Trophies

"I agree" Nodding quickly, Sasuke continued "But I would like that once the mission is completed, re-measure the difficulty level of the mission and have it added to our reports, regardless of the pay not increasing."

Opening and closing her mouth as she looked between Naruto and Sasuke, Sakura finally sighed and nodded as she dropped her shoulders "Good..."

"Then it's decided" With a cheerful voice, Kakashi turned his gaze to Tazuna and continued "We'll continue with the mission, but I'll ask you to tell us all the details so we can be prepared"

"I will" Bowing deeply, Tazuna continued "I thank you."

Nodding, Naruto turned his gaze to Kakashi and continued "Could we stop by a village on the way? I only brought two changes of clothes and I already had to throw one away."

"There won't be any problems."

"And I have another question" Turning his gaze to Tazuna, Naruto continued "How long did you wait for them to catalog the mission and designate us as a team?"

"I sent the mission a week ago, and I only found out yesterday that I already had a designated team" With confusion, Tazuna replied.

"I understand" Nodding, Naruto turned his gaze to Kakashi and frowned slightly "I understand that before the village accepts a mission like this, they first investigate the client and corroborate their information, already that was what the second Hokage instituted to avoid losses due to fraudulent missions created by enemies of the village, and for that he even created an intelligence center"

"That's right."

"Then how come even after a week, they couldn't figure out that there were people after Tazuna-san's life when we figured it out in less than an hour?"

"That's an interesting question" Nodding, Kakashi shrugged his shoulders and answered "I don't know."

"Then since it was negligence on the part of the village, I expect a reward from the village" With seriousness, Naruto continued "Although Tazuna-san made a mistake in lying, the bigger mistake is on the part of our own people, since it is abysmal stupidity for the village to not corroborate the words of an outsider and endanger their allies"

"A reward from the village?" Raising his eyebrows, Kakashi repeated in surprise.

"Isn't it obvious?" snorting in annoyance, Naruto continued "I almost died today because of this mistake, and I refuse to let this be overlooked so easily."

"So much for your lack of money?"

"Today I have money to eat three meals a day, but previously it was a luxury, so I don't intend to let myself get carried away and have days like that come around again."

"Well... I'll talk to the Hokage and look for a benefit for everyone."

"Thank you."

"Does anyone else have anything to say?"

"..."

"Then shall we go?"

"Wait!" Rushing over to the corpses, Naruto scrunched up his face in disgust at the sight of the horrible wound on the necks and shook his head, then bent down and started patting the clothes of each of them with a smile on his face.

"..."

"Hehe~" Pulling out two purses full of money, Naruto's eyes glittered and he quickly stuffed them into his pockets while looking sideways cautiously, then continuing his search and pulling out two books, a scroll and stealing numerous kunais and ninja stars from him.

Looking at the weaponry in the duo's arms, Naruto hesitated for a second and sighed as he muttered "It's a pity I don't have a scroll to store this, I'm sure it's worth a fortune."

"Are you done?" Raising his eyebrows, Kakashi asked sarcastically.

"Yes!" Rushing to his team, Naruto dropped the books under his arm and opened the scroll, then raised his eyebrows and looked up at Tazuna "This is a good portrait."

"Portrait?" Approaching Naruto with interest, Kakashi stared at the drawing of Tazuna's face and looked around the scroll "It has no seals or anything special to give us clues. It's trash, throw it away."

"Here, for you" Tossing the scroll to Tazuna, Naruto continued "You can stick it up in your house and tell your grandchildren how you survived from some dangerous assassins, while displaying this portrait as your spoils of war"

Receiving the scroll awkwardly, Tazuna stared at his portrait and smiled slightly, then rolled it up and tucked it into his clothes "Not a bad idea, I appreciate it."

Waving his hand disinterestedly, Naruto took one of the books and opened it, then blinked dazedly and smiled quizzically.

"What's in it?" feeling Naruto's gaze on him, Kakashi asked with even more interest.

"I think this is better for you, I feel you'll like it" Tossing the book to Kakashi, Naruto continued "Enjoy it."

"Mn?" Puzzled, Kakashi took the book and opened it, then turning to a random page and gazing dazedly at the recognizable drawing of a naked female figure standing with her legs wide open while her large, well-drawn breasts were openly exposed, then closing it with a slight blush on his cheeks and quickly putting it away in his clothes "cough I don't know what you mean, but since it's not polite to refuse a gift, I'll keep it."

"..."

Looking at the exchange doubtfully, Sasuke asked "What's in the book?"

"Nothing interesting" Pulling out the last book, Naruto opened the first page and read the title, then raised his eyebrows and turned quickly page by page as he commented "This can be useful to all of us"

"It's a technique?"

"Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu, is a technique that allows us to throw a large amount of mist from the mouth... I think it is especially useful to prepare terrain for ambushes or to hide" With a satisfied face, Naruto waved it towards his team and continued "Although it is somewhat complicated to use an element of which you have no experience, it is never too much to have techniques like these for emergencies"

"Let me see" Approaching Naruto, Kakashi quickly flipped through each page of the book and nodded with interest "It's genuine, it doesn't use much chakra and it's really not that complicated... in the beginning it won't be that useful since you can hardly release enough mist to make it useful, but as you gain experience, it's not impossible to cover a whole forest or even more... and yes, Naruto is not wrong, it's never too much to have techniques like this for special situations"

"I'll keep it for now in my backpack, then ask me to copy it" Receiving the book, Naruto took his backpack and put it away along with the stolen money, then stood up and smiled "We're leaving?"

"You don't plan to split the money?" raising his eyebrows, Kakashi asked.

"They're for my medical expenses."

"Medical expenses?"

"I used chakra and my chakra channels got even more worn out" Snorting as he raises his shaking hands, Naruto continued "Obviously it's only fair that I take the money to repair the situation."

"..." Shaking his head, Kakashi turned and commented "Let's go."

Giving one last look at the corpses, Naruto stopped for a few seconds and quickly ran towards them, only to look to the side and notice the front protectors of the mist village lying next to a tree covered in blood.

Running over to the protectors, Naruto picked them up and wiped them off with the grass next to him, then gave them a quick glance and stuffed them into his backpack.

Running towards the group, Naruto noticed Kakashi's gaze on him and commented "Trophies."

"Trophies like that only bring trouble."

"What would a ninja be without trouble?"

Shaking his head while sighing, Kakashi was silent for a couple of minutes and commented "That technique you used... have you named it?"

"Should I?"

"I've never seen anything like it in my life, and because of its attack power, it's impossible for it to have existed unrecognized."

"But it's not really a technique, it's just chakra control."

"You think it's so simple to extract pure chakra, mold it and insert it inside a human skull?"

"It was much simpler than the rubber balls... and really, even though it's lethal, I think I already know how to resist it."

"How?"

"It's my secret" Snorting, Naruto continued "And I don't plan on naming it for now."

"Why?"

"Because everything with a name brings weakness" Thinking for a moment, Naruto continued "If people recognize me and acknowledge my technique, they will act accordingly and do whatever it takes to counter it, on the other hand if I use it as a secret card, it could end up saving my life"

"When I finish the mission I have to give the report to the Hokage, that will obviously include your technique."

"Is it really necessary?"

"It is."

"That will include the book I gave him?"

"...Maybe it's not entirely necessary to specify the technique."

***

"No, no, no, no, it's wrong!" shaking his head, Naruto continued "Sasuke, the water balloon trick isn't simply expanding one side only until it explodes, but to make all the water flow with your chakra and end up expanding from all sides causing an explosion!"

With sweat running down his forehead while frowning slightly, Sasuke took another water balloon and injected chakra into it with difficulty.

"..." Staring as the balloon begins to shake, Naruto nodded and commented "When it comes to chakra control, you can't force your quickness when training. If you can't pop it now, don't lose your mind, just keep injecting chakra and shaping it while you gain the experience, and once your experience is enough, you'll see how this balloon is nothing to you."

Turning his gaze to Sakura, Naruto observed the rubber ball in her hand and smiled slightly at the slight tremor in the rubber 'She really has a monstrous talent in control... training only a couple of hours and having a rather pitiful amount of chakra, she managed to explode the water balloon with no problems... and only a day later, she is already understanding how the chakra in the rubber ball works... amazing.'

Two days have already passed since Team 7 set out on a journey for their first mission outside the village.

After the first day's combat, they have had no more ninja trying to assassinate them and the trip was just based on walking all day and resting in the evenings wherever they end up.

Obviously Naruto wouldn't waste these moments and having already recovered after another night of rest, he didn't waste any more time and trained every possible second being followed instantly by Sasuke and Sakura.

'According to Kakashi-sensei, we will reach the wave country in 14 or 15 more days...' Raising his eyes towards the dark sky, Naruto turned his gaze towards his original self who right now was doing push-ups still carrying the training weights while sweat covered every inch of his body 'After that we will have to wait for the bridge to finish being built, and if we consider that there is still half of it left.... I estimate that we will be at least 2 months protecting the bridge, plus the return trip... there is enough time to train for the exam.'

Turning his gaze towards the forest in the distance, Naruto's clone muttered "How will the others fare?"

***