Chapter 96: Mission Rank Upgraded to C-Rank
Team Seven, led by Kakashi Hatake, quickly became the star team among all the newly graduated Genin of this year. They were even quite famous throughout all of Konoha.
It is funny to say, but the reason Team Sevenbecame famous was actually because the speed and quantity of their completed D-Rank missions had left their peers, and even their Seniors, trailing behind by several streets...
Thus, Team Seven also acquired nicknames given by others. Although there were all sorts of titles, having one was better than none.
"What is this!" Sakura Haruno, returning from a mission, walked ahead of the two, her back to the setting sun. She turned around to complain to Naruto and Sasuke, "Something like 'Mission Maniac' sounds way too harsh!"
"I feel like the title 'Workaholic' is pretty much the same as what you said..." Naruto took over the conversation, revealing another nickname for Team Seven, "They are clearly just jealous!"
"A bunch of idiots!"
Uchiha Sasuke never went three sentences without saying "idiot," as if those two words were tailor-made for him. However, in the end, it was always him who got slapped in the Face.
"But having said that, the total number of D-Rankmissions we've accumulated should be enough. It is time for us to carry out higher-ranked missions, right?"
Ever since the team assignments were completed and they passed the assessment, Team Seven had indeed been performing seven or even ten D-Rankmissions a day. Besides far exceeding the total number of missions, they had also caused quite a lot of trouble for Kakashi Hatake.
Because D-Rank missions were all posted by villagers, the daily volume varied. The number of graduated Genin wasn't huge, but it wasn't small either. If distributed evenly, a team could get about three per day.
Since that was the case, Team Seven being able to do so many D-Rank missions meant they were inevitably snatching missions from other teams. Little frictions were bound to happen when accepting missions.
After all, D-Rank missions also offered compensation. Even if it was small, after a day of missions, it was enough to buy oneself two high-quality Kunai or several Shuriken.
But interestingly, this kind of trouble caused by the uneven distribution of missions did not fall upon the three of them; all the squabbling ended up on Kakashi Hatake's head.
This was one of the few counterattacks Narutocould manage. After all, with such an idle team leader, if Naruto did not find some trouble for him, would he just let Kakashi Hatake waste his youth on his books?
Ever since Uchiha Obito gifted him the Sharingan, Kakashi Hatake's lazy nature had become uncontrollable. At first, he did not want to deal with the trouble Naruto caused him, but whenever the three of them were idle, they would pester him...
Helplessly, compared to Sakura Haruno's mostly childish questions, Uchiha Sasuke's cold grunts, and Naruto's sharp-tongued remarks, Kakashi Hatake still felt that his former colleagues and classmates were easier to deal with.
Why bother arguing with three troublesome brats over something that could be solved with a meal?
"Kakashi-sensei is going to treat the other team leaders to a meal, and he said we should go over after we finish our missions..." Sakura Harunoslapped her forehead, remembering Kakashi Hatake's instructions, "We..."
"The world of adults—I, as a child, shouldn't go and meddle, especially since I can't drink." Narutowas the first to refuse. The issues with his body made him not want to deal with these trivial matters at all.
"Boring!" Uchiha Sasuke dropped a sentence and prepared to leave. But then he thought, this might easily lead to a misunderstanding by Kakashi Hatake, so he simply added, "I still have to go home to train."
"Since you both have things to do... then I won't go either!"
Seeing her two teammates were uninterested, Sakura Haruno, although she really wanted to go, decided to let the minority follow the majority and also bailed on Kakashi Hatake's invitation.
"No, you have to go!" Naruto shook his head, "If Team Seven doesn't show up at all, Kakashi-senseiwill lose a lot of Face, and the consequences will be severe!"
"Then you guys..." Sakura Haruno's brain crashed; she did not quite understand why.
"Because you are a civilian Ninja, and the watershed between civilian Ninjas and FamilyNinjas is established in an instant starting from now." Naruto was somewhat serious, "Teaching resources, foundation, insight... we don't lack these." He patted Sakura Haruno on the shoulder, "So you should cherish this opportunity!"
Naruto did not care if Sakura Haruno could understand or not; after giving her the advice, he turned and left. Uchiha Sasuke, after glancing at Naruto's back, also chose to leave.
However, while passing by Sakura Haruno, who was still stunned and thinking, Uchiha Sasuketurned his head and said very seriously to her, "Naruto isn't lying to you. Listen to him!"
Having said that, Uchiha Sasuke quickly caught up to Naruto. When they reached the alley entrance, the two exchanged a glance, and with a tacit understanding, one went left and the other went right, temporarily parting ways.
...
Team Seven's journey as "Mission Maniacs" continued. As they completed more and more D-Rank missions, Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer suppress it and was forced to upgrade Team Seven's mission clearance to C-Rank.
Because Team Seven was indeed too excessive, and Kakashi Hatake was helping them accept missions from the shadows, this caused other team-leading Ninjas to complain incessantly. Even many Genin ran to the Hokage Building to complain about Team Seven.
"Hokage-sama, although this is a C-Rank mission, but..."
"I know what you want to say, but what reason is there now to stop Team Seven from going out to execute missions?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped the ash out of his pipe, put in a new roll of tobacco, lit it, took a deep puff, and exhaled powerlessly, "It is chaotic outside right now; I simply can't explain it!"
The fact that Naruto was the Nine-Tails Jinchurikiwas unknown to most Ninjas and all villagers in Konoha Village, except for the Konoha upper echelons and a few Anbu and people from the Hokage's faction.
Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally would not be stupid enough to use the fact that the Nine-Tails Jinchurikicould not leave the village to execute missions as an excuse.
But...
"Sigh!" Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed heavily, "At this time, I can only trust Kakashi. Furthermore, the strength of Naruto and Sasuke has indeed reached a Bottleneck for a long time. They won't grow without seeing blood..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi flipped through the documents in his hand, picking and choosing until he finally selected an escort mission that did not seem too difficult but barely reached C-Rank. He examined it with satisfaction for a moment before speaking again.
"Call Kakashi and his Team Seven over. This C-Rank mission is very suitable for them!"
"Yes! Hokage-sama!"
...
"We can leave the village now." Naruto turned his head to look at Uchiha Sasuke, "What are your plans?"
"I want to wait a bit longer."
"Oh?" Naruto was somewhat surprised by Uchiha Sasuke's calmness, "What made you change your mind?"
"Kakashi Hatake is not as simple as he appears." Uchiha Sasuke still kept a cold Face, "And he has been helping us in the shadows, intentionally or unintentionally. He should have guessed our intentions long ago."
"Aren't you curious why?" Naruto asked in return.
"I only care about whether I can take revenge, whether I can learn the truth, whether I can increase my strength, and whether I can defeat you!"
A series of four "whether" questions made Narutofreeze for a moment. The current Uchiha Sasukewas becoming more and more like the "before"—the Uchiha Sasuke from before Naruto's interference.
But although he was becoming more and more like that, Naruto's influence was still there. Even though his temperament had changed, his rationality remained. This allowed Naruto to set aside some of his worries; after all, Uchiha Sasukewas an important piece in his puzzle.
Unless it was an absolute last resort, Naruto really did not want to give up on him.
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