It had already been two weeks since Team 7 officially started taking missions. As newly graduated Genin, their assignments mostly consisted of D-rank missions. Sasuke and his teammates had been running through them nonstop since day one. Babysitting, picking up trash, finding lost pets, this was the life of a rookie ninja. At first, it had been fine. They were finally earning their own money through hard work. But after days of doing the same menial tasks, their patience began to wear thin.
Naruto had been the first to complain, loudly and often. Nobody stopped him. After all, chasing down the same cat four times in a single day or babysitting the spoiled child of some influential villager wasn't exactly what they imagined when they dreamed of becoming ninja. Surprisingly, his constant complaints had paid off. The Hokage finally assigned them their first C-rank mission.
An investigation mission.
Sasuke had expected their first C-rank to be the Land of Waves escort mission, so this shift caught him slightly off guard.
'Did he complain his way into this earlier than expected?' Sasuke thought as he walked toward the village gates, where he was supposed to meet his team.
'Why weren't we sent to the Land of Waves?'
He considered many possibilities. 'Maybe we're just more efficient than our counterparts,' he mused.
He wasn't sure how long their counterparts had been stuck doing D-ranks, but he suspected they had probably spent at least an extra week on menial tasks before the bridge builder from the Land of Waves arrived.
'Whatever. It doesn't matter.'
Whether they got that mission or not, Sasuke wasn't bothered by it. He would have preferred knowing more about what to expect and plan accordingly, but there was no point crying over the lack of control he would have over the mission.
As he reached the Konoha gates, another thought struck him.
'Now that I think about it, this is my first time leaving the village...' It would be a lie to say he wasn't excited for the mission a head.
He spotted Naruto and Sakura already there, deep in conversation. They stopped talking when he approached. Sakura smiled and waved at him, while Naruto rolled his eyes.
"Aren't you even a little excited to finally go on a real mission? How are you still the last one to arrive?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke gave him a calm stare. "I am, but that doesn't mean I can ignore preparation."
Naruto frowned. "What's there to prepare for? It's just a C-rank. That means no enemy ninja. We're dealing with bandits, for kami's sake."
Before Sasuke could respond, a voice spoke up behind them.
"What if there is a ninja? Then what?"
They turned to see Kakashi standing there, as if he'd appeared out of thin air.
Naruto blinked, surprised. "You're not late for once."
Kakashi ignored the jab and walked toward them. "Answer the question. What would you do if we encountered enemy ninja during this mission?"
Naruto grinned confidently. "Easy. We escape, report back, and let them bump the mission to a higher rank."
Kakashi blinked at the response. "And if one of your teammates is caught while you're escaping? What if they'll be killed if you don't act? What then?"
Naruto's grin faltered, replaced by a frown.
Kakashi's voice grew serious. "What if the enemy is holding hostages? What if they'll kill them before reinforcements arrive? What do you do then?"
Naruto frown deepen, his silence answering for him.
"Would you still retreat and report back, or would you fight to save them?"
Kakashi sighed and rested a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I know you've been taught that a ninja's mission is absolute. Once a mission is accepted, it must be accomplished, no matter what, and a report must be made back if there is an issue, even at the cost of your life. But I'm telling you this, forget all that."
He glanced at each of them in turn, watching their eyes slowly widen.
"Just because we're on a mission doesn't mean you throw your judgment away. How you accomplish a mission, how you choose to act in the field, is entirely up to you. If your teammate is in danger, save them. If the situation is beyond your control and you have tried all that you can, that's when you retreat. Do as much as you can until you run out of options. That's what truly matters."
The mood grew heavy. Kakashi clapped his hands suddenly, trying to shake it off.
"Come on, it's your first real mission. I expected a little more energy."
Nobody said anything.
Sighing, Kakashi reached into his pouch and pulled out a scroll. "Our assignment is to investigate one of the smaller villages nearby. They haven't sent in a report for several days. The last message we received from them said they were dealing with bandits. Our mission is to find out why they've gone silent."
He rolled the scroll closed as he looked up at his students.
"And what we do with that information is up to us."
The three Genin nodded, their focus sharpening.
Kakashi glanced up at the rising sun. "If we take minimal breaks, we'll reach the village by evening. Let's move out."
And with that, they followed him through the gates, leaving Konoha behind.
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By the time evening came, they had arrived at their destination. Sasuke was dressed in civilian clothes and using a henge to appear older, part of their infiltration approach. Upon arrival, Kakashi had assigned them to gather intel separately, though from the way his fingers had lingered near the pouch where he usually kept his book, Sasuke suspected their sensei just wanted some time alone.
The trio had split up to cover more ground.
Although on a mission, Sasuke found himself quietly gazing around in awe. It was his first time visiting another village, and it looked so different from the Leaf. But something felt off.
According to Kakashi, this was supposed to be one of the more prosperous small villages in the Land of Fire. Yet, the streets were nearly empty. The few people he passed by wore tense expressions, their eyes darting around warily, as if afraid of something.
Whatever it was, that was their mission to uncover.
'And the best place to gather information is somewhere people relax and talk freely,' he thought, stopping in front of a building with a creaking sign that read Bar.
The moment he stepped inside, the contrast was striking. The bar was lively and full of people. Taking an empty seat near a small group, Sasuke picked up the menu and pretended to read, focusing instead on the conversations around him.
"The harvest this year wasn't great…"
"I'm starting to think our village is cursed…"
"Should i marry her or not?..."
"Those bandit bastards! Because of them, I haven't made a profit in three months!"
Sasuke's attention sharpened at that last voice.
"Yeah, I've had to close a few shops because of them," another man added bitterly.
A woman sighed. "Where are the Leaf Village ninja when you need them? do i pay my taxes for nothing!?"
"Didn't the village chief say he sent messengers for help?" someone asked. "How come they still haven't arrived after all this time?"
"Tch. Bet they're underestimating the problem. You know how ninja are, they only care about money."
"That's nonsense," another countered. "It's not like we're broke! I'd pay plenty if they'd just fix this mess and get things back to normal."
Sasuke listened silently while sipping the tea he had ordered, letting their complaints and fragments of gossip form a clearer picture of the situation. When the discussion eventually drifted to other topics, he finished his tea, left a few coins on the table, and slipped out quietly.
He spent another hour moving from place to place, gathering information until he felt he had a clearer picture of what was going on.
It was time to report back to the rendezvous point.