"Also, there are no traps here," the man in black added dryly. "You tripped over your own scarf."
Konohamaru scrambled to his feet. "I don't care! I want to duel Grandpa! Whoever loses has to hand over the title of Hokage!"
At the mention of the Hokage title, Naruto's interest was piqued. "Where did this annoying brat come from? The title of Hokage belongs to me, Uzumaki Naruto!"
Konohamaru roared in fury. "What did you say?!" He charged towards Naruto, throwing a wild punch.
Naruto, not one to back down, met the punch with one of his own, hitting Konohamaru squarely on the head and sending him crashing to the ground again. Hiruzen Sarutobi could only sigh and rub his forehead. The man in black, whose name was Ebisu, gaped in shock. "You jerk! What have you done?! This is the Hokage's grandson!"
Naruto crossed his arms. "I don't care who he is! He can't just steal the title of Hokage! Besides, he's the one who attacked first!"
"You... you..." Ebisu sputtered, but Hiruzen stopped him.
"Alright, Ebisu. Take Konohamaru and go."
"...Yes, Lord Hokage. Young Master Konohamaru, we should go."
Konohamaru touched the large bump on his head, but this time he didn't cry. Instead, he looked at Naruto with a strange expression. "You're Naruto Uzumaki?"
Naruto scoffed. "So what if I am?"
To everyone's surprise, Konohamaru dropped to his knees with a thud. "Big brother Naruto! From now on, I'm your little brother!"
"Huh?!" Naruto, Hiruzen, and Ebisu were all taken aback.
"Young Master Konohamaru, what are you doing?!" Ebisu cried. "How could you possibly recognize this kind of guy as your boss?"
"I can tell that Naruto is very powerful!" Konohamaru declared.
Naruto's expression changed, and a wide grin spread across his face. "Ah, your name is Konohamaru, right? Your skills aren't great, but your judgment is pretty good! Since you have such good taste, I'll take you on as my underling!"
Konohamaru's eyes lit up. "Really?! Naruto-nii-san?!"
"Of course! If you get bullied in the future, just call my name!"
"Yeah! Thank you, Naruto-nii-san!"
Hiruzen and Ebisu exchanged a look, then shook their heads and sighed helplessly. After the ordeal, Naruto not only gained a new subordinate but also successfully completed his ninja registration, receiving a real ninja headband from the Hokage. Once he put it on, he was no longer a student, but a true ninja.
Naruto gently touched his new headband. *From today on, I am a true ninja. I'm one step closer to becoming Hokage. I wonder what kind of mission we'll get tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it! Is it protecting a princess? Or escorting a daimyo? Or fighting ninja from other villages?!*
He returned home and continued his arduous training until midnight before finally falling asleep, clutching his headband, his mind filled with endless anticipation.
The next day, at the Konoha training ground, Naruto arrived early at 6:30 AM. Soon, Hinata and Sasuke also appeared. But by 7:30, their Jonin leader still hadn't shown up.
"This Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed angrily. "He said to meet at seven, but it's already seven-thirty! Is this what a Jonin is like?!"
"Naruto-kun, don't worry," Hinata said quickly. "Maybe he has something urgent to attend to."
At that moment, Kakashi's voice suddenly drifted down from above. He was perched on a nearby wall, his visible eye curved into a crescent. "Yo!" he said, giving a little wave.
"What the hell do you mean, 'yo'?!" Naruto roared. "You're half an hour late for our first assembly!"
Kakashi scratched his head. "Really? I'm so sorry. I just... got lost on the path of life."
The three genin were utterly dumbfounded. "Ugh! What a ridiculous reason!"
Kakashi didn't seem to mind. He leaped down to stand in front of them. "Well, let's not talk about that. Today is the day you officially become ninja. From now on, you will follow me on missions. Your first task is..."
Naruto immediately forgot about his lateness and crowded around Kakashi with Hinata and Sasuke, eagerly awaiting the announcement.
"The daimyo's wife..." Kakashi began.
Naruto's eyes lit up. "Ah! I get it! We have to escort the daimyo's wife, right? And we'll have to fight our way through enemy ninja, risking our lives to get her home!"
"What are you talking about, Naruto?" Kakashi said, looking confused. "The mission is that the daimyo's wife's cat is missing. We have to find it for her today. Look, here's a picture of the cat."
Naruto felt as if the air had been knocked out of him. "Wh-what?! Being a ninja means doing these kinds of cat-and-dog-chasing missions?!" Though not as direct, the looks on Hinata and Sasuke's faces conveyed the same sentiment.
"Well, you've only just become genin," Kakashi explained. "You all have to start with the lowest-ranking D-rank missions. Only after accumulating mission experience, or after advancing to Chunin, can you accept higher-level missions."
Naruto was still reluctant, but at that moment, the system's voice suddenly appeared in his mind.
[Congratulations, host, on officially becoming a Genin! Please complete at least one hundred mission requests within seven days!]
[Upon completion, you will receive a random system reward. Upon failure, you will be subjected to a baptism of lightning!]
Naruto's expression instantly changed. "Hey! Kakashi-sensei, Hinata, and... Sasuke! Let's get to our mission right away! I want to complete one hundred mission requests within seven days!"
Kakashi stared at him. "...?! One hundred missions in seven days?! Naruto, even if you have that kind of ability, I'm not sure I can even take on that many missions!"
"I don't care, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted. "Our Team 7 is the strongest team! And Hinata, Sasuke, do you want to lose to the other teams?!"
"If Naruto-kun wants to accomplish this, I... I will definitely help," Hinata said, her voice firm.
Sasuke scoffed. "If even you, the loser, say that, how could I possibly fall behind? It would be more challenging to complete *two hundred* tasks in seven days."
Kakashi just stared at them. "I think you're all crazy."
Naruto didn't want to go crazy, but the system was driving him to it. He couldn't complete one hundred missions in seven days by himself. As a rookie genin, he didn't even have the authority to take on missions alone. He had to have a Jonin leader—Kakashi—accept them. And even with his strength, a mission like finding a cat was better suited to Hinata's Byakugan. In the end, it all came down to teamwork.
The biggest problem was Kakashi himself. Hinata would follow Naruto anywhere, and Sasuke would never let Naruto get ahead of him. But getting the lazy, perpetually tardy Kakashi Hatake to go along with this insane plan seemed impossible. But Naruto couldn't do it without him.
"Kakashi-sensei, one hundred missions in seven days. What do you think?"
Kakashi didn't even turn his head, his eye still glued to his book. *What do I think? I think you're insane.*
Naruto's fist tightened. "I'm not talking about your stupid book! I'm talking about the mission!"
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