Return to Konoha

Team 11 returned to their carriage after sealing the snake's body in a scroll.

"Don't you guys find this a bit suspicious?" Hikari asked her comrades.

"About what, Hikari?" Ryuji asked, looking at her.

"About us encountering two huge, enraged animals ready to attack us on our way."

At that moment, Kaito narrowed his eyes slightly; he had just noticed this.

"Indeed, it's very suspicious. Someone might be luring these monsters to our location. We better be careful. So far, we've only faced relatively easy enemies, but we don't know what might come next," Kaito said with a sigh. After all, there was nothing they could do, and they weren't even sure if it was a person or if they had just been unlucky to encounter two beasts on their path.

Kaito looked at Haruki, who was sitting at the front of the carriage, and felt relieved. If this had happened, and his father didn't react to it, then everything would be fine.

Hikari and Ryuji looked in the direction that Kaito was staring at and saw Haruki, which made them sigh with relief as well, as their sensei appeared as unconcerned as before.

"Well, let's just stay vigilant in our surroundings," Kaito said to the two.

The journey continued without any more beast attacks, making Team 11 feel more at ease.

A day passed as they stopped for training and rest at night, with Haruki always encouraging them to train.

Kaito continued his training with his katana, while Hikari and Ryuji practiced shuriken throwing and taijutsu.

...

Two more days passed as they headed back to the village. The carriage was slowing down the team's pace, but they didn't mind much as they stopped to rest and train at night, feeling their strength slowly increasing.

Now they could see Konoha's gates in the distance.

"Finally, we can complete the mission," Hikari's eyes gleamed.

"Haha, I thought you weren't that eager to return. Is there someone special waiting for you?" Ryuji teased.

"Shut up, you idiot. It's just my parents waiting for me," hikari replied.

"Calm down, guys. You've only seen Konoha, and you're already this excited," Kaito tried to calm them down.

After saying that, Hikari and Ryuji turned to Kaito and smiled mysteriously, speaking quietly so that Kaito couldn't hear.

Kaito noticed and became curious and suspicious about their reaction, but he eventually ignored what the two were plotting.

Team 11 had just entered Konoha and headed for the Hokage's office to complete the mission.

...

Hokage's office.

"I see you've returned. I believe you've successfully completed the mission," Hiruzen said, looking at the three young ninjas in front of him.

"Yes, Hokage, we completed the mission, captured the criminals, and returned all the stolen money to the village, as per the mission brief, with no ninja involvement," Kaito reported.

"Everything is in order then. Congratulations, children, on your first C-rank mission. You can go rest now. Your sensei will be in charge of the next missions. Dismissed."

After the Hokage finished speaking, all three of them left the room excitedly, leaving Haruki and the Hokage alone.

"I'll need your mission report. How has it been, guiding young ninjas?" Hokage asked Haruki.

"Quite good, actually. Their teamwork is excellent, and they're talented ninjas, so they haven't caused me any trouble," Haruki replied, handing over a written report to Hiruzen.

"Well, you can go now," Hiruzen waved his hand, signaling for him to leave.

...

Meanwhile, Team 11 was walking through the streets of Konoha.

"Hey, what are you guys going to do now?" Hikari asked.

"I'm going home. It's been a week since we left, and my parents must be worried," Ryuji replied.

"Me too, but not so much because of that. I just want to get a good night's sleep in my own bed," Kaito said, yawning.

"So, how about we meet up tomorrow?" Hikari offered to her comrades.

"Yes, Kaito, let's meet up tomorrow at Ichiraku Ramen," Ryuji also insisted.

"All right, if you guys want to, we'll meet up tomorrow then."

After they finished speaking, the three of them went their separate ways.

...

Kazeji Residence.

"Mom, I'm back," Kaito entered the house, calling for his mother, who promptly responded.

"Hello, my son. I'm glad you're back safely. How was your first mission?"

Kaito then began recounting the details of the mission to his mother, who listened attentively.

After a pleasant conversation, Kaito went upstairs to his room to rest.

...

A new day began.

After a good night's sleep, Kaito had finally regained all his energy.

He started the day with his morning training with his katana, and when he finished, he created a shadow clone to continue his ninjutsu training.

'Well, I'll meet up with my friends tonight at Ichiraku Ramen. I have time to practice fuinjutsu now.' Organizing his thoughts, Kaito began his fuinjutsu training while his clone continued the ninjutsu training.

The day quickly passed with Kaito's training, and it was getting close to the time he would meet his friends.

He then went to the bathroom to freshen up before heading out, taking a shower and changing into his black outfit with green pants. When he was ready, Kaito left for Ichiraku Ramen.

It didn't take long for Kaito to arrive at Ichiraku Ramen, and his friends hadn't arrived yet. He sat down and waited for them.

A few minutes later, Ryuji and Hikari arrived, but they weren't alone. Ino Yamanaka was with them, and her eyes lit up when she saw Kaito.

"Wow, Kaito, what a coincidence to run into you here," Ino said as she approached.

"Yeah, it's quite the coincidence, right? Who would have thought that I'd leave the house to come eat ramen today," Kaito said with a playful tone. Hikari hurriedly followed Ino, and Ryuji had a suspicious look on his face.

'So, they were plotting to set up a meeting between me and Ino. Ryuji is definitely involved too; just look at that suspicious expression on his face. That's why they invited me to eat here at Ichiraku Ramen' Kaito sighed as he looked at Ryuji and then at Hikari.

Kaito decided to ignore what they were up to.

Kaito invited everyone to sit, and they ordered their ramen. While they waited for their food, Ino initiated a conversation.

"Is it true that you completed your first C-rank mission already? You guys were the first team to get one. The others are still doing various D-rank missions," Ino asked.

"Yes, we completed it yesterday," Kaito replied.

"That's impressive. How was the mission?"

"It was relatively easy, a straightforward mission dealing with bandits," Kaito began to detail the events.

Ino paid close attention to everything Kaito was

saying, her eyes never leaving him.

"Two beasts suddenly appeared like that? That does seem suspicious, but since nothing else happened on the way, I doubt it was someone," Ino said.

"You never know. You should always pay attention to the smallest details. After all, you never know when a masked man might appear behind the eyes of his victims," Kaito joked in a slightly eerie tone while covering one of his eyes.

Ino shivered a bit, not fully understanding what Kaito was talking about.

"I've never heard of that, Kaito. Is it some sort of horror story?"

"For some people, you could say it is," Kaito replied with a smile, making Ino relax.

'Well, it doesn't happen anymore these days. Almost all of the Uchiha are gone anyway, but Obito and Madara are still a concern, not to mention all the other problems that might come our way. It's a headache just thinking about it' Kaito's head began to throb as he thought about powerful enemies he would have to face.

At that moment, their ramen arrived, and they all started eating.

"The ramen here is delicious. Now I understand why you come here so often, Kaito," Ryuji commented, devouring his ramen in seconds.

"Haha, it's the best ramen place in the world. Speaking of that, boss, bring another one," Kaito turned his empty bowl upside down and tapped it on the table, signaling for more.

Ichiraku took the bowl and refilled it for both Kaito and Ryuji.

The girls were wide-eyed at how much they could eat.

"Aren't you guys afraid of choking, you idiots?" Hikari scolded Kaito and Ryuji, who just smiled.

Seeing Kaito smile, Ino's face turned a shade of red.

'He's so handsome when he smiles.' she thought, getting lost in Kaito's smile.

Hikari, of course, noticed Ino's fixation on Kaito's smile and grinned mischievously.