While Kakashi and Minato were discussing how altering the past might impact their future, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were packing their ninja gear in their room.
Since this mission required leaving the village, their gear packs were standard Konoha issue.
Before departure, their packs were identical: one Fūma shuriken, several kunai, dozens of shuriken, a first-aid kit, rations, and so on.
Perhaps because the pre-dinner conversation had been so heavy, the trio packed their gear in uncharacteristic silence.
Then, Naruto found a familiar-looking mission scroll deep inside his pack...
He nudged Sasuke.
"What's wrong with you, idiot?"
"I was wondering—do you have one of these in your ninja pouch too?"
Sakura overheard their exchange and joined them.
Then she and Sasuke both realized at the same time: wasn't this the scroll Naruto had found in Obito Uchiha's ninja pouch earlier that day?
Sakura: "Naruto! When did you steal this scroll from the Fourth Hokage?!"
"No, Sakura," Naruto quickly explained. "I found this in my own ninja pouch, really. I just wanted to ask if you and Sasuke had one too." His voice trailed off, a bit hurt.
Sakura realized she'd misunderstood and quickly apologized.
Sasuke firmly stated, "At least mine doesn't have that thing."
"Same here, Sasuke-kun. I don't have that scroll either," Sakura added.
Sasuke asked Naruto, "Did you check your ninja gear before we left?"
According to the Ninja Academy's curriculum, after receiving mission supplies, you're supposed to inventory everything before departure. This serves two purposes: first, to know what's in your gear and simulate how to use it during the mission; second, to check if anything's missing or damaged.
But Naruto, the bottom-of-the-class slacker—no one could be sure he didn't sleep through his training at the academy.
"I checked it thoroughly! That scroll definitely wasn't in there before we left!" he said, defensively.
Sakura suggested, "Should we open it and see?"
"Yeah." Naruto nodded. Under Sasuke and Sakura's watchful eyes, he untied the scroll's cord and spread it flat on the ground.
What they saw next shocked them. Naruto grabbed the scroll and ran straight into the room where Kakashi-sensei and the Fourth Hokage were discussing matters.
Minato Namikaze immediately recognized the scroll Naruto was holding—it was identical to the one in Obito's ninja pouch. He sensed the same unique power of Space-Time Ninjutsu emanating from it, causing him to approach with increased caution.
Coincidentally, they had just been discussing Obito's scroll.
Both scrolls were now laid out on the table, side by side...
The top one was from Obito's ninja pouch.
Its contents read:
[Mission Rank: SSS]
[Mission Objective: Kill—the Masked Man.]
The bottom one was from Naruto's pouch.
Its contents read:
[Mission Rank: SSS]
[Mission Objective: Rescue—the Masked Man.]
...
"!!!"
Just as expected!
Two scrolls that were almost identical, yet had completely opposite mission objectives!
Both were SSS-rank missions. Obito's required killing the Masked Man, while Naruto's required rescuing him.
"Are we supposed to kill him or save him, dattebayo?!"
Naruto scratched his head. Were they really supposed to go against the Fourth Hokage and their childhood sensei, Kakashi?!
Sasuke: "Speaking of which, who exactly is this masked man we're supposed to deal with in the mission?"
"Could it be the ANBU from Kirigakure who took Zabuza away last time?" Sakura suggested.
Kakashi: "Minato-sensei and I had that same theory."
He moved his hand over the mission rank symbols on the scrolls and continued:
"But if the target is just that ANBU agent, none of us believe this mission would have been rated as high as SSS-rank."
He explained to his three students:
"D-rank missions—the ones you're most familiar with as genin—are simple tasks that don't require combat or present life-threatening danger."
"Most of the time, you don't even need to leave the village."
"I know, I know," Naruto said, counting on his fingers the types of missions they'd done over the past half-year. "Like finding the Daimyō's wife's cat, babysitting for a busy housewife, shopping with a rich lady, cleaning an old lady's yard—we've done way too many of those!"
Kakashi: "Exactly. These tasks usually pay between five thousand and fifty thousand ryō."
"C-rank missions carry a risk of injury, but they generally aren't life-threatening. Most of them involve personal protection duties—guarding against bandits, thugs, enforcers, or dangerous beasts. For example, Tazuna-san's original request was C-rank, with a bounty of thirty thousand to one hundred thousand ryō."
"B-rank missions are more dangerous. The target may have hired ninja, or the target might be a ninja themselves. Combat is nearly guaranteed, and there's a high chance of injury or even life-threatening danger. This mission, for instance, is already beyond the scope of a standard C-rank."
Naruto nodded in agreement.
Kakashi continued, "The reward for these types of missions typically ranges from eighty thousand to two hundred thousand ryō." Especially when dealing with rogue ninjas like Zabuza, even two hundred thousand ryō might not be enough.
Sakura quietly calculated how much they might each receive if the current mission paid two hundred thousand ryō.
"A-rank missions are beyond your reach for now," Minato Namikaze added, picking up where Kakashi had left off. "Especially since we're not at war. The village doesn't have many A-rank or higher missions available, and manpower isn't as stretched as it was in our time."
Naruto asked him, "Bro, are you guys really that short on people right now?"
Bro... Bro...