DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO (IF I DID THEN I WOULDN'T NEED TO GO TO COLLEGE HAHA)
D-Ranks and C-Ranks
"Man this blows… I honestly thought we're gonna go on some awesome mission and kick-ass but instead we're stuck here doing odd jobs throughout the village!" Naruto complained.
"Well tough luck Naruto, this is what they gave us so suck it up and quit yapping about it since it won't do any good for us" Ino retorted to which Naruto sighed and continued to do his work.
This went on for about 20 minutes or so until Naruto got completely fed up and dropped his task and quickly did a familiar hand seal.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shadow Clone Technique)" Naruto exclaimed and all of a sudden there were like a dozen copies of him waiting for his command.
"I don't think Asuma-sensei would like to see us using jutsus to do this mission since we can make do without them…" Ino replied
"Relax Ino, besides Asuma-sensei didn't mention that using jutsus wasn't allowed right. If anything this is on him" Naruto retorted. Ino was about to make a rebuttal but realized Naruto did have a point to which she didn't continue what she was about to say and quickly sat down and leaned on the warehouse's wall to relax. Shino also did the same thing, only he was leaning against a fence post.
"Alright then! You guys know what to do since well… All of you are me, so get to it!" Naruto told his clones. They responded by saluting at him and quickly getting to work.
Naruto then sat beside Ino and leaned against the wall as well and let out a relaxed sigh. Ino noticed Naruto who was sitting beside her.
"I wonder what kinds of missions the others are doing right now, I sure do hope they're doing crummy ones like us haha" Naruto mused.
"Sasuke-kun's team is probably already out there kicking ass somewhere out there" Ino replied.
"Ughhh… There you go again with the whole Sasuke-kun shtick, it's always Sasuke-kun this and Sasuke-kun that. It's like he's the only thing in your mind Ino, seriously…" Naruto groaned
"And what's your problem about that huh? You jealous?" Ino raised her eyebrow
"WHAT?! HAHAHA… Oh please, as if I'm jealous of that teme, it's just that all your Sasuke talk is kind of getting on my nerves, it's getting too repetitive"
"As if you're any better! You keep talking about ramen! You talk about Ichiraku Ramen, instant cup ramen, packaged ramen, and who knows how many more types of ramen there are in this world. You keep going on and on and on about how delicious it is, it's not even that great!. It's just boiled meat broth with salt and some toppings, big deal! Pudding is much better and that is a fact!" Ino rebutted.
"Oh! You take that back Ino! Ramen is the best food there is and it is leagues above your puny pudding!" Naruto replied.
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"YOU! Shino… Which is better ramen or pudding?" Naruto faced him
"Yeah Shino, which one?!" Ino added
"I'd rather not get involved in your entire feud for the past few minutes, why? Because I think it is quite pointless…" Shino retorted.
After hearing what Shino had to say the two blondes still continued their heated argument until suddenly their bearded sensei appeared in a quick shunshin.
"What the heck is going on here with all this ruckus! And why are you three just sitting on your asses? Don't you guys have a job er- I mean mission to do?"
"Ah-ha! So it is a job and not a mission!" Naruto said
"Job, mission, tomayto, tomahto, whatever. But that's not the point, my point is why are you three not working?"
"Oh! I made clones to do our job for us besides its tedious Asuma-sensei" Naruto complained to which Ino agreed as well.
Asuma sighed and began rubbing his temples, "Look… This is part of being a Genin, you have to work up to be able to be given higher-ranked missions. But you gotta start at these kinds of stuff, am I understood? Cause even I did this shit when I was your age, even the Sandaime did D-Ranks in the past, ask him" Asuma explained.
Naruto then let out a sigh and was about to dispel his clones but Asuma said not to dispel them right now, "You guys can have a break for a while so don't dispel your clones just yet Naruto. After all, this is your 4th D-Rank for today, so I'm gonna leave you guys for a moment, and please while I'm away, avoid fighting. You guys should actually be getting along instead of fighting, alright?" Asuma said to which the three of them nodded.
"Okay good, I'll be right back" Asuma said and disappeared once more in a shunshin thus leaving the three of them alone once again.
"Hey uh Ino… Sorry about earlier, I might have gotten a bit carried away in the heat of our argument, gomen…" Naruto apologized.
"Well yeah... I guess I did go too far as well, sorry Naruto. We all good now?" she asked to which he gave her a thumbs up and a foxy grin. Seeing his stupid grin made her smile slightly.
"I believe your clones are about to be finished Naruto, I suggest making the most out of this break is a wise decision. We will need all the energy we have in the case Asuma-sensei gives us another D-Rank to do" Shino suggested. Naruto and Ino agreed as they relaxed for real this time.
- At The Hokage Tower -
Asuma and his students were waiting just outside the Hokage's office since the man was looking for them himself. He knocked and opened the door revealing an old man in white robes seating behind a desk with a mountain of paperwork in front of him.
"You wanted to see us Hokage-sama?" Asuma asked
"Ah yes yes, please come in. I gathered all of you here today to transfer a mission to your team"
"Okay, and what does this mission entail? And why our team? Not that I'm complaining just curious" Asuma asked
"It's okay if you don't want to, I can ask another team to-"
"NOOOOO!" both blondes yelled. "Come on Asuma-sensei! You're seriously blowing this!" Naruto complained to which Asuma sighed and the Hokage chuckled.
"We don't mind doing it Hokage-sama just wondering as to why you picked us" Asuma asked
"Well your team did a remarkable job of doing a handful of D-Ranks in one day and I believe your team deserves to do the very first C-Rank mission out of all the Genin teams this year. Not unless your students aren't up for the task" Hiruzen wondered.
"Hmmm… Perhaps they aren't ready yet Hokage-sama" Asuma added
"WHAT?! NO! NO! WE'RE INDEED READY HOKAGE-JIJI DATTEBAYO!, RIGHT GUYS?!" Naruto asked in a panic. Ino agreed with the same energy as Naruto whereas Shino just nodded, classic Shino.
Hiruzen chuckled at Naruto's reaction to having his very first C-Rank taken away from him. "Seems like they are indeed ready, here is your mission scroll. That is all, all of you are dismissed" Hiruzen said to them. They bowed and thanked him as they left the office.
Hiruzen sighed to himself, "Looks like it's me and you again, piles of paperwork…" he said to no one in particular.
- Outside By The Hokage Tower -
"So… What's our mission then Asuma-sensei? Is it going to be a rescue mission?… Oh! Maybe we're going to kick some enemy shinobi's ass!" Naruto said enthusiastically.
"Relax Naruto I am getting to it" Asuma replied as he opened the scroll and carefully read the contents. After a few minutes of waiting, Naruto couldn't wait to know what their C-Rank mission would be.
"Oh… You're going to love this" Asuma said in a cheeky tone
"Yahoo! We're going on an awesome mission dattebayo!"
- Konoha's Gate -
"This stinks… Honest to Kami I thought we were going on some action-filled mission. But no, we're just gonna deliver some stupid message" Naruto stated.
"You think that sucks, what I hate is how long Asuma-sensei is taking to prepare. How long does one take to pack their things?…" Ino complained.
"I believe it is best not to dwell on things that we don't like and focus on the mission ahead of us" Shino added.
Both blondes sighed and decided to let it go and not think about it anymore. Shino was right, there's no point in whining about how things are the way they are.
Moments later a pair of fellow Konoha shinobi returned to their post at the gate. "Off to a mission?" one of the guards asked.
"You bet dattebayo!" Naruto replied
"What mission though?" the man asked to which Naruto replied that they were tasked to deliver a message to some Kusa shinobi at the border of Hi no Kuni (Land of Fire)
"I see… Well, where is your Jounin-sensei then?…" the man wearing a bandana with a metal plate sewn onto it with Konoha's symbol engraved on it.
"He'll be here, I hope…" Naruto replied.
"Why? Is your Jounin-sensei Kakashi? If so… He might take a while" the man said
"Nah, it's Asuma-sensei"
"Ahhh I see, he's a great shinobi if you ask me, just be careful not to pick up his habit of smoking, that'll kill you one day though"
"He won't listen to us, I already told him that earlier, and so did Kurenai-sensei" Ino added.
"Well he's probably addicted to smoking, can't be helped though, it's quite understandable for shinobi to develop their own coping mechanisms to deal with stress, I mean even the Hokage smokes himself" he said to the three kids.
"How'd you know Asuma smokes though?… Uhhh… Sorry, I don't know your name" Naruto apologized.
The man waved it off and introduced himself, "The name's Kamizuki Izumo, and the guy beside me with the bandage on his face is Hagane Kotetsu"
"Yo!" Kotetsu said
"I assume both of you are Jounin judging from the fact that you guys were flak jackets much like Asuma-sensei" Shino added only to be corrected by the duo.
"We wish but nah, we're both Chunin. Though I get where you're coming from, both Chunin and Jounin were flak jackets so there's that" Kotetsu answered
"I see I was mistaken" Shino replied.
"Is this your first mission out of the village?" Izumo asked to which Ino nodded yes
"I see, you guys nervous?" he asked
"A bit / Kinda? / Not at all!" Shino, Ino, and Naruto said respectively in unison.
"Well as your senior, my advice is just to take it easy and pay attention to everything and you'll do just fine" Izumo said.
"Oh and remember to not pick up Asuma's habit of smoking, after all some Genin take after their sensei due to prolonged exposure" Izumo replied.
After what Izumo said the man in question arrived with a cigarette in his mouth, how ironic. "Speak of the devil" Kotetsu chuckled. The duo nodded in acknowledgment of Asuma's presence, and Asuma did so as well.
"Are you runts ready?" he asked, all three of them nodded, adding the fact that Naruto exclaimed at the top of his lungs "LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD DATTEBAYO!"
- Outside Konoha: At the edge of Hi no Kuni -
It took almost a day for Team 10 to reach the border of Hi no Kuni (Land of Fire) which was in the west since they were in no rush at all but still managed to travel at a quick enough pace so as to not make the Kusa shinobi waiting.
Shino, Ino, and Naruto were waiting for Asuma to regroup. Apparently, the Kusa shinobi wanted to discuss something with him before they left.
"Honestly I expected more from this mission" Naruto said
"Like what?…" Ino asked
"Y'know… Some action" Naruto replied.
Ino just stared at him this confused Naruto and made him think about what he said
"Seeking danger is not a wise thing to do Naruto, why? Because the possibility of perishing is still there, I am certain none of us would like that to ever happen" Shino weighed in.
"I know… I was just saying" Naruto said in his defense.
"I can't wait to return to Konoha, I could definitely use a shower. I feel so sticky and musty" Ino said
"Didn't you just take a quick dip in a river we passed by?…" Naruto asked
"There's a difference you dummy, of course, I need my toiletries Naruto…" Ino answered.
"Fair enough since we're expected to just bring the essentials after all" Naruto said
"Come to think of it… Why isn't toiletry considered essential to a ninja? Isn't showering important too? Y'know hygiene and stuff…" Naruto rambled. Ino just shrugged
"Beats me, if I were Hokage, I'd make sure that this changes" she said
"Don't worry Ino! Leave that to me when I become Hokage dattebayo!" Naruto said with a grin. "Well one step at a time buster, in the off chance you do become Hokage, I'm counting on that Naruto. Though I do think Sasuke will become the Hokage" Ino fantasized.
Naruto stuck out his tongue in response, "Not if I do something about it. I'll show everyone and that Uchiha prick how it's done dattebayo!" hearing this made Ino roll her eyes.
"I believe toiletry wasn't considered essential since there are much more pressing matters to a ninja which outweigh their own hygiene, most especially the completion of their mission at hand. Because most ninjas probably don't have the time for that" he added his thoughts into the mix.
Moments later Asuma returned with a new scroll in his hands. "What took you so long Asuma-sensei?!…" Ino asked
"Sorry about that kids, those Kusa shinobi just discussed some stuff" he replied
"Like?" Naruto asked
"There appears to be synchronized movement along the border of Hi no Kuni, most probably some organization consisting of thugs and bandits, Hokage-sama just wanted to confirm this information with neighboring villages since they would be affected by this as well" Asuma explained.
That was a lot of information to take in just one sitting but the kids were able to understand. "I'm guessing Hokage-jiji would send some teams to further investigate it then?…" Naruto said.
This caught Asuma's attention, the boy was smarter than he let on. 'Not bad kid, not bad at all' he thought to himself. Regardless he set aside that thought as one of those things that surprised him about his students.
"Well now that our job here is done, it's time to head back home" Asuma said as the group then departed and headed back to Konoha as soon as possible.
- Konoha's Gate -
The group arrived back at the gate, they were then greeted by the same duo they met a couple of days ago
"Yo, how'd the mission go?" Izumo asked the kids
"It went fine, although a bit underwhelming" Naruto replied
Izumo raised his eyebrow and asked Naruto why it was underwhelming, "Oh?… How so?" he asked to which Naruto replied he was expecting some fighting and whatnot.
The duo laughed in response after which Kotetsu interjected that they would get their fair share of battles soon enough and that they'll wish for missions that were laxer in nature.
"Alright, great jobs kids, congrats on finishing your first C-Rank mission in your career as shinobi, be sure to meet me again at the training grounds to train, any questions?" Asuma asked, none of them raised their hands or voiced any concerns.
"None? If that's the case all of you are dismissed" he said to which they nodded. Asuma then disappeared in a shunshin as usual.
"Damn… Wish I could do that too… I would look so cool doing that" Naruto fantasized.
"Then ask Asuma-sensei to teach you that Naruto" Ino replied
"I doubt he'll teach me that jutsu easily, whatever though, I have an even better jutsu than that though hehehe" he replied
"You mean your crummy Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)?…" she asked.
"Yeah, what's not cool about having your own clones?" he replied
"It's alright I guess… But my Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind Body Change Technique) is much cooler" she declared
"WHAT?!… Clones are cooler and that's a fact!" Naruto exclaimed
"IT IS!"
"IT'S NOT!"
"IT IS!"
"IT'S NOT!"
The two blondes continued their bickering once again, this left Shino to himself. "I'm sorry you have to put up with them" Izumo said to Shino.
"I'm getting used to it…" Shino said
"Don't worry they'll grow on you, that I'm certain of" Kotetsu retorted.
(A/N: That is all for the second chapter, I think I'm gonna stick to a 2-3 thousand word count for each chapter to make it lighter for myself. In "Meet the Uzumakis" I made some that reached 7k which is quite a lot, in my opinion, tho I do tend to get burnt out doing those plus it might be too long. Another reason is the length of each chapter is inconsistent with one another so yeah haha. I do apologize for some grammar mistakes/errors as I do not have immaculate grammar haha but I did hope y'all enjoyed this one, cheers ^^)