Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
Inside the pocket world, Luo Mang heard the pounding on the door, and his tightly shut eyelids twitched.
"Mm."
"Brother Mang, Brother Mang, wake up!"
"Let's go have some fun today! Wake up!"
Naruto Uzumaki's boisterous voice soon came through the door, almost drowning out the knocking.
"Ugh, this early?"
Luo Mang rubbed his eyes and checked the sky outside through the opening he had specifically left in the pocket world. It was barely light out. The sun had not risen yet. Was it overcast?
Bang, bang, bang! Bang, bang!
"Bro."
Just then, Sasuke Uchiha's voice rang out too.
Those two again?
Luo Mang frowned, but eventually got up with a helpless sigh. Pretending he was not home apparently would not work this time.
He got out of bed, stretched, put on his slippers, and stepped out of the pocket world into his original room before heading downstairs.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
"I'm coming, I'm coming! Stop knocking."
When Luo Mang's reply came, Naruto Uzumaki let out a deep sigh of relief.
"Finally, Brother Mang! You're awake."
Click.
"Good morning." ×3
Luo Mang opened the door to find the three speakers: Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Karin.
That was the usual lineup. Sakura Haruno generally came to see him alone or stayed out of the commotion, unless it was actually time for class.
Now, he could neither leave nor stay put. He might as well find out what they wanted first.
"What is it?"
After greeting him, Sasuke Uchiha quickly spoke.
"Bro, Kakashi-sensei and the others don't have anything going on today. Why don't we take a few missions?"
Without a strong mentor to guide him, training alone was no better than working in isolation. Making progress was difficult.
He might as