Chapter 15: Mission Request
Squads develop their chemistry through constant interaction. For the Uzumaki Maple Squad, managing to trap a Konoha Jonin in a Genjutsu shortly after meeting each other showed their exceptional strength.
Although Hyuga Mirai and Hyuga Kiyomi had known each other for a long time, they hadn't developed any synchronized teamwork. In Hyuga Kiyomi's mind, Hyuga Mirai couldn't even use Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms and would be defeated in just a few moves against a Jonin.
Hyuga Mirai also had no intention of going all out; he only wanted to guide Hyuga Kiyomi and Kurenai Yuhi to make their moves. This test was only successful because of the small tricks he had prepared beforehand; otherwise, his evaluation from Kaminari Kaede might have dropped several ranks.
After a hearty meal at the barbecue restaurant, Kurenai Yuhi's ruby-like eyes were dazed.
Fortunately, she hadn't insisted on paying; otherwise, she would have been too embarrassed to call her father to settle the bill and pick her up.
Kurenai Yuhi couldn't understand why someone from the Hyuga Clan would have such a large appetite, eating forty or fifty plates of barbecue, which was about ten catties.
Hyuga Kiyomi's face was also strained and a bit unpleasant when she paid the bill. Although she was the Hyuga Main Family's young lady, this meal had almost depleted all her money. Even if the Main Family gave her a lot of money, at this scale, Hyuga Kiyomi couldn't treat them to many more meals.
If Hyuga Mirai hadn't remembered that he needed to train, he probably could have eaten for another hour or two.
The next day, the three of them arrived early at the Hokage Building to gather.
At the appointed time, Kaminari Kaede appeared punctually, neither early nor late.
"Let's go, time to pick up some missions."
After Kaminari Kaede spoke, he walked towards the Hokage Building, and Hyuga Mirai and the others obediently followed behind him.
Missions were assigned in the Hokage's office, with several assistants helping out.
Hyuga Mirai immediately spotted the short figure behind the central desk, the Third Hokage of Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was currently busy with village affairs and did not look up from his work when the Uzumaki Maple Squad arrived.
Even though Hyuga Mirai was a genius in Medical Ninjutsu, not inferior to Tsunade, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already received Dr. Nakano's report. However, after learning that Hyuga Mirai was from the Hyuga Branch Family, Hiruzen Sarutobi lost interest in him.
The Caged Bird Curse Seal of the Hyuga Branch Family was superior to any other curse mark; even Root's curse marks were secondary to the Caged Bird Curse Seal. Branch Family members must first pledge allegiance to the Main Family, and only then to others.
The Hokage needed to discuss with the Hyuga Main Family before deploying Hyuga Branch Family members to the battlefield. This was a rule that the Hokage and the Hyuga Clan had to abide by. Even Danzo's Root did not have any Hyuga Clan members; sensory ninja all came from the Yamanaka Clan.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo clearly understood this. Even if they trained Hyuga Mirai to be incredibly strong, he would still belong to the Hyuga Main Family in the future. With this outcome in mind, their desire to train Hyuga Mirai was extinguished by ninety percent.
Let him develop on his own. If the Hyuga Clan wanted to train a powerful Medical Ninja, they should put in the effort themselves. If Hyuga Mirai grew stronger, he would still be a Konoha ninja, and Hiruzen Sarutobi, as Hokage, could still assign missions to Hyuga Mirai.
However, for Hyuga Mirai to grow, he would need to rely on the Hyuga Main Family's resources. Hiruzen Sarutobi would only act according to the village's rules, even though he was full of the will of fire.
This was Hiruzen Sarutobi's attitude towards the Hyuga Branch Family.
Kaminari Kaede approached the Hokage's desk and respectfully said, "Hokage-sama, I'm here to pick up missions."
"Oh, it's Kaminari. Let me see what missions are suitable for your squad."
The Third Hokage picked up the mission request scroll and looked at it, then selected a few for the Uzumaki Maple Squad.
"Helping villagers farm, driving away wild boars, and helping a merchant move goods from a warehouse."
After hearing the missions, Kaminari Kaede thought for a moment and then said to Hiruzen Sarutobi, "Hokage-sama, if possible, I'd like to take all of them."
"Is that so? Of course, you can."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Kaminari Kaede in surprise and then agreed. Newly graduated Genin squads needed to take D-rank missions for a period to gain experience; this was a necessary path for all Genin.
Even if Kaminari Kaede recognized the strength of Hyuga Mirai and the other two, he wouldn't break this tradition and directly take C-rank missions with a newly graduated squad. However, he could accelerate this process by taking several missions at once and having Hyuga Mirai and the others complete them separately to quickly accumulate mission experience.
As for teamwork, Kaminari Kaede felt that his three subordinates no longer needed D-rank missions to hone their teamwork; it would be of no help to them.
After accepting the missions, Kaminari Kaede led the three of them out of the Hokage Building.
Outside, Kaminari Kaede spread open the mission requests in his hand and said to the three of them, "Pick one yourselves. Complete the mission by 3 PM and gather at the Hokage Building."
Hyuga Mirai stepped back half a pace, signaling for his two female teammates to choose first.
Among these three missions, the easiest should be driving away wild boars. Farming and moving goods were clearly physically demanding tasks, and completing them alone would be exhausting.
Kurenai Yuhi and Hyuga Kiyomi had also been classmates for two years. When both wanted to choose the easy mission, they decided to play rock-paper-scissors to decide.
In the end, Hyuga Kiyomi went to help villagers drive away wild boars, while Kurenai Yuhi helped the merchant move goods, and Hyuga Mirai went to farm.
'Troublesome D-rank missions!'
Hyuga Mirai took the mission request and headed to the fields that needed farming. These missions were useless except for accumulating mission experience.
Perhaps for other newly graduated Genin, these missions could help them train their Chakra control abilities, but Hyuga Mirai could even use B-rank Medical Ninjutsu, and his Chakra control ability was considered top-tier even in Konoha Hospital.
After two hours of hard work, Hyuga Mirai finally finished farming a large plot of land. After getting the client to sign and confirm the mission on the mission scroll, Hyuga Mirai immediately rushed to the ramen shop without stopping.
After eating five bowls of ramen in one go, Hyuga Mirai barely managed to fill his stomach a little.
"Mirai-kun, have you completed your mission?"
Hearing someone call him from behind, Hyuga Mirai turned his head and immediately saw a familiar pair of red eyes.
"Yuhi-san, yes, my mission is complete."
Kurenai Yuhi's red eyes lit up upon hearing this, and she immediately pleaded with Hyuga Mirai, "Mirai-kun, could you help me with my mission? The merchant has too many goods to move, and I probably can't finish it alone."
"Yes."
"Just this once, next time I'll... Huh? Mirai-kun, did you just agree?"
Kurenai Yuhi felt as if she had heard something, and her eyes widened as she asked for confirmation again.
Hyuga Mirai smiled gently and said to Kurenai Yuhi, "I said yes. After all, we're a squad; helping each other is what we should do."
"Tha-thank you so much, Mirai-kun!"
Kurenai Yuhi said excitedly. She hadn't expected Hyuga Mirai, with whom she rarely interacted, to agree so readily, and his words touched her a little. Kurenai Yuhi immediately wanted to offer to treat Hyuga Mirai to a meal, but as the words reached her lips, she suddenly remembered Hyuga Mirai's appetite during their last barbecue, and the bold promise she was about to make was stifled.
Kurenai Yuhi said cautiously, "Once I accumulate some mission rewards, I'll treat Mirai-kun to a meal."
Hyuga Mirai chuckled softly at her words, then said to Kurenai Yuhi, "Let's eat first, then we'll go complete the mission together."
"Okay, Mirai-kun."
With Hyuga Mirai's help, the two quickly completed the task of moving goods. Afterwards, they rested for a bit and then gathered at the Hokage Building before 3 PM.
Seeing Hyuga Mirai and Kurenai Yuhi drenched in sweat, Hyuga Kiyomi was very glad she hadn't chosen those two missions.
Under Kaminari Kaede's leadership, the squad handed in their missions and were then dismissed.
However, they would have to gather again in front of the Hokage Building tomorrow. Kaminari Kaede intended to have Hyuga Mirai and the other two accumulate enough experience to take C-rank missions in the shortest possible time.