The next morning dawned, and three teams of Genin met their senseis to learn that they were going to be worked to the bone over the next week with missions. The stated reason by the three Jonin was that they wanted to really push the kids to be the very best that they could be. The actual reason was of course, the bet they had made the night before, with each Jonin wondering what boon they would ask of the other if/when they won. Still, the morning practices were informative for the young ninja, as each Jonin went over group tactics, in one way other another, and began to show them just how much they had left to learn, running the kids through their paces before the eleven o'clock hour struck, and they were all off to the Tower of the Hokage, and their first missions of the day.
Each team hit the ground running, either buoyed up by promises of new techniques, in the case of Kurenai, threats from parents, in the case of Asuma, or just plain pushing them towards being the best, in the case of Iruka. Each team took a job, and quickly established the pace of their work, as by the end of the first hour, each team had done two missions, and it only went up from there. Interestingly, despite being able to throw entire hordes into each mission, courtesy of Naruto, Team Kurenai was not the fastest worker. That went instead to Team Asuma, who's three Genin seemed to function as a single unit, Shikamaru the Planner, Ino the Information Gatherer, and Choji the Muscle. Every job they finished with the bare minimum of effort, turning in slip after slip to the Tower, who refused multiple requests of the teams' Jonin to allow them to accept more than one at a time.
By the end of the first day, with the sun setting, the three teams were about even, with Asuma's Genin doing eight missions, Iruka's a solid seven, and Kurenai's another eight. Each team was encouraged by their respective sensei, each told to get plenty of rest, and given only basic exercises to do, so that they would have plenty of energy in the morning. The Genin weren't fools, however, and each team soon learned of the pace the others were working at, trading stories, and then deciding that, no matter the reason behind it, they all liked the missions, and more importantly that each D-Rank mission completed brought them one step closer to the C-Rank that would allow them entrance to the Chuunin exams.
So they dove into their work, each team now knowing that their pride was at stake, and that there was a record to break. The next day saw all three teams breach the double digits on missions, with Iruka's edging out the competition that day as Sakura, the brains of her team, had the two rather rough and tumble boys doing everything with a bit more efficiency than the day previous. The day after saw Kurenai's team taking jobs of a nature that allowed their skills to shine through, breaking the other two teams totals over their knee as they clawed their way up to the top of the heap, only to find that the following day saw them in dead last due to a botched job outside the wall that had taken them all day.
So the groups did their work, and all over Konoha, life got better. Pot holes were filled in, homes were repaired, animals were caught, and weapons were sharpened. Everywhere the Genin went, you would find smiling faces, save for a few of their fellow ninja who felt the children were doing far too much work, either because they were afraid of them burning themselves out, or just jealousy that there were fewer jobs to pick from. Still, even the harshest naysayer had to agree, the kids were truly something else. The final day of the wager, they went all out, finishing up with one three team job that involved repairing the Tower itself, a job that had been languishing in the back log of missions for almost a year. And then it was over, and the three teams were brought into the Hokage's office, for a chat.
"One Hundred and Fourteen. That was the number of jobs the Sannin were able to complete their first week as Genin. I would take more credit for that, but in truth, that was mostly Tsunade and...well, it wasn't Jiraiya's work, let's leave it at that. They did everything they could to earn themselves a place in village history, and throughout the last week, you Ten have done the same. I have heard the rumors that the town would literally fall apart if you weren't there to hold it together, and that sort of reputation is something to be proud of," said the old man in the seat, the students swelling up with pride, even as a few of them turned to the others. Some had known that Sarutobi had trained the legendary trio, but for others that information came as a bit of a shock.
"Sadly, some records are almost impossible to beat, and I'm afraid, despite your best efforts, you have not unseated my team from their first place finish, though I want you to understand how much good you have done regardless. Between the three teams, you have accepted and completed two-hundred-fifty-two missions," as he said this, the Hokage pulled out a bucket from behind himself, and then turned it over onto his desk, covering the thing in mission slips, all of them bearing the green stamp of completion.
"This is an accomplishment worthy of the Sannin themselves, and so, I desire to reward you as such," the old man, gratified at the flummoxed looks on the faces of the young, none of whom had really be keeping track of the total number of jobs they'd been doing, swept the papers back into the bucket, and stored it under his desk so the papers could be refiled later.
"In honor of this, I think it's a safe bet to say that you are up to the challenge of a harder mission type, and so I have personally gone over the requests waiting to be selected, and hand picked what I think are missions just right for the skilled Ninja I see in front of me," so saying, Sarutobi made a flourishing gesture with his hand, and three papers seemed to appear in it, all mission envelopes marked with the letter C, as well as a number. Of course, he failed to add that thanks to the Genin's efforts, the D-Rank mission backlog was quite literally empty, and he had been asked by several prominent members of other Genin teams to get those 'mutant freaks' out of Konoha for a while, so other Ninja could make a living.
"To make this fair, I want you each to select your team leaders, and have them stand up, and I'll get you each to select a number in turn," he told them, expecting, as many young people their age would do, to have an argument in front of him, one had could then watch the Jonin deal with, just so he could see how they did so. Instead of harsh words though, each team simply sat there, as three different Genin stood up, one from each. From Kurenai's, it was Shino, standing tall and proud, while to his left, Sakura took center stage, and to her left Shikamaru stood up, looking a little bored with the whole proceeding, yet his gaze never left the envelopes in the Hokage's hand. Seeing this, and waiting a moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled, remembering that first time he'd had to get Orochimaru and Jiraiya to recognize Tsunade as their leader.
"Alright, reverse alphabetical order then. Shikamaru, pick your number," commanded the Hokage, and the boy tilted his head down, as he began to stroke at his chin for several moments, before finally nodding.
"Give us the third mission...Hokage-sama," the last was added after a light cough from behind him, that came from Asuma, whom the Hokage just smiled at as he undid the string on the envelope and passed it to the young man.
"There is a special breed of animal, a deer of sorts, in the Land of Grass that someone there would like to have for himself. The mission requires live capture, so be sure to not injure the thing too badly," he said, and Shikamaru nodded, probably thinking about his own family's symbolic animal, a herd of deer on their land, as he took the mission post, and resumed his seat.
"Alright, what fate do you decide, Ms. Haruno?" asked the Hokage.
"Well...let's go with the first mission, Hokage-sama," she said, giving him a respectful bow, which he returned as he opened the envelope.
"This is a group mission, much like your repair job this afternoon. The boarder between Konoha and Iwa is becoming slightly more active than we would like, so we're reinforcing our patrols there. A senior Jonin is your mission contact, and he will give you your marching orders when you arrive. It might interest you to note that the Might Guy's team is already there, having taken this mission up a week ago," he added, passing the pink haired kunoichi the letter, who took it, and smiled as she showed it off to the other two in her team, who both smiled back at her.
"That leaves you with the second mission Shino. This one's a bit harder on the feet, but still sounds like something you will enjoy. There is a bridge builder, he came in three days ago, requesting that we send him some guards for him and his assistants as they build a bridge out in Wave Country. Apparently a small band of bandits has threatened him, and he thinks he'll be safer with some ninja at his back," so saying, the Hokage passed the final mission post to the Aburame boy, who took it, and then resumed his seat.
"Now that you have your jobs, I will advise that you make ready. None of these missions will be as quick to finish as your previous work, and will require you to exert yourselves even more to complete. Know, however, that Konoha herself has confidence in all of you, and wishes you all good luck," he said this, and the Genin rose from their seats, all of them giving a concerted thank you to their Hokage-sama, before leaving the room, and leaving him with their Jonin instructors.
"So, when did you decide to start sabotaging their efforts?" he asked bluntly, as he reached beneath his desk and pulled out his pipe. He didn't even make a hand seal as he projected a katon jutsu into the tip, igniting it.
"We agreed on that by the end of the third day. They were blazing through their missions at such a speed that we felt if we allowed it to continue they would run the office out of D-Rank missions completely," responded Iruka, who was surprised when the Hokage laughed at the answer.
"If that's the case, you should have pulled them out of this on the second day, as I must report there isn't a single D-Ranked mission left in the backlog. We do have some coming in slowly, but for a while, many of the adult Genin will have to find other sources of income," he informed them, and all three looked at each other, a bit taken aback by the news.
"So, they tied at eighty-four apiece. Even if you were slowing them down, that's still an accomplishment. Have they invested the money they were making?" asked the Hokage, interested in what the young had done with enough money that they could have bought a good sized house in almost any district in Konoha.
"I believe the clansmen have had their money added to the accounts of their families, who have been trying to hide just how much that comes out to. Sakura says her father, being a civilian, has been using the funds she brings in to expand his own business," said Iruka, the Hokage nodding at the news.
"Heero and Naruto are using their money to expand their home. They've already purchased an automatic washing machine, as well as some equipment for their underground training area. If I overheard them correctly, they're looking into expanding the space, so they can train more efficiently there, and out of sight of prying eyes," added Kurenai.
"So they're being smart with their money then. That's good to hear. Some rumors came to me through the ANBU that certain individuals were showing an interest in them for the funds they were making, but if they've already begun using them, they're less likely to be targets," said the Hokage, puffing on his pipe for a few moments, before rising from his seat and going to the window. Outside, he could see the group of young Genin exiting the Tower. Each of them seemed to be celebrating their good fortune, even the usually laid back Shikamaru and stoic Shino looked to be bouncing around as the group made their way into the city.
"I wish all of you the best of luck on your missions, then," said the Hokage at last, turning back towards the three Jonin, who heard the dismissal in his voice, and rose from their chairs. The three bowed respectfully towards the old ninja,before taking their leave, each having their own preparations to make for tomorrow's journeys. Smiling he watched as the kids vanished towards some unknown destination, probably that ramen shack that Naruto liked, and then he turned back to his desk. He had a few more bits of paperwork to do himself before the night was out, and in the morning he would see his son off on his mission.