which nearly made him forget Kakashi's habitual tardiness.

About half an hour later, Kakashi finally arrived, looking lazy as ever. He waved at Masayo and smiled. "Sorry I'm late. A black cat blocked my path this morning."

"That excuse is unbeatable!"

Masayo complained weakly.

"Kakashi-sensei, let's go pick up a mission."

Kakashi nodded. A strange meaning flickered in his dead-fish eyes as he said, "It seems you've already learned about missions. In that case, I won't say much more. You're different from the other ninja squads, so we'll start directly with C-rank Missions. This will be a very long process."

"C-rank? Wait, Kakashi-sensei, don't newly graduated Genin usually start with the most basic D-rank Missions?"

Masayo hurriedly asked.

Ninja commissions ranged from babysitting to assassination. Their difficulty was divided into four ranks: A, B, C, and D. As for S-rank Missions above A-rank, those had already risen to the national level, such as wars, assassinating important figures, secret documents, and so on.

The Hokage and elders assigned commissioned missions to suitable ninja according to their abilities, and only after the mission was completed would the client pay the reward.

Kakashi saw Masayo's concern and answered, "Don't worry. With a Jonin like me accompanying you, only B-rank Missions involve battles between ninja."

"Stop! Don't raise a death flag, Kakashi-sensei!"

Masayo hurriedly waved his hands at Kakashi.

"A death flag?"

Kakashi thought for a long time but still could not understand what Masayo meant. "What does that mean? Can you explain?"

Masayo explained, "Kakashi-sensei, you've watched movies before, right? Like when someone says, 'After this battle, I'll go back and marry my fiancée,' and then dies. That's a death flag. Kakashi-sensei, do you understand?"

"Oh, I understand!"

Kakashi understood what Masayo meant and replied, "That really is true. I remembered a movie I watched a while ago, The Adventures of Princess Gale: Final Battle Against the Alien Demon. A lot of its scenes were the kind of flags you mentioned, right? I get it, I get it."

"Princess of the Wind and Clouds? Heh..."

A glimmer flashed through Masayo's mind. Those movie versions existed in his memories too, even the Land of Demons arc, but the plot of that Princess of the Wind and Clouds movie was just like its title: packed with things to complain about. Pure popcorn fare, nothing more.

"Oh, Masayo, you don't seem to like that movie very much?"

Kakashi's words made a man in sunglasses who was leaving the mission assembly hall instinctively stop and prick up his ears.

"Heh... Forget it. That kind of popcorn movie had a plot that was too simple and completely illogical. As for the fights, Kakashi-sensei, do you think they're cooler than ninja?"

Masayo followed Kakashi into the mission assembly hall. The man in sunglasses had an aged air about him, and Masayo's words kept circling in his mind.

"Simple plot, no logic? The fights aren't as cool as ninja?"

The man remained dazed for a long time, unable to recover his senses.

C-rank Mission: escort a medicinal herb merchant caravan to the capital of the Land of Fire.

The journey was long. At their pace, it would take at least half a month to reach the capital of the Land of Fire. If it were just Masayo and Kakashi traveling on foot, they could get there in only a few days.

They encountered no ninja enemies during this mission, but there were indeed bandits blocking the road, and Masayo dealt with them all.

It was Masayo's first time killing someone, yet he did not vomit like many people would, nor did he look particularly distressed. As he watched those crazed, violent bandits fall one after another beneath the kunai infused with Wind-nature chakra in his hand, his heart remained completely calm.

Perhaps I'm just naturally indifferent.

That was what Masayo thought. It was his first time killing people, and he had seen blood. The kunai coated in Wind-nature chakra directly cleaved the bandits in two.

At first, he was unfamiliar with the direction blood sprayed, so he ended up covered in it. But after killing more than ten bandits, he had learned the pattern and no longer got splattered by the gushing blood.

Gradually, he slaughtered nearly fifty bandits. A few tried to sneak attack Kakashi, only to be killed by Kakashi on the spot.

After completing the escort mission, Kakashi and Masayo left the capital of the Land of Fire and headed back toward Konohagakure.

On the road leading to Konohagakure, Kakashi glanced at Masayo, whose expression remained calm, while still holding Icha Icha Paradise in his hand.

"Masayo, this is what it means to be a ninja. Every mission a ninja goes on is a fight to the death, and you might even die."

"Mm, I know, Kakashi-sensei. I've been mentally prepared for this for a long time."

Masayo answered calmly, possessing a state of mind unlike that of ordinary children his age. If Kakashi had not seen Masayo's bloodstained clothes earlier, it would have been difficult for him to imagine that this was Masayo's first kill.