And it was also after Mrs. Shijimi hugged (or rather, tightly sandwiched) her beloved pet and left the mission reception area with visible relief.
The three generations of Hokage, sitting at the upper seat, reopened the mission record book in his hands. His gaze slowly swept across the registered missions inside. After that, he hung the pipe labeled with the familiar "old man" inscription at the corner of his mouth, gently exhaled a thin puff of smoke, and only then spoke slowly and calmly.
"Well then, Team Seven has just completed the mission of searching for the lost pet. Next, the task assigned to Team Seven will be to assist the neighboring town with—"
At the very moment the Third Hokage reopened the mission book, Naruto already knew that this was the crucial timing.
Before the Third Hokage could finish speaking the last sentence—
Naruto suddenly stepped forward and interrupted the Third Hokage's words directly.
"Third Grandpa! Can you give our team a C-rank mission? All we've been doing are D-rank missions, and they're not challenging at all!"
The words were extremely straightforward, but this was also the most appropriate way Naruto could think of expressing his thoughts. Direct, honest, and without beating around the bush. Naruto firmly believed that as long as he explained himself rationally and made his reasoning clear, the Third Hokage would definitely consider giving their team a C-rank mission.
After all, setting aside the Third Hokage's understanding of him personally, the Hokage himself clearly knew the overall strength of Team Seven. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were not ordinary fresh graduates, and their team leader was Hatake Kakashi—an elite Jōnin who had once carried out even S-rank missions without issue. Compared to that, a C-rank mission was simply not a problem at all.
In terms of mission classification, most standard C-rank missions involved escort or suppression duties that might involve bloodshed. However, the enemies were generally nothing more than bandits, thieves, or the private armed forces of certain nobles. At worst, one might encounter a rogue ninja with no village affiliation. It was absolutely impossible to run into an organized ninja squad from another village. If such enemies truly appeared, the mission rank would immediately rise to B-rank or higher.
Because of this, Naruto was extremely confident that requesting a C-rank mission was reasonable, and that the Third Hokage would agree.
In any case, Naruto had already rejected the unreasonable, hot-headed tantrum approach from the original story!
"Naruto, you idiot!"
As soon as Naruto finished speaking, Sasuke and Sakura standing beside him—along with Kakashi behind them—each revealed varying degrees of surprise on their faces.
Before the Third Hokage could say anything, Iruka, who was seated beside him, stood up abruptly. His expression was filled with worry and anger as he slammed his hand on the table in front of him, pointed straight at Naruto, and shouted loudly.
"Do you even understand what a C-rank mission means?! Naruto, you've just graduated from the Ninja Academy! What you need right now is accumulation and tempering—building experience one step at a time through missions! Only after that can you gradually take on missions above C-rank! You're still too young! C-rank missions are absolutely not suitable for you yet! You have to understand this, Naruto!"
His concern and anger were plainly visible.
This was without a doubt a completely open display of Iruka's genuine care for Naruto.
From Iruka's perspective, Naruto and the others were still just children. Even though Naruto had defeated Mizuki not long ago—a rogue ninja who could have easily overpowered Iruka himself—that single incident did not change Iruka's subjective judgment.
In Iruka's eyes, Naruto and his teammates still needed to follow the rules honestly, starting with D-rank missions, accumulating experience gradually, and only moving on to C-rank missions after sufficient growth.
It was precisely because of this worry that Iruka spoke out before the Third Hokage could respond.
Only after finishing did Iruka suddenly realize that the person sitting beside him was not an ordinary colleague, but the supreme leader of Konohagakure itself. Normally, the Hokage would be handling far more important matters and would not be personally stationed at the mission reception desk. This situation was more like a rare inspection visit by top leadership.
Realizing that his impulsive interruption had overstepped proper authority, Iruka immediately turned toward the Third Hokage and bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle.
"I'm very sorry, Third Hokage-sama! I was rude!"
The Third Hokage naturally understood Iruka's feelings. He waved his hand gently, indicating there was no need to worry, and then shifted his gaze toward Naruto.
"Naruto," the Third Hokage said calmly, "do you know why there are Genin, Chūnin, and Jōnin? And why missions are divided into D, C, B, A, and even S ranks?"
The Third Hokage looked at Naruto with a kind and patient smile, speaking in a gentle tone.
"The classification of ninja ranks and mission difficulty exists to accurately match a ninja's strength with the risks of a mission. This allows every ninja to accept tasks suitable to their current abilities, ensuring missions can be completed efficiently and safely."
Naruto answered without hesitation, speaking plainly and confidently.
His decisive response caused the Third Hokage to pause for a moment in surprise, before a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Yes, you are correct," the Third Hokage said. "All ninja villages follow this system. Genin generally handle D-rank missions. Chūnin and experienced Genin squads can take on C-rank missions. B-rank missions require at least Chūnin-level teams, while A-rank missions are normally assigned to Jōnin or elite squads. As for S-rank missions, they are special cases."
He took another light puff from his pipe.
"You, as newly graduated Genin, are best suited for D-rank missions. These missions carry little risk and allow you to build experience. Even in cases like clearing beasts from farmland, the danger remains minimal. Injury is rare unless something goes very wrong."
The Third Hokage's aged but clear eyes showed unmistakable concern as he looked at Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.
"I say all this because I want you to grow safely. Do you understand that, Naruto?"
Standing beside Naruto, Haruno Sakura listened carefully to the Hokage's explanation. She nodded vigorously, like a chick pecking at rice, then turned her head to look at Naruto.
"See, Naruto? The Third Hokage-sama has already explained it clearly. Let's just keep doing D-rank missions for now. Once we've accumulated enough experience, we can think about C-rank missions later, okay?"
If it had been before the Third Hokage spoke, Sakura might still have wanted to do a C-rank mission just to show off in front of Ino. But now, that thought had completely disappeared.
After all, life as a ninja after graduation was no longer the same as being in the Academy.
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