After weeks of petty errands, the gate finally opens—yet the world outside Konoha doesn't forgive rookie mistakes.
More than a week passed in the blink of an eye.
Becoming Kushina Uzumaki's students was, in some ways, a blessing—and in others, a curse.
Kushina was the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. She couldn't simply leave the village whenever she pleased.
A jinchūriki wasn't just a ninja. They were a village's ultimate deterrent—its living "nuclear weapon." Their strategic value was enormous… and so was the danger. The moment a jinchūriki appeared outside their village, they would instantly become the number one target for assassination by every other major power.
So if Kushina couldn't go beyond Konoha's walls…
Neither could her team.
For Adrian Voss, that wasn't a big deal. It just meant low-level missions—less risk, less money.
But with the Third Shinobi World War drawing closer, the lack of real field experience was far more dangerous for Shizune and Yuanhai.
No blood. No pressure. No life-or-death instincts.
That kind of gap could kill them later.
Adrian had quietly gathered information. His classmates—Rin, Kurenai, and even Uchiha Obito—had only spent a few days doing village errands before being assigned missions outside Konoha.
Meanwhile, Adrian's team was stuck with nothing but D-rank chores:
Catching runaway cats.
Walking dogs.
Helping with children.
Running simple errands.
Not a single task even remotely related to combat.
The first couple days, Shizune and Yuanhai had still been excited.
By the end of the week, even the two kids were losing patience.
And Adrian… despite knowing the dangers beyond the village…
…couldn't deny a growing curiosity about what it felt like to truly operate outside Konoha.
At least there was one consolation.
Kushina started teaching them actual jutsu.
"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"
Boom!
Yuanhai's hands flew through seals. Chakra surged into his throat—
—and he expelled a massive sphere of water that slammed into the river surface, detonating into a towering spray.
Kushina nodded in approval. "Good. You've basically mastered it."
Yuanhai scratched his head sheepishly. "Hehe… thanks, Kushina-sensei. But compared to Boss and Shizune, I'm still kind of slow."
"Don't compare yourself to them," Kushina said irritably, shooting Adrian and Shizune a sharp look. "They've been learning things ahead of time."
She wasn't wrong.
Most team leaders barely taught their students any jutsu at all. For ordinary civilians, every technique had to be earned—mission by mission, contribution by contribution.
That was one of the reasons civilians rarely produced strong shinobi. Not just talent—access.
Adrian smiled easily. "She's right, Yuanhai. Two days to get that down is impressive. It didn't take me less time the first time I learned it."
Shizune nodded firmly in agreement.
It helped that all three of them had Water Nature chakra. Otherwise, Kushina would've had a hard time teaching them anything useful.
But Kushina's mood toward Adrian was complicated.
The more she interacted with him, the more she realized an uncomfortable truth:
Aside from sealing techniques… she didn't have much she could teach him.
And that annoyed her.
Sometimes she even blamed Tsunade for letting Adrian freely browse through scrolls and records.
Of course, Adrian paid for it. In Tsunade's house, he didn't just train—he cooked, cleaned, and practically ran the place like a servant catering to a princess.
Still, Kushina couldn't deny she liked Adrian.
Minato used to talk endlessly about his own student—Hatake Kakashi—the prodigy, the genius, the shining example.
Now Kushina had her own monster of a student to brag about.
Once, she'd dreamed of becoming Hokage. Minato had dreamed the same.
She used to see him as a rival.
Now… she understood reality. A jinchūriki like her would never be allowed to sit in that chair.
But if she couldn't become Hokage…
Then at the very least, her student could outshine Minato's.
Kushina kept those thoughts to herself, maintaining her usual annoyed expression.
Then she jerked her chin at Adrian.
"Call your main body over. I've got good news."
"Good news? Just say it," Adrian replied.
Smack!
Kushina's palm landed on his shoulder with enough force to make him stagger—so hard his flower clone nearly destabilized.
"Do what I say. Less talking."
Adrian sighed internally.
"…Yes, Kushina-sensei."
His body dissolved into petals.
A moment later, another Adrian sprinted out of the nearby forest.
"Kushina-sensei. What is it?"
Kushina taught according to talent. Yuanhai was a normal genin. Shizune, with Tsunade's influence, was far above average.
As for Adrian…
Even Kushina wasn't sure where his ceiling was.
After the bell test, she'd tried to find an excuse to "teach him a lesson" again.
But without using chakra, she couldn't do a thing to him.
So most of the time, she simply left him to train himself.
This time, though—
She stepped aside, revealing a new figure.
Adrian, Shizune, and Yuanhai all stared.
A Konoha ninja in a green flak jacket stood there, not particularly tall, with spiky dark-brown hair, red markings around her eyes, and the distinctive inverted-triangle facial markings of the Inuzuka clan.
A large dog stood at her side, calm and watchful.
She wasn't breathtakingly beautiful… but there was something strikingly wild and powerful about her presence.
"Yo," she greeted with a bright grin. "Name's Inuzuka Tsume. I'm a chūnin. Since your Kushina-sensei can't leave the village for certain reasons, I'll be your acting team leader for the next stretch."
Shizune and Yuanhai's eyes lit up instantly.
"Really?!"
They turned toward Kushina, half-excited, half-confused.
"Kushina-sensei… what's going on?"
Kushina nodded. "I can't leave the village freely. You three keep complaining about wanting outside missions, so I talked to the Hokage. From now on, when you have missions outside the village, you'll go with Tsume."
In truth, Kushina had wanted to go herself.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had refused immediately.
But he couldn't keep more shinobi locked inside the village either—not with conflicts escalating in every direction. He needed manpower everywhere.
So in the end, after enduring Kushina's fury, he agreed to this compromise.
Shizune and Yuanhai didn't look entirely happy about a temporary team leader swap. They'd been raised on the idea of bonds, and the thought of changing leaders made them uneasy.
Adrian, however, didn't react much.
He wasn't against teamwork—but he didn't cling to it the way they did.
Instead, his gaze drifted to the big dog.
From the moment it appeared, Adrian could feel it watching him—subtly, repeatedly, as if trying to confirm something.
Kushina wasn't surprised by Adrian's calmness. But seeing Shizune and Yuanhai's reluctance still made her feel oddly warm… and equally helpless.
"You're just executing missions with Tsume," she said. "You're still my students."
"Yes, Kushina-sensei!" Shizune and Yuanhai replied quickly.
Then they bowed to Tsume.
"Tsume-sensei."
Adrian followed their lead, bowing as well.
"…."
A shinobi's life ran on missions.
Ninja didn't produce goods. They didn't farm. They didn't run businesses. They earned money through blood and contracts.
Without mission pay, you couldn't buy equipment, maintain supplies, or trade for training resources.
And those who tried to survive by robbing others?
They rarely lived long.
That was why the village system existed. It regulated shinobi, kept them from turning into predators that would tear the entire world apart.
At the mission hall, Kushina couldn't personally take missions—but she still accompanied them as Tsume selected work.
Mission ranks were divided into S, A, B, C, and D.
A- and S-rank missions were for jōnin and the Hokage to approve directly.
Chūnin could handle B and C.
Genin were limited to C and D.
Adrian's team didn't have Naruto's special treatment. They weren't being dragged into Hokage meetings for every assignment. Only B-rank or higher required direct filing with Hiruzen.
They'd done plenty of D-rank tasks already.
And the moment Kushina walked in, people naturally made room. Her presence was… unmistakable.
She glanced at the board with bright interest.
"Well, your luck isn't bad. There are still quite a few C-rank missions available!"
She slapped Adrian's shoulder again, excited enough to forget her own strength.
Adrian twitched, expression blank.
If she hit Shizune like that, Shizune would've been launched into the wall.
Also—why are you so excited? It's not like you're the one leaving the village.
Compared to the D-rank board, the C-rank listings were far more tempting. The pay started at around a hundred thousand ryō.
Shizune and Yuanhai studied the options with shining eyes.
Adrian turned to Tsume. "Tsume-sensei, what do you recommend?"
Everyone looked at her—even Kushina. Tsume was the acting leader for this trip, and she was the one responsible for their safety.
Tsume scanned the board carefully for a long moment before tapping one posting.
"We'll take this one: escort a merchant caravan from Yusui Town back to Konoha."
It was a cautious choice.
Most C-rank missions were escorts or courier runs. The board was full of them—but many required crossing borders, transporting sensitive documents, or moving through unstable regions.
In this era, those were the missions that got rookie teams killed.
The Yusui Town escort was close to the Fire Country–Hot Water Country region, but the route remained within the Land of Fire.
Relatively safer.
They confirmed details with the client and secured the contract.
One night of preparation.
Departure the next morning.
Adrian lay awake that night longer than he expected.
Three years in this world…
And since Tsunade brought him back to Konoha, he had never once left its walls.
Now, for the first time, he was finally stepping out.
Curiosity. Excitement. Caution.
All of it mixed together into a tight knot in his chest.
Because beyond Konoha…
The shinobi world wasn't a classroom.
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