The blazing sun hung overhead, shining down on them for two whole hours.
Just when they were about to run out of patience—
A voice they were all too familiar with echoed lazily:
"Not bad... though someone is half an hour late."
"But all three of you performed very well."
Gekko Chizan slowly appeared before the three little ones, his signature mischievous smile on his face, looking like he was enjoying himself.
"Damn! Chizan-sensei!"
Obito was the first to widen his eyes and blurt it out.
Beside him, Kakashi and Rin also looked completely stunned.
"What's wrong? Not happy to see me?"
The three shook their heads like rattles.
Even Kakashi was no exception. Come on, this guy in front of them was the devilish teacher who conquered the entire school within a single year of teaching.
In his stealth classes, there was absolutely no room to let your guard down. You never knew which direction he'd suddenly appear from to catch you.
Absolutely terrifying!
"I remember telling you this in our very first class."
"A ninja, a shinobi—what's most important, and absolutely essential—is endurance."
"I was actually here early this morning. I was watching you from over there."
"Very good. Especially Rin—you clearly understand the importance of patience and waiting."
As he spoke, Gekko Chizan smiled. Whatever the truth really was, since he said it now, the three of them had no choice but to go along with it!
"Chizan-sensei, you're going to be our team leader?"
A hint of joy flickered in Rin's eyes. No matter what others thought, she liked this teacher in front of her.
And he was a jōnin of Konohagakure—not much older than them, but his strength was undeniable.
"That's right. Starting today, I'm your team leader, your squad's jōnin in charge."
"In other words, from now on, the three of you are under my supervision."
"So? Happy?"
Kakashi and Uchiha Obito exchanged a look. Neither saw happiness in the other's face—what they saw was a shared sense of gloom.
Sure, Gekko Chizan was strong... but as a person... well...
He was way too unreliable... The trauma of his "Thousand Years of Death" prank still haunted their young minds.
"What's wrong? Kakashi? Obito? Not happy to see me?"
"Or maybe... are you thinking of this?"
Gekko Chizan slowly brought his hands together and formed the Tiger Hand Seal.
Kakashi and Obito both shuddered violently, then instantly broke into forced smiles.
"Of course not! With Chizan-sensei leading us, we'll definitely accomplish our missions with flying colors!"
"Right, Kakashi?"
Hearing Obito's words, Kakashi nodded enthusiastically.
"Hahaha, alright, I'll take your word for it."
"Let's go. It's noon. You must be hungry. I'm hungry too."
"I'll treat you to Ichiraku Ramen!"
...
After the meal, Gekko Chizan led the three little ones straight to the mission center.
No need for excessive talk—only by starting missions could this squad truly start to bond and familiarize with each other.
He casually picked out a D-rank mission.
One of the beginner missions—help a rich lady catch her cat!
"This mission, huh..."
"Feeling nostalgic..."
Chizan looked at the familiar commission form and smiled faintly.
He remembered when he had just become a genin, he'd also taken this mission.
And that fat... no, wealthy lady had been surprisingly generous. Just catching a cat had earned him ten thousand ryō—definitely someone with deep pockets.
And her cats all looked exactly the same. No one knew why they kept going missing. Tch, was she being punished by the heavens?
"This is the first mission for your newly formed squad—catch the cat."
"This cat only runs around the village. From now until nightfall, I want you to catch it!"
"Remember what the target looks like. Now go, little ones! Go catch that cat!"
Gekko Chizan handed the cat's photo to the trio, then immediately declared the mission started.
With that, he vanished from sight in a blur.
Leaving Kakashi, Obito, and Rin standing there.
"Catch a cat? We have to do this kind of mission?"
"My god, I want to go to the battlefield! I want to make a name for myself!"
Uchiha Obito was stunned. His heart burned with passion, and this... was what he got? A cat-catching mission??
Kakashi, on the other hand, remained calm. He had already been through the mission phase. Though he'd never caught a cat before, he'd done things like weeding.
"Let's go. Since this cat needs to be commissioned, it must not be an ordinary one."
"If we don't search properly, we might not even find it before nightfall."
Rin agreed wholeheartedly with Kakashi's words. She nodded, then looked at Obito and patiently said:
"Obito-kun, since we accepted the mission, we must complete it!"
"Let's go catch that cat!"
Rin's words were clearly more effective than Chizan's. Obito perked up instantly.
The three-man team immediately entered mission mode, walking the streets and alleys to search for the cat.
That lady was definitely a rich one—she hired shinobi for everything.
And Gekko Chizan hadn't really left either. He was just standing on a rooftop, watching the three little ones.
Seeing them spring into action, Gekko Chizan couldn't help but smile.
Seeing that smile, Chomei instantly perked up.
"Chizan, you little brat, are you scheming something again?"
"Don't be ridiculous. I just want to add a little difficulty for the three of them. It's training."
"Tch, stop messing around. You call that training?"
Chomei and Gekko Chizan locked eyes, and then both man and beast burst out laughing—their laughter dripping with mischief.
"Just a bit of added difficulty..."
"In that case..."
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Gekko Chizan bit his finger and pressed his hand against the rooftop.
With a burst of smoke, five giant snakes as thick as arms appeared before him.
"Yo, everyone. I need a little help from you now."
"Transform!"
Gekko Chizan's chakra surged, and the five snakes instantly turned into five identical cats.
"Hehe, go now. Go confuse them."
The five cats scampered off into the village.
Gekko Chizan chuckled darkly and activated his insect eyes to enjoy the show.
His three disciples had no idea what their teacher was up to.
They were still struggling to find any trace of the cat.
"Kakashi, over there! Is that the mission target?"
Suddenly, Obito looked up at a wall. Sure enough, a calico cat was running across the top.
Kakashi nodded.
"Obito, Rin, flank it!"
"Go!"
At Kakashi's shout, the three dashed toward the wall to surround the cat.
This was when Kakashi's true ability became clear—no wonder he was already chūnin-level.
With a flicker, he appeared right beside the cat and reached out to grab it.
Obito and Rin flanked both ends of the wall, cutting off the cat's escape.
"Got it!"
A glint of joy flashed in Kakashi's eyes. His figure blurred, and the calico cat landed right in his hands.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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