Chapter 33- Start of Missions
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"On your positions, charge slowly, surround and capture... Is everyone ready? Okay, now!!!" Yes, this was us, doing a mission, the classic Naruto first mission, catch the cat. This was not our first mission though; we had to suffer by doing a lot of these. Well, how to say, D-rank jobs were rather annoying. Unlike normal ninja missions, D-rank tasks were like petty odd jobs, which could range from catching cats to even cleaning public toilets. Yeah, it's nasty, but there's nothing we can do about it. Even Tsunade, being the princess of Konoha, still has to do them, just like any other newly graduated Shinobi. Well, for appearance's sake, she needs to do it even more than others, and being teammates, of course, I and Jiraiya have to do it with her too, since if she skips those tasks, others will view it as the Hokage abusing his powers.
"Hah, we finally caught it. I don't know for how long we have to do such missions. I am tired of them already. We should take S-rank missions, not these D-rank ones. Only those are befitting of me, the great Jiraiya. Cleaning toilets and such is clearly just a smear on my name," Jiraiya was loudly ranting on the side. Though, for once, I can say that I don't fully disagree with him. S-rank missions are impossible for now, but we should at least start B or C-rank ones now. D-ranks are far too boring.
Tsunade sighed slightly. "Sorry, Jiraiya. I know it is my fault, but we need to do at least 10 more D-rank missions than everyone else. I swear that we can do every mission normally after that, and maybe even get more high-ranked missions than everyone else," Tsunade apologetically said. Well, Jiraiya understandingly didn't say much more and just accepted his fate. Well, it won't be too long anyway.
And the days pass by, excruciatingly slowly. At least we had now completed the D-rank quota. For the C-rank missions, which we can take from now on, we can leave the village, which would be my first time leaving the village in this life. Well, it will be kind of interesting to travel the world and see how it is different from my past world. But it is not like I traveled much in my past life, so not much to compare from, but carefree travels would be good.
Another thing which excites me is that completing missions increases my points. Though D-rank missions only give one point, I speculate that higher-ranked missions would certainly give more of them. This might drive me to become a crazed mission-completing beast like Kakashi or Jiraiya. With all these thoughts in my mind, I walked with Tsunade towards the Hokage building. The Hokage would personally issue C-rank missions. Of course, this is not for everyone. The Hokage usually only gives S and A-rank missions personally, but since we are, well... family? Well, at least Tsunade is. But anyway, we get special treatment. Besides, it's only for the first mission.
"Hiruzen, how is being a sensei faring for you? Are they performing well? Tsunade does tend to be rebellious sometimes, but she usually is quite disciplined. Akira is good, and Jiraiya also has great potential. Under your guidance, I am sure they would turn out the best they could," the second Hokage, Tobirama, said casually. After all, everyone's almost family here, no need to be so formal. Well... except Jiraiya, who was slightly shocked by seeing the casual second Hokage. After all, the only times he had seen him were probably at the speeches he makes at the academy, and Grandpa Tobirama is serious most of the time.
"It's good, Sensei. Although this is my first time being a sensei, I am just trying to copy you as much as I can. Surely it would make me among the best teachers around. And I am quite satisfied with these students of mine. I guess they all will make a name for themselves when they grow up, especially Akira. He is already as strong as some Jonin. Maybe he might even reach your level, Sensei." Hiruzen sensei said excitedly. It was really strange to see him now like this and compare it with the scheming dual-faced man in the original work... or is he even acting right now? If that's the case, then he really is scary. But one thing is for sure, my suspicions of him are enough to make me never completely trust him. After all, the guy's a proper politician, and it is wise to not trust one of those.
"Well, it is good that you are satisfied with them. Anyways, you are here for a C-rank mission. I planned on giving you some escort mission first, but since the war is almost at its end, it's better to be even more cautious right now... So take this mission to clear a group of bandits near Katagawa City. They have been causing quite the nuisance, and it would be better for them to see some blood." Grandpa Tobirama did pick up a mission for us quite thoughtfully. Killing was something we needed to get used to living in this world as Shinobi, and I prefer to kill bandits first than ninjas in a war. Since bandits are essentially ordinary humans, killing them is quite easy. Even an ordinary Genin could kill a dozen. What was more important was to get used to blood. If I start puking in the middle of a war, it would be bad. My healing factor might save me, but I might just end up becoming a test subject... just like the original Wolverine.
"Indeed, Sensei. Clearing some bandits would be best for them at the moment. And the ongoing war has also increased the number of bandits by quite a bit. Killing some would certainly make the lives of people better, and they could also gain experience. Team 7 accepts this mission. We will ensure it's properly done, Sensei," Hiruzen sensei said with an enthusiastic smile and ordered us to get ready and reach the village gate in an hour.
I, along with Tsunade, quickly packed our stuff. Since this was our first combat mission, Grandma had prepared everything for us which was heartwarming, and boy, did she go overboard. I had around 50 detonation tags on me... I mean, since I am rich as fuck, I could easily buy these. But it's not about money I am talking about here. Well, we soon all teamed up at the village gate.
"Alright, everyone, since this is your first combat mission, I will keep an eye on you. Though make no mistake, I won't help you until it is absolutely necessary, so you are all on your own. Hmmm, consider this a test. You fail if you need my help, and there would be rewards for each of you if you perform well. Alright, let's go," Hiruzen sensei said, probably trying to encourage us. But it wasn't needed all that much since we were all plenty excited ourselves, though the test part did increase a bit of competitiveness.
And we all rushed towards our destination, running with our hands behind our backs. Like seriously, why doesn't this world have any vehicles? But there are refrigerators and stuff. I mean, going on foot is certainly not the most desired mode of transportation for me...