"I wonder what kind of enemies we'll encounter this time. If it's a Chunin, that would be perfect. I can show off my full strength," Obito mused on the way to the Hokage Building.
Obito was somewhat realistic in his thinking. He knew he couldn't defeat a Jonin, but he believed he could handle a Chunin, especially since Kakashi was also a Chunin.
"What are you thinking? Last time's mission was an extraordinary exception. C-Rank Missions don't involve encountering ninjas," Kakashi said, exasperated.
He had completed many C-Rank Missions, and the only time he encountered ninjas during one was the last mission.
"If it happened last time, why can't it happen this time?" Obito retorted immediately. He was quite eager for another unexpected encounter like the last one.
The total reward for the last mission was 800,000 ryo. After deducting taxes, Obito managed to get over 100,000 ryo, which excited him immensely. It was the first time he had seen so much money.
"The Academy's graduation exams should include more theoretical content, to prevent certain ignorant people from becoming ninjas," Kakashi said blandly.
"It's just better theory, what's so great about that? Ninjas are judged by their strength. What good is your theory if you're not strong? Guy's theory is about the same as mine, yet he can kick you so hard you can't get up," Obito retorted furiously, like a cat whose fur had been ruffled.
Obito didn't get as upset if Kakashi criticized his strength because who would win in a fight was still uncertain. But when Kakashi pointed out his poor theoretical knowledge, it really got to him, because it was true.
Kakashi's face darkened a bit, but he knew this wasn't the time to argue. He hit Obito where it hurt most, targeting his weak spot in theory.
Mutsuki didn't intervene. Letting Kakashi rile up Obito's emotions was fine with him. Arguing and bickering, they made their way to the Hokage Building.
Since there were other teams here also taking on missions, Obito and Kakashi temporarily ceased their skirmish. Obito didn't want to embarrass Mutsuki, while Kakashi thought it was silly.
"I'll take a C-Rank Mission," Mutsuki said to the registering ninja.
The registering ninja quickly produced a scroll and laid it out for Mutsuki to see.
Mutsuki noticed that the mission scroll also contained wartime tasks.
In non-urgent situations, Konoha generally wouldn't forcibly assign large numbers of ninjas to go to the battlefield to execute missions. Some less important tasks would be released within the village for teams to freely take on.
Of course, some important wartime tasks would still be assigned by the Elders to Jonin.
However, when wartime tasks were mixed in with the usual missions, Mutsuki knew that the war was gradually entering the next phase.
In fact, Mutsuki had already realized this when Jiraiya came to visit his house.
Jiraiya rarely returned to Konoha as he often traveled around the ninja world. But now, he was back.
However, based on the original plot, Mutsuki judged that it wasn't yet the most intense time. It would still be a while before the Great Ninja Villages would gang up on each other, especially since Obito hadn't graduated yet, and Kakashi had more than three years to go before becoming a Jonin.
"Jonin Mutsuki, although you are allowed to take on C-Rank Missions, there are two interns in your class. According to the regulations, classes with interns are not allowed to take on wartime tasks," the registering ninja said.
Even D-Rank Missions may involve wartime tasks. To prevent senseis with abnormal minds from taking students to the battlefield and causing accidents, Sarutobi Hiruzen prohibited classes with interns from taking on wartime tasks.
"Yeah, I understand," Mutsuki nodded. He wasn't planning on taking on wartime tasks anyway. It would be troublesome if he encountered a Jinchuriki or the Tsuchikage or Raikage.
He only wanted to spar with the candidates for the next Hokage who hadn't fully developed yet, not with the current Hokage.
The Third Hokage, Third Tsuchikage, and Third Raikage—none of them are easy opponents. The Third Hokage, needless to say, he had seen the panel. The Third Raikage was incredibly tough, able to withstand even the Rasenshuriken. The Third Tsuchikage's Dust Release was also powerful, and he could even fly.
"What? Some tasks aren't allowed?" Obito, feeling rebellious, heard that some tasks weren't allowed and immediately peeked over.
Smack!
Without even looking, Mutsuki gave Obito's head a thump.
"Did you really develop a ninjutsu just to hit me accurately, Yumi-sensei? How did you do that?" Obito, looking surprised at Mutsuki, who had hit his forehead accurately while still reading the mission scroll.
"Because I have good eyes," Mutsuki replied with a smile and continued reading the mission scroll.
Excluding wartime tasks, C-Rank Missions were mostly the same: either driving away fierce beasts, dealing with bandits, escorting clients, or transporting documents.
It's not that the clients didn't want to assign different tasks, but anything higher would require additional payment, making it a B-Rank Mission. That was beyond what Mutsuki's class could handle.
Mutsuki carefully examined the tasks. Rather than the content of the tasks, he focused more on the locations. The Land of Grass was immediately ruled out by Mutsuki, as there might be a major battle brewing between Konoha and Hidden Rock there.
Finally, after looking around, Mutsuki chose a task located in the Land of Rivers, which involved driving away fierce beasts.
The task description mentioned a black giant eagle that frequently harassed residents in the town of Kawakita in the task area, treating the residents' domestic poultry as if they were its own buffet. Chickens, ducks, geese, and even pigs had fallen prey to the black eagle's claws.
Mutsuki estimated that this black giant eagle was probably a ninja beast since it had the strength to capture and eat domestic pigs.
Mutsuki checked the time the task was posted—it was a new task posted just last night.
"Let's go with this task," Mutsuki said, pointing to the task of driving away fierce beasts in the Land of Rivers.
In case of accidents, they could earn some extra money, and if everything went smoothly, He could also test how much a normal C-Rank Mission paid. If successful, they might even acquire a bird-type Summon Beast.
There weren't many flying ninja beasts in the ninja world, so having a bird-type Summon Beast would make it more convenient when he couldn't defeat an opponent and needed to escape quickly.
"Let me see, let me see," Obito peeked at the task as they walked out of the mission hall.
"Hey, isn't it the same country as last time?" Obito's voice sounded a bit energetic.
"What's wrong? Do you like the Land of Rice Fields?" Mutsuki asked as he took the mission scroll.
"Hehe, not really. It's just that I feel there's a higher chance of encountering enemies there," Obito chuckled in response.
Mutsuki was unsure how to evaluate this in his mind. It seemed like he was treating Hidden Cloud ninja as regular enemies to brush past.
However, Obito's prediction was accurate this time. There was indeed a higher chance of encountering enemies in the Land of Rice Fields.
Losing an elite squad would be acceptable on a regular battlefield, but if it happened unexpectedly, Hidden Cloud would surely send someone to investigate.
If it weren't for this mission involving the black giant eagle in the Land of Rivers, Mutsuki probably would have specifically inquired about missions in the Land of Rice Fields.
After all, it's unlikely that the Third Raikage would personally come to investigate.
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