"Raemon, you coordinate with me. Naruto, you act independently—adapt as needed…"
Izuno assigned the roles in a low voice.
After two months together, the three of them had gained a basic understanding of one another. Izuno taking on the role of temporary leader was, in truth, a reluctant choice.
Among the three, the strongest was undoubtedly Naruto.
The problem was that Naruto's communication skills were clearly unsuited to leadership.
Raemon had the brains for it, but his fundamentals were too weak—under pressure, he was prone to mistakes.
So, left with no perfect option, they picked the best of the imperfect choices. Izuno stepped up—fitting neatly with her own aspirations.
Naruto nodded. Giving up the leader role was his own decision.
He knew himself well. Having fought alone his entire life, many habits were deeply ingrained. Making him the leader would only hurt the other two.
The long two-month "grinding" phase was finally over.
From this mission onward, they would officially begin taking on real ninja assignments.
When training newcomers, starting easy and then increasing difficulty was the sensible approach.
Their first C-rank mission was accordingly simple—exterminating a group of bandits.
Ordinary people—even blood-stained bandits—were no match for chakra-using ninja in a one-on-one fight.
The only real issue was that children who had never experienced true combat often struggled to perform consistently.
Ninja were, quite obviously, a profession with high offense and low defense.
Aside from extreme anomalies like Kakuzu or Hidan, whether jōnin or genin, a vital strike from a sharp weapon still meant death.
Even an ordinary person wielding a blade could kill you if they hit the right spot.
"Gulp…"
Raemon swallowed hard. Saying he wasn't nervous would've been a lie.
On a tree trunk not far away, Gekkō Hayate watched the three quietly.
Young birds would eventually spread their wings. He was only a guide—how far they went was ultimately their own choice.
Even if someone chose to give up now, he wouldn't stop them. It was their decision.
But once that decision was made, their future would likely have nothing to do with being a ninja.
He wasn't worried about Naruto.
Izuno, while lacking in strength, at least came from a ninja family—she was surely prepared for this moment.
The one he truly worried about was Raemon.
Raemon's parents had also been ninja, but they'd died early in the Third Shinobi World War. Without familial guidance, taking this step was much harder.
"Move out!"
Izuno took a deep breath and whispered sharply.
Naruto gave the two a final glance—then vanished from where he stood.
Stealth and assassination—especially against low-level enemies—were second nature to him.
Avoiding sentries and traps with care, he drove Kusabimaru into one red mark after another, completing clean kill after clean kill.
If, in ninja-versus-ninja combat, shuriken usually served little more than a distraction—
Then against these bandits, shuriken and kunai launched from blind spots were no different from the Grim Reaper's scythe.
After dealing with the planned sentries and hidden lookouts, Naruto carefully worked his way behind the remaining enemies.
Izuno Akigiku came from the Izuno Clan—a clan so small in Konoha it barely registered, yet one that possessed unique techniques:
the Cat Transformation Jutsu and the Cat Demon Summoning Jutsu.
Their style was somewhat similar to the Inuzuka clan, but unlike them, the Izuno clan didn't raise ninja beasts—instead, they transformed themselves into cat demons to fight.
Raemon Koshiki, on the other hand, was the textbook example of a civilian-born ninja.
The three basic ninja techniques, plus a single Lightning Style technique left behind by his father—Static Spark—that was everything he knew.
The bandit camp wasn't large—around twenty people.
Subtracting those Naruto had already eliminated, there should've been about ten left. As long as the other two performed steadily, there shouldn't be any major issues.
Five minutes later, the last bandit fell beneath Izuno's clawed strike.
The operation went smoothly overall—aside from one mistake by Raemon that briefly alerted the remaining bandits.
All things considered, the pair completed their first C-rank mission quite well.
In fact, this was the typical outcome for most ninja teams on their first C-rank assignment.
Mistakes from newcomers were inevitable, but overwhelming combat superiority ensured the result didn't deviate too far.
That said, the world was unpredictable.
There were cases where first C-rank missions failed—if, for example, a rogue ninja suddenly appeared among the bandits.
Ignoring Naruto for the moment, with the current state of the other two, failure would've been very likely.
Still, such scenarios were rare enough to be safely ignored.
Konoha might be full of ninja, but that was Konoha. Some countries couldn't even afford to build a ninja village—proof of how costly it was to cultivate shinobi.
"Clean up the site."
Hayate appeared beside Naruto in a Body Flicker.
The three of them thoroughly searched the area, confirming there were no survivors.
After Hayate gave a brief summary, the group set off on their return to the village.
Generally speaking, D-rank missions paid little but took very little time—anywhere from a single day to two or three at most.
C-rank missions were more troublesome. Ten days to half a month was common; one or two months wasn't unheard of.
This time, simply eliminating an ordinary bandit group took twelve days—two days of travel, around ten days of reconnaissance, and less than half an hour of actual combat.
But that was unavoidable.
Acting blindly without detailed intelligence—especially when outnumbered—was a recipe for disaster.
After all, who could guarantee there wouldn't be a rogue ninja hidden among the bandits?
As for B-rank, A-rank, or even the highest S-rank missions, how long they took was still unknown.
High risk, high reward.
Being a ninja was a profession that exchanged one's life for income. Without commensurate pay, few would be willing to walk this path.
The reward from this single C-rank mission already matched Naruto's entire annual subsidy—and that didn't even include the extra loot they'd taken from the bandits. Bandits weren't rich, but even scraps added up.
It also highlighted one thing clearly:
A subsidy was just that—a subsidy.
Enough to keep you from starving. Nothing more.
Once you're full, desires follow.
The saying was crude, but the logic held.
In the past, there were many things he hadn't dared to consider. Now, with a relatively stable source of income, he finally could.
Why did he rarely use shuriken or kunai?
Was it because he was confident in his own strength?
Nonsense.
One word—poor.
Shuriken and kunai weren't cheap.
Explosive tags were even worse—he hadn't touched one yet.
Better equipment meant better solutions to future problems.
Maintaining a sword was also an expense. One session might only cost the equivalent of a meal or two—but it wasn't a one-time thing.
In the long run, it added up fast.