All of Naruto's growth was under the watchful eye of Konoha's higher-ups.
At this stage, Naruto had already forged unbreakable bonds with his companions and had also passed the trial of killing.
The Third Hokage was extremely satisfied with this.
Standing by the window, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion again, "Seeing Naruto reminds me of Minato. They are both warm little suns. I believe that with Naruto as a role model, this year's Genin will be the hope for Konoha's future. These children all have great talent." He puffed on his pipe, feeling quite pleased.
Konoha's top fighting power had dwindled too quickly in several major incidents prior, and now Konoha urgently needed new Kage-level powerhouses.
And Naruto, possessing the power of the Nine-Tails, and Sasuke, the Uchiha survivor, were clearly objects of their attention.
Behind him, Danzo let out a cold snort without saying much.
Because he understood that no matter what he said, the Third Hokage would have a sufficiently strong reason to suppress him.
To possess real power in Konoha, he himself had to become Hokage.
And so, after a period of undertaking missions, Sasuke's resentment finally erupted completely.
"Why do we still have to do these trash missions? I don't think they help our strength at all! What I need is to go far away from the village and carry out missions!"
To put it simply, Sasuke wanted to go out and see the world.
Sakura, on the other side, though not saying much, her expression showed she agreed with Sasuke.
Kakashi looked at Naruto. The latter, with a smile, said gently, "Kakashi-sensei, actually, our current strength has already surpassed that of Genin. We even have a fighting chance against Chunin. Perhaps we can take on slightly more difficult missions now."
"Is that so?" Kakashi nodded thoughtfully. "Since Naruto says so, let's go to the mission assignment office first and see if there are any suitable missions."
Kakashi was still quite at ease with Naruto.
Naruto had a stable and gentle personality and wouldn't do things he wasn't sure about.
Moreover, Naruto's strength had already surpassed that of a Chunin; he could definitely protect his teammates during a mission.
Soon, at the mission assignment office, Team Seven, led by Kakashi, encountered a drunken Tazuna.
Upon their first meeting, Tazuna's words made all of Team Seven quite uncomfortable.
He looked drunk, like a good-for-nothing old man, and slurred with an accent, "Aiya, why are they all just kids? Can they even do it? They don't look reliable at all, huh?"
Sasuke leaned against a tree, not even sparing Tazuna a proper glance.
Sakura stood next to Naruto, thoughtfully organizing various items needed for the upcoming mission (camping), preparing to spend a romantic day with Naruto.
Naruto glanced faintly at Tazuna, his expression still gentle. No one knew what he was thinking.
But seeing his disinclined attitude towards Tazuna, one could guess his mood wasn't good.
"Don't underestimate them. They are the best among the Genin; they are more than capable of handling your request," Kakashi said lazily, his tone entirely defensive of his disciples.
"Tch, I hope they're reliable enough," Tazuna snorted coldly.
But for some reason, Naruto could sense Tazuna's unease.
Why is he uneasy? It's just an escort mission; Genin are sufficient to ensure safety. Why would he feel a hint of fear? Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly.
Under Naruto's somewhat probing gaze, Tazuna felt restless and shouted belligerently, "Alright, let's hurry up and set off! I still have to rush back to build the bridge! You all don't seem professional at all."
The Land of Waves was a small country composed of scattered islands. Because transportation routes were monopolized by the dark influence Gato, the Land of Waves' economy had been in a state of decline.
Tazuna hoped to build a great bridge to connect the adjacent islands separated by the river, allowing them to interact and thereby save the country's economic crisis.
This was an act that would enrich the country and its people, but it encroached upon Gato's interests.
It was conceivable that Tazuna would next face assassination attempts by ninja sent by Gato. To complete the bridge safely, Tazuna came to Konoha to issue a request.
However, due to insufficient funds, Tazuna concealed this information, leading Konoha to mistakenly believe that those attempting to assassinate Tazuna were just ordinary bandits.
Tazuna looked worriedly at the not-so-reliable Team Seven, his heart heavy with anxiety.
Fortunately, there was one Jonin, Kakashi, which at least gave him some comfort.
He knew this act might put these ninja in a dangerous situation.
But besides concealing the truth, he had no other choice.
He wasn't sure of the rank of the ninja coming to assassinate him, but he believed that with a Jonin escorting him, the whole process should go relatively smoothly.
With such an uneasy heart, Tazuna desperately hoped he wouldn't be found out, and that after the truth was exposed, this ninja squad would still insist on completing the mission.
"Well then, let's set off. Our destination this time is the Land of Waves. This journey will be quite long; everyone must protect Mr. Tazuna throughout," Kakashi stepped forward to assign roles.
Naruto, being the strongest, naturally got the role of close protection. Sasuke and Sakura guarded Tazuna from the front and rear.
Considering Tazuna was just an ordinary person, and an old man at that, the team's progress was very slow.
They traveled like this for nearly a week before finally leaving the borders of the Land of Fire.
Along the way, Kakashi always maintained a lazy demeanor, as if nothing could make him show an expression other than that of a slacker.
Sakura was very excited at first, viewing this mission as a camping trip with Naruto. She would eagerly offer her assistance at every mealtime and evening.
Such days were delightful at the beginning. She was always enthusiastically admiring the beautiful scenery along the way, her mind often replaying the words Naruto once said: "Seeing cherry-blossom pink at this time of year is also a kind of happiness."
But as time went by, these originally beautiful landscapes also became dull and uninteresting, and Sakura's mood visibly declined.
Throughout the journey, Sasuke practiced hand seals, deeply implementing the phrase "integrate training into life."
However, what he didn't know was that in the later stages of the Naruto world, ninjutsu were all instantaneous.
The efforts he was making now would yield very little in the later stages.
Naruto's mood was good throughout the journey; he smiled as he admired the passing scenery.
But in his view, none of this scenery compared to the blood-red moon he remembered from that night of slaughter, the night of the Hollow's birth.
He kept recalling that night, and it filled him with an urge to conduct research.
To explore the secrets of the Naruto world.
They traveled, stopping intermittently. As they passed a puddle, two ninja suddenly leaped out from it, using chains to "kill" an astonished Kakashi, shredding him to pieces.
Leaving behind a helpless-looking Naruto and a shocked Sasuke and Sakura.
"This Kakashi... he really takes slacking off to the extreme."
And the ninja, having succeeded in their strike, turned with bloodthirsty faces towards their next target, Naruto, to attack.
This smiling fool looks easy to bully. Let's kill him first.
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