Konoha's mission system is simple. First, the village's leadership accepts requests from outsiders, then assigns them an A, B, C, or D difficulty rating before distributing them to ninja of the corresponding rank.
A-rank missions involve matters that could affect the fate of a country or the village itself—guarding VIPs, taking down enemy ninja squads, and so on. Only Konoha jōnin can take these.
B-rank missions might involve combat between ninja—close protection, espionage, assassinations. These can be taken by chūnin or jōnin.
C-rank missions involve close protection, hunting dangerous beasts, extermination tasks, and so forth. Genin can take them, with higher ranks also eligible.
D-rank missions are simple jobs that don't involve combat or life-threatening risks—babysitting, farm work, finding lost cats and dogs. These are for genin; chūnin and jōnin generally don't bother.
Since Shinju's Team 7 had only just graduated, they were only allowed to take the easiest D-rank missions.
That meant babysitting or helping villagers with farming.
In the blink of an eye, it had been over half a month since Shinju officially became a Konoha ninja.
In that time, thanks to his strong learning ability, he'd built up quite a bit of experience in farming and childcare.
This was a far cry from the battles and secret operations he'd imagined when becoming a ninja.
Still, Shinju was the kind of kid who took things in stride. He never complained.
Even though the missions were simple, he tackled each one with full seriousness.
Sure, these tasks had no challenge, but they were safe. Once he took on harder missions, there was no telling when his life might be on the line.
Shinju could stay calm about it.
Naruto, on the other hand, was fidgety and restless.
After yet another "find the dog" mission, the group returned to the Hokage's meeting room to turn it in.
From the moment he pushed the door open, Naruto started complaining.
"Hey! I've been a ninja for more than half a month already—why are we still doing farm work missions every day? Ninja should be fighting, not wasting away doing chores!"
The Third Hokage slowly set down the papers in his hands.
"Naruto, you've only been a ninja for half a month. Don't aim too high too soon. Look—Sasuke and Shinju, who are in your team, haven't said a word."
As he spoke, the Third Hokage glanced at Shinju. Inwardly, his opinion of the boy rose another notch.
Not only was he gifted and quick to learn, he was grounded, too.
Half a month of odd jobs, and he'd never once slacked off.
"They're probably just as fed up as I am—they're just not showing it." Naruto pouted.
"Hey, Naruto, don't be disrespectful to the Hokage-sama," Kakashi reminded him.
"Alright, alright. Since you're so eager for something more challenging, I happen to have a C-rank escort mission right here," the Third Hokage said with a sigh.
...
The office door swung open, and in walked a man they'd never seen before.
He looked to be in his fifties or sixties, wore glasses, had a scruffy beard, and was generally unkempt.
He held a bottle of liquor in one hand, leaning tipsily against the doorframe.
"So these are the ninja who are supposed to protect me? Just a bunch of kids."
He squinted at Naruto.
"Especially that blond brat—looks like a total fool."
Naruto clenched his fists (ꐦ ಠ 皿 ಠ).
"Hey! I'm a real Konoha ninja! Don't underestimate me!"
"This is the person you'll be protecting," the Third Hokage introduced. "Tazuna here is a master bridge-building engineer."
"He's the worst mission client ever!" Naruto shot back.
"Naruto, let the Hokage-sama finish."
Shinju tugged on Naruto's sleeve, urging him to calm down.
The Third Hokage continued, "Your mission is to escort Tazuna-san back to the Land of Waves so he can build his bridge. Simple enough, right?"
"The Land of Waves? So we get to leave the village?"
Naruto nearly jumped for joy.
Tazuna, still drunk, cut in bluntly, "Figures. Kids are kids—you've probably never even left your own village."
Naruto (▼皿▼): "Old man, quit looking down on me!"
...
Half an hour later.
Team 7 and Tazuna stood outside Konoha's massive front gates.
Naruto looked back at the towering entrance, excitement brimming in his voice.
"Yes! Finally, I get to see the outside world!"
Even Shinju began to feel anticipation—ever since arriving in this world, this was his first time leaving Konoha's borders to visit another country.
"Alright, have you all checked that you've got all your gear?" Kakashi asked.
The three genin each began checking themselves over.
Just then, Shinju suddenly looked up, his gaze locking on a spot deep within the surrounding forest.
He'd sensed a flicker of chakra.
The moment he reacted, the strange chakra presence vanished.
Could it be they'd been marked the moment they left the village?Or maybe he was just too tense, his senses playing tricks on him?
"Shinju, what are you looking at?" Kakashi asked, puzzled.
"Nothing—just saw a bird I didn't recognize fly off that way," Shinju said casually.
If it was just his imagination, there was no need to cause unnecessary alarm.
Once the three finished checking their gear, Kakashi gave a wave.
"Alright, let's move out, everyone."
...
On the road, Team 7 and Tazuna chatted in bits and pieces.
"Does the Land of Waves not have a ninja village? Why send the request to Konoha?" Naruto asked.
"You idiot. What were you learning in the Academy's basic courses?"
Kakashi rapped Naruto lightly on the head before explaining.
"For most countries on the continent, a ninja village is essentially the nation's military force."
"That means it can be used to deter other nations and maintain diplomatic relations."
"That said, a ninja village's status is very unique—they aren't directly controlled by their country's government."
"As for the Land of Waves—it's just a small island nation, so it doesn't need a ninja village."
"Our Konoha, belonging to the Land of Fire, is one of the Five Great Nations along with the Lands of Wind, Water, Lightning, and Earth. We each have a ninja village and the most elite shinobi forces. So it's nothing unusual for us to get requests like this."
"Ohhh, I get it now."
Naruto nodded. "Iruka-sensei talked about that in class… I just didn't remember."
"With a half-baked ninja like you, can you really protect me?" Tazuna said with mild irritation.
"Don't underestimate me! I'm the future Hokage of Konoha!" Naruto declared, fists clenched.
"'Kage'… that's the strongest position among you ninja, right?" Tazuna mused.
"Yeah! I'm gonna be that guy—and kick that dried-up old Third Hokage off his seat!" Naruto grinned, full of dreams.
"Hey, stop being disrespectful to the Hokage-sama behind his back."
Kakashi sighed.
He'd told Naruto that more times than he could count.
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