AI Model: gemini-3.0-flashChapter 54: The Unavoidable Great Bridge of the Land of Waves
Kakashi saw Naruto starting to throw a tantrum and felt a bit awkward himself. After handing in the task, he took another d-rank mission.
This time, it was to help someone babysit.
Naruto almost cried from anger when he saw this task; this was just bullying.
So Naruto handed the task slip to Sasuke and Sakura, saying, "You two do this task, I'm not doing it!"
Sasuke and Sakura were also a bit awkward. They had done three d-rank missions that morning, all by Naruto alone. This babysitting task was clearly Kakashi making things difficult for Naruto on purpose.
They couldn't just abandon Naruto, so the two of them had no choice but to go babysit.
Kakashi narrowed his eyes and said with a mischievous grin, "Brat! Let's see if you still throw a tantrum. You really think you can finish all the tasks just by using Ninjutsu? So what if you have a lot of Chakra! Tsk!"
After Kakashi finished speaking, he found a random tree branch and started reading icha icha paradise.
You ask who's taking care of the child? Sasuke and Sakura, of course.
Actually, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke all misunderstood Kakashi. The d-rank missions they were doing now were to build up their resumes. Only when they completed a certain number of tasks could they take on higher-level missions.
If Naruto knew he needed to build a resume to take higher-level missions, he would definitely have dragged Kakashi to the mission center to pick tasks.
Tasks like weeding, tilling, moving goods, and shoveling manure were things Naruto could finish very quickly.
Another month passed like this, and Sakura finally couldn't take it anymore, strongly demanding that Kakashi take on higher-level missions.
Naruto and Sasuke also looked at Kakashiexpectantly. Over the past six months, Kakashi had managed to wear down Naruto's temper.
Seeing the three of them like that, Kakashi smiled and said, "Alright, alright! I'll go get a mission for you that takes us out of the Village."
Sakura jumped three feet high in joy, waving her fist and shouting, "Great!"
Even Naruto and Sasuke felt a sense of relief. If they continued doing d-rank missions, Narutowould probably only send a Shadow Clone in the future.
Kakashi saw that Naruto was getting a bit weary, which is why he canceled the plan to continue d-rank missions. Kakashi was also afraid Narutomight run off.
When Kakashi took Naruto and the others to accept a C-rank mission and meet the client, Naruto went completely numb.
After all that fuss, this C-rank mission was still the Great Bridge of the Land of Waves.
But this was fine too; at least he was familiar with the plot, and it wouldn't be too hard to execute. He'd just treat it as a walk outside the Village.
When the client saw Naruto and the others, he said with some dissatisfaction, "Why are they all just brats? Can they really protect me?"
Naruto naturally knew this old drunkard had hidden the mission rank. Even though Naruto really wanted to go out for a walk, he wouldn't allow a drunk old man to badmouth them.
Naruto glanced at the drinking old man and looked at Kakashi and Hiruzen Sarutobi, saying, "The mission we accepted should be C-rank, right?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and said, "That's right, it's a C-rank mission! Is there a problem?"
"I want to ask, a C-rank mission shouldn't involve encountering Ninjas, right? If we encounter a Ninjatrying to kill this old man, can we just stand by and watch?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned upon hearing Naruto's question, not understanding what Naruto meant. He glanced at the hired old man and, seeing his strange expression, Hiruzen Sarutobi roughly understood what was going on.
So Hiruzen Sarutobi played along with Naruto and said, "C-rank missions won't encounter Ninjas. That is not within the scope of the mission. Of course, you can choose not to save him."
Naruto nodded and said, "That's good! Anyway, I'm just a kid; I definitely won't go fighting Ninjas."
Hearing that Naruto wouldn't fight Ninjas, the old man started trembling all over.
Kakashi saw something was wrong and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with a frown.
Hiruzen Sarutobi gently shook his head at Kakashi, signaling him not to worry about it.
Naruto naturally saw Hiruzen Sarutobi's hint out of the corner of his eye. After thinking about it for a while, he also roughly understood what was happening.
It seemed Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others also had their eyes on Gato's money from the Land of Waves. On the surface, they would attract most of the people Gato hired, while secretly sending someone to seize Gato's money.
Realizing this, the corners of Naruto's mouth curled up. Since everyone was after Gato's money, it would just come down to who was faster.
In the end, Tazuna still hid the mission rank and was trembling with fear the whole way.
Actually, upon leaving the Mission Reception Hall, everyone in Team 7 had realized that Tazuna was hiding the mission rank.
It was just that no one pointed it out. The three youngsters of Team 7 all wanted to go out and didn't want to take any more d-rank missions.
And the Team 7 instructor had also secretly received a mission, so he didn't point out the hidden mission rank either.
After leaving Konoha Village, Naruto felt like the air he breathed was sweet. After walking for a day, Naruto used his Kagura Minds Eye and was nearly infuriated.
Because there were two Anbu following behind him.
Naruto walked up to Kakashi and asked in a low voice, "Are those two on our tail here for me, or are they here to supervise the mission?"
Kakashi smiled and said, "They're here for you, of course. You think a Jinchuriki can leave the Villagewithout someone protecting them in the shadows?"
"Ha! How ironic! I thought I was free!"
Hearing Naruto talk about freedom, Kakashiglanced at him but said nothing.
A Jinchuriki could never have freedom. Even his master's wife, Uzumaki Kushina, didn't have freedom even after becoming the Hokage's wife.
For the first few days after leaving the Village, Naruto and the others were quite excited. But after walking for a week, Sasuke and Sakura no longer had their previous energy.
Seeing their state, Naruto said to Kakashi, "Don't you want to say something to them?"
Kakashi smiled and said, "You'll experience all kinds of missions in the future. No matter how much I say, it's not as good as you performing one yourself. Weren't you all clamoring to leave the Village for higher-level missions? Now you're experiencing it!"
Naruto shook his head with a bitter smile and said, "I'm not complaining. I just simply got fed up with those d-rank missions and wanted to leave the Village for a change of mood. As for what kind of mission it is, I really don't care."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow at that, understanding Naruto's meaning, but he also somewhat understood Naruto's feelings.
Just as Kakashi was about to cheer Sasuke and the others up, he felt a faint Chakra fluctuation nearby. The corners of his mouth curled up, and he stopped talking to Naruto and the others.
Naruto had already sensed those two people with his Kagura Minds Eye. He glanced at Kakashi, about to speak.
Kakashi signaled Naruto with his eyes not to speak, then glanced at Tazuna.