"Ouch! You violent girl!" Uzumaki Naruto rubbed his head and complained, "Sasuke would never like such a violent girl!"
Ino rolled her eyes. "Then why don't you just leave already? Stop disturbing my sleep!"
Even though she had hit him, Naruto still grinned like an idiot—just talking to Ino made his day. He cheerfully went back to his seat.
Ino had no idea what was going on in Naruto's head. She sighed, rested her chin on her arm, and drifted back to sleep.
A few minutes later, Iruka walked into the classroom, set his lesson plan on the desk, and cleared his throat. "Alright, everyone, it's time for class. Please settle down."
The noisy girls immediately scrambled back to their seats.
Shikamaru leaned over and nudged Ino. "Ino, Iruka-sensei's here."
Ino lifted her head lazily, her half-lidded eyes barely focused.
Iruka sighed in relief, then smiled at the class. "First, I want to praise everyone for their excellent performance at the school festival yesterday."
The students smiled proudly, though Ino just yawned.
"Now, everyone," Iruka continued, "we'll move to the training ground for today's practical session."
At the Hokage Building's mission hall—
Mitarashi Anko arrived with Kirito, Kakashi, Guy, and Rock Lee. Together, they approached the counter for B-rank missions.
Izumo and Kotetsu, who were on duty, nearly dropped their paperwork when they saw the group.
Mitarashi Anko, Hatake Kakashi, and Might Guy? This was a lineup strong enough to wipe out a small nation!
Before they could even recover from their shock, Anko slammed a kunai onto the desk, licked the blade with a grin, and said, "Hand over your highest-paying mission. Now."
Kirito immediately covered half his face in embarrassment. This is so awkward! We're here to take a mission, not rob the place!
Kakashi chuckled behind his mask. "Don't mind her. That's just Anko's usual way of getting things done. People tend not to argue with her."
Kirito sighed. "Yeah, I can see that. Total intimidation factor—off the charts."
Terrified, Izumo and Kotetsu scrambled to bring out every available mission scroll.
Anko flipped through them one by one but quickly frowned. "These rewards are terrible! Don't you have anything better?"
Izumo shook his head frantically. "No, Lord Mitarashi, this is really all we have right now!"
Anko turned to Guy and Kakashi, thinking for a moment. With these two here, an A-rank mission should be easy.
She smirked. "Then how about we talk to the Hokage and get an A-rank mission instead? With this lineup, it should be a piece of cake."
Kakashi shrugged casually. "I don't mind. The pay for A-rank missions is much better anyway."
Guy grinned, flashing his perfect teeth. "No problem! Youth thrives on challenge!" He then looked at Lee. "What do you say, Lee?"
Lee clenched his fists. "I'm not afraid! Let's do it!"
"Lee!"
"Teacher Guy!"
The two embraced dramatically, radiating "flames of youth."
Kirito looked away. Too much energy this early in the morning…
Soon, the group made their way to the Hokage's office.
Inside, the Third Hokage was quietly reviewing a stack of reports when a loud knock startled him.
"Come in," he said, frowning slightly.
"Lord Third!" Anko's voice rang out before she even entered. "Please give us an A-rank mission! One with a big payout—preferably huge!"
The Hokage froze mid-signature. Oh no… her again.
He looked up to see Anko's eager face and sighed. "What's this about? Are you short on money again?"
"Yes!" Anko nodded without hesitation, then gestured proudly to the four people behind her. "Look at our team! We can definitely handle an A-rank mission!"
The Third Hokage's lips twitched.
Kakashi and Guy—two Elite Jōnin who could easily complete S-rank missions solo—and now they were here requesting an A-rank as a team?
Suppressing a sigh, the Hokage said gently, "Anko… I'm afraid that wouldn't be appropriate."
"Why not?" she asked, tilting her head. "If you think I'm not fit to lead, you can have Kakashi or Guy do it. I just need the money!"
The Hokage nearly facepalmed. "This isn't about who leads, Anko. You're all highly skilled shinobi—Elite-level. It's a waste of talent for the three of you to take on an A-rank mission together."
Kirito immediately understood the old man's point. With Kakashi, Guy, and Anko all together, this was like sending three cannons to hunt a rabbit. Overkill didn't even begin to cover it.
Kakashi stepped forward and said calmly, "In that case, Lord Third, do you have any suitable S-rank missions available?"
Guy nodded eagerly. "Super S-rank is fine too! True youth blooms in adversity!"
At that point, Kirito and Lee wisely stayed silent.
Five pairs of eyes stared at the Hokage expectantly. He rubbed his temples, clearly losing patience. If he refused, their morale would plummet.
Finally, the Third Hokage sighed, picked up a scroll from his desk, and handed it to Kakashi. "Fine. Kakashi will lead the team—Anko, you're too impulsive. This mission is officially classified as S-rank, but it's only A-rank in difficulty. The pay is substantial."
"Yes, Lord Third." Kakashi took the scroll and unrolled it briefly. "What's the objective?"
The Hokage leaned back. "You'll be helping a wealthy merchant locate his missing son."
He paused before continuing, "His name is Yuta Watanabe, son of Jun'ya Watanabe, a rich landowner in the Land of Fire. The boy is obsessed with ninjutsu."
Apparently, Jun'ya Watanabe had tried to indulge his son's curiosity by hiring instructors to teach him simple ninjutsu. But the more Yuta learned, the greedier he became.
Unsatisfied with basic jutsu, the boy threw tantrums daily, even threatening to end his life if not taught "real" ninjutsu.
As every ninja knew, there were only three legitimate ways to learn ninjutsu: through family inheritance, apprenticeship under a master, or graduation from a ninja academy.
But Jun'ya Watanabe refused to risk his family's standing with the village, so he denied his son's request.
In rebellion, Yuta fled home—using his personal savings to hire wandering ninjas as guards and instructors.
Initially, Jun'ya didn't intervene, thinking his son would grow bored and return. But things escalated.
Yuta eventually recruited a powerful rogue ninja who gained his trust and began teaching him dangerous techniques.
Then one day, the rogue ninja claimed to have discovered a powerful Summoning Beast and invited Yuta to capture it.
Yuta never came back.
Kakashi closed the scroll after reading. Kirito blinked in disbelief. "Wait, this is an S-rank mission? We're going after some spoiled kid?"
Even Kakashi had to admit—it did sound absurd.
End of the chapter