It has been around 2 weeks since his speech to his three most promising Jonin and Hiruzen has done a few changes. First, Hiruzen has set up a new schedule for himself that incorporates a rotation between doing paperwork, training, resting, and the possibility between doing a bit more paperwork or directly going home… Hiruzen himself had to analyse his original calendar and schedule to come up with this new one as he is quite eager to get back to full strength, but at the same time he can't neglect his duties to the village… so he made the schedule and he is quite pleased with it… Hiruzen also informed his secretary about the new schedule change for him so she knows when and when not to send someone inside of his office…
He has also assigned some Chunin who aren't actively taking missions anymore to permanently take over handing out D-Rank Missions and C-Rank's that aren't that important, and the only times would he come and hand out a C-Rank Mission personally now are if Team Seven through Ten were to come and take one… personally Hiruzen didn't want to stay in his office all day doing the same thing over and over again, so he informed the Chunin of his new orders which he nodded and agreed easily too.
He also kept his promise about 'watching' over the three teams as during his rest times he uses his crystal ball, which he also found out works well with his Reiryoku, mainly due to it being primarily made Fūinjutsu.
So he started observing and saw that Asuma was surprisingly doing well, he hasn't actively been taking any missions yet and instead is helping build his teams foundation's better… he is even starting to see what their Elemental Affinities are, although for now he has only checked and hasn't started any practice with them, Hiruzen is pleasantly happy that Asuma is doing well as a teaching.
Next, for Kurenai, it seems his words hit home with her, because he could easily see through her that day when she was speaking about her team, specifically Hinata, and he could easily tell that she was the type to coddle someone who she thought was in need of it when in actuality they needed some tough love which would allow them to build some character and independence…
Finally, Kakashi… now Hiruzen didn't have time originally to check what Kakashi was doing so around a week ago, he used his ball to spy on them and see if he was doing as told and surprisingly he was…
Now, Hiruzen would be satisfied with Kakashi actually taking his advice to heart, but he didn't expect Kakashi to literally break bones and give them constant wake up calls during training… Hiruzen was definitely fine with Kakashi's way of teaching as personally this is a great way for kids to become adults, but from what he has seen, it's more like Kakashi is training ANBU units instead of Genin…
He is actively making them use hand signs for communication when doing basic missions, he is setting up many long and dangerous obstacle courses for multiple scenario's, he's running them into the ground with very hard training, and he is even making his Genin use fake personas with the use of the Transformation Jutsu to blend into crowds and help them develop espionage skills…
Hiruzen even thought he saw the Genin themselves actively acting different when it was just them and Kakashi… Hiruzen had to watch for a while to find out that Kakashi did something with his team to open up with each other… well… more like forcefully made them tell all of their lives stories, experiences, secrets and more to each other and this caused them to act more like a very close team than before…
Hiruzen can definitely tell that those two (Sakura and Sasuke) know about Naruto's childhood experiences, and they are definitely a lot nicer than before to him, probably from thinking that he was just a fool and nothing more.
Hiruzen could also see Naruto being more like his true self instead of constantly wearing that mask of happiness he always has on his face, Hiruzen noticed the effect on the other two teammates and it seems that Sakura is becoming a better Kunoichi for her team due to the influence of Kakashi, she is actively even stopping herself from trying to be a fangirl of Sasuke and is developing quite nicely… and finally Uchiha Sasuke…
Hiruzen doesn't know what Kakashi did to him because he is now more responsive than before, even his arrogance that he had diminished by quite a bit, Hiruzen can even see the start friendship happening between his two teammates as well…
Hiruzen definitely had to mentally applaud Kakashi for his splendid job, because this is what he meant by addressing issues from the root… Kakashi brought all of his Genin's issues and has started destroying any bad habits they have in order to make the best Shinobi out of them. He can definitely see the results of this as well in the Genin, he might even give Kakashi a raise if he keeps up the good work…
Now in the current week (2nd Week), it has been known to almost everyone now that Hiruzen himself has undergone some sort of change, not just in personality, but also in appearance as well. This news had also reached the Clan Heads and Advisors, but they didn't think much of it as this is just civilian's talking, and they always go over the top and exaggerate news when it isn't even that big of a deal…
Now, Hiruzen is currently in the Hokage's Personal Training Grounds and is swinging Ryujin Jakka in its unsealed state, lost in the motion of swinging the sword, then, after a few minutes he heard a bell go off in his head.
[Ding! 'Daily Mission' has been Completed]
[Reward: +0.10% Character Progression!]
Hiruzen then as usual resealed Ryujin Jakka, with it once again going through the process of manifesting the sheath, then returning to its Cane Form once more. Hiruzen then opened his Panel to check his progress over these weeks.
[Name: Hiruzen Sarutobi (Third Hokage)]
[Character: Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni]
[Age: 68 Years]
[Gender: Male]
[Abilities:
[Kido: Hado #1 – Hado #40, Bakudo #1 – Bakudo #40, Kaido (Beginner) (Unlocked)]
[Zanjutsu: Onibi (Unlocked), Hitotsume: Nadegiri (Locked)]
[Hakuda: Ikkotsu (Locked), Sōkotsu (Locked)]
[Hoho: Shunpo (Intermediate) (Unlocked)]
[Props:
[Zanpakuto: Ryujin Jakka – Shikai (Locked), Bankai (Locked)]
[Character Progression: 21.40%]
[Daily Mission: Swing Ryujin Jakka 5000 times a Day – Reward: +0.10% Character Progression (Replenishable Task)]
[Main Mission: NONE (Currently)]
[WARNING!] [Task Currently on Cooldown – 1 Day Remaining]
Hiruzen was a little unhappy at how slow his progression rate was, but at the same time, if he were to even gain around 40-50% of his original strength as Yamamoto, he can honestly say that no one in this world would be his match, even if the current other Four Kage were to gang up on him to try and defeat him, they wouldn't even be able to do anything against him. The only people that could really challenge him if it got to that point would be Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha… though he could only complain in his heart at how this System was being fair with the world.
Hiruzen after complaining shook off those thoughts, after all, that's if he gets to that stage anyway… he decided that it was time to take a break, and used Shunpo to disappear from the training grounds and once again reappeared in his office… he was about to sit down when he was greeted by his door opening and Kakashi and Team Seven walking in. Hiruzen's eye twitched at them for a second before asking:
"I don't recall you being able to just waltz in here like you own the place Kakashi? What is the reason for this visit… if you want D-Rank's just go to Tsubasa downstairs for that, I did station him there for a reason." Spoke Hiruzen and this caused Kakashi to scratch his head nervously while his three Genin looked at Kakashi in disbelief, Kakashi himself forgot that there was someone stationed for lower-level missions now and just instinctively went to the Hokage as it was him that usually assigned them:
"Ahh haha (*Nervous Laugh*), sorry Hokage-Sama, kind of forgot Tsubasa-Senpai was doing that task now… although I am here for a mission, I'm here for something higher than D-Rank, a C-Rank if you please Hokage-Sama as I feel that my Genin are ready for some time outside…" said Kakashi and Hiruzen caught onto what Kakashi was implying, he was wanting his Genin to go through the 'initiation process'. Hiruzen after a second nodded before responding:
"Alright Team Seven, I feel I can find you something, let's have a look…" spoke Hiruzen and ushered them outside of the office and guided them to a separate room where they found a Chunin stationed at the desk sorting through different mission requests… the Chunin noticed their arrival and stood up and bowed to the Hokage, who gave a nod of acknowledgement to him and Hiruzen made his way over the drawer labelled 'C-Rank' and started pulling out all of the current C-Rank missions available, placing them on the table in front…
Hiruzen after pulling them all out closed the drawer and started looking through all of the Missions until he found the one Kakashi would be looking for… after Hiruzen read through everything to make sure there wasn't anything else specific going on with this 'initiation process' he put it off to the side and proceeded to place all of the other unnecessary scrolls back into the drawer… afterwards he picked up the scroll and spoke to Team Seven:
"Alright Team Seven… I have a nice C-Rank for you, Kakashi here you are, make sure they properly experience the outside world… Genin, Kakashi will fill you in on what the mission is… now go on…" said Hiruzen and Kakashi nodded while taking the held out scroll from the Third's hand and ushering his student's out, all the while they had confused expression's on their faces about the 'properly experience the outside world' part of the Third's words, but they couldn't ponder further and Kakashi dragged them out of the office…
Seeing Team Seven go, he turned to Tsubasa who was calmly standing on the side, waiting for any orders he would receive… Hiruzen then spoke:
"Tsubasa… from now on, you will handle all D-Rank and C-Rank, not just the unimportant ones… though, please be aware if you find anything suspicious about the clients or the details about the Missions, you report it to me… understood?" ordered Hiruzen, to which Tsubasa, nodded calmly and gave a bow to the Third Hokage speaking:
"Understood Hokage-Sama…" said Tsubasa, Hiruzen slightly nodded at his acceptance and calmly walked out of the room, back to his office to take his well-deserved break…
P.O.V. Team Seven –
Kakashi dragged his team out of the office after getting the mission he was looking for… it was time for his Genin to experience the true life of Shinobi, and for that, they would go through the 'Initiation Process'. Kakashi after dragging them off to the side of the Hokage Tower, turned and spoke to them:
"Alright guys, I managed to secure a C-Rank for you as I felt that you were strong enough, and that it was time for you to be 'blooded'… go grab your things, meet me at the West Gate in thirty minutes…" ordered Kakashi and this time it was Naruto who spoke up… although still cheerful as he usually would, there was a slight undertone of calmness that you wouldn't associate with Naruto Uzumaki, the Prank King, and Kyubi Jinchuriki:
"Our thirty minutes, or your thirty minutes?" question Naruto and Sasuke and Sakura just looked at Kakashi, waiting for an answer, as it was notoriously known throughout the entirety of the village that Kakashi Hatake himself was usually late to everything with anything multiplied by 1 hour, except for when it was for his 'special hobby' as Kakashi himself puts it…
Kakashi hearing this, slightly sweat dropped at the looks his Genin were giving him, but he just ignored it and repeated:
"Thirty minutes…" and with that he disappeared in a Wind Style Body Flicker, vanishing through a gust of wind. Seeing their teacher disappear suddenly caused Sakura and Naruto's face's to twitch a bit at the casual dismissal he was giving them, but they ignored it and instead all three of Genin vanished from their spots in fast blurs and went in the directions of their houses to gather their things…
30 Minutes Later –
At the West Gate, Kakashi was already there waiting for his Genin and was reading his book to pass the time, he then noticed on the horizon that three shadows could be seen and snapped his book shut to see the approaching forms of his Genin Team. The three quickly made their way over to Kakashi lining up… Kakashi inwardly nodded at their organisation and started addressing the newly arrived group:
"Alright, before we go off to do our mission, I will be checking to make sure you are fully prepared. Now Sasuke, start us off… tell me the equipment your bringing…" ordered Kakashi and Sasuke raised an eyebrow in confusion before he started casually listing off his person:
"100 Shuriken and Kunai each, 10 Meters of Ninja Wire, 5 Explosive Tags, 20 Smoke Bombs, and 30 Senbon Kakashi-Sensei…" listed Sasuke, and Kakashi after listening nodded before looking Sakura to continue:
"80 Shuriken and Kunai, 20 Smoke Bombs, 1 Emergency Field-Medic Kit, and 5 Explosive Tags Kakashi-Sensei…"uttered Sakura, to which Kakashi once again nodded… finally he turned to Naruto who began:
"80 Shuriken and Kunai, 10 Smoke Bombs, 5 Explosive Tags, 5 Physical-Impediment Tags, and 5 Chakra-Sealing Tags Kakashi-Sensei…" finished Naruto and Kakashi again nodded… seeing that his Genin seem to be prepared for their first outing in the village he couldn't help but praise them:
"Well done, it seems that you are fully prepared… keep this in mind and remember to be this, or depending on the mission, even more prepared than you already are. As I always say, 'Look underneath the underneath', and this applies to literally everything you do… now it seems we should get going towards the location, there I will inform you of what your mission is…" spoke Kakashi as he turned around and leaped into the tree line with his Genin in tow…
20 Minutes Later –
Team Seven has after travelling quite a distance arrived at a settlement that looks recently established from what the Genin could see… there aren't very many buildings, but there seems to be what they can only describe as a central building in the middle of the settlement… the people that are walking around doing random tasks don't seem to be anything else but civilians, they observed further and couldn't detect any high Chakra signatures among the civilians, indicating that there aren't any Shinobi residing in the settlements.
They would have tried gathering more intelligence, but Kakashi decided to get their attention:
"Alright as you can see there is a settlement before you, your Mission is to eliminate all of the Bandits that are here, each and every one of the people down there are Bandits that have robbed and killed people out of their own selfishness… and from what we were able to discover was that they captured Women and Children to do whatever they wanted with them… we assume that they are alive or walking corpses at this point." Said Kakashi and this immediately gave a reaction.
Naruto was scowling with so much emotion, and his fists were clenched so tight you could see the vein's popping out of his hand, and a bit of blood leaking from his palm from the force of it.
Sakura was so shocked she unconsciously covered herself because she imagined herself in the place of those women and wouldn't know what would happen to her.
Sasuke however was different… he has seen the darkness of the world at a young age courtesy of his brother turned Rogue Shinobi, Itachi Uchiha. Sasuke on the night of the Uchiha massacre was only around 8 years old, yet he was subjected to the cruellest thing possible, he was forced to watch as his brother massacre his clan in front of Sasuke's eyes repeatedly through a powerful ability of the Mangekyo Sharingan, Tsukuyomi.
Sasuke got angry and scowled all right, but he wasn't over the top like the other two as he knew that this was a possibility in a cruel world like theirs, this is the true world…
Kakashi seeing their reactions didn't hesitate and spoke again:
"What you hear and see before you, is what the true world of Shinobi is like… it isn't fun and games like people make it out to be. Ordinary people suffer, is the norm, civilisations crumble to ashes because of one persons greed or desires, War, and many others happen and in our career, we walk this path and embrace it… because if we don't, we will lose ourselves along the way… this process is a ritual and tradition passed down since the beginning of Shinobi… we call it… the 'Initiation Process'…" finished Kakashi and his Genin were wrapped in what was now the 'Light'.
With the 'Light', the three finally were able to use it to shine through the darkness of lies and falsehoods to see what the world they lived in was truly like. Naruto and Sakura, now truly understand what it means to live in this world without the strength to protect themselves as they would end up like the women locked away… Sasuke hearing his Sensei's words was more determined than ever to achieve strength, for he has his ambition of killing his brother to avenge his Clan… Kakashi now after a period of waiting for his students to gain their bearings uttered:
"…Go…"