21 Chapter 20

Konoha.

Third Training Ground.

With a view of mountains in the landscape and a large and deep river with the forest on both sides, made this large field a perfect place for Konoha Shinobi to train their skills.

However, it was not just used for training purposes. Teams assigned for various missions, meet and discuss their mission details here.

At its center, three stumps lined side by side could be seen.

And on one of them, sat a boy wearing green spectacles, with an excited smile on his face.

Not far from him, stood a kid with silver-white hair, oriented to the left. The lazy look in his eyes was visible as he absentmindedly kept looking at the sky.

It was still early in the morning as the sun was slowly climbing higher in the sky.

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Wearing the normal Uchiha garb, a five-minute walk later, Izuna also arrived at the Third Training Ground.

Today was the day he and his teammates would be assigned for their next mission.

While deeply thinking about the progress he was making, he slowly walked towards the designated place, near the Konoha Memorial Stone.

"Oh, hey Izuna!"

As soon as he reached the designated place, a rather friendly and loud voice came from ahead. Mugino was waving at him with an excited smile on his face.

"Hmm..."

Briefly nodding his head, he slowly walked towards them and sat on a nearby boulder, still with the same thoughtful look on his face.

Whoosh!!

'He's here...'

While he was quietly thinking, he picked up a Chakra signature coming toward them.

Because of his superior sense, Izuna immediately knew who the newcomer was.

It was none other than Hizashi, who appeared near the trio with a blur as he asked while taking out a scroll.

"Hm? Seems like no one was late today. So, I take it all of you are ready for your next mission."

"Yes, Sensei!"

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"N-No! Aaaaah!!"

Boom!!

A huge explosion occurred as Izuna erupted a scorching ginormous fireball towards the large man, who cried out in pain and somehow tried to escape, but not to his avail, there was no escaping it.

Whoosh!!

The smoke rose from the area of impact of the explosion, and a huge crater of dozens of meters was formed, with nothing remaining in it.

Izuna's enemy had no chance to retaliate. From the beginning to his last breath, the only thing he could think of was to somehow escape from him.

"Good call, Mugino!"

Noticing no trace of the enemy left, Izuna turned around and appreciated Mugino who was slightly panting not far from him.

Mugino on the ground, was too stunned to even get to his feet as Izuna came forward and help him stand.

"Ahaha, man, this was tough. Oh, by the way, thanks for your help Izuna."

"Oh, don't mention it. All right let's return to the town. Kakashi also must be done with his job."

"Okay!"

The pair sprang in a certain direction towards the small village, swiftly leaping from tree to tree.

It had been discovered that one of the infamous bandit groups had taken some villagers as hostages and was demanding a huge amount of remuneration.

Given the urgency of the situation, Izuna's team was assigned to dispose of them.

Normally, it would be Hizashi's job to lead the mission. But, since Izuna had drawn the attention of the leaders of Konoha, he was given this job, instead.

The job itself had gone smoothly enough.

Despite the number of bandits reaching over thirty, they had been taken care of pretty neatly that it was almost comical.

After all, the most powerful of them could barely reach the same level as a normal Jonin. So, it wouldn't be far-fetched to say it was a walk in the park for someone like Izuna.

Whoosh!!

Just as the duo Izuna and Mugino arrived near the entrance of the village, Kakashi's expression brightened in an instant.

"Oh, you two are back, huh."

"Hmm... Is everything done with your part?"

"Uh-hm."

After listening to Kakashi's response, Izuna along with Mugino behind him entered the village.

'Hmm... It will take a long time for them to recuperate.'

Seeing the condition of the small village, which was under the terror of the mountain bandits, Izuna thought to himself.

This small village, a few miles away from the Leaf received terror and torture just for two days. But that was enough for the scum of the human beings, the mountain bandits to toy here.

The burnt and destroyed houses were the proof of their terror.

"Ah, here you are, Shinobi from the Leaf. Thank you for saving my village, if not for your assistance...."

Just as Izuna along with his colleagues reached the center of the village, the village chief slammed his head on the ground.

"....I don't even want to imagine what would've happened to them. Sob....sob... Th-thank you."

When Izuna saw him on his knees, he swiftly squatted down, assisting him in standing.

"Please get up!!"

Slowly helping the client sit on the nearby chair, Izuna formed a deeply moved expression next. He felt kinda embarrassed by the emotional eyes of the village chief and the villagers.

The situation had become somewhat awkward, but it didn't feel so bad. How should he go about describing it? He felt proud?

Of course, that didn't mean he should let an elder remain in that position.

A few minutes later, when he finally calmed down, he stood up and along with hundreds of people gathered there, bowed toward three young Ninja.

All of them had the same grateful look in their eyes.

As many of them were held hostages, or their family members, so coming out of the clutches of death was just like a miracle for them.

"Thank you for assisting us. We are extremely thankful."

Looking at the hundreds of people bowing to them, Izuna and his colleagues felt moved.

"It's all right. Well then, since our mission is over, we'll be on our way."

"Oh, and be careful, everyone."

Izuna stated as he slightly bowed towards the villagers, followed by Kakashi and Mugino.

"Thank you! Take care on your way!!"

All the youngsters about their age screamed with delight while waving their hands at their departing back.

***

Two months later...

Mission Assignment Hall.

A group of four entered the hall with Shinobi printed on the ceiling, and while bowing towards Hiruzen, Hizashi came forward and passed a scroll.

"Here's the mission report, Lord Third."

Behind him stood Izuna, Kakashi, and Mugino. The youngsters had just returned from a B-rank mission.

It's been two months since their previous mission and since then, they have completed the various mission of C and B-rank.

"Hmm... Good work as always, team Hizashi."

Hiruzen nodded with an appreciative smile on his face after reading the detailed report of the mission, which was flawlessly done once again.

'Izuna Uchiha, huh...'

His eyes went past Hizashi and glanced at the kid with long black hair and a sword strapped on the lower back.

Since his graduation, the kid of six years old astonished him with his battle prowess.

And not just in fighting, he showed exceptional talent in leading a team and managing any situation accordingly.

According to the reports, the young Ninja was on par with any normal Jonin and could best them without any sweat.

'Hm?'

Izuna had a calm expression on his face as he tilted his head in confusion, noticing Hiruzen's gaze on himself.

"Please excuse us, Lord Third."

Hizashi collected the remuneration and left it with his students.

"Oh, right. All of you must be exhausted after so many missions; go home and have a few days off to rest."

Hizashi distributed their share of pay and reminded them to take a break from their continuous assignments.

"Understood, Sensei!"

Nodding their heads, Izuna and his teammates strode toward their home.