Chapter 9

Hokage's Office*

"7. Team has completed another D-Rank mission. Let's see if there is any other mission?" Hokage said while he was glancing at the parchment with 'D' on it.

"Jiji, I think we're ready for C-Rank missions now." Naruto said.

"Hmm… What do you think, Kakashi?" Hokage asked.

"Hokage-sama, I agree with Naruto. I also think we've done a lot of D-rated missions thanks to Naruto's clones." Kakashi said.

"Hm? Ah… Yes, looking at your completed missions, it is your team that has completed the most D-Rank missions at the moment. All right, I'll give you a C-Rank mission." Hokage said.

Hokage then called the person who applied for the mission inside.

"Hello, I'm Tazuna, I'm a bridge-builder. When we return to my country, I want you to protect me until the bridge I will build is finished." Tazuna said.

Tazuna and Team 7 talked for a while and then decided to meet at the exit of the village an hour later.

Naruto went to his house to get his supplies.

"Anko, I'm here." Naruto said on entering the house.

"Welcome Naruto." Anko said while sitting on the sofa.

"After an hour, I leave the village for duty. I don't know when I'll be back." Naruto said.

As Naruto got ready and left the house, "Dear, are you going to leave without giving me a kiss?" Anko said as approached Naruto.

Naruto went over to Anko with a grin, pulled from her waist, and started kissing on her lips.

After kissing for a while, their lips were separated and a saliva bridge formed between them.

"Be careful okay? I haven't even eaten you quite yet." Anko was rubbing Naruto's crotch with her hand while looking lustfully.

"Hm? Should I eat you now?" Anko asked with a grin as she stared at the prominent bulge in Naruto's groin..

"Not now. We will do it after the Chunin exams. I promise." Naruto said.

After giving a short kiss to Anko's lips, he went out of the house. Of course, he corrected his pants so that the swelling was not evident before he came out.

***

Team 7 and Tazuna left the village gate and headed for the Land of Waves.

It had been a little while since they set out. There was a puddle of water on the way. Naruto and Kakashi looked at the pond for a while and then continued walking.

Then, at once, 2 ninjas emerged from the puddle and killed Kakashi. But what they didn't realize was that Kakashi was running away at the last minute using Body Replacement.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura yelled.

Ninjas rushed to him as it was the closest Naruto. Just as they were about to attack, Naruto appeared behind one of the quick attackers using Body Flicker. He then hit the ninja hard on the back of the neck, causing him to faint.

Realizing that his friend was fainting, the ninja quickly ran to Tazuna. But Sasuke quickly got ahead to protect Tazuna.

But before the ninja could approach Sasuke, Kakashi appeared while grabbing the ninja's neck.

Then, Kakashi and Naruto tied the attackers to the tree.

"Well done Naruto and Sasuke did well. Sakura, on the other hand… You froze while the person we were supposed to protect was attacked." Kakashi said.

"I didn't do anything… How were they not afraid?" Sakura thought.

"Tazuna-san, we need to talk. The mission rank you applied for is C, but two chuunin have attacked us right now. Also apparently their target was you. Now can you tell us what happened? Otherwise, we will leave the mission" Kakashi said.

"I have no choice but to tell you the truth anymore. I am the target of a big man. You've probably heard his name, he's Gato, the magnate of shipping. It controls the economy as it holds all of the sea transport of the Land of Waves, so it persecutes and impoverishes us. We decided to build a bridge to get rid of it. Of course, he wants to kill us because the bridge to be built is to his detriment." Tazuna said.

"The other person is someone who can hire ninjas. So why didn't you report them when applying for the mission?" Kakashi asked.

"Because the people of Land of Waves are very poor. Therefore, we cannot meet the B or higher rank missions. If you leave the mission, I will undoubtedly be killed. But you don't need to blame yourself for that. If I die, my lovely little 8-year-old grandson will cry a lot. Also, my daughter will blame the Konoha Ninjas who left the mission." Tazuna said.

"Are you trying to play with our conscience, old man? I remind you we are a ninja." Naruto said while squinting his eyes.

"Ok Naruto, take it easy. On the other hand Tazuna-san, Naruto is right, we are ninjas, we do not act according to our conscience. And frankly, you're on the wrong side here. You gave incomplete information and endangered the lives of the genin while applying for the mission."

"But let's make a deal, you will pay 3 times the amount of money you have to pay to what degree the mission belongs. We can also collect the payment later for your convenience." Kakashi said.

Tazuna accepted the offer after caressing his beard for a while.

[AN: In this section, I have used the names of the techniques in English. Should I write other technical names other than popular techniques (eg Rasengan, Chidori) in English from now on? Please indicate your thoughts in the comments.]