Naruto was annoyed.
He never really wanted to become a shinobi but he knew he had no choice in the matter since his daddy dearest decided to add some fox stuffing into him.
But inwardly seething at being forced to become a shinobi and outwardly showing his displeasure were two very different things. He might have been young but he was not stupid. If he was not being given an option anyway, he might as well go with the flow and milk it for all it was worth. Hence, his foolhardy and prankster image was created to cover his real skill and personality.
Only when Anko started to take care of him did his silent discontent at his situation improve. For the first time in his life, Naruto gained a proper reason to be a ninja. He wanted to prove himself to Anko. To become stronger. To prove that her training him, giving him the time of her day was worth it. And... to be able to protect her.
Academy was a tedious matter for Naruto. Even the improved curriculum wasn't challenging enough considering he was being chased by Anko's massive serpents hellbent on eating him alive through the Training Ground 44 every afternoon. And according to Anko, that was a warm-up before the real training began...
There really was nothing of interest in the Academy for Naruto so he used the time to perfect his cheerful and foolish facade of a prankster. After all, there was no sense in wasting his time even more than he was already forced to.
When he finally graduated from the Academy, Naruto cheered and celebrated... he even wanted to paint the Hokage monument from the sheer joy of leaving his dull repetitive lifestyle and only the fear of livid Tsunade stopped him short of buying paint cans.
Now... imagine Naruto's surprise when after two weeks of vacation due to medical reasons... damn that Kakashi... his team finally received their first mission.
Naruto wasn't an impressionable dumb kid with grand unreachable dreams and determination to reach them that could only be acquired through long-term brainwashing and mental conditioning. He knew there would be no saving princesses or protecting the Daimyo for him and his team anytime soon.
But... weeding the garden of some old bitch who glared at him the entire time?
Could you blame him that with every two weeds he pulled out he also 'mistakenly' pulled out a herb? Payment reduction or not, it was totally worth it.
Fortunately, Anko taught him which herbs were the really precious ones so, by the time their mission was done, the old woman was pale with silent pent-up rage at his 'clumsiness' while Anko tried to hide her smile behind her left hand as her right one was firmly grasping Kakashi's shoulder, preventing him from intervening.
Not that the lazy ass had any intention of doing anything after Anko stopped him in his tracks the first time he tried to step forward and reprimand Naruto. Anko most likely just liked how the porn-lover shuddered with her hand that could at any time crush his bones to mush on his shoulder.
But even with his incredible patience, somewhere between the sixteenth time his team was forced to walk Inuzuka's dogs and the thirteenth time they had to repair a damn fence, Naruto had had enough. Could anyone blame him for using a bear trap on poor little Tora?
Naruto's disappointment was immense when the stupid cat survived...
As a last-ditch effort, he started acting like a whiny brat, exactly as his facade dictated, and demanded a C-rank mission. Naruto had no idea how well he sold his act... probably not so well considering it was Shikaku Nara who lifted his eyebrow at him in amusement before he silently turned towards Kakashi with a question written in his eyes.
When Kakashi nervously shuffled while pretending to be extremely interested in the current chapter of his porn, Shikaku took it as agreement, much to the betrayed glance the white-haired jonin threw him after the Hokage announced they were getting their first C-rank mission.
Needless to say, Naruto was elated! He knew the very first C-rank is customary bandit extermination to make the genins used to killing as quickly and safely as possible. After all, if one doesn't have the mental fortitude to kill, there is no reason to continue with the ninja career.
Naruto doubted there would be a person with such a problem in his team. The months of D-rank missions made sure to heighten their frustration enough that they needed a special kind of destressing activity. Somebody was gonna die and the only question was who.
And then Team Seven was given the mission with the least possibility of getting into a fight. A protection detail over a dumb unimportant drunk who liked to piss Naruto off by cracking jokes about his height.
Just... great.
The question of who Naruto will slaughter at the end of the mission was slowly becoming apparent...
...
Anko walked behind their client with hands behind her head and a deceptively cheerful gait in her steps while her eyes subtly hovered over Naruto. She was aware how... twitchy, he was in the past month.
It was just natural. During his training, she did not only hone his skills but also his instincts. He probably didn't even realize it but his frustration from doing chores somewhat lessened the hold on the stabbiness Anko instilled in him.
That was fine. The kid just had to learn how to control himself and that required nothing but experience. Usually, a good beating got rid of all of the brat's frustration but if he wanted to get better emotional control, he needed practical experience so, during the past month, Anko didn't spar with him, letting his frustration slowly build up.
She was aware Naruto most likely expected bandit extermination as their first C-rank. After all, it was her who told him about that tradition. The new improved curriculum in the Academy contained one lesson in the last week before graduation. The kids were taken into Konoha's prison and then they had to kill a prisoner. The bandit extermination was more of a test if they can replicate the feat in action and during the threat on their own life.
But Anko didn't think her team needed such a test. Now when she nearly killed them on a weekly basis during her training sessions. As such, she took this protection detail. It was cute, seeing Naruto act like a total brat and demand a C-rank. He had no idea Anko had already picked a C-rank for them and they would get it today no matter what.
Anko's eyes moved towards their client and her lips slightly twitched. 'I wonder what he is hiding.' She narrowed her eyes. The man was too nervous for her liking.
The fact that Tsunade told her to send a message if anything went wrong with the mission as if she already expected problems didn't instill much confidence in Anko either. Then again, Anko was also happy that Tsunade trusted her enough to still send her on the mission despite having a hunch it would go horribly wrong.
She might be just a chunin on the official records but Anko was S-class skill-wise. If even she was unable to finish the mission, then sending even a team of jonin would be pointless.
Anko suddenly stiffened a bit as her snakes warned her of possible hostiles. She quickly relaxed and continued with her carefree pace, not giving any hint that she was wary. Her eyes briefly glanced in Kakashi's direction, showing him a wide cocky grin when she realized he noticed her brief stiffening.
The white-haired jonin just shrugged in apathy before he returned to his smut but now there was a concealed edge behind his movements.
Anko looked at her three students who poutingly walked in front of their client, still clueless about the approaching threat. She inwardly chuckled.
All the pieces were in their place.