"Ah, a C-Rank mission, let me see." The registering Ninja lowered his head and flipped through the documents.
"There are C-Rank missions, but the remaining ones are all war missions. Recently, the regular C-Rank missions have already been completed," the registering Ninja said, looking up.
"There are still a few D-Rank missions available. Jonin Mutsuki, why don't you take some D-Rank missions for now, and check again tomorrow for new C-Rank commission tasks?" the registering Ninja suggested.
"That's unfortunate." Mutsuki hadn't expected to encounter this situation.
Mutsuki pondered with a contemplative expression. He had originally wanted to see how many rewards he could earn from regular C-Rank missions, but unexpectedly, those missions had already been completed.
After some thought, Mutsuki decided to take his students back for training. There was no need to do D-Rank missions anymore; the Chakra rewards were too low, so it was better to let the disciples train for a day instead.
"Hehe, Uncle, why don't you let us do B-Rank missions? Look, we've completed two A-Rank missions already, so doing B-Rank missions should be no problem," Obito chuckled.
He didn't want to do D-Rank missions anymore. After doing C-Rank missions, he never wanted to go back to those menial tasks unless he was really short on money and had no other missions to do.
"I can only assign you B-Rank missions once you become Chunin," the registering Ninja said, emphasizing that experience didn't matter to him; he only looked at Ninja ranks.
"See, in our team, Yumi-sensei is a Special Jonin, Kakashi is a Chunin. The two of us haven't graduated yet, but that surely meets the requirement for accepting B-Rank missions," Obito tried to bluff his way through.
"No, you have internship Ninja certificates, so you're considered interns," the registering Ninja said sternly.
"Then give us C-Rank war missions. After all, they're still C-Rank missions. There shouldn't be much difference," Obito persisted.
"It's very different!" The registering Ninja's expression suddenly became serious.
"War missions are directly related to wars. The battlefield is not a place for kids like you. Wait until you become Chunin before having such thoughts."
"What's going on, Sawada? Why the serious face when talking to kids?" Sarutobi Hiruzen happened to walk by, smiling as he spoke.
When he finished his official business, he would sometimes sit in the mission hall for a while. It allowed the clients to feel Konoha's commitment to their missions and let the Konoha Ninja who came for missions feel the care of the Hokage.
"Third-sama, here's the situation. Jonin Mutsuki came for a C-Rank mission, but all that's left are war missions at this rank. This kid named Obito..." Kazuya Sawada respectfully greeted Sarutobi Hiruzen and proceeded to explain the situation.
"I see." Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, placed his pipe in his mouth, and assumed a thoughtful expression.
In terms of strength, he believed Mutsuki's team would have no problem handling B-Rank missions.
Overall, Mutsuki's team was quite strong. Mutsuki, hailing from the Root, was not just an ordinary Special Jonin. Kakashi was an experienced Chunin, and both Obito and Guy had impressive abilities.
B-Rank missions typically involved encounters with Genin-level opponents. If the Ninja ranks were higher, the mission would require more payment and a higher mission rank. With Mutsuki's team composition, facing Genin would certainly be manageable.
However, considering there were two interns in Mutsuki's team and they had already been granted privileges for C-Rank missions before, granting them higher ranks might not be entirely appropriate.
"Hokage-sama, you know the strength of our team. C-Rank war missions are still C-Rank missions; we'll definitely be fine," Obito said with hopeful eyes, looking towards Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a puff of smoke and pondered for a moment before saying to Kazuya Sawada, "Let me see the C-Rank war mission."
Taking the scroll handed over by Kazuya Sawada, Sarutobi Hiruzen carefully examined it. He found a mission to escort provisions to the battlefield in the Land of Grass.
C-Rank war missions typically did not involve Ninja combat and mostly consisted of logistical tasks.
Normally, escorting provisions should not be classified as a C-Rank mission, as there was a high probability of enemy Ninja attacks.
However, the current situation was that Konoha and Hidden Rock were engaged in conflict in the Land of Grass, each controlling half of the territory. Therefore, it was difficult for Hidden Rock to launch attacks deep into the Land of Fire's territory.
Small teams of Ninja could sustain themselves with provisions they carried or by foraging locally. However, for large-scale, prolonged warfare, supplies had to be transported from the rear.
Generally, there were two scenarios: urgent delivery of provisions due to unexpected circumstances at the front lines, or regular supply deliveries from the rear to the front lines. This C-Rank mission fell into the latter category.
"Your team has indeed performed exceptionally well. I'll make an exception for you and let you take on this war mission," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a smile as he handed over the mission to escort provisions to Mutsuki.
"Mutsuki, what do you think of this mission?"
Mutsuki took the scroll with both hands, carefully read through the mission details, then nodded and said, "We will certainly not disappoint you, Third-sama. We will ensure to perfectly complete this mission!"
Mutsuki was satisfied with the mission. Although it was a war mission, it wasn't a dangerous one.
He thought having a social cow in the team was quite good. If it weren't for Obito, they wouldn't have been able to do the mission today and would have had to return to training.
Mutsuki could be as shameless as Obito, but his status was not suitable. Obito was an intern who didn't understand things, while Mutsuki was already a Special Jonin and an Academy sensei. Forcing higher-rank missions clearly wouldn't work and didn't fit his character.
"Alright, thank you, Hokage-sama!" Obito instantly smiled broadly and thanked Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"You are all the future of the village, so please be careful," Sarutobi Hiruzen said kindly, removing his pipe and smiling.
"Yumi-sensei, let me see what the mission is about," Obito couldn't wait to see the details of the mission as they walked outside the Hokage Building.
Perhaps this was human nature—the more you try to keep someone away from something, the more curious and eager they become. Obito was very curious about what was so special about this war mission that interns were forbidden from undertaking.
"Take a look at it too," Mutsuki handed over the mission briefing directly to his disciples to read.
Obito eagerly took it and checked the contents, then displayed a disappointed expression.
"What's this? Isn't it no different from a regular C-Rank mission? It's just changing from people to provisions," Obito couldn't help but comment.
He had thought this war mission would be something special, but it turned out to be a letdown.
"It's not the same. We're going to the battlefield, the battlefield of two of the Five Great Shinobi Nations. It's arguably the most dangerous place in the shinobi world," Kakashi corrected with a serious expression.
"At other times, it doesn't matter," Kakashi would never allow Obito to underestimate the battlefield, as even the Hokage could face unexpected situations there.
"While it's highly unlikely to encounter combat, we must remain vigilant."
After all, they encountered unexpected situations in their first three C-Rank missions, but surely not this time.
"Kakashi, if you say so, we'll probably encounter Ninja" Obito said, looking pleased.
Kakashi looked at Obito with a puzzled expression, wondering how he interpreted the opposite from what he said.
"Kakashi, look, in our first three missions, you said the same thing, but each time we encountered combat. So, it'll probably be the same this time," Obito analyzed seriously.
Kakashi: ...
He was speechless. He wasn't so pessimistic; it was all just a coincidence.
"It's just that we were unlucky in the previous few missions. Most of the mission route is safe within our country, and our Konoha ninjas will also guard the part of the route to the Land of Grass," Kakashi said lightly.
"Don't discuss this anymore; let's quickly execute the mission. War missions can't be delayed," Mutsuki said with a smile.
Luck played a part in the success of previous missions, but Mutsuki also deserved credit. He deliberately chose more dangerous locations, increasing the likelihood of encountering unexpected events.
Following this, Mutsuki led his disciples to the location of the supply convoy.
"Ninja-sama, we're ready on our end, ready to depart at any time," a middle-aged man approached and confirmed after seeing Mutsuki had taken the mission.
"We're all set here too. Let's depart," Mutsuki nodded and gave the order.
This mission was different from previous ones where there was always a client. This time, Konoha itself was the client for the war mission. Therefore, as the Squad Captain, Mutsuki had absolute command authority. Next were Mutsuki's disciples, and lastly, the ordinary people handling the supply transport.
Under Mutsuki's command, the horse-drawn carts filled with provisions set off towards the Land of Grass. Mutsuki and his three disciples sat in a cart that wasn't carrying provisions.
"Yumi-sensei, isn't there a jutsu that can seal things into scrolls? Why don't we just seal all the provisions into scrolls? That way, we wouldn't need so many carts or as many people. The few of us could handle the escort," Obito asked curiously.
If only the four of them were escorting, it would greatly increase stealth.
"You can't seal as much as you want into those scrolls," Mutsuki smiled and explained to Obito the principles of storing items inside scrolls.
The scrolls that can store items are themselves ninja tools. How much can be stored and retrieved depends on the ninja's ability. It's not something any ninja can just decide to store or retrieve as much as they want.
Ninjas generally have hearty appetites, especially during wars with intense battles, which increases their consumption. To satisfy thousands of hungry mouths, the amount of provisions needed is extensive.
Powerful ninjas are naturally not assigned to deliver provisions; they have more important tasks. Therefore, the team consists of ninjas plus ordinary people in the end.
Obito nodded as if he understood, looking like he had gained some new knowledge.
"What do you think the battlefield will be like, Yumi-sensei? Have you been there?" Obito shifted from thinking about provisions to contemplating the battlefield.
Mutsuki shook his head. Whether in this life or the previous one, he had never been to a battlefield.
"What about you, Kakashi?" Obito then asked Kakashi. Like him and Guy, Kakashi was a student and likely hadn't been there either.
"I've been on several war missions, but I haven't fought on the actual battlefield," Kakashi recalled and answered.
While he had extensive experience in regular missions, being just an eight-year-old child, he had no battlefield experience.
"Yet you acted like you knew everything earlier," Obito teased, remembering how serious Kakashi had seemed, almost intimidating him.
"I haven't fought on the battlefield, but I've been educated by those who have," Kakashi replied seriously, showing that war demands serious consideration.
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