"Morning, sensei," I greeted as I reached the training hall.
"Morning Yuki-chan. I trust you are prepared for today?"
"Yes." I said, fully aware of what path I had started now.
While the village had its academy and Genin teams. The clans had their own systems; in particular, the Hyūga Clan had a system built over generations to ensure the safety of the main family.
Since members of the main family sometimes had to leave the safety of the clan, the clan had teams ready to protect them. and that hadn't changed just because the clan had joined Konoha.
And if you could fight, there was a good chance you would end up in one of these teams for a while, at least until you started a family, and with a war coming up, nearly all the young kids had to join.
"Good. You will be joining me and my team from now on and taking on missions for the village," Kazou sensei said, stepping aside and gesturing for me to enter.
The two others turned as I stepped into the room. Both were maybe a year older than me, standing straight-backed with their hands folded neatly in front of them. One was tall and thin, with a long face and a quiet, unreadable gaze. The other was shorter and broader in the shoulders, his arms already crossed in mild defiance. They didn't look surprised to see me.
"This is Yuki," Kazou-sensei said. "She's your new teammate. From today onward, the three of you will train and operate together. You'll learn to rely on each other—and keep each other alive."
The taller one bowed his head lightly. "Welcome," he said. "I'm Iwata."
The other gave a short nod. "Takeshi."
I mirrored the bow. "Yuki."
That was all the greeting we had, no talk about dreams, or likes, or dislikes. Not in this clan, not in the branch family. Our dreams were decided for us, to serve the main family, our likes were the family, and our dislikes… that was left unsaid.
Everyone knew if we were asked, we would not say the truth, none would mention the seal that sat on our foreheads, but it would be the answer for many.
Kazou-sensei stepped forward. "You're here because you've all shown talent—and because we don't have time to waste. You're not a Genin team. You're a Hyūga team. Your job is to protect the clan's interests, guard the main house when called, and operate in tandem with Konoha forces when required."
He turned toward a rack of scrolls and pulled one free.
"We'll begin with a patrol assignment. Standard border sweep along the northern range. Two days out. Iwata leads the front. Takeshi supports the rear. Yuki, you'll run center with me. This is more about coordination than combat—so don't look for glory. Look to learn."
I couldn't help but be slightly excited, after all, this was the first time I would get to leave the clan, and more so, the village, after so long, I would once more get to run around in my nursery.
Iwata glanced toward me as we moved to the gear racks. "You've trained with Kenta, right?"
"Yes."
"He's quick," Takeshi added. "But reckless."
"Aren't all boys reckless?" I said without really thinking about it.
Kazou-sensei let out a short laugh, sharp like flint striking steel. "At least you're honest."
We finished preparing in silence. The scroll with our assignment was sealed and strapped to Kazou-sensei's belt. Outside, the morning sun was bright and cold, the air sharp with the scent of pine.
I followed my new team out of the clan grounds and then through the village itself. It was still far from how it would look when Naruto would be running around. But his father and mother should be around here somewhere, likely still at the academy.
Still, the place was entirely different from the clan, so much more lively, and so much less orderly. The clan was a well-oiled machine, everyone had their place, it was in many ways quiet and peaceful, but out there? Life and chaos were everywhere.
It was hard not to stare at everything. Seeing it like this was so different from seeing it from my prison in the moon.
The shops were already opening for the day, their front flaps rolled up as merchants arranged vegetables, tools, and steaming buns under woven awnings. A pair of small children ran past us in the street, laughing as they chased a paper ball, nearly knocking over a man carrying firewood.
It was strange. Loud. Messy. Kind of wonderful.
Yet, I couldn't forget that it was so temporary, that it was bought with so much blood. This peace, it wouldn't last.
Kazou-sensei gave us a look over his shoulder. "This is your first time outside of the clan isn't it Yuki?"
"Yes Sensei, it's very different out here."
Kazou-sensei gave a small grunt of acknowledgment. "Don't get too used to it. Most of our missions will take us far beyond the safety of Konoha's walls."
Iwata didn't say anything, but his gaze moved constantly, left and right, analyzing everything from the rooftops to the alleyways. Calm, focused. I could already tell he was the type to say nothing unless it mattered.
"Relax a little," Takeshi said to him. "We're not even outside the village yet."
"That's exactly when people get careless," Iwata said without turning.
"I like him," I said, grinning.
Takeshi groaned. "Ugh, not another quiet one."
Kazou-sensei chuckled under his breath. "Quiet ones live longer. If you ever stop talking, Takeshi, you might make it to twenty."
"Please, I'm a Hyūga, and I would die that easily," Takeshi said with far more confidence than someone with fighter-level strength should have.
But then again, he was from the Hyūga clan, so among fighters, he was far stronger than most others. So he did have good chances of winning fights as long as he didn't run into skilled warrior-level opponents.
We passed the outer gates a few minutes later, greeted by two shinobi with masks pulled halfway down as they munched on skewered dumplings. One of them waved lazily at our team as we stepped beyond the last checkpoint and into the woods.
And just like that, the world changed.
The trees were tall here, so tall they should be ancient, but they weren't, they were young, fresh, but strong, mighty. I could feel within them the special chakra that helped them grow, wood release.
I had seen it happen, this forest built almost overnight, and standing now, between those towering trees, I felt all the more impressed by them.
"Eyes open," Kazou said. "Standard patrol route. We'll stop for rest when we hit the ridge clearing."
"Copy," Iwata said.
Takeshi just shrugged and kept walking.
I ran center with Kazou-sensei, watching the rhythm of movement between my teammates. Iwata was fast but smooth, never jarring his steps or leaving gaps. Takeshi was more restless, his eyes darting everywhere—his movements not messy, but unpredictable.
They were good. Better than I expected. Compared to people like Naruto and Sakura, they were godlike teammates.
I guess I had been put in one of the better teams; Kazou, in particular, seemed to be a rather skilled elite-level shinobi.
We continued for some time in silence, the only sound the steady rustling of leaves underfoot and the occasional creak of leather straps and metal buckles. Kazou-sensei led us along a winding game trail, one well-worn by shinobi boots. The ridge wasn't far now.
"This part of the forest," he said suddenly, breaking the rhythm, "was grown by the First Hokage himself. You can tell by the chakra in the roots. See it?"
I nodded. "it's still strong." I said, looking around openly with my Byakugan.
He nodded. "Yes, strong chakra is different from most, but all chakra leaves a trace; if you ever see someone leaving a trail of chakra around their entire body without using any jutsu, run." He spent the trip giving advice.
Always pointing out this or that.
I enjoyed it mostly, well, it was boring, but being able to jump around on the trees was fun.
It was pretty easy, then again. I had great chakra control; it was just the amount being much less than I would have wanted.
Long gone were the days of having an endless amount of it. I can only imagine how I would have looked to the current Hyūga Clan.
After all, back then, I had horrible control; I would have been a blazing sun.
We continued to travel for an entire day. "Alright, time to rest for the night." Sensei called as we reached a clearing.
"Hai," we responded as she stopped, though none of us had jumped down to the ground yet and instead remained on the tree.
"Byakugan!" Takeshi loudly activated his dojustso. Carefully scanning the ground below, us for any traps or enemies.
Iwata and I did the same, we just didn't scream the fact to the rest of the world.
"Seems safe." Iwata commented.
"Seems fairly used, likely a common stop over for Konoha shinobi," I added.
"Correct all of you, and you in particular, Yuki, the other two knuckleheads have been told about this, but you did it on your own, very good," Sensei said with a satisfied nod as he jumped down.
We quickly set up camp, or rather the boy did, while Sensei guided me on all the things that was involved, telling me what to look out for, why some things were done in certain ways.
It was all important information for a shinobi, yet honestly, I didn't care all that much. I wasn't a fan of camping.
I wished I had wood release, then I could just build a house to sleep in.
Yet, I wasn't blessed with that. Not unless I could recover the ten-tails.
And yeah, that wasn't likely anytime soon.
For now, all I could do was play my role well and wait.
That night, I also learned that camping as a shinobi is even worse than normal camping.
Not only do you have to deal with all the normal downsides of sleeping outside, but you also have to be ready to deal with possible attacks, and you have to spend part of the night awake keeping watch.
And even if you get some sleep, you can't sleep too deeply, because you have to get up and be ready to fight instantly in case of an attack.
When morning arrived, I felt like crap.
My back ached. My arms were sore. There were definitely twigs in my hair. I was cold, slightly damp, and kind of bitter about everything. Honestly, why wasn't there a proper safehouse out here? We were only a few hours from the village. If this place got so much shinobi traffic, they could at least install a roof and a futon. Or build a shed. Or something.
Instead, I was crouched next to a dying fire, gnawing on a rice ball that tasted like it had lost a war with time.
"Up and moving," Kazou-sensei called. "We have half the patrol loop left, and I want it finished before the midday sun hits."
"Understood," we all mumbled.
Takeshi yawned so hard he nearly dislocated something. "Do we have to leap tree to tree the whole time? Can't we just walk like civilians for once?"
"If you want to step on a trap or leave a trail anyone can follow, be my guest," Kazou said, already halfway up the first tree.
Iwata was right behind him. Silent as ever. I forced myself to follow, my legs burning slightly as I jumped branch to branch after them.
Running from tree to tree looked a lot cooler than it felt.
The branches were springy, sure, but not exactly built for comfort. You had to land just right or deal with the jarring rebound through your knees. The bark was uneven. Slippery in places. Occasionally covered in bird poop—which Takeshi discovered the hard way.
"Ugh, gross! Who even—why this branch?!"
"You picked it," Iwata said.
"Nature is cruel," I muttered as I passed him.
We kept our spacing tight but staggered. Iwata up front, scanning ahead. I followed behind Kazou-sensei, who adjusted our route as needed. Takeshi trailed behind, swinging wide occasionally to cover our flanks.
"This area has seen some movement recently," Kazou said as we paused on a wide branch overlooking a shallow ravine. "Yuki—what do you notice?"
I activated my Byakugan again and focused. "There's some residual chakra in the earth. Three sources, probably two or three days old. It's faint—no lingering intent."
"Good. Takeshi?"
"Broken twigs on the slope, uphill side," he said. "They slid down, didn't try to hide it. I'd say either they were in a hurry… or really stupid."
"Both," Kazou replied. "Iwata?"
"There's a burn mark in the soil," he said. "Someone used a basic fire jutsu, low power, probably for light or intimidation."
"Solid," Kazou said. "Now. What does that tell us?"
"That they didn't expect to be followed," I said.
"They weren't subtle," Iwata added.
"But they were smart enough not to linger," Takeshi said, "so maybe they were just passing through."
Kazou nodded. "Exactly. And more importantly, they came from the direction we're headed."
That quieted us.
"Keep your eyes sharp," he said. "They are likely another team from the village, but you can never be too sure."
We nodded, and the formation resumed.
The next two hours passed in a blur of movement, tree to tree, with the forest stretching endlessly ahead of us. Occasionally Kazou would stop, drop to the forest floor, and make us examine something—animal tracks, disturbed roots, the way sunlight reflected off unnatural surfaces. Everything was a lesson. Everything had a reason.
"Shinobi die because they make assumptions," he said at one point, holding up a bent twig that none of us had noticed. "Or worse—they stop noticing."
It was exhausting. Mentally, more than anything. Every sound, every shape, every gust of wind was something to be considered. There was no such thing as passive observation—not when you were supposed to keep the main house alive.
Finally, just after the sun hit its peak, we reached the old marker post that marked the end of the patrol route—a tall wooden spike driven into the earth, carved with faded clan seals and recent scratch marks from kunai.
Kazou dropped down and tapped the side of the marker. "Patrol complete. Good work."
Iwata dropped beside him silently. Takeshi flopped to the ground like a dramatic idiot and let out a groan.
"I hate tree-running."
"You love it," I said.
"I love the idea of it. I hate the reality."
Kazou rolled out a small scroll and made a note with a brush. "Yuki, good awareness today. You're adjusting fast."
"Thank you, sensei," I said.
"Don't get cocky."
"I won't."
"Good."
We rested there for just a bit longer before heading back.
I didn't complain this time. Not out loud. But I did mentally log every bruise and ache and file them under: "Reasons I deserve a bath and warm rice when I get home."
Because honestly?
That was one long patrol.
(End of chapter)
So yes, a team a mission, but it's mostly just training, because this is what a real D rank mission should be, a chance to learn while doing something mostly unimportant, weeding a garden? That's a job, not a mission.
And even Genin are supposed to be trained killers, so here, at least, the Clans make sure their young are trained hard.
I will better explain the ranks in later chapters, because Genin, Chuunin and those? Kage? Those are ranks of the villages, but what about before that?
Elite, fighter, Clan Lord, those are the old ones, and I will be using a mix of them to show that Konoha is still new; many remember the time before.