The past few days had been torture.
Not the fun kind. The boring kind...
I mowed another lawn. I painted another fence. I chased another cat that wasn't even lost, the old lady just wanted someone to talk to... Poor lady had her husband killed in the 3rd Ninja war.
Yamato stood at the edge of the property, arms crossed, watching me push the mower in straight lines.
"You're veering left," he said.
"I knowww."
"Fix it."
"I'm trying sensei."
"Try harder."
«This is the seventh D-rank mission in five days. Your skills are degrading from lack of use.»
My soul is degrading instead.
I finished the last row. Shut off the mower. Stared at the perfect stripes in the grass.
"Done."
"Check for missed spots."
"There are no missed spots."
"Check anyway."
I checked. and There were no missed spots like I said.
---
= The Hokage's Tower =
We walked into the Hokage's office. Hiruzen was behind his desk, stamping papers, pipe in his mouth. He didn't look up.
"Mission complete," Yamato said. "Lawn mowed. Fence painted. Cat retrieved."
Hiruzen stamped another paper. "Any issues?"
"No."
"Ready for another D-rank?"
"Yes."
"HELL NO."
Yamato looked at me. Hiruzen looked up.
"I'm sorry," Hiruzen said, "did you say something?"
I stepped forward. "Lord Third. These D-rank missions aren't doing anything for me. They're for teamwork. But I don't have a team. I'm just mowing lawns while my sensei watches. It is the same thing as picking cotton..." (A/N: I have stated many times before please don't get offended by the jokes in this story)
Hiruzen set down his stamp. "Go on."
"I need a real mission. C-rank. Or higher. Something that actually challenges me to push myself."
Yamato crossed his arms. "Well... He's not wrong."
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "You're agreeing with him?"
"The kid beat almost beat me in a spar. He can handle more than lawn care."
Hiruzen sighed. Leaned back in his chair. Puffed his pipe.
"Almost? For your information I was holding back."
"sure you were." Yamato said
«incorrect, you could've beaten him if you didn't had 50x gravity seals on that time»
Well thanks for supporting me but no one can listen to you besides me...
"You're both going to be difficult about this, aren't you?"
"Yes," we said in unison.
He reached into his desk. Pulled out a scroll and Unrolled it.
"Mission Rank: C. Borderline B, but I'm assigning it as C due to low expected resistance."
Yamato leaned in. I stayed where I was. JARVIS was already scanning the document.
«Mission details: Kurosawa Pass. Bandit group calling themselves 'Red Claws.' Estimated 15-20 members. Possible ex-shinobi among them. Objective: eliminate or capture. Client: Traveling Merchants' Guild.»
Hiruzen continued. "They've been hitting caravans for two months. Four caravans lost. The Guild is desperate."
"When do we leave?" I asked.
"Sensei?"
Yamato looked at me. "hmm, in One hour. at Konoha gates. Pack for around three days."
"Already packed."
"You don't have a bag."
I rolled up my sleeve. Showed him the tattoo on my forearm, it was Small. A seal I'd spent minutes perfecting... thanks to Jarvis (A/N: this was an idea giving to me by "Lord_Freeza" in the comments so thank you. )
"Storage seal. Everything I need is in here."
Yamato stared at the tattoo. Then at me. Then back at the tattoo.
"That's... convenient."
"I know right I am such a genius."
«you were not even the one who perfected it let alone the one who thought of it»
let me have my moment...
"One hour," he said again.
"I'll be there."
---
= The Konoha Gates – One Hour Later {
Yamato was waiting outside. Standard jōnin gear. With a a small pack on his back.
"You're early," he said.
"You're early too."
"Where's your stuff? Wait, don't tell me. The tattoo."
"yep The tattoo."
He looked at my forearm again. "How much can it hold?"
"just Enough."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one you're getting."
He snorted. First time I'd heard him make a noise that wasn't business-like.
"Let's move."
---
= Day 1 – The Road =
We left Konoha by foot. Yamato set a steady pace. Not really fast, the kind of pace you could keep for hours without stopping.
I kept up easily. No gravity seal reduction at the moment, JARVIS had it at 100x for travel. Felt like nothing because I was already used to it.
"You're not tired?" Yamato asked after two hours.
"Nope."
"At all?"
"I've trained physical activities. Normal walking isn't exactly strenuous."
At night Yamato stopped at a small clearing. Trees on three sides. A stream nearby.
"Set up camp," he said. "I'll watch."
"No, you won't. I already now this is a test."
His eye twitched. "Maybe."
"Fire first?"
"would you expect?."
I made a hand sign. Two shadow clones appeared. One gathered wood. One cleared the ground. I found stones and arranged them in a ring.
JARVIS was already running calculations.
«Optimal fire placement: 3 meters from the tree line. Wind direction favors smoke dispersion to the north. Stone arrangement: 89% efficiency for heat retention.»
I struck a spark. The fire caught. It Burned.
Yamato watched the whole time. Didn't help and Didn't comment as well.
"Shelter next," he said.
The clones were already working. Branches. Leaves. Rope from my storage seal. Within fifteen minutes, we had a lean-to that would keep rain off and heat in.
Yamato walked around it. Poked it. Tested the tension.
"hmm...Acceptable."
"High praise from you."
"Don't get cocky."
He set up his own shelter twenty meters away. Didn't use clones well he Didn't need to. MF used Wood release.
"Sleep in shifts," he said. "You take first watch. Wake me in four hours."
"Already on it."
Two more clones appeared. One faced east. One faced west. I crawled into the lean-to.
"The clones are on watch," I said.
"That's cheating."
"That's what I call efficiency."
He stared at me for a second. Then he lay down and closed his eyes.
«Yamato's breathing indicates he is not sleeping.»
Meh I'ma sleep.
---
= Day 2 – Kurosawa Pass =
We reached the pass by midday. The landscape changed from forest to rocky cliffs. A single winding road cut through the mountains. Perfect ambush territory.
Yamato knelt. Examined the ground.
"Tracks. Boot prints. Cart wheels." He pointed to a dark patch on the road. "Blood... Not old."
"How many?"
"Too many to count. But they're not hiding their trail. Either they're confident or they're stupid."
"Or both."
"Or both, yep I knew it, what you are going to say."
We followed the tracks. Off the road. Through the trees. Into a narrow canyon.
And there it was. The camp.
Crude tents, A fire pit. Crates of stolen goods stacked against the canyon wall. A cave at the far end.
Men moving around. Laughing and Drinking. Not a care in the world.
Yamato pulled me behind a rock. Whispered: "How many?"
«Scanning. 22 bandits visible. 3 non-combatants inside the cave—likely prisoners. One chakra signature with moderate reserves. Estimated ex-chūnin dropout.»
"Twenty-two bandits," I whispered. "Three prisoners in the cave. One guy with chakra, probably an ex-chūnin."
Yamato's eyebrow went up. "How do you know that?"
"Umm... Chakra sensing."
"That's not in your file."
I looked at him. "Well, doesn't a ninja have to keep their secrets?"
He stared at me for a second. Then he shook his head.
"We'll wait until night. I'll create a diversion with Wood Release. You sneak in, free the prisoners, then we take out the leaders."
"Or," I said, "we just walk in."
"You're not a one-man army, kid."
"Who said I was going alone?"
I made a hand sign.
Twenty shadow clones appeared behind me. Silent. Waiting.
Yamato looked at the clones. Looked at me. Looked back at the clones.
"...Fine. But get the hostages out first."
"Obviously."
---
I turned down the gravity seal. 100x to 50x. My body felt like it was made of air.
«All clones in position. Three lookouts marked. Eliminate on my signal.»
I nodded.
«Now.»
I moved.
The first lookout didn't see me. Didn't hear me. One second he was standing there. The next, he was on the ground, unconscious.
Second lookout. Same thing.
Third. Same thing.
The clones moved through the camp like ghosts. Bandits dropped one by one. No noise. No alarms.
I reached the cave.
Inside, a fat man sat on a crate. A katana across his lap. He was eating something, meat, maybe,and laughing at his own jokes... pitifull.
Behind him, a cage. Three girls inside. One around nineteen. One maybe twelve. One maybe eight. They were huddled together. All were Scared.
Another clone, not me, a clone, walked into the cave.
The fat man looked up. Laughed.
"Ha! They sent a kid?"
The clone threw a kunai. It pinned the man's sleeve to the wall behind him.
"Wh!!"
Another kunai. Other sleeve. He was stuck. Arms spread. Katana on the floor.
The real me was already at the cage. took out some Wire cutters from the storage seal. A few seconds of work, and the lock fell.
"Come on," I whispered. "Stay behind me. Don't run ahead."
The oldest girl grabbed the youngest one. The middle girl held onto her sleeve. They followed me out.
The camp was already done. Bandits tied up. Weapons confiscated. Yamato was standing in the middle, Wood Release bindings holding the remaining men in place.
"That all of them?" he asked.
"Twenty-two bandits killed. Three prisoners. One ex-chūnin pinned in the cave."
He nodded. "Let's finish this."
---
= Aftermath =
We escorted the prisoners to the nearest village. The guild representative was a short man with a mustache who wouldn't stop bowing.
"Thank you! Thank you! We thought no one would come!"
"Konoha sent us," Yamato said. "It's our job."
The oldest girl, the nineteen-year-old, walked up to me. She was crying.
I didn't know what to do. I'd fought bandits. I'd saved prisoners. But crying girls? I didn't do training for that.
"Th-thank you," she said. Then she hugged me.
I froze. My arms stayed at my sides. My face went blank.
«You are being hugged.»
I noticed...
«You should probably hug back.»
I don't know how. Never done this before in this life or the previous...
«Put your arms around her. Gently. Do not break her spine.»
I put my arms around her. Gently. Did NOT break her spine.
She cried into my shoulder for a minute. Then let go. Wiped her face.
"I'm sorry. I just, I thought I was going to die in there or they were going to sell me."
" don't worry You're safe now."
"Because of you."
"Because of my sensei too." I pointed at Yamato. "He did most of the work."
Yamato's eye twitched. "I did nothing. You did everything."
"well... Team effort," I said.
"Team effort," he repeated. Like he was trying the words for the first time.
---
Back in Konoha. Yamato filed the mission report. I sat in the waiting room, staring at the ceiling.
He came out twenty minutes later.
"What'd you write?" I asked.
"Team effort. Genin performed above expectations."
"That's it?"
"for you That's enough."
We walked out of the tower together. The sun was setting. The village was orange.
"Same time tomorrow?" I asked.
"Training Ground 6. 7 AM."
"ahhh." I sighed "alright"
"You'll be early."
"Probably guess."
He nodded. Walked away.
«Yamato's impression of you has improved. He no longer sees you as just a talented child. He sees you as a shinobi.»
Good for Me at least.
«He also noted your refusal to accept credit for the mission. He respects that.»
I don't do it for respect. I do it because it's true. He was there.
«You are modest. It is unusual for someone your age.»
Well, I'm not modest. nor I'm just not an idiot.
I walked home... orphanage. The stars came out. The air was cool.
---
END CHAPTER 28
Xx-----xX
A/N: Mb guys I wasn't able to upload yesterday, btw Leave some power stones and if you don't... The next chapter might be mysteriously late >:).
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Btw if you want to read some advance chapters then check out my P@treøn, links in the synopsis.