"Kaminarimon, you coordinate with me. Naruto, you'll act independently; proceed as the situation dictates…" Izuno Akigiku assigned their tasks.
After two months together, the three had gained a basic understanding of one another. Akigiku had taken on the role of temporary leader out of necessity.
Undoubtedly, Naruto was the strongest among them, but the problem was his communication skills, which clearly made him unsuitable for leadership. Kaminarimon Etsureki had the brains for it, but his foundational skills were too poor, making him a liability in intense combat. Thus, they had to pick the best from the rest. Izuno Akigiku stepped up, which, incidentally, aligned with her ambition.
Naruto nodded; he had willingly relinquished the leadership role. He knew his own limitations; having fought solo his entire life, certain habits were deeply ingrained. Making him the leader would undoubtedly be a disservice to the other two.
The lengthy two-month 'leveling-up phase' was finally over.
From this point forward, they would officially begin undertaking true ninja missions.
For cultivating new talent, progressing from easy to difficult was the sensible approach. The first C-rank mission for rookies like them was generally quite simple, such as their current task: eliminating bandits.
Ordinary people, even bandits who had seen bloodshed, were still easily dispatched in a one-on-one confrontation with a chakra-wielding ninja. The only real issue was whether the youngsters, lacking true combat experience, could consistently perform to their capabilities.
Ninjas were, quite obviously, a class with high offense and low defense. With the exception of extreme outliers like Kakuzu or Hidan, whether you were a jonin or a genin, if a vital spot was pierced by a sharp weapon, death was inevitable. Even an ordinary person wielding such a weapon could take you down.
"Gulp…" Kaminarimon Etsureki swallowed hard. It would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous.
On a nearby tree branch, Gekko Hayate quietly observed the three. Fledglings would eventually spread their wings and fly; he was merely their guide. How far they ultimately went was their own choice. Even if someone wanted to give up now, he wouldn't say a word; it was their decision to make. However, once the decision to quit was made, their future lives would likely have no further connection to the path of a ninja.
He wasn't worried about Uzumaki Naruto. Izuno Akigiku, though a bit lacking in strength, was at least a child from a ninja clan; she had presumably prepared herself long ago. The only one to worry about was young Kaminarimon Etsureki. Although the boy's father had also been a ninja, he had died early in the Third Great War. Without familial guidance and instruction, this step would be considerably harder for him to take.
"Move out!" Izuno Akigiku took a deep breath and hissed the command.
Naruto gave the other two a final glance before vanishing from his spot.
Stealth, assassination – especially this kind of assassination against mere grunts – was second nature to him, presenting no difficulty whatsoever.
Carefully avoiding sentries and traps, he used his Kusabimaru to pierce one red dot after another, completing assassination after assassination. If, in a battle between ninjas, shuriken served mostly as a distraction, then for these bandits, shuriken and kunai launched from a blind spot were no less deadly than the Grim Reaper's scythe.
After dealing with the planned visible and hidden sentries, Naruto carefully made his way to the rear of his two teammates.
Izuno Akigiku hailed from the Izuno clan. Though it was one of Konoha's smallest, almost negligible, ninja clans, it possessed unique ninjutsu: the Feline Pelt Technique and the Cat Demon Transformation Technique. It was somewhat similar to the Inuzuka clan's style, but the Izuno clan didn't raise ninja beasts; they fought solely by transforming themselves into cat demons.
Kaminarimon Etsureki, on the other hand, was the very picture of a commoner ninja. The three basic Academy jutsu and a Lightning Release: Static Charge technique, a legacy from his father, constituted the entirety of his current ninjutsu arsenal.
The bandit hideout wasn't large, housing only about twenty men. Excluding those he had already dealt with, around ten should remain. Basically, as long as his two teammates performed consistently, there shouldn't be any major problems.
Five minutes later, the last bandit fell under Izuno Akigiku's cat claws.
The battle had proceeded very smoothly, apart from one instance where Kaminarimon Etsureki made a mistake, alerting the remaining bandits. All in all, their first C-rank mission was completed reasonably well.
Generally, this was the typical outcome for most ninja squads on their first C-rank mission. Mistakes from rookies were inevitable, but the overwhelming difference in combat power ensured the result wouldn't deviate too drastically.
However, life was unpredictable; first C-rank mission failures were not unheard of, especially if, say, a ronin suddenly appeared among these bandits. Setting Naruto aside for a moment, given his teammates' current state, they would most likely fail in such a scenario. But this was a low-probability event, almost negligible. Don't be fooled by the prevalence of ninjas in Konoha; that was Konoha. Some countries couldn't even afford to establish a hidden village, which just went to show how high the cost of nurturing ninjas truly was.
"Clean up the site," Gekko Hayate said, appearing beside them in a Body Flicker.
While cleaning up, the three of them meticulously checked again to ensure no stragglers were left.
After a brief summary from Gekko Hayate, the group set off on the road back to the village.
Generally speaking, D-rank missions offered low pay but required little time, ranging from a single day to, at most, two or three. C-rank missions were more troublesome; ten days to half a month was common, and missions lasting one or two months weren't unheard of. This time, just eliminating an ordinary group of bandits had taken twelve days: two for travel, around ten for reconnaissance, and the actual engagement had lasted less than half an hour.
But this was unavoidable. Acting blindly without detailed intelligence on the enemy, especially in situations where you were outnumbered, could very easily lead to problems. After all, who could guarantee that a ronin wouldn't actually be hiding among this group of bandits?
As for how much time B-rank, A-rank, or even the highest S-rank missions might take, that was currently unknown to them.
As the saying goes, the higher the risk, the greater the reward. Being a ninja was a profession where one exchanged one's life for income. Without correspondingly high pay, it's unlikely many would be willing to become ninjas.
The payment from this single C-rank mission already matched his entire year's stipend, and that wasn't even counting the extra loot they'd picked up from the bandits. Though bandits weren't likely to be wealthy, even a mosquito's leg is still meat.
However, it also indirectly highlighted another issue: the stipend truly was just relief funds, barely enough to keep one from starving.
A full belly breeds desire. The saying was crude, but the underlying principle was sound. Previously, there were many things he hadn't dared to think about. Now, with a relatively stable source of income, he could start considering more.
Why did he rarely use items like shuriken and kunai? Was it because he was confident in his own strength?
Nonsense!
One word: poverty!
Shuriken and kunai weren't cheap. And that was to say nothing of the even more powerful Exploding Tags; he hadn't even touched one of those yet. Only with better equipment could one deal with a wider range of problems.
Maintaining his sword was also an expense. Though a single session might only cost the equivalent of a day or two's food, it wasn't something that could be resolved with just one or two maintenance sessions. From a long-term perspective, this too was a significant money sink.