Team Kakashi-1

'Shua Shua'

Two silhouettes ran through the alleys of Konoha, their speed impressive as they weaved around obstacles. One of them was unmistakably Satoru, determinedly chasing after a stray cat that kept running away from him. Suddenly, the cat made a swift leap and landed gracefully on the roof of a nearby house, out of reach of Satoru's grasp. Satoru spotted the cat on the roof of a nearby house, and without hesitation, he started to climb up.

As he reached the top, he realized that the cat was quite agile and kept jumping from roof to roof, making it difficult for him to catch it. Satoru kept calm and started to observe the cat's movements. He noticed that the cat was trying to escape and find a place to hide. Satoru quickly analyzed the layout of the buildings and identified the most probable path that the cat would take.

He sprinted towards the end of the alleyway and took a sharp turn, where he found the cat hiding behind a trash can. As he approached the cat, it quickly jumped over his head and ran away. Satoru was not deterred by this, as he was prepared for the cat's possible moves. He had studied the behavior of cats and knew that they usually take a roundabout path when trying to escape.

Satoru quickly ran toward the other end of the alley and found the cat sitting on top of a fence. He tried to catch it, but the cat kept dodging his every move. Satoru then took a step back and analyzed the situation. He realized that he needed to change his strategy and create a diversion to distract the cat.

He quickly scanned the surroundings and spotted a cardboard box lying nearby. He picked it up and threw it towards the other side of the fence. The cat, hearing the sound, turned its head, giving Satoru the opportunity he needed to catch it. He slowly approached the cat, and with one swift motion, he grabbed it by the nape of its neck.

"Ha, Finally caught you!" said Satoru

'Meow Meow'

The cat was resisting but to no avail.

Satoru returned the cat to its owner an old lady, who was grateful for his help. Satoru left feeling satisfied with his work and the success of his 69th D-rank mission.

"Doing missions while wearing 500kg weights sure is hard." Thought Satoru.

One year has passed since the genin evaluation test, and during this time, Satoru has significantly increased his physical training load to 500 kg. He used the money he earned from completing missions to purchase the additional weight. In addition to his physical training, Satoru has also made notable improvements in his wind nature training, He now feels confident that he has the skill set to learn B-rank ninjutsu.

But right now he has an important task at his hand.

Satoru sat on a green grass yard outside the old lady's house, where he had returned her beloved cat. With a pen and a small notebook, he began to jot down the details of his completed mission, making sure to include all the necessary information such as the location, the objective, and the outcome.

Once he finished writing, Satoru stood up and dusted off his clothes before heading to the mission center to submit his report.

He finally arrived at the mission center which was a tall, rectangular structure made of dark, polished wood. It had a sloping roof of dark red tiles that seemed to blend in with the surrounding foliage.

"Here you go," Satoru said as he handed the mission report to the receptionist lady. The processing of mission reports usually took between 10 to 20 minutes. While the report was being processed, Satoru decided to take a look at the mission board. The missions on the mission board can be divided into 5 categories:

D-rank missions are the easiest and typically involve basic tasks such as weeding, cleaning, or delivering items. These missions are often assigned to newly minted genin to help them develop their skills.

C-rank missions are slightly more difficult and involve tasks such as escorting people or protecting a location. These missions are assigned to more experienced Genin or Chunin.

B-rank missions are considered highly dangerous and involve tasks such as assassinations or capturing criminals. These missions are typically assigned to experienced Chunin or Jonin.

A-rank missions are extremely difficult and typically involve top-secret missions such as espionage or infiltration of enemy territory. These missions are only assigned to highly skilled Jonin or elite ninjas.

S-rank missions are the most challenging and dangerous missions in the Naruto universe. They typically involve tasks such as the assassination of high-ranking officials or leading a major battle against enemy forces. Only the most powerful and experienced Jonin are assigned S-rank missions.

Satoru diligently scanned the mission board for any available D-rank missions that had yet to be assigned. After a few moments, he caught sight of a suitable mission that he could take on.

"

MISSION NOTICE: CAPTURE OF NINJA PANDA BEAR

Mission Rank: D

Mission Description: Capture a ninja panda bear belonging to the Homura clan of Konoha. The bear must be captured alive and preferably unharmed. A genin team is required for this mission.

Reward: 45,000 Ryo

"

Satoru's eyes widened as he scanned the reward for the available D-rank missions. However, his excitement was reduced when he read that a genin team was required for the particular mission he had his eye on. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed as he realized that not all D-rank missions were created equal; despite belonging to the same category.

Satoru has completed a total of 69 D-rank missions, but unfortunately, the rewards for those missions were only between 4,000 to 10,000 Ryo.

This is because most D-rank missions are typically commissioned by commoners of the village who can only afford to pay a small fee, resulting in lower rewards. As a result, the village often pays less attention to these missions, and they may allow a single genin to complete them rather than a team. Satoru has been doing these kinds of mission solo for about a year now. He recalled that Bob has also done around 40 D-rank missions and about 3-4 C-rank missions which Satoru himself has not done any. In fact, for a genin to participate in a C-rank mission is quite simple just look for a Chunin team that is one member short and join them. Bob also did it in the same way.

He reminisced about a story from a month ago when his fellow genin, Bob, had taken on a dangerous C-rank mission related to border patrol duty. Bob and his team were ambushed by rogue ninjas, resulting in the loss of one of their members. After this tragic incident, Bob awakened a single tomoe Sharingan at the age of seven and had been boasting about it to Satoru ever since.

"Performing a C-rank mission is incredibly risky," Satoru pondered. He was well aware that the number of border infiltrations and rogue shinobi outside of the village was at an all-time high. Despite graduating at the same time, neither he nor his batchmates had been assigned to a genin team like in the anime. Satoru couldn't help but wonder if the Hokage had abandoned them and they would never be assigned a team. However, he quickly dismissed the thought. He knew that Kakashi had been part of Team Minato, and he believed that the rest of his academy classmates had yet to graduate. He thought that the Hokage might have already formed teams and that was why he had yet to be assigned to one.

The door to the mission center swung open and Satoru immediately recognized the silhouette that appeared. "Hey, Bob," he greeted with a friendly wave.

Bob returned the gesture and inquired, "What are you up to?"

"Just waiting for someone to join me on a D-rank mission. Care to come along?" Satoru invited.

"Sure thing," Bob agreed.

"We just need one more person to make a team. Let's wait a bit and see who shows up," Satoru suggested.

There were a few minutes of silence before Bob finally spoke up, "Have you heard about Kakashi?"

Satoru was well aware of the topic Bob was about to bring up. Kakashi had been the talk of the town lately and for good reason. In just a year, Kakashi had completed over 100 D-rank and 20 C-rank missions, including some high-profile ones that had earned him a great reputation. His performance in every mission had been nothing short of flawless. Recently, he had even been promoted to Chunin by the Hokage himself, which was a rare occurrence. Most shinobi had to take a promotion exam, but exceptional performance could also warrant a promotion directly from the Kage. Satoru believed that a shinobi's true worth is judged by their performance in missions, so he questioned the need for exams to determine promotions. After all, if shinobi perform flawlessly in their missions, they should be recognized and rewarded accordingly without the need for an exam.

In any case, due to such a rapid rise, some people have also started disliking Kakashi, most of them are his former mission teammates. They accuse him of caring only about the mission and that he would even leave a team member to die if necessary. As a result, people have stopped choosing Kakashi for their teams.

"Yes, I hav—" Satoru began to respond, but he was interrupted as he noticed a young boy with grey hair enters the mission center.

"Hehe, speak of the devil," Satoru thought with a grin.