---
"Sakura, it hurts!" Naruto clutched his head. "Kaito! How could you learn to lie like Kakashi-sensei!?"
"Huh? Really?" Kaito feigned innocence.
While they were chatting and laughing, Kakashi strolled over casually, holding his orange book.
"Yo! You all here?"
"Kakashi-sensei! You're late again!" Naruto shouted.
"Oh! Sorry! I was helping an old lady cross the street and lost track of time," Kakashi said, rubbing the back of his head.
Kaito: facepalm
Naruto: …
Sakura: …
Sasuke: …
Kakashi felt the silence and the stares. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"
"I'm starting to think Kaito might be your biological son! You're both always late and your excuses are exactly the same!" Naruto said, rubbing his chin and eyeing the two.
"Hearing you say that... they do look a bit similar," Sakura added, now examining both faces.
Even Sasuke, who remained silent, glanced back and forth between Kakashi and Kaito with suspicion.
"Alright, that's enough! Let's go pick up today's mission."
Kakashi walked ahead, muttering to himself, Guess I'll need a new excuse next time...
---
"Find the cat. Clean the river. Pick up trash. Harvest rice! What kind of garbage missions are these!?" Naruto grumbled, frustration written all over his face.
"Stop complaining," Kakashi sighed. "You just graduated from the Academy. D-rank missions are meant to build basic teamwork."
He held out the mission scrolls. "I grabbed two simple ones for today. Shouldn't take long."
"Find a cat and pick up trash?" Naruto pouted.
Ignoring the whining, Kakashi declared, "Let's start with the cat."
---
Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, a month had gone by. During that time, Team 7 had completed nothing but D-rank missions.
Naruto never stopped complaining. Even Sasuke began to show signs of frustration.
One day, when they visited the mission hall again, Naruto suddenly broke away.
"Kakashi-sensei! Wait for me! I'm going to ask the Old Man Hokage for a tougher mission!"
"What an idiot!" Sakura yelled, though secretly she admired Naruto's guts. Nice one, Naruto!
Kakashi sighed. "This might be trouble. Let's go check in with the Hokage."
With that, he led Kaito and the others toward the Hokage's office.
Kaito stared at Kakashi's back thoughtfully. With his speed, he could've stopped Naruto easily. He doesn't want to do these D-rank missions either, huh?
---
Hokage's Office
Naruto stood defiantly in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi. "Grandpa Hokage! We've been doing boring D-rank missions for a month now! Give us something tougher!"
"Naruto," Hiruzen sighed, smoke drifting from his pipe, "Kakashi should've explained. D-rank missions are for developing teamwork."
"No way! If you don't give us a higher-ranking mission today, I'll stay here and pester you nonstop!"
He plopped onto the floor, clearly in it for the long haul.
Snap!
Just then, Kakashi walked in with Kaito and the rest.
"Sorry for the trouble, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said, clearly embarrassed.
"It's alright," Hiruzen replied, then scanned the group behind Kakashi. His eyes paused momentarily on Kaito, but he quickly returned to his usual calm.
Sigh... "Looks like I don't have a choice," the Hokage said, giving in. "I do have a C-rank escort mission. Interested?"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Naruto shouted, nodding so fast it looked painful. "Please don't change your mind!"
"Come in!" Hiruzen suddenly called toward the door.
"Huh? Grandpa Hokage, what are you talking about? We're all here already," Naruto said, looking around in confusion.
Kaito's eyes narrowed. Here it is—the Land of Waves mission.
Swish!
The door creaked open. A man stumbled in, drunk and clutching a wine bottle.
"What the hell!? These are just a bunch of little brats!"
The next moment was pure chaos, with Naruto exploding in outrage.
"Mr. Tazuna," Hiruzen said, suddenly serious, "Are you sure the mission you submitted is only C-rank?"
"Y-yeah! Totally C-rank!" Tazuna stammered, taking a swig to hide his nerves.
Hiruzen glanced at Kakashi. The veteran shinobi nodded ever so slightly.
"Very well," the Hokage said. "I'm assigning this mission to Kakashi's team."
Neither Hiruzen nor Kakashi were fooled by the drunk's poor acting. Even Kaito could tell—but he chose to remain silent.
After confirming their departure time, Hiruzen dismissed them, leaving Kakashi behind.
Once they were alone, the Hokage opened a drawer and pulled out a scroll.
"This contains the real intel on the Land of Waves situation. I was wondering who to assign it to... then Naruto stormed in."
---
"Enjoyed the chapters? Good. Now, cough up those Powerstones~ (＾▽＾)"