The next morning, Shintaro received a mission notification stating that Shikaku had accepted a mission that needed to be completed by the three of them.
Curious about the content of the mission, he changed his clothes and went out.
Kurenai and Asuma also received the same mission notification.
The three of them arrived at the Nara Clan residence almost simultaneously.
Although the Nara Clan is not one of the major clans in Konoha, it has reached a certain scale.
The three of them stood in front of the Nara Clan gate, somewhat conspicuously.
Fortunately, after being informed by the guard, Shikaku came out with a strange smile, making Shintaro suddenly feel uneasy.
Sure enough, his prediction was correct, and Shikaku released the content of the mission.
This time, it was a C-rank mission issued by Shikaku himself, patrolling the Nara Clan's deer farm. The location was the Nara Forest in the Land of Fire, which was the ancestral land of the Nara Clan.
Shikaku said, "There won't be any danger in this mission, so I won't be going."
"Someone will guide you to the Nara Forest. You just need to stay in the designated area for a month and be responsible for patrolling."
"Don't worry, generally, no one covets the Nara Clan's territory."
"You go back and clean up."
Shintaro just felt a bit bored. Initially, he was quite interested, but it turned out the mission was not dangerous.
Kurenai was very excited because she had heard that there were many deer in the Nara Deer Farm. After all, little girls like small animals.
Seeing Shintaro and the others return, Shikaku went back to the station. A clan elder said with dissatisfaction, "Shikaku, you handed over the task given to you by the clan again. Are you so unwilling to contribute to the clan?"
"Also, Shikaba is a forbidden area for the Nara Clan. Only members of the Nara Clan can enter."
Shikaku waved his hand and said, "I am now a Jonin of Konoha, so of course, I must contribute to Konoha first. Besides, wouldn't it be a contribution if I spread it?"
"Also, those three are not only my students but also the future of Konoha. Do you want to doubt the future of Konoha?"
The clan elder fell silent and left in anger.
Shikaku watched the departing elder and sighed, "This is really troublesome."
❀❀❀
A young ninja from the Nara Clan found the three of them one by one. This ninja's name was Nara Shimizu, he had a black ponytail and thick dark circles around his eyes.
He said, "I'll take you to the deer farm. I'll be looking after you this month."
"Oh, what a hassle… Shikaku handed the task to me again."
The three of them seemed to sense deep resentment and couldn't help but feel sympathy for Shimizu.
"Ck, ck, it seems our teacher really did a lot of bad things."
Shimizu brought Shintaro, Kurenai, and Asuma to a forest in the hinterland of the Land of Fire that afternoon. This was the famous Nara Forest.
There were many deer and wild animals in captivity, and many valuable medicinal materials were planted there.
Thanks to this forest, the Nara Clan almost monopolized the medicine business in Konoha and even the Land of Fire.
The Nara Forest was vast, making it impossible for Shintaro and the others to patrol the entire area.
In fact, the area designated by Shikaku for Shintaro was less than one percent of the entire Nara Forest.
But even so, this distance would take quite some time for Shintaro and the others to patrol, not to mention they had to be on guard at all times, which would be even more troublesome. No wonder Shikaku didn't want to come.
Shimizu led the three of them to a small wooden house and said, "This is where you will stay for the month."
"There are some supplies inside. There is a small town to the north of the forest. If the supplies are insufficient, you can go there to buy them. Supplies bought in the town can be billed to the Nara Clan's account. Just present your mission voucher. That's it."
"By the way, the antlers will be harvested in two days. Although you don't know [Kagemane no Jutsu], you can still help me catch a few more deer. I will collect the antlers in two days and pay you extra according to the number of antlers."
"Here is a map of the forest. The forest is very vast. Please be safe and don't get lost. That's it. I'm leaving now."
Shimizu left after giving a few instructions.
Shintaro touched his nose and sighed, "This first mission is not what I expected."
He had heard Kakashi complain about the boring tasks in the village before, so he was mentally prepared.
He could also accept capturing cats and dogs, and of course, he hoped the tasks could improve his actual combat abilities.
But he didn't expect this mission to involve patrolling here for a month and still have accommodation.
Call it enjoyable, but it was just strolling in the forest and catching deer.
Call it boring, but it was easier than capturing cats and dogs.
In short, both situations were different from what was expected.
Kurenai and Asuma felt the same.
The three of them then entered the wooden house and found that it was much more modern than expected, with modern furniture such as electric lights, a gas stove, a refrigerator, and a water heater.
This made the three of them very satisfied. After all, they were used to the comfortable and fast life in Konoha Village.
The only thing that made them dissatisfied was that the cabin was too small and only had one bed.
"I've never lived in a house this small…" Asuma said, shaking his head.
The same was true for Kurenai. Although her family was not as large as the Sarutobi Clan, it was still a single-family villa located in the middle of the village.
Among the three, only Shintaro had really lived a hard life. Before he was five, he lived in a dilapidated house in a small town in the Land of Fire. It was almost the same size as the wooden house in front of him, and his house was almost empty.
Shintaro said, "Complaining is not an option. This bed can only fit one person. Kurenai, you can sleep on the bed, and Asuma and I will sleep on the floor. Are you okay with that?"
He then looked at Asuma, who shook his head. Although he was the eldest son of the Hokage family, he wouldn't be so spoiled as to compete for a bed with a girl.
Kurenai was a bit embarrassed at first, but when she thought if she didn't sleep on the bed, she would definitely have to sleep with the boys, so she held back what she wanted to say and nodded slightly.
The three of them packed their belongings and cleaned and decorated the house together.
Kurenai wiped the sweat off her forehead, observed the result with her hands on her hips, and said, "Not bad, it finally looks livable."
Shintaro also laid down the floor, and he and Asuma lay down to try it out.
Kurenai looked at the two of them and couldn't help but laugh, then said with a smile, "I've worked hard for you this month. Don't worry, I'll be in charge of the food this month, and I'll give you healthy meals."
Shintaro lay on the floor and gave a thumbs up.
Asuma laughed heartily at this.
Kurenai then checked the ingredients in the refrigerator and decided on tonight's menu: "Radish, potatoes, onions, and baby cabbage."
Shintaro sat up and asked, "No meat?"
Asuma also sat up and said, "The Nara Forest is rich in vegetables, but isn't this too much?"
Kurenai opened the refrigerator door and let them see for themselves.
Shintaro didn't expect the supplies here to be sufficient but no meat. He immediately said, "Let me go hunting so I can eat meat."
Kurenai and Asuma objected.
Asuma said, "Nara Shimizu didn't say whether we could hunt. If we act recklessly and cause trouble, we'll be in trouble."
Kurenai said, "Let me go to town to buy it. By the way, you two can patrol."
Shintaro had no choice but to suppress his desire to hunt.
In this way, the three of them divided the work and cooperated. Kurenai went to town to buy something, while Shintaro and Asuma stayed in the forest to patrol and catch deer.