While Shigure was enjoying the warmth of home and the joy of his improved strength in the cozy ramen shop, Naruto's situation was quite the opposite.
Team 7's first official mission day wasn't as exciting and challenging as Naruto had imagined. Instead, they were faced with a variety of trivial D-rank missions.
Helping a lady find her lost pet cat...
weeding a farmer's overgrown fields...
walking the neighbor's dog...
painting the fences along Konoha's streets...
...
All day, Naruto felt like a handyman, not a ninja. In the evening, when Kakashi announced the end of the day's mission, Naruto finally couldn't help but explode.
"Teacher Kakashi, is this also called a ninja mission? Catching cats, pulling weeds, walking dogs, painting... This is too boring, right? I want to do a more powerful mission, the kind... the kind that allows me to show my skills and protect everyone and become a hero."
Sasuke also rarely agreed. He leaned against a tree trunk and said coldly, "Hmph, this kind of low-level mission is of no help to my practice. It's just a waste of time."
Although Sakura was also very tired, she still habitually agreed: "That's right, Teacher Kakashi, when can we receive more advanced missions?"
Faced with the three people's complaints, Kakashi remained indifferent and chuckled, "Well, well... As a new Genin, it's important to gain experience. These basic tasks are also part of ninja training. Step by step, step by step."
He said a few perfunctory words, then immediately made an excuse: "Oh, right, I suddenly remembered that I have some personal matters to attend to. Tomorrow's meeting time and place remain the same. Everyone go back and get some rest. Dismissed!"
With that, without waiting for Naruto and the others to say anything, Kakashi suddenly vanished from the spot with a Body Flicker Technique.
"Hey! Kakashi-sensei!!"
Naruto looked at the deserted place, his feet throbbing with anger. Sasuke and Sakura also looked helpless.
Finally, the three exhausted Genin said goodbye to each other and dragged their heavy feet back home.
However, Kakashi did not actually go home.
He didn't even bother eating dinner, instead using the Body Flicker Technique to reach a well-guarded secret location within Konoha Village—the archives room used exclusively by the Anbu.
The archives room was located deep underground, and two Anbu ninjas wearing animal masks guarded the entrance. Upon seeing Kakashi's appearance, one of the Anbu members immediately stepped forward and said in a low, respectful voice, "Kakashi-senpai."
Kakashi nodded, his expression unusually serious, a glimmer of his usual laziness gone. "I need to go in and look up some information."
Seeing Kakashi's serious expression, the Anbu member dared not delay. He immediately stood up and opened the heavy iron door leading to the archives room. "Yes! Please come in!"
Although Kakashi had officially left the Anbu and become a Jonin in charge, everyone knew he remained one of the Third Hokage's most trusted confidants, frequently accepting and completing secret missions. Therefore, he retained unfettered access to the Anbu archives room.
Without further ado, Kakashi walked straight into the archives room. The place was exactly as he remembered it. The air was thick with the scent of ancient scrolls and ink. Rows of vast bookshelves were crammed with countless scrolls and documents, recording the most confidential information, Ninjutsu materials, and... those unknown dark secrets of Konoha Village since its founding.
Kakashi walked familiarly to the shelf marked "Genjutsu" and began to carefully leaf through each volume.
He had a single purpose: to find clues related to last night's strange dream. He firmly believed it was no simple dream. It was most likely a rare and sophisticated Genjutsu that worked on the mental level... or perhaps a similar forbidden technique!
He meticulously searched for records of various Genjutsu and forbidden techniques related to psychic attacks, dream intrusion, memory reading, shared perception, and even soul-level illusions.
However... time passed, and the sky outside had already reached complete darkness. Kakashi had searched through nearly every possible scroll but still found nothing.
The Anbu archives lacked any known Jutsu capable of performing the task of last night, silently drawing multiple consciousnesses into the same space, accurately replaying them, even tampering with specific individuals' dreams, and manifesting images the dreamer themselves was unaware of.
"How could this be... no clue at all..."
Late at night, Kakashi, increasingly exhausted, left the Anbu archives and returned to his empty room. He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, his heart filled with anguish and anxiety.
The vast Anbu archives contained no such records. Did this mean the caster's abilities were beyond the comprehension of ordinary ninjas?
Even more worrying for Kakashi was this: that mysterious caster's target... seemed to be Naruto!
What exactly did they want with Naruto? Was it for the Nine-Tails? Or was there some deeper purpose?
Overwhelmed by exhaustion and inextricable doubts, Kakashi's eyelids grew heavy, and his consciousness... began to blur once again...
The familiar feeling of weightlessness washed over him. When Kakashi opened his eyes again, unsurprisingly, he found himself once again in that dim and eerie theater.
"Ah..." he sighed, barely audible.
Sure enough, it happened again.
This time, he didn't panic like the first time, nor did he rush to investigate. As the saying goes, "first time, second time, familiarity." Last night's experience had calmed him down a bit.
He looked around. Sure enough, Sasuke and Sakura had arrived before him. Still in their pajamas, they sat in seats not far from him, their faces filled with resigned helplessness and a touch of curiosity. It seemed they, too, had realized this wasn't a dangerous trap but more of a "rule" that couldn't be broken.
Kakashi greeted them, found an empty seat, and sat down. He relaxed, his gaze fixed on the huge, pitch-black screen before him, and waited patiently.
According to last night's pattern, the screen would light up shortly after he arrived.
Today would likely be similar.
Sure enough, it did.
Less than half a minute after he sat down, the screen suddenly lit up again without warning.
The screen still featured Naruto.
But...
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Early chapter @ patreon.com/Reborn_noob