Late at night.
Naruto was asleep.
But in some homes, the lights were still on.
"Sakura, why aren't you asleep yet?"
"I want to practice my ninjutsu a little longer." In the yard, Sakura was already drenched in sweat, on the verge of collapse from exhaustion.
Naruto's battle with Kakashi today had left her feeling a profound sense of defeat.
They had graduated in the same year, yet the gap between herself and Naruto was like the difference between heaven and earth.
She couldn't even clearly see Naruto's movements.
How could someone as weak as her be on a team with Naruto? Although Naruto always wore a gentle expression and wouldn't criticize her for her weakness.
But it was precisely because of this that Sakura wanted to work even harder, to at least be able to help Naruto in the future.
So that he wouldn't have to fight his battles alone.
Sasuke was also engaged in extra training. Within his family estate, he repeatedly shot Great Fireballs at the lake.
An unwilling expression was etched on his face.
"Wrong, wrong!! The power of this is too far off compared to the Great Fireball Kakashi used."
"It's completely insufficient. A ninjutsu like this can't even injure Kakashi."
"Damn it, if Naruto hadn't gotten the bells, Kakashi might have finished me off with a single Headhunter Jutsu."
After returning home, Sasuke had reviewed today's battle between Naruto and Kakashi.
He put himself in Naruto's shoes, only to discover with astonishment that even if he activated his Sharingan, he probably wouldn't have been able to withstand Kakashi's initial offensive.
"Is this the strength of a Jonin? It's too powerful. Kakashi became a Jonin at twelve, Itachi became a Chunin at ten, so Itachi should be slightly weaker. But even so, he could still easily crush me." Unwillingness was written all over Sasuke's face.
"Could it be... that these eyes of mine are so useless?" He covered his Sharingan, roaring in a low voice.
Every battle after awakening the Sharingan had brought him shame.
The Kekkei Genkai, regarded as a glory by the Uchiha, had suffered repeated setbacks.
He couldn't even properly track Naruto's movements.
Sasuke suddenly recalled that terrifying night.
Itachi back then had a pair of eerie eyes; it was those eyes that had dragged him into a hellish dreamscape.
"Those eyes... The reason Itachi is so powerful is because he obtained those eyes, right?" A fire ignited in Sasuke's heart.
"As long as my Sharingan continues to evolve, one day I can surpass Naruto!"
At Kakashi's home.
The lights were still on.
Kakashi sat at his desk, diligently writing down the training details for Naruto's trio.
From ninjutsu and taijutsu to other abilities, from simple to profound.
The second day.
Kakashi, as expected, arrived late.
When he arrived, he saw Naruto's trio cheerfully sharing a bento.
Seeing him arrive, they smiled and greeted him, showing no sign of displeasure on their faces.
It was as if, to them, his tardiness was just a part of daily life.
This gave Kakashi an indescribable feeling in his heart.
Unaccountably.
He felt very annoyed.
"Clap, clap." He clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention, and said with a serious expression, "Today, we will take you to pick up some missions."
Under the students' expectant gazes, Kakashi led them to the mission assignment office. After a careful selection process, and amidst the students' displeased looks, he chose several D-rank missions.
Konoha's missions were divided into six ranks: D, C, B, A, S, and Super S. Among them, Super S and S-rank missions were super-high difficulty, international-level assignments that required at least Jonin-level ninja or above to complete.
A-rank missions concerned national or village affairs. Common tasks included guarding important individuals, subjugating ninja units, etc.
B-rank missions were mostly requested by individuals and included tasks like guarding, assassination, etc.
C-rank and B-rank missions were similar in content, but the difficulty was a tier lower, usually dealing with ordinary bandits or extremely weak Genin. Chunin and Genin could take these types of missions.
Finally, there were D-rank missions, which only Genin would typically take.
D-rank missions basically had nothing to do with combat and dealt with trivial matters.
And as a rookie squad, Naruto's trio could only compromise.
"Help Madam Okura find her lost kitten."
"Help Farmer Yamama with his fieldwork."
These were the contents of the two D-rank missions.
"These boring missions are a waste of life," Sasuke couldn't help but complain. Sakura nodded in agreement.
"You can't say that. Everything has a process of gradual growth. We've just been promoted to Genin, so of course, we have to start with the simplest missions," Naruto said with an understanding expression. "Every mission is part of an accumulation process. Finding a kitten can train a ninja's observation and investigation skills, and helping with farming can train endurance. These are all foundational missions."
"Correct. Naruto, you're absolutely right." Kakashi didn't hide the appreciation in his eyes. "Although you, Naruto, don't need to build these foundations right now, you are a ninja squad. Advancing and retreating with your comrades is a quality a qualified ninja must possess."
"I understand. Don't look so glum; let's go complete the missions together," Naruto said with a smile, patting Sasuke's shoulder.
The current Naruto is really mature, somewhat different from how he is in battle, Kakashi couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Naruto's team completed the subsequent missions with remarkable efficiency.
First was farming. Naruto directly created ten Shadow Clones and had them help with the fieldwork.
Fortunately, these Shadow Clones all had the "warm guy" persona and all agreed with a smile.
"Naruto, thinking that this mission is to help the villagers fills my heart with motivation! Let's work hard together!"
"Farming under this warm weather is also a unique kind of romance, isn't it?"
"Only by going deep into the grassroots will one feel the beauty of life's existence!"
One after another, these "Naruto-isms" from the clones gave the real Naruto a headache.
The second mission was a bit more troublesome.
However, in the end, Sakura used her Transformation Jutsu to lure out the client's cat. During the process of capturing it and taking it back, the cat struggled frantically, which filled Naruto's team with doubt.
It was said that once domesticated cats entered the world of strays, their mortality rate was very high, and they would yearn to return home.
But this cat was completely different.
It wasn't until they handed the cat over that they completely understood the reason.
The old woman hugged the cat tightly, her voice distorted, "Ah, our precious baby must have been so scared outside! Don't be afraid, Mommy's here, Mommy will protect you! No matter how many times you run away or get lost, Mommy will find you! Mommy will give you a very warm home, yes!!" "Our baby looks so pitiful, it's just too cute! Mommy wants to eat you up, muah~~~~hiahiahiahia!" Then, her bright red lips descended upon the cat's head in a fierce smothering, accompanied by a shrill, distorted laugh.
This scene left Naruto's trio speechless.
Somehow, they felt this mission shouldn't have been completed.
The first day of missions passed just like that. The trio's performance rather surprised Kakashi.
It had exceeded his expectations.
He recalled that his own first mission had been utter chaos.
A certain simple-minded idiot had nearly ruined even a simple D-rank mission.
Thinking of this, a hint of a smile appeared in Kakashi's eyes.
"That's it for today. Go back and rest. Eat well tomorrow; I need to understand your ninjutsu progress."
Finally, Kakashi added, "Oh, and don't be late tomorrow."