Naruto's First C-Rank Mission

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

April, x788.

A little over three weeks have passed since Jacob was captured and imprisoned by Elicia in Fairy Tail's prison. Since then, not much of note has happened. The wizards of Fairy Tail have taken and completed quests like usual and Alfonzo has continued his work in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. And as time continued to march forward, he inched closer and closer to the completion of his task.

However, things in the village were about to change. For example, a certain trio of young shinobi and their perpetually late, white-haired Jōnin Instructor, were meeting with an intoxicated old man in the Hokage's office. So, they would be leaving on their first C-Rank mission shortly.

Meanwhile, Alfonzo, accompanied by Miyuki and Yamato, was spreading metals under the surface of one of the training grounds in the village. At the same time, he was constantly inscribing sigils into the metal. However, after working for another hour, his eyebrow raised in surprise.

'Oh, it looks like the Land of Waves Arc is starting.' Alfonzo thought to himself as he sensed Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke gathering at the village's main gate with an unfamiliar magic power signature. 'Honestly, back when I first watched Naruto, it was that arc that really made me take the series seriously. So, I'm curious to know how it will turn out now that those three are so much stronger.'

A moment later, Alfonzo shook his head. Although tomorrow was the weekend, and he had the right to leave the village to follow them, he had no idea with country on Ishgar correlated to Land of Waves from Naruto. So, once the group got out of the range of his [Magic Power Detection], he would have no way of tracking them.

At the same time, after seeing Alfonzo shake his head, Yamato grew slightly concerned, thinking there was a problem with his work. So, he stood up and approached Alfonzo.

"Alfonzo, is there anything wrong?" Yamato asked.

"Huh?" Alfonzo asked, snapping out of his thoughts. "What do you mean?"

"Well, the way you shook your head made it look like you were disappointed about something." Yamato replied. "Is there some kind of setback on your work?"

Smiling wryly, Alfonzo shook his head.

"Nah, everything's good." Alfonzo said. "I was just thinking about something completely unrelated to my work. Last month, my wife had to capture an enemy to our guild, and I'm just disappointed that I wasn't there to help her with that."

"Ah, I see." Yamato replied in a tone filled with understanding. "I think I can understand what you mean. Although I'm not married, I can imagine the feeling of letting your loved ones go into dangerous situations without you. But since you're still in the village, I can assume nothing happened to her, right?"

"Yeah, in fact, I was not even that concerned about the whole thing." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "But the fact that I wasn't there for her when she had to deal with that is what I'm disappointed about. I mean, I know she's strong. But still…"

In response, Yamato smiled before he patted Alfonzo on the shoulder reassuringly.

"I get it." Yamato said while maintaining his smile. "You trust her to handle herself without issue because you believe in her strength. But at the same time, you can't help but worry about her because of how much you care, right?"

"Right." Alfonzo said with a nod. "Lici always tells me that she knows she doesn't have to worry about me getting hurt when I'm out on a quest. Yet, she can't help but worry, because that's what loved ones do. And as my wife, she has the right to have full confidence in me while simultaneously worrying herself to death about me."

Reaching that point, Alfonzo could not help but chuckle before continuing.

"But as her husband, I think I have the same right, don't I?" Alfonzo asked with a proud smile.

"Yeah, I think you do." Yamato replied with a nod and a smile of his own.

Meanwhile, Miyuki stood to the side while watching the two men chat. However, because of her normally stoic expression, no one would be able to know what she thought about their conversation.

May, x788.

Nearly a month has passed since Kakashi led Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke on the C-Ranked mission to protect the old man, Tazuna, a master bridge builder, while he built a bridge connecting a small island nation to Fiore.

Being a C-Ranked mission, Team7 was expecting to face bandits without any wizards or shinobi in their ranks, at the most. However, before they could even make it out of Fiore, they were attacked by a pair of rogue Chunin. And just like in the canon version of events, to test his students' abilities, Kakashi made it seem like he had been defeated in a sneak attack by the two rogue shinobi.

However, that was where the similarities with this part of the canon event ended.

With Sasuke having the Sharingan unlocked already, he saw through Kakashi's plan immediately. On top of that, with Naruto getting along with Kurama, he was able to sense the two shinobi, who were disguising themselves as puddles on the road, and he had already secretly alerted the rest of his team.

So, as soon as they struck, Sasuke immediately let Naruto and Sakura know that Kakashi was fine. Then, Sakura, using the [Magic Power Strengthening Technique] she learned from Wendy, and Naruto, using the [Rasengan], a mass of violently spinning magic power, a technique created by his father, Minato Namikaze, quickly put the two rogue shinobi down.

Seeing the Genin's display of their prowess, Kakashi reappeared next to them with his visible eye wide open while Tazuna, who had mocked the three for only being kids, was completely shocked by how strong they were. Unfortunately, before Tazuna could get over his shock, the four Leaf shinobi turned accusatory gazes towards the bridge builder.

And Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke had every right to do so. As previously mentioned, they were expecting to not be facing any shinobi or wizards on this mission, since the mission Tazuna paid for was a C-Rank mission. And when they saw the expression he wore, they knew immediately that he had lied about his mission request.

However, after discussing it with the rest of his team, and sending a message back to the village to seek instructions, Kakashi received permission to continue should he decide to do so. And in the end, Kakashi, under the gazes of his three Genin, decided to continue the mission.

Unfortunately, not long after the team reached the small island nation, they were once again attacked by a rogue shinobi, Zabuza Momochi. However, this one was in a completely different league from the two Chunin that were dealt with earlier.

In fact, he was a rather famous rogue shinobi who had been at the rank of Jōnin escaped from his village, the Village Hidden in the Mist, after trying, and failing, to assassinate its leader, the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi. On top of that, he was a member of the Mist Village's elite force known as the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and wielded the famed sword, the Executioner's Blade.

The Executioner's Blade was a large, single-edged blade measuring 8'2" long. Also, it had the special ability to repair itself, should it be damaged, using the iron in the blood of the victims it cuts.

However, like before, things differed greatly from the canon version of this encounter. With Kakashi facing Zabuza up front, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke played support roles, as they were not paralyzed by fear thanks to the Fairy Tail wizards' training. And in the end, Zabuza was defeated.

But just as Kakashi was about to give the finishing blow, a senbon needle flew in, piercing into Zabuza's neck, seemingly taking his life. Then, a masked shinobi that was identified as a Hunter from the Village Hidden in the Mist arrived, stating that they had been tracking Zabuza for quite some time to dispose of him.

And while Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke were convinced, Naruto felt something was wrong due to his instincts. Then, just as the Hunter was about to take Zabuza's body away to dispose of it properly, Kurama alerted Naruto that Zabuza was still alive, which Naruto quickly relayed to the rest of his team.

Hearing Naruto's claim, the Hunter did not even try to defend themselves. Instead, they immediately ran away with Zabuza's unconscious body that was in a state of false death. Unfortunately for them, Kakashi could out pace a Chunin, regardless of the fact that he was down by half of his total amount of magic power.

In the end, both the fake Hunter, an effeminate, teenage boy named Haku, and Zabuza were killed, erasing the greatest threat to Team 7's mission. Then, when the team arrived at Tazuna's home, and after a few days of rest, Kakashi assassinated Gatō, ending all the most pressing threats to Tazuna's safety.

After that, there really was not much left to the mission. Other than cleaning up the normal thugs who were formally under Gatō's control when they came to make trouble for the bridge building team, they only had to wait for Tazuna to finish his work before they could head home.

With all that said, Team 7's first C-Rank mission ended up being bumped up to an A-Rank mission, and they completed it with flying colors. A feat which greatly surprised Hiruzen when he heard the team's report.

Not long after giving their report to Hiruzen, Team 7 dispersed. Meanwhile, Kakashi, along with the other Jōnin Instructors and Iruka Umino, the teacher of the recently graduated class from the academy, were called to gather in Hiruzen's office for an important meeting.

"I'm sure all of you are aware of why you were summoned here." Hiruzen said while sitting behind his desk with his pipe in hand. Then, as he let his gaze shift between the four Jōnin standing in front of his desk, he continued. "But I'll explain it anyway. The next Chunin Exam will be held in our village in a little more than two weeks. So, I wanted to ask, which of you will send your teams to participate this time around?"

The Chunin Exam, a series of exams that are meant to test the qualifications for Genin to be promoted to Chunin. Usually lasting for a little over a month, this series of tests aim to test a Genin's intelligence, fighting prowess, survival skills, ability to gather information, and other similar things that would be expected of a Chunin. However, this test is unlike any of the tests the Genin would have seen during their time in the academy, as there is a real chance of death while taking these exams.

After Hiruzen's words fell, Kakashi, Guy, another man in his mid-twenties, and a beautiful woman, also in her mid-twenties, exchanged glances. Meanwhile, Iruka wore an anxious expression. Then, Guy stepped forward, being the first to answer Hiruzen's question.

"After allowing them to grow for a year, I, Might Guy, nominate the members of Team 9, Neji Hyuga, Tenten, and Rock Lee, as participants to take part in the Chunin Exam." Guy said in an uncharacteristically serious tone.

A moment later, Kakashi stepped forward, the next to reply.

"I, Kakashi Hatake, leader of Team 7, nominate the members of my team, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki as participants for the Chunin Exam.

Following Kakashi, the woman, a fair-skinned woman with untamed, upper back-length black hair and unusual red eyes with an additional ring in the middle of her irises with red lipstick and purple eye shadow wearing a red, single sleeved shirt inlaid with chain mail that only covered her right arm, a dress that appeared to be made of bandages with rose thorn patterns, normal bandages wrapped around her hands and thighs, standard shinobi sandals, and a Leaf Village forehead protector, was the next to step forward.

"I, Kurenai Yuhi, leader of Team 8, nominate my team, Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuga, and Shino Aburame as participants for the Chunin Exam." The woman, Kurenai Yuhi, said in a solemn tone.

And lastly, the man, a tall, olive-skinned man with brown eyes, short, spiky black hair, and a beard wearing the standard Leaf Village Jōnin attire and a cigarette dangling between his lips, stepped forward, as well.

"I, Asuma Sarutobi, leader of Team 10, nominate the members of my team, Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi as participants for the Chunin Exam." The man, Asuma Sarutobi, said in a similar solemn tone.

Hearing that, Hiruzen nodded his head in approval. However, Iruka was visibly panicking. Though he did not react much to Guy's intention to have his team participate. When he heard Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma's declarations, he could not help but panic.

"You three cant' be serious!" Iruka shouted. "You all know what those exams are like. They're very dangerous. And those kids have not even been shinobi for a year. Are you trying to send them to their deaths?"

After asking that question, Iruka turned his gaze towards Hiruzen.

"Lord Hokage, please excuse me for speaking out of turn." Iruka said while bowing politely. "but I was the teacher for teams 7, 8, and 10 before they graduated. And I strongly advise against allowing them to participate in the Chunin Exams so early in their shinobi careers."

"Iruka…" Kakashi said before Hiruzen could reply, his visible eye narrowing as he did so. "You may have been their teacher before. But they are under my charge now. And you have no right to dictate how I raise my students."

Although they did not speak, Kurenai and Asuma also looked displeased with Iruka's interruption.

"How can you say that?" Iruka asked angrily. "They're only kids, fresh academy graduates. There's no way their ready yet."

"As their Jōnin Instructor, that is for me to decide." Kakashi replied coldly, his eye narrowing even further.

Hearing Kakashi's tone, Iruka was taken aback. Then, he looked at Kurenai and Asuma, only to receive cold glares in return.

"At least allow me to test them first." Iruka said in a frantic attempt to keep his former students out of harm's way. "That way, we can make sure that---"

"There's no need." Kakashi said, cutting Iruka off. Then, Kakashi bowed to Hiruzen respectfully. "If you'll excuse me, Lord Hokage, I need to inform my team about the upcoming Chunin exam and their chance to participate."

"As do I." Kurenai said.

"I need to let my team know, too." Asuma added.

"My youthful disciples need to know about the chance to let their youths explode, as well." Guy added energetically.

In response, Hiruzen waved his hand, dismissing the four Jōnin instructors. Then, once they were all gone, he turned to Iruka, who wore a dismayed expression.

"In most cases, I would agree with you, Iruka." Hiruzen said calmly. "However, you have not seen those children's mission reports. "If you had, you wouldn't be so against them participating in the exam."

"But they're so young." Iruka argued. "There's no way they could be ready yet."

Shaking his head at Iruka's insistence, Hiruzen eventually waved him away as well. As Kakashi said, Iruka had no right to interfere with the decisions of their Jōnin Instructors, no matter how protective of his former students he may be.