over time.
A night has passed.
Araki did not return home, but went directly to the meeting place that Jiraiya had mentioned. When he arrived, Minato and Kushina were already there.
Bang!
With a loud bang, Jiraiya made a dazzling entrance, striking a pose.
"Clang, clang, thud!"
Jiraiya one hand outstretched and legs bent, Jiraiya shouted, "The hero Jiraiya has arrived!"
That's all.
He turned his gaze back to these people.
"Today I will lead you to officially begin carrying out ninja missions. I have great faith in your abilities and efficiency, so I have directly obtained three missions from the Lord Hokage!"
Jiraiya simply waved the scrolls in his hand in front of Araki and the other two. There were exactly three scrolls, each of them rolled up.
In an instant, Kushina and Minato's eyes lit up. They were newly graduated ninjas who had never carried out a ninja mission before, and were in the most exciting period of their lives. They felt an indescribable curiosity and joy about the missions that might come next.
but...
Araki didn't seem to care much.
In fact, he already had a certain idea in his mind. Given their status as newly graduated Genin, they were unlikely to receive any high-quality missions at the moment. If nothing unexpected happened, they would probably only be given the simplest missions.
"What mission?" Minato asked, barely suppressing his excitement.
"Yes! Yes! What do you need us to do?!" Kushina was also extremely curious.
Araki said nothing, but he also focused his gaze on Jiraiya. Although he had already guessed the general idea, he still hoped to get a relatively certain answer to things that were not yet clear.
"I knew you'd be excited, now I'll reveal the answer!"
As Jiraiya spoke, he took out the first scroll, opened it, and began to read aloud.
"The first mission, D-Rank Mission, is that Miss Kijima's cat has gone missing in the village. It's an orange cat with black stripes, and she hopes we can help find it as soon as possible. She's very worried; the cat probably hasn't had breakfast yet."
After Jiraiya finished speaking, he took out a second scroll and continued reading, completely ignoring the expressions on everyone's faces.
"The second task is for Miss Momotani. She left her bag on the Hokage Rock yesterday, and she's busy with her tofu shop today. We hope we can help her retrieve it, and if it's lost, we hope we can find it."
Jiraiya took out a third scroll almost without stopping, and put away the first two scrolls, still holding them in his hand.
"The third task is for Miss Hata's parents to help her carry the shopping bags back from town, as they have too many items."
After Jiraiya finished explaining the three tasks, the three people, including Araki, all had black lines on their faces.
What is all this nonsense?!
They're practically just errand runners!
It was nothing like the ninja missions I had imagined!
but...
For Kushina and Minato, it might be even harder to accept, while Araki was mentally prepared from the beginning.
The first missions Genin ) starts with are definitely D-Rank Mission.
These low-paying tasks are unlikely to be very difficult; they're practically no different from running errands.
only...
Being mentally prepared is one thing.
After actually hearing it, it's a completely different story.
That's really hard to accept!
"I have faith in your abilities. With your skills, you can complete these tasks before lunchtime. That means we've completed three D-Rank Mission together, making your efficiency three times that of the other groups in the same period!"
Jiraiya spoke with a proud expression, seemingly unaware of the change in the three people's expressions. After all, he had been through the same thing and knew what these three were thinking. However, when it came to actually carrying out the mission, the reality was often not what they imagined, and there would always be some differences.
"Yes!"
Minato Namikaze was the first to recover from his disappointment. He was very smart and understood that there was no need to say anything about his dissatisfaction. This was a necessary process that every Genin had to go through. Although he felt resentful, he could accept it completely.
This situation is the same as when he was in the Ninja Academy. He did not choose to graduate early, but completed his studies in the Ninja Academy step by step. Even though he was already very strong, he still did not make himself special.
He treats ninja missions the same way now. Even if he feels he's capable of B-Rank Mission, or at least C-Rank Mission, he has no complaints about carrying out D-Rank Mission with everyone else.
The morning passed quickly.
Under Jiraiya's guidance, Araki and his two companions successfully completed the three D-Rank Mission. The process wasn't difficult, but it was quite time-consuming and physically demanding.
Except for Araki, they were all exhausted.
"That's it for today's task. We'll continue tomorrow. You have free time this afternoon to train. Remember, the best way to improve your strength is always through rigorous training!" Jiraiya waved to the three of them and immediately ran towards the hot spring resort. He couldn't wait to gather materials.
Instantly.
Jiraiya left.
Only Araki and his two companions remained.
"Ugh, what kind of missions are these? I'm totally dumbfounded," Kushina complained helplessly.
"This is normal. Genin go through this. Before long, we'll be able to take on more difficult missions. Jiraiya-sensei is very kind; he gave us time to train. Other groups are doing missions all day long," Minato said.
"Just thinking about doing a task like this all day gives me a headache..." Kushina muttered, rubbing her temples.
"Um..." Minato's eyes darted around, and he looked at Araki, saying, "Today is our first day on a mission. How about we go out for lunch and do a debriefing?"
"I have no objection," Araki said calmly.
" Kushina, what about you?" Minato's eyes lit up. He knew very well that Kushina had a very good relationship with Araki, which was why he was using this roundabout tactic. If Araki agreed, then Kushina would almost certainly agree as well.
However...
Man proposes, God disposes.
Minato was a miscalculation.
"I already promised Mikoto, so I'm not going. You two go eat!" Kushina shook her head, then turned to Araki, smiling as she said, "Finish my summary for me."
That's all.
Kushina simply waved her hand and left.
The reason she said that last thing was that she hoped Araki and Minato could sit down and talk, and improve their relationship.
A full 24 hours have passed since their team was formed and the mission was launched.
During this time...
Kushina astutely noticed some problems within the team.
Araki is a rather quiet person; he almost never speaks unless someone takes him out or asks him questions.
Minato is a warm and enthusiastic person, but he is not completely extroverted; he is more introverted. He is only relatively talkative when he is with himself, but he is not very talkative at heart.
These two people, who don't seem to talk much, have had very little interaction in the past 24 hours; she has almost always acted as the central figure in the middle.
If the three of them ate together, it would probably be the same scene.
It would be better to let Araki and Minato eat alone. That way, with just the two of them, they would be forced to chat. Plus, I gave them a reason, which was that they had to at least come to a conclusion, and then Araki would tell me about it.
Thinking about it, I still think it's pretty clever!
"..."
Minato watched Kushina's departing figure, feeling caught in a dilemma. He wasn't in the mood for a meal alone with Araki, even though he had no prejudice against Araki. Right now, his mind was more focused on Kushina.
but...
Since we've already come this far...
If I don't go to dinner with Araki, it will make me look like there's something wrong with me.
" Araki, what do you like to eat?"
Minato turned to look at Araki, a bright smile spreading across his face. He had to admit that after three D-Rank Mission that morning, he was indeed exhausted and hungry, and it was time to eat something to replenish his energy.
"I'm not picky. I'll go with you. It's up to you," Araki said calmly.
"Okay, come with me."
Minato didn't refuse. He had the heart of a leader and liked to make decisions, but because he was too meticulous, he hoped to consider the feelings of more people when handling things.
Immediately afterwards.
The two walked towards the bustling area of Konoha.
Half an hour later.
Kushina arrived at the Uchiha Clan's territory.
The place was packed with people.
Judging from their clothing, these people are all from the Uchiha Clan, and each of them has an extremely solemn expression, as if something terrible has happened.
As Kushina entered the Uchiha Clan's territory, she was immediately met with a barrage of scrutinizing eyes.
"This is Uchiha Clan territory. You cannot enter. Please turn back!" Just then, a man who looked quite important said coldly.
"I'm looking for Mikoto!" Kushina said, her brows furrowed slightly. She sensed the atmosphere was off, and the man speaking to her was also rude.
"You're looking for Uchiha Mikoto?" The man was clearly taken aback.
"Yes." Kushina nodded.
"Go back. She won't see you anymore. This matter concerns our Uchiha Clan and has nothing to do with you." The man's attitude turned cold again.
"What do you mean?" Kushina's head was filled with question marks, then she said, "I'm just looking for Mikoto. I'm not interested in the Uchiha Clan matters. We had arranged to have dinner together."
"She probably won't be able to have dinner with you." The man shook his head and said, "You should go back."
"What happened?" Kushina's heart skipped a beat, and she had a strange, ominous feeling.
"I don't know the specifics, but according to the information coming from inside, it seems..." The man glanced meaningfully at Kushina and said, " Mikoto killed members of the Uchiha Clan!"