New Rank C mission.

Kazeji Residence.

Kaito was in the kitchen with his family.

"Kaito, I have good news. We have a new rank C mission from the Hokage for our team yesterday, Ryuji and Hikari are already aware of it," Haruki said.

Kaito was surprised but nodded in acknowledgment.

"Two rank C missions in a row, that's a first, but at least it's more experience," Kaito thought.

"What's the mission about?" he asked.

"Nothing too important, just an investigation mission. Some people were killed a bit far from here, and we suspect it might be some wild animal," Haruki replied while eating a piece of meat from the large boar that Kaito and his friends had killed.

"I believe it could be the same as when we were attacked twice by giant beasts. I wouldn't be surprised if there's another one out there, but it could also be caused by other people," Kaito speculated.

"That's possible, but we'll find out once we get there," Haruki agreed with a nod.

Kaito finished his meal and went to bed.

...

The next day.

Kaito was standing in front of the gate, waiting for his friends to arrive.

At that moment, at the entrance to Konoha, four ninjas were approaching.

Team 7 had returned from their mission.

Seeing the iconic Team 7 together, Kaito felt grateful for the opportunity.

"Naruto, Sakura," Kaito called their names.

Sakura and Naruto soon noticed Kaito, while Sasuke glanced briefly, and Kakashi continued reading his perverted book.

Naruto quickened his pace until he reached Kaito's side.

"Kaito, Kaito, you won't believe what we just did! Haha, our first rank C mission," Naruto exclaimed, giving Kaito a thumbs-up.

Kaito smiled at Naruto.

"That's great, Naruto. But you haven't been skipping your ninjutsu training, have you?" he asked.

"Of course not! I even thought about visiting your house for Sensei Haruki to teach me more jutsu. They're really useful. Can you believe we faced a Jonin ninja? It was an intense fight, and Kakashi-sensei..." Naruto started talking, and he couldn't stop, recounting every detail of their mission while Kaito listened.

The rest of Team 7 had approached Kaito by this time.

Naruto had finished recounting all the details and was now asking Kaito about his missions, which he also shared, including his first mission.

Sakura was impressed, especially by the encounters with the two powerful beasts as described by Kaito.

Sasuke observed Kaito for a moment, trying to gauge his approximate strength but without success. Kakashi, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes a bit when he heard Kaito but quickly returned to his usual demeanor.

"Come on, Naruto, we need to deliver the report to complete the mission," Kakashi called Naruto and walked towards the Hokage's office.

"Right, Sensei. See you later, Kaito," Naruto said.

Just as Naruto finished saying goodbye to Kaito, Ryuji and Hikari arrived.

Observing the interaction between Naruto and Kaito, Ryuji felt somewhat uneasy, but he trusted that his friend wouldn't make bad friends, so he ignored it. However, Hikari directly asked Kaito.

"Why are you friends with that boy? My parents and others in the village always say we should keep our distance from him," Hikari inquired.

Kaito was surprised but then smiled.

"He's my friend. Naruto is a good person, don't be misled by those bitter old folks. In fact, I think they should be thanking Naruto and his father," Kaito replied.

The response surprised both Hikari and Ryuji.

"He has a father?" Ryuji asked, astonished.

"Of course, he does, although he's no longer alive. Anyway, that's a story for another time. I'll just say that you don't have to distance yourselves from him. But if you don't want to be friends, you don't have to force it. Naruto is a great person, and I believe one day he'll achieve his dream of becoming Hokage," Kaito said.

Once again, Hikari and Ryuji were taken aback, and they reflected on what they had just heard.

At that moment, Haruki appeared among them.

"Are you all ready?" The three nodded.

"Then let's go," Haruki said and walked out of the village.

Team 11 followed right behind.

...

A few hours later.

In the midst of the forest.

Three ninjas were leaping among the tree branches.

"Damn it, why did you two idiots kill those civilians? Now the Konoha ninjas might be on their way," one of the ninjas yelled, chastising the others.

"But you didn't see it; those idiots were trying to attack us. I just put them in their place," the other ninja argued.

"We were on a secret mission; we couldn't afford to be exposed, you idiot!" The first ninja was getting increasingly frustrated.

Just as they were arguing, a kunai flew past, narrowly missing one of the ninjas' arms.

They went on high alert, scanning their surroundings.

"Hou hou hou, you're having a little private argument. I'd love to know what that secret mission is," Ryuji said as he emerged from the top of a tree.

The ninjas looked and realized it was just a kid, feeling relieved. However, when they saw the Konoha symbol on his headband, their hearts sank again.

They kept looking around nervously.

"Hahaha, you've got them panicking, Ryuji. Well done," Kaito appeared from another bush, smiling.

"They don't seem to have much courage," a female voice sounded from the forest.

The ninjas felt irritated but didn't make any sudden movements.

"Kids, I suggest you don't interfere, or it won't end well for you," one of the ninjas tried to persuade them.

"Haha, I can't wait to see that," Kaito said and formed a hand seal.

"Water Bullet Jutsu!" Kaito unleashed a large number of water bullets toward the three ninjas.

The ninjas jumped back to avoid the water bullets. At that moment, three kunai were thrown in their direction, which they barely managed to dodge, diverting them from their course.

The three of them let out sighs of relief, but just then, Kaito and Ryuji closed in on them.

Without wasting any time, Kaito attacked the closest ninja with his katana. The ninja tried to dodge, but the katana grazed his cheek, causing him to clutch the wound, and he felt a red liquid oozing from it. His heart sank, and before he could react, Kaito attacked again, catching him off guard. In his vulnerable moment, Kaito struck, and the ninja couldn't defend himself, getting hit by Kaito's attack and falling unconscious.

Kaito then turned his attention to the other ninja, who had just tried to kick Kaito while he was focused on the first one. Kait

o evaded the kick, and Ryuji appeared next to him, launching a series of rapid punches and kicks at the ninja. The ninja could barely defend himself, using an earth barrier jutsu, but that was the extent of his abilities. Ryuji hit him with such force that he knocked him to the ground.

Whoosh!

Kaito disappeared again and reappeared beside the fallen ninja, delivering a powerful kick to his chin, rendering him unconscious on the spot.

At that moment, a body passed by in front of them, followed by Ryuji, who unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks on the ninja from various angles and forms. The ninja could hardly defend himself and resorted to using a stone barrier jutsu, but that was the extent of his skills. Ryuji's strength overwhelmed him, and he was knocked out with great force.

Now, only one of the ninjas remained, the apparent leader.

The ninja formed hand seals and released a large number of rocks towards them.

Kaito also formed hand seals and unleashed several water bullets that collided with and destroyed the rocks. Not stopping there, Kaito formed more hand seals.

"Water Jet Jutsu!" A massive jet of water formed in front of Kaito and was shot at the ninja at high speed. It happened so quickly that the ninja didn't have time to react.

Boom!

With a tremendous impact, the leader ninja was sent flying, crashing into a tree. He tried to get up, but the attack had broken some of his bones.

As he attempted to form a jutsu to counter Kaito, Hikari appeared near him.

"Possession Jutsu," Hikari said, possessing the ninja and preventing him from using any ninjutsu. Kaito then appeared behind the ninja and knocked him unconscious.

Ryuji and Hikari joined Kaito.

"A Chunin and two Genin, they were pretty weak," Kaito commented.

"I thought so too. The guy couldn't even handle my first punch," Ryuji agreed.

"I'll check for information from their leader when he wakes up, but look what I found here, Ryuji, you'll love it," Hikari said as she pulled two scrolls from the leader ninja's bag.

Ryuji turned to Hikari, and his eyes sparkled.

In Hikari's hand were two Earth-style ninjutsu scrolls: "Wall of Stone Jutsu" and "Subterranean Fish Jutsu."

Hikari didn't keep Ryuji waiting and handed him the scrolls, treating them like precious treasures.

Kaito wasn't surprised, as it was usually difficult for Ryuji to learn new jutsu since he had no one to teach him and lacked access to scrolls. But now he had two new jutsu to add to his collection.