The next day, Class 7 gathered at the meeting point.
"Well, well~ You're all looking surprisingly lively! I figured yesterday's training would've wiped you out for the whole morning," Kakashi teased as he strolled in late, his trademark laziness in full display—though his gaze lingered meaningfully on Ishikawa.
Compared to Taro and Jiro's groggy state, Ishikawa seemed surprisingly normal. This guy really was gifted. Even after collapsing from exhaustion last night, he was already brimming with energy again today...
"Teacher Kakashi, we don't have any mission today, right?" Taro asked anxiously, too tired to even blame Kakashi for being late. He just wanted to get home and rest.
Jiro, beside him, was also staring at Kakashi with desperate hope. He had never wanted a day off so badly in his life.
"Well, actually, our team does have a mission today." As expected, Kakashi scratched his head and answered lazily, ignoring the resentful stares from his two juniors. "It's a D-rank mission—procurement of supplies from Fudo Street."
"Procurement of supplies?" Ishikawa's right eye twitched. He immediately had a bad feeling about this.
He knew Fudo Street; he'd passed by it the last time he left the village. It was the most prosperous town near Konoha.
It was only about ten kilometers away. If it were just basic procurement, it wouldn't require a formal mission. So could it be...
"Well, it's about ten tons of supplies we need to bring back," Kakashi added casually, dropping the bombshell on the three of them.
"Ten tons?! Then what's our means of transport?" Jiro, his whole body aching, already knew something was off. He asked weakly.
"Transport? There's none. You're the transport! Just carry it all back. If you run fast, you might finish before sundown..."
"What? Ten tons of supplies—how many trips will that take from Fudo Street?" Taro wailed with a pained expression, his legs buckling beneath him.
With a ninja's physical strength, even a Genin could carry about 300 kilograms at a time. That made it 900 kilograms total for the three of them.
But the problem was—it was ten tons. That's 20,000 kilograms. They'd have to make at least twenty-two trips each, running hundreds of kilometers back and forth...
Oh god, this was on par with yesterday's endurance run! Even Ishikawa, usually calm, felt his legs weaken after that mental math.
"Teacher, can we rent an ox cart or something to transport the goods?" Ishikawa gulped and asked, instantly reigniting hope in Jiro and Taro's eyes.
"Sure, go ahead. But the cost of renting a cart will be higher than the mission's reward," Kakashi replied lazily, the corners of his eyes curving into a faint smile.
If hiring a cart was more economical, why would the client even bother issuing a D-rank mission? Ninjas were the cheapest, most reliable, and most cost-effective labor force in the area.
"Uh… forget it. Let's just treat it as strength training." Ishikawa glanced at his two younger brothers, and after a brief exchange, they clenched their jaws and accepted their fate.
They could afford a cart—but that wasn't the point. If they started solving missions by paying out of pocket, how could Team 7 hold their heads high?
Aside from the ridicule, it would also damage their reputation. People would label them as sneaky or sly, and that stain could never be fully erased. It would shadow their future as ninjas, making things harder than they already were.
"Very good. Let's move out." Kakashi nodded in satisfaction and gave the order, leading them out of the village.
Ishikawa and the others naturally followed close behind. The ten-kilometer journey wasn't much for a trained ninja. In less than twenty minutes, they arrived at Fudo Street.
"Get started. Deliver the goods to this address." Kakashi handed Ishikawa a slip of paper, then leisurely found a tree and settled in the shade to read his Icha Icha novel.
"Let's get to it. I'll treat you two to Ichiraku Ramen tonight." Ishikawa sighed, hoisted two bags of supplies—each weighing nearly two hundred pounds—and took the lead.
Taro and Jiro followed suit, each immediately picking up two bags of supplies and gritting their teeth to keep up...
With the help of the chakra, Ishikawa and the other two returned to Konoha in less than 20 minutes, delivered the goods to the designated address, and went back again, repeating the cycle.
As the sun continued its descent, it was soon already three o'clock in the afternoon.
"Looks like I'll have to start assigning some difficult C-rank missions in the future. This kind of task isn't providing them with any real training anymore," Kakashi muttered to himself, watching Ishikawa's retreating back as he rushed off after lunch.
This was the most challenging D-rank mission he could find, but it didn't seem to be of much use for Taro and Jiro anymore. As for Ishikawa, it wasn't training at all—it was more like a warm-up.
"Finally, it's over!" When Ishikawa delivered the last package, Taro, completely drained, sat down on the ground, panting, drenched in sweat.
"Boss, let's not go out for ramen tonight. Tomorrow, maybe. I just want to go home and collapse," Jiro said breathlessly, shaking his head and waving his hands.
Taro nodded in agreement. He was so tired he didn't even have the strength to be hungry.
"Sure, tomorrow then," Ishikawa replied without protest. He gave a quick nod to Kakashi, who was finalizing the mission handover with the client, and turned to leave.
He was exhausted and didn't have much appetite either. Maybe a soak in the hot springs would help ease his fatigue. He'd heard this place even allowed mixed bathing...
"Wait, Ishikawa." Just as Ishikawa was about to slip away, Kakashi's voice called out from behind him.
"What is it, sensei?"
"Did you forget this?" Seeing Ishikawa's confused expression, Kakashi pulled out a bundle of long, thin scrolls from his ninja tool pouch.
"Could this be..."
"Yep, it's the little animal you asked me to seal for you earlier." Kakashi tossed the scrolls over. "I've marked it, and the method to release the seal is really simple."
As he spoke, Kakashi demonstrated the unlocking process, and Ishikawa quickly caught on.
"Oh right—by the way, Kakashi-sensei, I've been meaning to ask. I want to learn the storage sealing(Enclosing) technique. Do you have time today?" Seeing that Kakashi was in a good mood, Ishikawa seized the chance.
"Enclosing Jutsu, huh? What brought that on all of a sudden?" Kakashi scratched the back of his head, already feeling a headache coming on. Though it was only a C-rank technique, it was still a pain to teach.
"Because of today's mission, obviously..." Ishikawa curled his lip in frustration. "If I knew the storage seal, this mission would've been way easier. Besides, the technique I use needs this kind of ninjutsu to support it."
"That technique..." Kakashi paused for a beat, then immediately understood—he was referring to the Spirit Transformation Technique.
Storage seals weren't limited to inanimate objects—they could even seal living things.
"If you're not afraid of getting even more tired, come with me." After a moment of thought, Kakashi didn't refuse and turned to head home.
If Ishikawa learned it, he wouldn't have to rely on Kakashi to seal small animals anymore. Besides, he had already promised to teach him the technique.
"Thank you, sensei!" Ishikawa grinned and quickly followed after him. A hot spring bath could wait—studying came first.
Sensei, I really want to get stronger...