Senju Haruto waved his hand lightly, signaling everyone to continue with their work and not pay him any mind. Only then did he step forward toward Team Seven.
"Haruto-nii, don't give us these kinds of missions anymore!" The moment Naruto saw Haruto stop, he immediately burst into a loud complaint.
In Naruto's mind, since Kakashi-sensei had just described Haruto as someone so incredibly powerful, then he must also have the authority to assign missions. If Naruto could plead with him directly, maybe he'd finally be given a higher-ranked mission.
"I've gotten much stronger now. I've grown up—I'm no longer that little brat I used to be!" Naruto shouted without a hint of shame, not caring about the stares of the people around them. After all, people had never looked at him kindly to begin with.
Right now, all he wanted was a more challenging mission—one that would let him prove himself and finally gain recognition from the village. He'd had more than enough of pulling weeds and babysitting children.
Though Sasuke and Sakura remained silent, their hearts echoed the same thought. Both of them were craving higher-level missions as much as Naruto.
"Forgive me, Haruto." Kakashi scratched his head, looking embarrassed as he offered an apology.
Though Kakashi was older than Haruto and they shared a close relationship in private, Haruto's standing in the Land of Fire was far above his own. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Kakashi was technically his subordinate.
And in the shinobi world, hierarchy was an unshakable principle.
What's more, even Kakashi's mastery of the Lightning Release Chakra Mode had been taught to him by Haruto. In a way, calling Haruto his teacher wouldn't be inaccurate.
For those reasons, Kakashi worried that Naruto's loud outburst might trouble Haruto.
"That's enough, Naruto." Kakashi flicked Naruto on the forehead, making him wince.
"Listen carefully. Every day, the village receives countless requests, ranging from babysitting to assassination. These tasks are sorted by difficulty into four ranks: A, B, C, and D. Shinobi, in turn, are ranked according to ability—elite jōnin, jōnin, chūnin, and genin."
"Missions are assigned based on difficulty to those capable of handling them. You three only just became genin. That means the only missions you're allowed to take right now are D-rank."
Kakashi patiently explained again, hoping Naruto would just accept things as they were and not trouble Haruto further.
"But D-rank missions are way too easy!" Naruto puffed up his cheeks, plopping down on the floor stubbornly, as though determined not to budge until he got a higher-ranked mission.
Watching Naruto's childish defiance, Haruto couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.
Because this Naruto was not the same dead-last he used to be.
Even though he hadn't yet created the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken, his Sage Mode and Nine-Tails Chakra Mode made him one of the strongest fighters in the entire village.
But his mentality was still that of a boy desperate to prove himself, to be acknowledged—not yet the mindset of a true powerhouse.
"I understand, Naruto," Haruto said, the corners of his mouth curving upward in amusement.
The truth was, his appearance here today wasn't by coincidence. Only a few hours ago, his sign-in system had issued him a new task: to accompany Tazuna and Team Seven to the Land of Waves and sign in at the Great Naruto Bridge.
Not long after, he'd heard news that Tazuna had arrived in the village.
In other words, if Haruto wanted to complete this mission, he needed not only Tazuna but also Kakashi and the others.
And beyond the system's requirement, Haruto had another goal in mind—he wanted to meet Momochi Zabuza and try to persuade him to join the Land of Fire.
There was also the issue of Kakashi's current condition. After overexerting himself, he couldn't mold chakra for at least a week.
If Naruto recklessly rushed in and forced Kakashi to fight Zabuza one-on-one… things could get awkward very quickly.
With all of these reasons in mind, Haruto had personally come here to ensure that the mission to escort Tazuna would indeed fall to Team Seven.
"Normally, the Third Hokage only had to manage Konohagakure alone, which meant he could often be seen here at the mission assignment desk," Haruto mused quietly to himself.
"But now that the Land of Fire and the village have merged into one, the workload on the Hokage has increased tremendously. It's only natural that he can't spare time for this place anymore. Without me, the original storyline of Team Seven escorting Tazuna might never have happened."
While his thoughts turned inward, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all held their breath in anticipation, waiting for Haruto's next words.
They were thoroughly fed up with the endless pet-hunting, weed-pulling, and babysitting jobs.
"Then I'll assign you a C-rank mission," Haruto finally said with a small smile.
"Protecting a person."
He paused, then gestured behind him.
A chūnin understood the signal immediately and called for the client to enter.
Naruto jumped to his feet at once, staring expectantly at the doorway.
Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura also turned their eyes toward the entrance.
The door creaked open, and in walked an old man carrying a bottle of sake, reeking of alcohol.
"Tch. A bunch of kids? Especially that short one over there—he looks like a clueless idiot. Can they really protect me?"
Tazuna muttered with a drunken slur, his expression full of doubt. From the moment his eyes landed on Naruto and the others, he clearly wasn't impressed.
In truth, though, Tazuna was a man of deep loyalty and feeling.
Not only would he later name his bridge after Naruto, but after Pain's destruction of the village, he and his grandson would travel to Konoha to help with the rebuilding.
Still, his manner of speaking often rubbed people the wrong way.
Worse, despite knowing he'd be targeted for assassination, he intentionally downgraded his request to a C-rank mission, hiding the truth.
If this mission had been assigned to a weaker team instead of Kakashi's squad, they might have been wiped out—or forced to abandon the job halfway, handing victory to Gato.
For that reason, Haruto had little fondness for Tazuna.
"If you don't think Konoha's shinobi are reliable, you're free to hire someone else you consider more trustworthy," Haruto said coldly, shooting him a glance without the slightest respect.
Tazuna froze, stunned by the bluntness. He had never expected such an unceremonious response. For a moment, he just stood there, slack-jawed, staring at Haruto.
Yes, he was the client—but that didn't mean Haruto was about to bow and scrape before him.
Besides, Haruto would be accompanying them to the Land of Waves regardless, due to circumstances of his own. Tazuna was already getting more than he deserved. If anything, he should remember his place.
"I…" Tazuna started to speak, but when his eyes met Haruto's gaze, the words died in his throat. He swallowed hard, then forced himself to make a proper introduction.
"I'm Tazuna, a master bridge builder from the Land of Waves. Please, protect me until I can return home and finish my bridge!"