Forge your path

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. This is written purely for entertainment purposes.

AN: Never thought I would get even fifty followers. Hit that last chapter. To the followers of this story. Thank you. :-). Also, real life is catching up with me and I won't be able to update as quickly. I hope I can keep up a steady update rate. :-). I can probably promise constant updates from end of june. Till then the updates will be somewhat rare or random depending on whether I can get the chapter done.

Chapter 8: Boring missions and interesting occurrences

Naruto ended up at the mission office at 8. He looked around and saw Kakashi sensei leaning against the wall reading his book right next to the door. Naruto just shook his head and sighed. He walked towards the silver haired jounin saying "Hey Kakashi sensei. Wassup?"

Kakashi looked up from his book at Naruto, his one eye closing in a smile. He waveed his hand and said "Yo, Naruto. Nothing much, this book is interesting."

Naruto looked at Kakashi and said "It's that Ero book isn't it?"

Kakashi was a little surprised at Naruto knowing about the book and asked "How do you know about this Naruto? Aren't you a little young to be reading porn?"

Naruto scoffed and said "I don't like it much sensei. It is just porn without plot and while it is good when I'm feeling particularly horny, it is not great. Also I read the book because I needed some inspiration for my Orioke jutsu. Needed to know what measurements a man would find attractive and where better to get that inspiration than from the best selling perverted book that all men seem to enjoy?"

Kakashi sheepishly smiled saying "Yea, I don't believe you. You are just a closet pervert. Anyway onto other matters. How goes your shape manipulation training?"

Naruto here smirked and rubbed his nose saying "I've mastered the second exercise to the time you gave me. I am on the third exercise. I think I will get it soon Kakashi sensei."

Kakashi looked a little surprised since although Naruto had told him about this, he did not expect it, but hey, Naruto was training day and night constantly with kage-bunshin. So this was to be expected considering that he was not as dumb as everyone seemed to believe he was. He just said "Good job. Let me know when you are done mastering the third step and we will see how to go about expanding on it. Now did Iruka ever explain the mission levels to you?"

Naruto nodded saying "Yeah, he did. Iruka sensei was awesome but he explained that I will have to do some shitty chores disguised as missions for some reason. Hey it helps, since it gives me cash and adds to my file thus making it easier for me to take higher level missions. So why not. Is that all?"

Kakashi nodded saying "Yeah, now I will take you around the mission control office and teach you what forms to fill, how to work about getting a mission, how to identify and keep track of key targets in the missions, what details are expected in a mission report w.r.t the mission itself, what extra details to add if relevant to konoha and where to add them, the policy used for each of the missions and how to go about handling changes in mission difficulty. Shall we begin? Also how is your handwriting? Since the mission report people hate people writing badly."

One of the chunin sitting on the tables nearby commented "You know kakashi-san, I knew that you wrote those shitty mission reports in that handwriting for a reason. You are an annoying bastard Kakashi-san. Do not corrupt the next generation, I beg of you."

Kakashi just looked up saying "Chunin-san, did you say something?"

The chunin and Naruto sweatdropped while Kakashi went back to his book. The chunin looked at Naruto saying "Write in neat mission reports and I will tell everyone to let you pick the mission you like in the rank that you can do."

Naruto nodded with stars in his eyes saying "Awesome. Will do chunin-san."

The chunin smirked and went back to his work. Kakashi looked up saying "And that is why you should not underestimate anyone. While the administrative ninja can make it a little difficult for you, you always pick the mission you want anyway. It is very rare that D-rank missions are assigned to teams. So you just gave away a favour for nothing."

Naruto looked at Kakashi and back at the chunin who was smirking and then said "Damnit. I did not think you could be that sneaky chunin-san. You have won this round. I will win the next. Now Kakashi sensei, can we continue?"

Kakashi nodded while the smirk on the chunin's face faded. Naruto was known for his pranking skills. He hoped that he would not be the target for a prank. Kakashi just continued saying "As our very nice chunin-san said, this is where you get your missions. You can ask him for some. Each of the missions have a colour on them which denote what level difficulty they have. The mission control in this room can allot only upto C-ranks. The next room can allot B-ranks and A-ranks. The S-ranks can only be allotted by the hokage or the various commanders of the jonin and ANBU forces or elite jounin level ninja with S-rank clearance. No one else can allot it."

Naruto asked "How do we know whether a jounin ninja has S-Rank clearance?"

Kakashi said "That is an A-Rank secret. Only those who are jounin can know that. Every jounin in the village has A-Rank clearance. Generally chunin and tokubetsu jounin have upto B-Rank clearance and Genin have C-Rank clearance. There are always exceptions of course such as people in various jobs like T&I and ANBU etc but as a rule, this can be followed. You should not worry about it anyway. You will at the most as a genin see upto a B-Rank mission. You should not be able to do anything higher."

Naruto nodded and seeing this Kakashi said "Good. Now you will either take your missions from here or if hokage-sama feels like it then from him. He usually meets a few teams and gives them missions. But as rule of thumb, you can get your missions from here unless asked to do otherwise."

Naruto looked confused and said "But what if someone sets in a fake mission?"

Kakashi said "Good you asked. Any mission issued by the mission office has to have hokage-sama's stamp. It is a special stamp that cannot be replicated. That is why a huge load of paper-work passes his office. There are seals on the side of these scrolls which glow and make a small beep sound which authenticate them as mission scrolls. A mission scroll cannot be taken out of the mission office room without hokage-sama's signature. They are brought here directly. At the door and windows there are seals that check if every scroll that is taken out has those seals and hokage-sama's seal. When you get a scroll you are to run your chakra on the seals on the side and get confirmation that the scroll is genuine. Once this is done, you can leave the mission office. If a mission scroll does not have hokage-sama's seal on it, alarms will flare on the door and cause you to stop and not get out of the corridor. That is also why there are guards outside the mission control office. This way, it is very difficult to leave with a fake mission scroll."

Naruto goes wide-eyed at the safety procedures for a simple chore. Kakashi as if reading his mind says "It is not only about D-Rank missions Naruto. One day you will understand, it is about the forces of the village. Let it go for now. Anyway, the light red bordered ones are D-ranks. The orange ones are C-Ranks, B-ranks are violet, A-ranks are blue and S-ranks are black. Also here is a mission report form. Your can get one from the various counters that have been set up. Once you get a mission from the chunin and finish it, you are to come here and fill up the mission report. In the mission report, you will write what you did, how you did it, what were the key points of the mission, time taken to complete, any exemplary actions by team members, extra comments and possible impact to konoha. Along with this, in the possible impact to konoha section you will also write about any details that you want them to verify and check up on."

"Make it crisp and to the point, no stories. Also neat and bulleted. Makes it easier for the intelligence department to read. Once done, you will return the mission scroll with the signature of the client and the mission report to the completion office in the next room. They will give you your pay-slip which you can encash either downstairs or in your bank. Now take a mission and we can begin if you do not have any questions."

Naruto asked "How many D-Ranks do we have?"

Kakashi said "We generally do not run out of D-Rank missions. There is always a surplus. Why do you ask?"

Naruto said "They are paying, I need the money. I also need them on my file. I was wondering if I can do 2 or 3 D-Ranks a day."

Kakashi hummed and said "That depends. Lets see how it goes today and then when done we will get back to this question ok?"

Naruto nodded and said "Sure sensei.". Turning to the chunin he asked "Chunin-san, can you tell me the list of D-Rank missions you have available?"

The chunin said "They are in the register kid. Pick one and i'll get you its scroll."

Naruto looked through the register and saw that most of the missions were chores. He saw a mission for pulling weeds and since he liked gardening a little himself thought he would take that one. He said "Chunin san. I see a mission for pulling weeds with mission ID D34742. That is the one I would like to take."

The chunin nodded and turned to get the scroll while Kakashi said "You should not announce the mission Naruto. While everyone has access to the register here, that is not the case for the higher level missions. So always state only the mission ID. They will get you the missions."

Naruto said "Sure sensei. Will do from next time."

The chunin had got the scroll and handed it over to Naruto saying "All the details are in the scroll. Have a good missions.". He went back to his work which was filling in the register.

Naruto nodded and after indicating to Kakashi sensei, he and sensei walked out slowly.

Once they reached outside, Kakashi indicated Naruto to a park seat. They went and sat there and then Kakashi asked Naruto to open the scroll. He said "memorising the scroll is a requirement. You have half a minute to read the scroll and then one more minute to think about it. After that I am going to quiz you over the mission. Are you ready?"

Naruto nodded ready and Kakashi said "Go."

Naruto read the scroll. It was a simple pattern as if a template and was as follows:

OBJECTIVE: To weed the gardens of the client named Letu Pokinaru.

LOCATION: House 34, Lane 2, Sector 3, Konoha

TIME FRAME: No frame given but to be according to the job.

RANK: D

TO BE COMPLETED BEFORE: September 5th

MISSION SUMMARY: This is a mission requested by Letu-san. He is a hobby gardener but is also a retired civilian tailor. He has asked for assistance in weeding his garden due to the large amount of land to be weeded. The mission is to be completed by a jounin team in a day or two depending on the amount of land to be weeded.

CLIENT STATUS and CREDIBILITY: The client is a frequent customer and try to keep him happy. He is credible, has never given a false mission and is always courteous. Stay the same and all should be fine.

SCROLL STATUS: Keep. No need to burn after reading.

Naruto gave the scroll another look before Kakashi said "Time. Now hand over the scroll."

Kakashi took the scroll from Naruto and read it himself. After a minute he asked Naruto "What is the client's name?"

Naruto said "Letu - san."

Kakashi said "I need the full name Naruto. It is important to memorize the information immediately."

Naruto nodded saying "Letu Pokinaru."

Kakashi asked "What is the address?"

Naruto said "House 34, 2nd Lane, 3rd Sector, Konoha."

Kakashi nodded saying "Good. Now tell me what is the difference between time frame and to be completed before?"

Naruto said "I assume time frame is the estimated time it should take to complete this mission and to be completed before is the absolute deadline before which this mission should be completed."

Kakashi said "So when was the last date that you could take this mission?"

Naruto said "Assuming that it takes a day or two I would last take it on 3rd September. That way I can keep a one day window just to be safe."

Kakashi said "Wrong Naruto. You would last take it on the fourth. You do not have the option of always keeping that one day window or a safety window for that matter. There may come a time where things need to be done and they have to. Comfort zones don't matter when desperation sets into the picture.

Naruto nodded saying "Sure sensei. Now can you tell me what scroll status is, and why do we have D-Ranks in the first place? And don't give me that bullshit answer they gave me in the academy."

Kakashi went back to reading his book. When Naruto said bullshit, he bopped Naruto on the head and then when he was sure that Naruto's question was done he replied "Scroll status is whether to keep or burn or hide. Sometimes one cannot take the mission scroll with them but cannot leave it in the mission office as well. Also at other times there are secret missions for the sensei of a team apart from the team itself receiving the mission. For example while the team may be called for a simple escort mission, the sensei may be asked to investigate or spy on something for Konoha intelligence while acting as the team's sensei. These mission codes are written in the scroll status. The code for a secret mission is a B-Rank secret so only when you get to chunin."

Naruto was surprised saying "That also can happen eh?"

Kakashi said "Yeah. Konoha is nicer compared to the other villages but not by much Naruto. The difference is that Konoha treats its ninjas nicer and they are better bonded with each other. Because of this the price for treason is much higher. Mission wise each village has their own specialities. But all this should be academy stuff. Anyway, D-Rank missions." At this Kakashi took a huge sigh. He went back to the book saying "D-Rank missions are honestly just chores. But they perform secondary purposes. They help knit the fact that the team is a team and not a group of individuals, the team gets used to spending all day with each other doing the work and thus used to each other a little."

"This is also given as a time for the academy graduates to mature. The kids graduate the academy thinking they are going to be heros when they are actually going to be soldiers. Soldiers who get the job done, no matter what the job is. If it requires them to be a plumber then they will and so on. Now soldiers can be heros but they are soldiers first and foremost. Being a hero is only a side-effect of being a soldier in this case. So this is to get them used to the fact that they will have to do anything as ordered. Get them used to the fact that they are ninja now, soldiers, who do not question orders."

"Apart from that, it also teaches them civilian skills. Most genin do not have the ability to mask themselves or hide the fact that they are ninja. This way they can develop skills and say they are academy dropouts. Also, these skills can be useful later in life for infiltration purposes. Weeding for instance can to an observant person be helpful in gardening since you can learn a lot about a garden from observation. Painting is just that, being a civilian painter etc etc."

"They can be used to practice various skills as well. For example for those who are good with fire or earth manipulation, weeding can be a form of exercise. Same for painting for water, fire and wind manipulation for drying or spreading the paint. Tora for survival skills. Dog mission to understand animal behaviour and how they track various things while also being able to develop an aura of command and communication. It also teaches how to negotiate with dull people. There are many other missions that can be used for a variety of things. The worst possible thing is that it can be used to increase the diplomacy level of genin since charming the client to give them a good review for a chore is a talent in and of itself."

"Finally, this is used as a mock higher level mission. While weeding, you need to protect the garden. Change the weed to harvesting an important flower and you will understand how they can be further developed into higher rank missions. Shopping can be a delivery mission, Dog walking can be an escort mission, Tora can be a hunting and tracking mission, baby-sitting can be a security detail and so on. Try to imagine them as higher rank missions and you will be able to see where the possible attack patterns are. I believe Iruka already did this with you. Try to evaluate holes in the village security for a prank and analyse it. This can be used for something in the same manner. However most people do not use it for that. They use it to get the teams used to each other, then teach them some skills while letting them out on a real mission after some mock drills while training. I don't know if this answers your question."

Naruto was looking bored and cleaning his ears but he said "Yes it did Kakashi sensei. Now can we do the mission? I am bored and while your lecture was informative, it was very long."

Kakashi had a light sweatdrop on his head, not that people would know. He did not look up from his book and said "Sure, lets go."

Naruto and Kakashi walked to the address. Once they reached the address location, Naruto politely knocked on the door. The person who opened the door looked and said "I do not want you on my property boy. Do not return here." and slammed the door on his face. Naruto and Kakashi did not even get a word in edgewise.

They looked at each other a little surprised with Naruto a little hurt. Then Naruto said "So? That happened. What now sensei?"

Kakashi said "That is on you kid. Customers cannot choose the ninja on the mission. The mission has been assigned to you so you should complete it. How you do it is not of anyone's concern. Also, if this continues, then you will not get good ratings in the missions impacting your overall career. What would you do?"

Naruto said "They don't like it. I don't particularly care about the civilians anyway. They cannot see past the henge. My first instinct is to henge into a team of four and come back saying the mission has been reassigned and finish the mission. Then write in the report that the client does not want me to work on the mission so I henged into a team of four with a simple description of the henge performed. This way I can get the work done and get credit for it in case a report has been filed saying it was a team that performed the task. I can also pass it off as infiltration and henge training if required. It also means that I will not need to physically be here."

Kakashi shrugged and said "I don't particularly have a problem with it. Incidentally why four?"

Naruto said "So you don't have to be here to oversee every single mission I do. It must be boring for you. You can set a meeting time and place for the various lessons. I will be at the mission office at the time we were there today, everyday to get a mission. So if you want to meet me for something or teach me something, you can always catch me there. Seems easier. Although if you want to be here then fine. That is up to you."

Kakashi said "Na, it's good. You are starting to think a little like a diplomat and not a fighter by not confronting the client with the discrimination. Today's lesson is done. The idea seems fine. Also sure, considering how you handled it, I suppose you can do two or three D-Ranks a day. Just make sure they get done ok? I'm off now."

Kakashi vanished in a puff of smoke. Naruto walked around a corner. Made four shadow clones. Henged them into a random faced genin team. The common brown hair, simple body type, brown eyes that is seen in konoha. Then the clones went back to the client to get the mission done while Naruto went training. The orders were passed mentally and the clones knew that they should finish the mission, then submit the mission to the mission office, then get another one and finish that as well. Only then can they dispel for the day. He also told them to look into the various possibilities of the higher missions that Kakashi told him about. There were guidelines available on the various challenges on each kind of mission but he would read that later today while trying to identify them on the field today.

Meanwhile with the clones

The clones were not sure what to do. All of them had shunshinned to the clearing that the original had in mind. But the clearing had no where near the space needed for their training. So each of the main clones went searching for more clearings and training grounds beyond the forest of death while the ones that found clearings started training. They could feel a few tails on them but considering that there were more main clones than the tails, some of the group would definitely be able to train freely. It was those clones that practiced the rasengan's final step.

The first main clone started on chakra control again. The original wanted to be able to have complete control. This is a very important thing because many of the infiltration jutsus had required above decent control and the original wanted to be able to do genjutsu and medical jutsu. So they first clone broke off into 200 different clones and the clones started practicing the sand sticking exercise while the main clone meditated.

The second main clone had was the one that was tasked with completing the academy syllabus. He was done with survival and had learnt the few basic jutsu called the traveller ten. Campfire creation, Earth smoothening, Water drawing, Flash light, Smoke dispersal, Smell cancelling, Earth softening, Tent setup, Tent removal and False surrounding. He could do all of them except for false surrounding which required a lot more control than he had. But he was not afraid. He knew that Senju tsunade and Senju Hashirama both had a lot of chakra and could still become medic nin so he should be able to do the same. He was currently working on reducing all the ones he could do down to sealless execution and was leaving the false surrounding for later. Tomorrow, he would start on the stealth skills and survival knowledge. He made his quota of clones and went about his work.

The third set of clones worked on the shunshin. Naruto on seeing Kakashi's pace with the shunshin did not think he had mastered it to the extent he should have. He also wanted to be able to use it in a fight. This meant that he would have to be able to use it instantaneously without a thought and sight. While being fast. This was the challenge he had set for himself.

The fourth clone was still working on the Kawarimi making it into a long range transportation jutsu while the fifth clone was working on the henge.

The sixth clone went about trying the third step of the rasengan. He had a huge box containing balloons which were replicated when he made clones. All of these clones grabbed a balloon while he meditated trying to regulate the chakra flow in him and regenerate it slightly. He was trying something really chakra intensive and needed to be as efficient as possible. It was just his good luck that despite his training being the most explosive and the most clone dispelling, the dispelled clones would return their chakra to their creator. He also had the most chakra because this would eventually be the strongest jutsu he knew currently and the most chakra consuming. This would be his trump card. He needed to know it in case he ever got into a fight he could not finish. As of now the only attacking potential he had was a kunai. He needed something that could finish people. Even with that advantage, he would still be the first one to pop.

The seventh clone started on fuinjutsu. The original had finally got his writing decent enough for the hokage to deem him ready to learn the theoretical side of fuinjutsu. So a hundred clones were reading the same book simultaneously to try and think at it from possibly different angles. The various seals were still off limits. He had learnt the importance of doing things linearly despite also knowing that he would eventually have to get off the road that had already been walked on. Still, the basics were important and should be flawless. Which was what he was aiming for.

The eighth clone was practicing with the jutsu theory book. Naruto knew that at the end of the day, with his immense chakra reserves and eventual great control, he would become a ninjutsu expert. He would be able to outlast anyone in the field eventually. Thus he should be able to become very good at it. Take simple jutsu, dissect them, understand how they work, master them. Then go on to the next jutsu. Taking this into account, he started with a simple fire style jutsu. He did not know his elemental affinity but that did not matter. The book said that one could learn jutsus of every affinity. It would just be more difficult. But for one to be a ninjutsu master, one should be able to perform jutsu of every affinity and it was highly encouraged that one put in the effort to do so. It would pay off eventually.

The jutsu he picked was the fire-style controlled fireball. This was a simple D-Rank jutsu that let out a head sized fireball for a short range. It was not very hot and could be controlled for up to a range of 15 meters. This was the basic introduction fire-type jutsu that got people used to fire type ninjutsu. The thing about fire type ninjutsu is that most fire type ninjutsu could only be used by one's mouth. One had to blow it out. Thus if someone tries with a greater jutsu, there was a high chance that he would burn-out his lungs and throat. This was a simple fire-type jutsu and even if it exploded inside him, the worst that would happen is simple burns that could be healed by any medic nin in Konoha. One could practice with this jutsu and get it working fully. Then heat it up and keep working on it till the heat was strong enough to match a great fireball. This was the approach the book suggested.

He was currently following the book and decided that he would work with this jutsu till he could make it hot enough that he is satisfied. Only then would he go on to the next jutsu. There was a race going on and he wanted to win. This was a race between the other clones and him. Considering that he would eventually be a ninjutsu master, he was in competition with other clones who were assigned beginner jutsu of different elements to master. Whoever mastered it first could get to eat the ramen and had bragging rights. He wanted to master it and get the bragging rights.

Similar thoughts were running through the heads of the other four clones. One of them was working on water ninjutsu or more specifically the drawing water ninjutsu. This was another D-Rank ninjutsu that drew water from the atmosphere in small amounts and sent it in the form of a rock at the enemy. This was not insanely strong. It just helped gain beginner control over external water and helped with some shape manipulation. This would eventually develop into various other jutsu like the water-whip, the suuryudan etc. The basic idea was the same, exert chakra over the water that is external to you, gain control over it, shape it, launch it at the enemy with decent pressure.

The clone learning earth style was learning underground fish projection. This was a jutsu that can soften the earth around the user and use it as a propulsion to help him move through the earth and attack the enemy from underground. In this jutsu, one had to exert control over the earth that is in the immediate surroundings and change it's density while shifting it so that the user can move taught him basic earth level control. This could further be extended with distance and density manipulation which is at the heart of all earth jutsu.

The clone learning lightning techniques is learning the lightning style paralysis. This was another D-Rank jutsu that created sparks of lightning on the palm of the user that were of high enough voltage that they can be used to paralyse the opponent or excessively shock them. This is centered around the palms of the user currently and does not have any other properties except for being a flat surface that can shock users. Playing around with this jutsu is to increase the voltage of the lightning. Play around with shape manipulation and instead of it just being a flat surface on the palms, it can maybe be a rod that can be extended as a wire. The third thing that can be thought of with this jutsu is to be able to do it with any part of the body thus being able to shock anyone even thinking of touching them which can be a huge advantage against a taijutsu user.

The final clone was the wind clone. This clone was learning the gale-palm jutsu which is a D-Rank Wind jutsu that creates a strong gust of air around the user repelling a whole lot of weaponry or adding speed to a thrown weapon. This was a simple enough jutsu. The point was to get used to the pushing effects of wind jutsu. The aim from mastering this particular jutsu was to be able to create a gust of wind in any direction in an instant, isolate the generation of the gust of wind from certain body parts like only from the fore-arms when blocking so that one can throw off the form of a taijutsu user since they would not be ready for the momentum, increasing the power behind the gust and controlling it, from a simple gust to something that can push a full grown human off very easily for a long distance, creating a sort of defense barrier that surrounds the user in the form of regular gusts, using the gusts to gain momentum in a certain direction, can even be used to possibly float or attempt to fly by using with feet.

These were the five jutsu that the original had decided to master. He read that there were classes of what jutsus can do, like wind pushes, cuts, rotates and can be manipulated to create a vaccum. So on for the others as well. Fire is the only thing that is somewhat linear in what it can do, it burns it's way through anything. So he wanted to be able to perform the basics of all these effects and then try to decide which one he wanted to do. So he started with the simplest jutsu that the book recommended for each of the elements.

Things were going to be fun for him now, he had started fuinjutsu and once he could make a sealing scroll, he was proficient enough to be able to make a simple seal that would enable him to make a blood clone thus doubling his training or more. The original had started collecting blood in a sealed container that he stole from the hospital that is used to keep blood. The more blood of his that he had, the more blood clones he could make and the more his training grew.

Back with the original

While his clones were getting competitive and organising themselves for training accordingly, the original was draining his blood while resting after his finished set of exercises. The kyuubi along with lots of food and water will help him regenerate the blood he lost. This was good because he was planning on taking a lot of blood because he wanted blood clones. He was getting tired mentally. He knew that he had to train to get stronger. He wanted it. He willed it but he was getting tired already of training so much all day, day in and day out. He knew he wanted a break but he cannot get one till he gets stronger. The blood clones will help with that. He was lucky that he managed to memorise the jutsus on the sealing scroll. I mean that was the first thing that they taught at the academy. Memorize everything you should be able to reproduce whatever you read for atleast one full day.

Knowing that the forbidden scroll of seals had a lot of strong jutsu, he memorised it and when he went home, had a clone write out all the jutsu he remembered in a huge scroll that he stole. This was sealed into a sealing scroll that he was given by jiji a long time back and hidden under the floorboard in his house.

Now this was going to pay off. The blood clones could concentrate on most of the training and he can only focus on chakra control and physical training which was great as far as he was concerned. Each of them could grow to like their specific art and that would help all of them relax.

Once done with his draining of the blood, he got a report that his clones were done with the three D-Rank missions that he took for the day. They were waiting near the hokage-tower with the reports for all three. Naruto slowly took off to the hokage-tower.

At the hokage's-tower

Naruto arrived at the hokage's tower to find three different teams waiting for him downstairs. Each team had a trio of genin and one jounin with them. As he approached them, the jounin from each team came up. Naruto looked around and signalled them to get inside before talking.

They went into the mission office and in a corner, Naruto sat down. Now on signalling, the jounin of each team stepped up. A few of the chunin in the office were watching what was happening.

The jounin for each team handed Naruto a report and started reporting. The first jounin said "I was assigned the mission to weed the garden boss. The first mission that was assigned to us today. As the report says, the client did not want us as the ninja that were assigned to them. So I henged into a random jounin with my team as random genin and finished the mission. We even managed to get them to leave very good reviews on the work done. Nothing special happened and the report is already done. This was done by afternoon itself. So after we finished the mission, we spent some time on team tactics in the training ground. We took up a basic team tactics book from the library and started working out the simpler tactics for them. We managed to get only two out of the four hundred various tactics and formations down properly and even then are not sure if they will be ingrained in us but we will keep doing this till we get done."

Naruto nodded saying "Well done TL-1. You finished your mission well and managed to do something productive. Keep it up. All of you. Good job." He collected the report. Read through it and then said "Now you may dispel yourselves."

The four clones nodded, released their henge to reveal four Naruto clones and then dispelled themselves. The second jounin stepped up. While this was happening the chunin were staring wide-eyed. One of them whispered to the other "Damn, if he keeps doing this, we can have a huge amount of D-Ranks and C-Ranks in the village done. This will also help him get better faster in terms of leading a team. This is both good and bad. Oh by the way, wanna bet when he will crack?" The other chunin replied "Shut up Genji. You're an ass hole. I bet that he will crack within a week. No wait, lets bet in terms of missions. He will crack by his thirtieth D-Rank."

Genji replied "I'll take you on. I bet he will last 43. The loser treats the winner to sake. Fair?" On receiving a nod, he continues "Now lets see how this goes." He looks up to see that Naruto had finished taking the reports of both the other teams and was waiting in front of them with the completed mission reports and scroll. He said "Chunin-san. I have completed the missions assigned to me and I would like to submit them and collect my pay."

Genji nodded and said "Good job genin san. Also, if you keep this up it will be very helpful. Here's the slip. You know where to collect the pay. Have a nice day." Saying this, he nodded and went to filing the completed missions for him.

Naruto collected his pay and vanished to Ichiraku ramen. At the ramen stand Naruto entered the stand at full force and volume saying "OLD MAN! Get me some miso and keep them coming. Don't make it the ninja ramen. I am celebrating today."

Ayame came out in her apron and asked "What are you celebrating Naruto-kun?"

Naruto said "Oh, hey Ayame-nee-chan. I am celebrating my first completed mission as a ninja. I finished three missions today. Although they were chores, Iruka sensei beat it into my head that I would not be rescuing princesses on my first day as ninja so … I'm doing chores for missions." He made a pout at that. Then he brightened up saying "But this still counts on my mission record so I have just completed my first three ninja missions. And earned money. So today is that celebration. Teuchi Jiji, where is my miso?"

Teuchi came out and handed him the bowl of miso saying "Here it is Naruto-kun. Congrats on finishing your first day as a ninja. Me and ayame-chan will alternate to make you your ramen. It will be a little slow though seeing as you breathe it in." Teuchi chuckled. By the time he was done talking he saw that Naruto was halfway done with his ramen. He instantly ran back to the kitchen to make more for him.

After polishing off twenty bowls of ramen and paying for them, Naruto said "Thank you Teuchi jiji, Ayame-nee-chan. Good night." He was leaving the stand. Both teuchi and ayame said "Good night Naruto-kun. See you at breakfast tomorrow."

Once he left they both breathed a sigh and relaxed a little. Whenever Naruto entered his ramen eating streak, they were rushing and exercising for the whole duration. He ate so fast and they did not want to keep him waiting, so they worked and multitasked to the best of their abilities to keep him satisfied. He was after all their best and favourite customer. Teuchi said "So, he is done with his first mission. I hope he doesn't eat like that every night. Although it gives us a lot of money, I don't think I can keep up this pace."

Ayame sighed and said "I don't mind. He is nice to us and loves our ramen. Plus it's him. Can you honestly deny him anything?"

Teuchi was chuckling while he was walking out to take another customer's order and said "You are right Ayame-chan. I don't think I can deny Naruto anything when he makes that cute face of his. Anyway, break time is over Ayame-chan. Let's get back to work."

Naruto meanwhile went back home and meditated while slowly dispelling his team clones one by one. They were waiting for him in his room when they were done, or already dispelled.

Once done, he made the same set of clones and went to sleep while they went back to training. This seemed to be his routine for the time being. It annoyed him to no end but since he had to get stronger as fast as possible, he had to suffer through this till he got into the blood-clone creating space and found a place where his blood clones could train without being spied upon.

The last thoughts in his head before sleep claimed him what the determination to get strong enough to get Jiji to tell him about his family ASAP. That will burned a lot more than anything else in him right now.