Perhaps stimulated by recent events, Sasuke Uchiha became even more diligent.
Besides his usual missions, he devoted every spare moment to training. His regimen was so intense that even Kakashi was a little dumbfounded.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
Four shuriken flew in a perfect arc, each one striking the bullseye.
Drenched in sweat, Sasuke knelt on the ground, breathing heavily. Seeing this, Sakura Haruno immediately rushed over, handing him a towel and a cup of water.
Kakashi Hatake let out a sigh of relief, turning his gaze from Sasuke to his other student beside him. His eyes widened in alarm. "Hey, hey, hey, Naruto, don't practice such a dangerous ninjutsu right next to me!"
On the lawn, a vortex of chakra was gathering in Naruto Uzumaki's palm. He continuously poured chakra into it, compressing its power. A Rasengan formed, spinning faster and faster until it looked like it might lose control and explode.
"Sealing Jutsu: Devour!"
Naruto waved a hand, reabsorbing the chakra into his body. He frowned. "I feel like the Rasengan is still missing something," he muttered. "It's not strong enough..."
"...Isn't it enough?"
Kakashi rolled his eyes. He clapped his hands to get Sasuke and Sakura's attention in the distance. "Take a break," he called out. "We have a mission this afternoon."
"Kakashi-sensei, can we take on some higher-level missions?" Sasuke Uchiha asked, shaking his sore arm. "I don't mind the trivial, low-level missions, but I want to train myself more. It would be best to have some combat missions."
Ever since Sasuke learned about the history between Kakashi and Itachi, he had practically become his jonin instructor's biggest admirer, obeying almost his every word. Because of this, he had also learned about the past, like what Itachi experienced as Kakashi's subordinate in the ANBU.
Those life-and-death struggles between ninjas were what Sasuke believed he needed to experience. At the very least, he had to be brave enough to swing a kunai and slice an enemy's throat.
"Is that so?"
Kakashi scratched his head. He glanced at the equally expectant Naruto beside him, then at the somewhat helpless Sakura, and could only sigh. "Then let's go to the Mission Assignment Post and see what they have."
At the Konoha Mission Assignment Post, Hiruzen Sarutobi was not on duty, likely because of what happened a few days ago. Instead, Iruka Umino was there distributing missions and seemed to be in a small dispute with a genin.
Iruka held a firm hand on the mission sheet and tried to persuade him earnestly, "Senior Kosuke, this C-rank mission is quite troublesome. It's not a one-person job. Would you like to look at other missions?"
"It's just a few bandits," the short old man, carrying a large pot on his back, said with a smile. "Compared to other missions, this is much easier!"
"But there are over a dozen of them!" Iruka insisted, not letting go. "If you're alone, it's too dangerous!"
"Relax, relax," the old man said, patting the back of Iruka's hand with a smile. "I've done missions at this level more times than I can count..."
"Absolutely not!"
"This is really a pain..." The old man scratched his head and reluctantly chose an ordinary D-rank mission, then walked out of the post with shaky steps.
As the old man passed by Kakashi, the white-haired ninja gave him a serious nod, causing the old man to stop for a moment. "Well now, Kakashi is already serving as a jonin instructor?"
"Yes, Senior Kosuke."
"A fine group of youngsters." After praising Naruto and the others, the old man left, limping away with the large pot on his back.
Sakura Haruno curiously watched him depart. "Kakashi-sensei, do you know that old man?"
"You could say that," Kakashi nodded casually. He only knew of the respectable old ninja because his own teacher had mentioned him, and they had run into each other a few times since.
After Team 7 walked into the Mission Assignment Post, Iruka was still muttering to himself. "This is such a headache. Senior Kosuke is already so old, yet he still insists on taking such a dangerous mission by himself..."
"What mission?" Kakashi asked, having overheard their argument outside. He reached out and plucked the mission sheet from Iruka's hand. His brows furrowed slightly, then relaxed. "This kind of mission? It should be quite easy for him."
"That's not acceptable," Iruka said, waving his hand. "If a fight breaks out, too much can go wrong. He should at least have teammates with him!"
Kakashi looked up at Iruka. "Since you didn't give it to him, then give it to us."
"Hmm? You're taking them on a C-rank mission now?"
"Can't be helped." Kakashi glanced at the mission sheet. "Sasuke and Naruto are getting sick of these missions. If I don't give them something stimulating, those two will probably just start living at the training grounds."
-----
When Kakashi returned to Team 7, Sasuke and Naruto had just finished discussing the old man who had passed by.
The encounter seemed to have had an effect on Sasuke. "If we don't get stronger," he said quietly, "we'll end up like him. A genin for life, stuck with low-level missions..."
"Don't worry, Sasuke!" Naruto patted his shoulder. You'd think he was about to offer some encouragement, but instead, he just declared, "I'm definitely going to become Hokage!"
Sakura: "..."
Kakashi waved the mission request in his hand, dangling it in front of the three members of Team 7. "Alright, you three brats, pack your things. We're going to carry out a C-rank mission!"
"C-rank?"
"Just C-rank?"
"Hmm, let me see again." Kakashi frowned, pretending to re-read the sheet. "This is a request from the head of a merchant guild. Their goods were stolen by a group of bandits. They want us to help get them back..."
Kakashi glanced at the final mission fee and sighed. "The reward looks pretty good. It's enough to buy a year's worth of magazine covers."
"..."
Sasuke's eyes shifted. "In other words, we might encounter a battle this time?" he asked in a low voice.
"That's hard to say." Kakashi waved a hand dismissively. "The reason this is listed as C-rank is because there's a high probability the bandits will surrender as soon as they see our forehead protectors."
Sasuke Uchiha: "..."
"Oh?" Naruto looked up suddenly. "So you're saying... if we don't wipe out these bandits, we might get more easy missions like this in the future?"
A drop of sweat rolled down Kakashi's forehead. "..."
He had never thought about it like that. Why, when Naruto said it, did it sound like Konoha's ninjas were the real masterminds behind the merchant guild getting robbed?
-----
Bonus:
Sasuke Uchiha: I, Sasuke Uchiha, would rather jump from the Naka Shrine and die than be a genin for my entire life!
Naruto Uzumaki: When I become Hokage, I'll promote you to Special Jonin!
Sasuke Uchiha: Forget it, being a genin is fine...
Naruto Uzumaki: Why?
Sasuke Uchiha: I've figured it out. If I beat someone as a genin, everyone praises me to the heavens and calls my opponent trash. But if I'm a jonin and I don't beat a genin...
Naruto Uzumaki: To save you the embarrassment, I'll issue a Hokage order to demote you.
Sasuke Uchiha: ...