The Mission Assignment Hall.
It had been more than three months since their first C-rank mission.
During that time, they hadn't been running only C-ranks—they took C- and D-rank missions together. If Naruto used the "game terms" from his first life—
D-ranks were for farming experience.
C-ranks were for farming ascension materials.
The pay they earned and the experience they gained were ultimately for one purpose: to grow stronger.
If you did missions just to do missions, you were putting the cart before the horse.
Missions were a tool—a method—not the goal.
"...Naruto?"
Sakura stared at the figure in the distance, uncertainty in her voice.
Ever since the new team was formed, they hadn't run into each other again. And kids in their teens changed fast—sometimes month by month—so her hesitation made sense.
"Yo, long time no see, Hayate-san!" Kakashi greeted.
The sickly-looking Hayate turned his head. After recognizing who spoke, he returned the greeting.
They weren't close friends, but they weren't strangers either.
Konoha had a lot of shinobi, but there were only around a hundred jōnin—most of them knew each other.
"Long time no see."
Naruto turned toward Sakura's group.
He still remembered Sasuke and Sakura. As for the other boy, he didn't recognize him—probably their replacement.
The boy noticed Naruto's gaze and offered a polite nod with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Why does his smile feel… kind of creepy?" Izuno leaned in and whispered.
Clearly, she'd noticed it too.
"No idea." Naruto shook his head.
While they spoke softly, Hayate walked over holding a mission scroll.
"Let's go."
Naruto gave Sakura's group a small nod. "See you." Then he followed his instructor out of the mission hall.
Watching Naruto's back disappear, Kakashi narrowed his eyes slightly.
Something didn't add up.
Based on Naruto's performance during that exercise… he shouldn't have been the type who could get along peacefully with teammates.
So why—
"Kakashi-sensei? Have you chosen a mission yet?" Sakura asked when she saw him spacing out.
"Oh—yeah, yeah. All set." Kakashi casually grabbed a mission scroll at random.
Sakura: "..."
Sasuke's eyes stayed locked on the direction Naruto had gone. Maybe it was just his imagination, but… he felt like that guy had gotten stronger again.
The "creepy-smile" boy watched the scene from the corner of his eye, thoughtful.
---
Hayate handed their mission scroll to Izuno.
The kids were basically used to mission life now. For their current C-ranks, there were many things he no longer needed to step in for.
"D-rank?!"
Izuno stared at the scroll, startled. "Sensei, why is it a D-rank?"
"Ahem—forgot to tell you." Hayate's pale face curved into a faint smile. "The Chūnin Exams are coming up soon. I figured I'd get you something light, so you can relax and prepare."
As he spoke, he handed each of them a Chūnin Exam application form.
"Isn't this too early?"
Raemon didn't sound confident. From what he knew, most rookies avoided the first year's Chūnin Exams and joined in the second—or even the third.
"It might be a bit rushed," Hayate nodded. "But treat it as experience."
In Hayate's view, only Naruto had truly reached a chūnin-level standard—at least in terms of strength.
He didn't expect his team to become chūnin in their first year. That wasn't realistic.
"I see." Raemon didn't argue further.
"You're a grown guy—can you have a little ambition?!"
Izuno smacked him on the head, exasperated, like she couldn't stand how unmotivated he was.
Poor Raemon—despite being a big, tall boy, he could only nod repeatedly under her scolding.
Naruto watched with amused interest.
Maybe it was clearer to outsiders, but both Naruto and Hayate had basically noticed it already:
Raemon had feelings for Izuno.
Only the two people involved seemed completely clueless.
Honestly, Raemon's growth was ridiculous—somehow the kid had shot up to 172 cm already. With his naturally stocky frame and months of training, when he stood up he gave people his age the oppressive presence of a wall.
Izuno, on the other hand, was only about 156 cm, and being slim, she wasn't even in the same "weight class" as him.
"Tell me," Izuno put her hands on her hips and "looked down" at him from the level of her soul, "what's your goal for this Chūnin Exam?"
"C-Chūnin…"
"With some spirit!"
"I'm going to become a Chūnin!"
Head up. Chest out. Eyes lifted.
For a moment, even Naruto was surprised by Raemon's sudden aura.
"That's more like it," Izuno muttered, satisfied.
Hayate smiled faintly.
He had a lover too—his childhood friend, at that—and compared to Naruto, he understood this dynamic far better.
"I won't accompany you on this mission," Hayate said. "Turn in your application forms to me tonight."
The three answered in unison.
The moment Hayate disappeared, the three of them instantly switched into gossip mode.
"I'm calling it—Hayate-sensei definitely went to see Yugao-sensei."
"Only a few days off each month," Naruto said curtly.
Uzuki Yugao was Hayate's girlfriend. Unlike Hayate—who, as a jōnin instructor, had a relatively lighter schedule—Yugao worked in ANBU and was far busier.
The time they had together each month was only a handful of days.
"'Officially': 'The Chūnin Exams are coming up, so I got you an easy mission to relax and prepare.' Heh heh heh…"
Raemon's expression slowly turned more and more shameless.
"You look so gross when you smile!" Izuno Akigiku covered her eyes like she'd been blinded.
Even if they were teasing, none of them had any complaints about Hayate's arrangements.
He'd only been their team leader for a few months, but in those months, the three of them had changed drastically—in strength and in experience.
The kind of change where the current you could beat the you from a few months ago with one hand.
And the reason was simple: Hayate's diligent, responsible teaching.
He had even tailored training to each of them and passed down some of his "trump cards."
Naruto: Secret Sword: Moon Shadow
Izuno: Konoha-style Taijutsu
Raemon: Water Style: Water Marsh
"Do either of you have a pen?"
Naruto looked at the application form in his hand.
"No," Izuno scratched her head helplessly. "I think last mission I threw mine like it was a kunai…"
"I brought some." Raemon pulled two pencils from his ninja pouch and handed them over.
"As expected of you." Naruto gave him a thumbs-up.
"Raemon," Izuno asked while filling in her form, "you're not still designing that fantasy transportation thing, are you?"
"It's not entirely fantasy," Raemon said, cheeks a little red. "The Land of Snow had designs like that before."
Then he looked at Naruto. "By the way… how's your shinobi prosthetic coming along?"
Maybe it was fate—Raemon never expected someone on his team to be interested in crafting too.
"It's mostly finished," Naruto nodded. "Just needs refinement on the details."