New Ability! C-rank to Wave!

The very next day, Naruto had just finished up his training for the morning.

He was about to switch with the shadow clone that he usually sends to stare blankly alongside Sasuke and Sakura when suddenly, his head started to feel heavy and fuzzy.

As time passed, the feeling got more and more severe, to the point where the sounds of static filled his ears, and the world started to spin. Naruto could even swear that he saw the world turn black and white for a few moments.

'What's happening to me?! It hurts so much!' Naruto inwardly screamed in shock and fear at the unexpected appearance of the disorientating feeling. He couldn't even call for help. The only thing he could do was lay on the ground, paralysed.

As he inwardly wished for someone to come and save him and relieve him of this pain, the static noise abruptly vanished. Naruto laid on the ground for several more minutes while waiting for the aftermath to calm down.

After everything had reverted to normal, Naruto decided to stop training for the day and figure out what happened after his D-rank mission with the team.

...

Naruto discretely switched with his shadow clone and pulled out a notebook to practice his calligraphy skills. However, all of a sudden, he felt like something was coming and looked up from the book he was writing in.

Shortly after, Kakashi appeared in front of the group with a puff of smoke. "Yo, so are you guys ready for your mission?" The Jonin asked with an eye smile.

Sasuke grunted, not liking the idea of wasting his time with another chore, but it balanced out because only doing 1 mission a day left him with plenty of time to train.

Sakura, on the other hand, was unenthusiastic. She had several problems with the long and tedious D-rank missions. Firstly she has no idea how many of her dresses have been ruined from a mixture of dogs, Tora and even paint. In addition, she couldn't even talk with Sasuke as they were always busy.

Meanwhile, Naruto nodded his head. He hoped that they could get a quick and easy mission and not have any teamwork training so he could rest for the day.

Kakashi's smile widened under his mask; he would happily bet 1,000,000 Ryo that his team wouldn't expect what was happening today.

"Alright then, let's head to the Hokage's office." Kakashi turned, pulled his signature orange book out of his pocket and started reading while leading the group to the office.

While trailing behind the group, Naruto thought back to the feeling of sensing Kakashi's presence before he appeared. It had never happened before, and even after learning the Shunshin, it was hard not to be surprised at the Jonin's sudden appearance.

But while it might be a mistake, with him still delirious from the experience he had just before, Naruto felt like he knew that Kakashi would appear at that moment.

'Pre-recognition? Presence detection? Chakra sensing? Luck? Coincidence?' Several possibilities came to mind. In the end, Naruto decided to focus on the feeling that he had felt before. Maybe he could replicate what had just happened.

Naruto closed his eyes, thinking hard about the previous feeling while his body automatically carried him to the Hokage's office.

Suddenly, the world around him turned black and white, with him being able to sense the presence of everything around him. Kakashi had a silvery-white glow surrounding him, while Sasuke and Sakura had a black and a green aura respectively.

Naruto could even sense his own glow, a warm yellow that was several times larger than Kakashi's.

'Is this… chakra?' Naruto thought in disbelief.

He had never been able to sense the chakra of others before, not for lack of trying. All ninjas in training went through a short course in their third year at the Academy to determine if they had the capabilities of a sensor ninja.

At that time, Naruto had failed the test, with him being sad that he didn't have an ability that allowed him to stand out from the rest of his peers.

Naruto didn't know what had changed since then. He had never attempted to sense the chakra of others again after being told it was practically impossible.

However, Naruto knew precisely what his chakra felt and looked like from the constant internal visualisation of the gates he did. It was exactly the same as what he had just sensed. When suddenly, everything clicked.

'The second inner gate!' After this thought came to mind, Naruto visualised the second gate, and sure enough, it was completely open, glowing a vibrant yellow.

'So the Gate of Healing gave me the ability to sense chakra in a… 100-meter radius?' Naruto concluded after examining how far he could sense. While it was strange that the Gate of Healing gave sensory capabilities given its name, the blonde figured it had something to do with the gate being in the right hemisphere of the brain.

Beyond the 100 meter wall, all Naruto could feel was darkness. However, he could faintly feel the wall slowly widen, which gave him the idea that his chakra sensing capabilities would increase with time or practice or both.

At the same time, Naruto had also learned why Iruka-sensei was able to find him so fast whenever he pulled a prank, despite him being able to hide from several chunin-level shinobi.

It was because his chakra was so vast and bountiful. In the past, Iruka-sensei had mentioned in class that he had a weak chakra sensing talent. Therefore, even if Naruto was hiding behind a wall, Iruka could probably clearly sense his presence, easily distinguishing his large chakra reserves from any other shinobi in Konoha.

...

While examining his new ability, the group had finally made it to the Hokage's tower. The sudden appearance of another large chakra signature in his sensing area caused Naruto to open his eyes.

While standing patiently with his team, Naruto was hoping for an easy, quick mission so that he could continue exploring the new talent he had just awakened.

However, as always, life doesn't go the way Naruto wanted it. His expectations for a short mission were crushed by Kakashi's following words.

"Hokage-sama, Team 7 have come to request a C-rank mission," Kakashi stated, smiling as he saw his team's widened eyes in the peripheral of his vision.

The Hokage instinctively glanced through the D-rank missions, about to pull one out at random before reacting to what Kakashi had said. "C-rank mission… do you think they are ready for it?" Hiruzen queried.

There was a large influx of missions that Konoha received from the Wind Country during recent times. As a result, Hiruzen had been swamped with paperwork and hadn't had much time to pay attention to the new Genin teams' progress.

Iruka also raised his brows in shock while worried at the sudden development. He had no doubt that the team would be safe, especially under the protection of one of the top Jonins in the village. But knowing this fact didn't stop him from being worried about his former students.

This is because despite there being very little chance of confrontation in a C-rank mission, there was an infinitely higher chance compared to a D-rank mission.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. Team 7 have shown great teamwork, and I am confident that the mission will be a success." Kakashi formally stated. His team was definitely ready.

With Naruto's sudden shift in attitude after the Genin exam, Team 7's teamwork had progressed at an incredible rate. However, something concerned Kakashi even though he should be happy with their progress.

Their teamwork was strong, but Kakashi could clearly see that the Genin weren't on the best of terms with each other. In fact, the only thing he felt that they were to each other was co-workers at best.

Initially, Kakashi had hoped that performing 1 D-rank mission a day would allow the team enough time every day to bond outside of mission times. But he was disappointed in the results. Upon dismissal, the team would immediately part ways.

Sasuke would only talk when he needed something or when he was spoken to. But even then, very few words left his mouth, only grunts of acknowledgement or disapproval.

Sakura spent most of her time fawning on Sasuke when she wasn't working while ignoring Naruto and taking the blonde's help during missions for granted whenever she was behind.

Meanwhile, Naruto's attitude was the one that shocked him the most. The blonde was usually the first of the group to finish their part of the mission with the aid of Shadow Clones and would take his time to help who was the most behind.

Kakashi was relying on Naruto's positive attitude and desire to make friends to break through the walls of Sasuke and Sakura, allowing the team to fully trust and befriend one another.

However, the Jonin noticed that after a few weeks of trying, Naruto had stopped attempting to befriend the other two team members. Although the boy was polite, he only seemed to treat them as a team and not as friends.

If there was one word that Kakashi could use to describe how Naruto acted around his team, it was professional. He worked more like a Chunin or Jonin, completing his task with cold, hard efficiency, without a single word or complaint.

As a result, Kakashi hoped that maybe completing a C-ranked mission would draw the team closer together.

"Very well then. I have a C-ranked escort and protection mission for a single client to the Land of Waves. Your primary objective is to guard a bridge builder named Tazuna until he has finished building a bridge in the Wave Country. The estimated time for completion is 1 month. Do you accept?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. If my team cannot handle it, I am there to support them." Kakashi was pulled out of his thoughts and accepted the mission.

Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe, studying Team 7 for a moment before signalling one of his subordinates to send the client in. "Send Tazuna in."

Shortly after, the door slid open, revealing an old man. The door opening allowed Team 7 and the client to make their first impressions of each other, which wasn't good.

Naruto observed his client. Tazuna was an old man that looked to be in his late 50s; he had messy dark grey hair and a beard while wearing average civilian clothing. If there was one thing that stood out about him except his old age, it was the overwhelming smell of alcohol that wafted from him.

Despite knowing that anyone in the room could easily put him 6 feet under (or maybe he didn't?), the first words to come out of the old man's mouth immediately drew the Genins of Team 7's ire.

"What's this? I asked for a C-rank mission, but all I get is a bunch of little snot-nosed brats? Can they even protect me?"

Hearing this, Naruto inwardly snorted in laughter. 'Snot nosed brats? Who is he talking about? The only people here are… Oh…'

By this point, Kakashi was already regretting taking the C-rank mission. Maybe D-ranks were better. But despite his internal complaints, he reassured the client nonetheless. "Don't worry, Tazuna-san. My team is more than capable of protecting you during the trip."

Tazuna once again looked at what could only be described as children in his eyes before sighing in acceptance. This was the best he would get; he just hoped that they were as good as the Jonin claimed they would be.

"Whatever… But uh, Jonin-san? When are we leaving?"

"Call me Kakashi, and we will leave in…hmm… about 1 hour," Kakashi explained before turning to his team. "You heard me. You have 1 hour to prepare and meet up at the east gate." The Jonin stated before leading Tazuna to the meeting spot.

The moment the team was dismissed, Naruto rushed to his apartment to pick up his ninja supplies, chakra paper, brush and ink before sealing them in a scroll and placing them in his ninja pouch alongside a few spare kunai and shuriken.

Naruto also bought several weeks' supply of food, herbs and spices, alongside some homemade herbal salves for flesh wounds, poison and broken bones.

Before leaving, the blonde made sure to lock his apartment before heading to Ichiraku Ramen to say goodbye to the Ichiraku duo. Depending on how long the bridge took to build, he would be away for several weeks to a month.

..

"Hey, Old Man Teuchi! One miso ramen with extra pork!" Naruto yelled after entering the Ichiraku Ramen stand. Looking around, he only saw the old man, which meant that Ayame wasn't on her shift today. 'I wanted to say goodbye to her too….'

"Naruto, it's good to see ya again. The place hasn't been as lively since you stopped visiting as often. Ayame had also been asking if you had visited when she wasn't on her shift." Teuchi smiled as Naruto plopped onto his usual stool.

"Sorry about that, Old Man, I've been a little busy. I wanted to stop by since I will be gone for a few weeks on a C-rank mission." Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"Don't worry, ninja stuff, right? I won't ask what you are doing; just be safe out there, okay?"

Hearing this warmed Naruto's heart. It wasn't often that someone told him to be careful or safe when doing something. "No need to worry, I have been training suuuuper hard recently!"

At this point, Naruto heard the flapping of the entrance sheet behind him. He turned around to see Iruka entering the stand. "Ah, Naruto! I knew you would be here before you left on your mission. I wanted to have a quick talk with you."

"What's up, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

"Um, firstly, I wanted to apologise that we haven't been able to meet for ramen since you have graduated. We have recently been swamped with missions, although they have gone down thanks to your help."

Iruka scratched his face in slight shame. He didn't want the blonde to think that he had been avoiding him as soon as Naruto graduated, giving the impression that the Chunin only cared for Naruto because he was his student at the time.

"No worries, Iruka-sensei, I have also been a little… with you, y'know?" Naruto shook his head. He had also avoided talking to Iruka while he sorted through his emotions.

"Yeah, I noticed that you seemed a little off recently… I thought you were upset because maybe you felt like I was ignoring you recently or something."

"No, I wasn't angry about that. It's just… I was a little angry at the Academy after having learned about… that. It just felt like everyone was against me when I wasn't doing anything wrong, y'know?" Naruto looked down at the table, remembering the discriminatory treatment of almost all of the Academy teachers.

Iruka nodded his head in admittance. While Naruto might not blame him, he was blaming himself after reading through Naruto's academy records.

While he didn't admit it out loud, Iruka also felt he was biased against the boy, not only because of the demon fox but also because of the lack of skill the boy showed during any theory or practical test.

Initially, the Chunin assumed it was because of a lack of studying, yet after reading through the records of the first 4 years of Naruto's studies, he saw that the boy had almost no feedback on his tests and assignments. It was a miracle that he managed to get the grades he did with such little help.

"But hey, I don't have to go back anymore, and I did become a ninja in the end. I just had to fill in the gaps for the past month or so." Naruto explained, taking a slurp of ramen that had just arrived.

"It only took you a month?" Iruka asked in shock.

"Yeah, I can even make the standard clone, look." Naruto flipped through 3 hand seals before a standard illusionary clone appeared beside him. "See?"

Iruka moved his hand through the clone in disbelief. It wasn't a shadow clone. While he didn't know what extent the boy's skill in the other ninja arts had reached, the clone was easily his worst skill and yet he was able to use it with proficiency.

After learning that Naruto had managed to master his worst skill, which only took a month after the Academy, Iruka was relieved and ashamed.

Relieved because Iruka knew more about the boy's skills when performing the C-rank mission. Ashamed because if the blonde had some dedicated training early in the Academy, with his talent, Naruto would have easily become the number one rookie this year.

"That's amazing. I am sure you have worked hard on that, Naruto." Iruka praised the blonde, receiving a bashful look in return. "The last thing I wanted to talk to you about is what you need to be aware of when you go on your mission."

Iruka then spent the next 20-30 minutes explaining everything he knew from his experience in C-rank missions. Never underestimate the mission difficulty. Be wary of enemies at all times. He also mentioned some things, such as not being afraid to ask for backup; it is never cowardly to ask for assistance.

While knowing the majority of things, Naruto listened attentively while occasionally raising questions on the few things he didn't know.

"That's everything I have to tell you. If you take it all to heart, I am sure you will have no problems on your mission." Iruka tapered off as both shinobi finished their bowls of ramen.

"Thanks for telling me everything, Iruka-sensei! Don't worry about me. I won't let you down." Naruto grinned before taking a glance at the time. "Oop, it seems like I have to be at the gate in 5 minutes. Thanks again, Iruka-sensei!"

"Although I am sure you don't need it, good luck, Naruto!" Iruka smiled before leaving the stand, returning to his duties at the mission's office.

"Old Man! When I finish my mission, I will come back to visit, so make sure to tell Ayame-chan for me!" Naruto yelled out to Teuchi, who was out back, before leaving enough money to pay for his ramen and Shushinned out of the stand.

...

Almost immediately after, Naruto reappeared at the front gate in a puff of smoke, startling both Kakashi and Tazuna at the way the blonde had arrived.

"I didn't know you knew the Shunshin, Naruto." Kakashi waved, calming Tazuna down, who was shocked at the boy's sudden arrival. 'Maybe these ninjas are much stronger than I had given them credit for.' The old man thought to himself.

"Oh, I bought it from the library alongside a few other jutsu with the money from my D-ranks," Naruto explained.

'D-rank missions, huh?' Kakashi inwardly exlaimed in realisation. He now knew why the blonde sent multiple shadow clones to perform several D-rank missions every day. It wasn't just for living expenses but also so he could buy some Ninjutsu.

"I am hurt that you didn't think to ask me if I could teach it to you, Naruto." Kakashi held his hand over his heart as if he was wounded from the emotional damage that Naruto had just delivered.

"Well, if you had actively taught us something other than teamwork exercises, I would've known it was your job to teach us." Naruto countered, speaking his true thoughts. To this day, he still doesn't know what Kakashi's role was supposed to be.

"Well, I-" Kakashi was about to explain himself but was interrupted by Sasuke's arrival. Sasuke, the ever so silent, only gave a grunt of acknowledgement before quietly waiting with the group for the last member.

'Speaking of Sakura…' Naruto absentmindedly thought as he closed his eyes, feeling a familiar chakra signature approximately 70 meters away. The blonde turned his head to the right to see Sakura rushing toward them.

"Sorry I am late. I had to tell my parents goodbye." Sakura apologised while slightly panting from exhaustion.

"Well, you're not exactly late… Late would be arriving 3 hours after-" Naruto started explaining before Kakashi cut Naruto off. "Let's head out, team."

"Wait before we go." Naruto stopped the team.

Everyone looked curiously at the blonde who stopped them, expecting that Naruto had forgotten something.

Naruto looked at Tazuna intently, causing the old man to sweat. 'Was he really annoyed at my comment on them earlier? I take it back. I take it back.'

The old man's worries were alleviated when Naruto created a shadow clone, which disguised itself as a young boy approximately 6-7 years old, who looked somewhat similar to Tazuna.

The clone quickly stood next to Tazuna, drawing strange looks from everyone in the group.

"Naruto… What are you doing?" Kakashi asked the question on everyone's mind. The Jonin was used to the blonde doing strange things with shadow clones during all D-ranked missions. However, this was the weirdest thing yet.

"Well, you once said that a team is always 1 Jonin and 3 Genin, right? So any additional people would be assumed to be a client. If on the odd chance that we get caught off guard by bandits, they wouldn't expect this 'child', who clearly looks like a civilian, to strike back." Naruto explained.

"What? You don't trust our abilities to keep the client safe, Naruto?" Sakura had a tick mark that rapidly grew as she listened to Naruto, who was clearly embarrassing her and Sasuke in front of the client.

Naruto shook his head in denial while having a confused look. "I am not saying anything about our abilities to protect the client. It just acts as an additional layer of protection."

If there was one thing that he had taken from Iruka's lecture, you shouldn't underestimate any mission. If you conserve your skills because you expect your opponent to be weaker than they should, you would most likely perish if they are stronger than you expect.

Surprising Sakura and Sasuke, Kakashi nodded his head in agreement. "That's very smart of you, Naruto. I can guarantee that unless they have a sensor, which is highly unlikely, they will never expect a nearby child to counterattack."

Sakura grumbled at their teacher agreeing with Naruto, while Sasuke didn't care. Although he was confused at Naruto's sudden show of insight, the Uchiha knew that the blonde was full of tricks despite his appearance. He wouldn't put it past the boy to make such a trap.

Meanwhile, Tazuna felt even safer than before. The old man was starting to think that he had made the right decision to hire Konoha ninja to protect him if this was the level of detail he was receiving.

"Right, well then. Let's head off to wave." Kakashi said a second time, hoping that he wouldn't be interrupted again.

Author's note: Hi, here's Sunday's chapter as promised. I spent a lot of time trying to make the dialogue not bland while also adding some of Naruto's interactions with Iruka, Teuchi and his team.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have enjoyed reading!