Sasuke finally caught his breath, snorted coldly, and walked away without looking back.
"Naruto-kun," Hinata said shyly, "I should go home, too. See you tomorrow."
"Okay, see you tomorrow, Hinata!"
After saying his goodbyes, Naruto returned home, intending to immediately practice his newly acquired ninjutsu, Wind Release: Great Breakthrough. However, it was already late, and the system ordered him to sleep. He had no choice but to lie down on his bed, where he instantly fell into a deep slumber.
The next day, Naruto was full of energy. He got up extra early and began his training before the scheduled assembly time.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Naruto performed the hand seals he had memorized, gathered his chakra, and activated the new ninjutsu. In an instant, a strong wind howled out, stirring up the earth and kicking dust into the air. But Naruto just pouted, clearly dissatisfied. *This only obstructs vision and blows enemies away,* he thought. *It doesn't cause any real damage. It's not as good as my Gale Palm.* He knew, however, that his understanding of the technique was still shallow. Not discouraged, he quickly resumed his training. Once, twice, three times... even without the system's pressure, he was now completely self-disciplined, making the most of every moment.
After becoming a true ninja, his time for dedicated training was squeezed by missions, forcing him to train in fragmented sessions.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
He unleashed the ninjutsu one last time, and its power was much greater than before. The wind howled and swept across the street, no less powerful than a sudden storm. He checked his stats and saw that his proficiency with the technique had already increased to 61 points. He nodded in satisfaction. The jutsu was much simpler than Gale Palm, and his training with Asuma had laid a solid foundation. In just one morning, he had grasped the essence. All that was left was to continue improving its power.
Seeing that it was almost time, Naruto stopped, quickly ate breakfast, and hurried to the training ground. When he arrived, Sasuke was already there, but Hinata was unusually absent. When their eyes met, a familiar spark of rivalry ignited between them. A gust of autumn wind blew past. The atmosphere was awkward. When they were with others, they could openly trade insults and even fight, but when it was just the two of them, it was strange. Starting a fight immediately seemed forced, but not doing so felt like they had a good relationship.
Sasuke leaned against a wooden post, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes, ignoring Naruto completely. Naruto, however, couldn't stand the awkward silence.
"Ha, Hinata is actually late," he chuckled dryly. "That's pretty rare."
"Loser," Sasuke scoffed without opening his eyes. "Don't bother trying to get close to me."
Naruto's temper flared. That familiar, infuriating feeling was back. "What did you say, you jerk?!"
Fortunately, Hinata arrived just in time to prevent a fight. "I'm so sorry I'm late, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun."
Naruto's expression immediately softened. "It's okay, Hinata! Compared to Kakashi-sensei, you're not late at all, you're early!" Team 7 was already familiar with their teacher's style. A 7:30 meeting time meant he wouldn't arrive until 8:00 at the earliest.
Hinata smiled knowingly. "That's true."
"Anyway," Naruto said, clenching his fist, "since that guy won't be here for a while, let's continue our training!" He wanted to show off his new jutsu, especially to Sasuke. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
He unleashed a powerful blast of wind, sending all the wooden stakes on the training field flying—including the one Sasuke was leaning against. Startled, Sasuke barely managed to dodge the gale. He was furious; Naruto was deliberately provoking him. "Want to fight?!"
"I couldn't be happier!" Naruto shot back, excited.
Sasuke assumed a fighting stance, and Hinata quickly stepped between them. "Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, please don't! Kakashi-sensei is coming soon!"
"Wind Release—"
"Fire Release—"
They ignored her, but in that instant, Kakashi appeared beside them in a puff of smoke, smiling and waving. "Yo!"
"You're late, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted.
"Sorry, sorry," Kakashi said with his signature eye-smile. "I was delayed helping an elderly lady cross the street, so..."
"Nobody believes that!"
"You two want to fight again?" Kakashi said, ignoring the complaint. "You'd be better off using that energy on an enemy."
"I want to, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto complained. "But all the missions these days have been finding cats and dogs or doing chores! It's about time we got a higher-level mission, isn't it?!"
As if on cue, the system's voice echoed in his mind.
[Host, please complete at least one B-rank mission within seven days. Upon completion, you will receive a random reward. Failure will result in a baptism of lightning!]
*A B-rank mission?!* Naruto thought, shocked. A B-rank mission was at least Chunin level. They were just genin. But his shock quickly turned to passion. With his current strength, a Chunin-level mission would be a piece of cake.
"Kakashi-sensei!" he shouted. "Please help us apply for a B-rank mission!"
Though he didn't show it, Sasuke was moved by the suggestion. *A B-rank mission? With the strength of Team 7, we are fully capable of completing it.* It was a rare moment where he acknowledged Naruto's ambition, even if he would never say it out loud.
Kakashi frowned. "Naruto, who was it that promised last night they wouldn't make any unreasonable demands today? Did you forget after one night's sleep?"
"Hehe, this isn't unreasonable, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said confidently. "Our Team 7 is the strongest! Our strength has long surpassed that of an ordinary Chunin, right?!"
Kakashi knew he was telling the truth, but he sighed. "Naruto, I already got scolded by the Hokage for your antics last time. Do you want me to get scolded again?"
"Then let me speak to the Hokage myself!"
"I'm the team leader. If you act up, I'm the one who gets in trouble!"
"No, let's just give it a try, Kakashi-sensei!"
Feeling helpless, Kakashi led Team 7 to the mission hall. Unable to bring himself to make the ridiculous request, he simply let Naruto do the talking. When Hiruzen Sarutobi heard Naruto's plea, the wrinkles on his face seemed to deepen.
"Naruto, stop fooling around. You have no idea what a B-rank mission entails. It would involve fighting ninja from other villages. That is still far too dangerous for genin."
Despite Naruto's repeated pleas, the Hokage refused to yield. In the end, however, he offered a compromise. "Naruto, a B-rank mission is out of the question. But since you completed a hundred missions in seven days, I will assign you a C-rank mission."
"Level C?" Naruto pursed his lips. It was a good offer, but his system mission was for B-rank. If he didn't complete it in seven days, he'd be struck by lightning. "Lord Hokage, I..."
"Lord Hokage, we'll accept this mission," Kakashi said quickly, cutting him off.
"Kakashi-sensei?"
"Naruto, a C-rank mission is already the limit for your level, and..."