Kakashi, who was leaning on a tree branch, stumbled, lost his grip, and *bam*. Sandaime nearly stumbled as well.
Sandaime: "He ran away."
Tatsumo: "Indeed. These three are already working as a team, so there's no need to check them on that. For their strength, if Ikki had used 'Tsubame,' tomorrow would be his funeral. And if this continues, he would have to get serious. These kids' strength has already reached Chunin level."
Sandaime: "I wanted to see their total strength."
Tatsumo: "Give up. And make sure someone doesn't find out about them. It's good they didn't apply for graduation earlier than this; otherwise, he would have gotten wind of it."
Sandaime: "That's good news. How did he turn out like this?"
Tatsumo: "*Sigh.* Let's not go there. Let's announce ourselves and give them a mission, so you can really see their strength."
Sandaime: "Let's do that."
---
Returning to where Ikki and the others were,
As soon as Ikki brought out his sword,
Hayate: "Okay, you three pass."
Ikki stumbled and fell face-first, with Chikako and Hinari also stumbling slightly.
Hinari's thought: *He ran from the situation.*
Chikako's thought: *He ran from the situation.*
At that moment, a *bam* sound came from the woods. After some time, from one side of the woods, Sandaime and Tatsumo emerged, and where the sound had come from, an Anbu ninja came out wearing a dog mask.
Sandaime: "Congratulations, kids, you passed. I was watching with Tatsumo here." [Looking at Hayate] "We thought it would keep going, but someone ran away." Hayate looked away.
Sandaime: "Come to my office tomorrow at 10 a.m., and I'll assign your first mission. Let's go, Dog, Hayate."
---
**[Sandaime POV]**
We reached my office, with Tatsumo following us.
"What type of mission should I give them?"
Sandaime started looking through the C-Rank mission pile.
Kakashi: "A direct C-rank mission."
"Chikako and Ikki already completed their first C-rank mission three years ago. I think they're capable of taking on a B-rank, but I want to start slow."
Tatsumo also picked a file or two. After checking them, he gave me two mission files. After checking them,
"Aren't they…?"
Tatsumo: "You and I both realize this team is meant for this, or for tracking and protection specialty. You know what to do."
"Hayate, come to the office tomorrow right on time. I'll explain your mission then."
---
**[Third Person POV]**
Ikki: "Okay, that was easy."
Chikako: "Hehehe, quite so."
Hinari: "Sensei ran away."
Ikki: "When we coordinated as a team, we basically passed the test. I could tell from his expression. But when I brought out my sword, he knew the situation was getting scary, so he gave up. He's a reasonable and calm person. He'll be a good sensei for us. Let him lead, and we can enjoy some leisure time."
---
The next day in Hokage's office,
Sandaime: "Ikki will make all decisions related to the team. Hayate will give input as an experienced member if he feels like it; otherwise, Ikki will be the team leader."
Ikki was stunned, staring at Sandaime as if he had seen a ghost. Hinari and Chikako started snickering behind him, and even Hayate looked confused.
After 1 minute,
Ikki: "What?! Is this some kind of joke? Hayate-sensei is a Jonin. Why can't he lead?"
Hinari [snickering and speaking quietly to Chikako]: "He's still trying to overturn the inevitable."
Chikako [whispering]: "It's a lost cause."
Sandaime: "I want you to lead the team. Is there a problem with that?"
Chikako put a hand on Ikki's shoulder.
Chikako: "Give up, Ikki. It's set in stone."
Ikki looked at Chikako, opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out for a full minute. Then,
Ikki [dejectedly]: "Okay, I agree."
Chikako: "You should've said that from the start. Wasted 2 minutes—I could've taken a nap."
*Bam.*
Hinari lightly hit Chikako from behind.
Hinari: "You sleep too much."
Hayate: "Alright, kids, calm down. Let Hokage-sama speak."
Sandaime: "These kids don't respect their elders at all. Okay, your mission is to hunt monsters. The town of Windfall near the border has seen some deaths in the nearby forest area. Some people reported seeing a shadow that killed their partners. They only survived because they ran away after their partners were killed."
Sandaime started to shuffle through files, searching for the case file.
Ikki: "Let me help you."
Ikki started shuffling through files. After finding the file, he moved it toward Sandaime.
Sandaime: "You keep it. Read it and make the decision."
Ikki went through the file once and gave it back to the Hokage. Turning to his team,
Ikki: "You get 1 hour. Let's meet at the west gate. Get everything ready. The mission might take a week, so pack accordingly."
As he said this, he gestured with four fingers. Since his back was facing Sandaime, Sandaime couldn't see the gesture. Chikako and Hinari, noticing it, nodded. Hayate, understanding the gesture, also nodded.