Chapter 16: Training & Missions

Over the past two months, Team 8, who had grown accustomed to their shinobi life, but found themselves in a rather uncomfortable situation. Back in the ninja academy, their most challenging task was a mere survival exercise, which usually involved finding specific items within the school grounds. However, now that they had become Genin, their missions primarily consisted of mundane D-rank tasks.

These D-rank missions mostly involved physical labor, where they were responsible for helping the villagers with daily chores. They plowed fields, grew vegetables, took care of children, cleaned up garbage, and searched for lost pets, among other things. The rewards for these tasks were meager, as the payment was divided among the village, the guiding Jōnin, and shared equally among the team members, leaving them with very little.

It took some time for Sato and his teammates to adjust to this new way of life. Thankfully, Kurenai was a responsible teacher who made sure to provide them with a D-rank mission almost every day. After completing the task, she would teach them ninjutsu, with a primary focus on Sato.

Both Hinata and Shino, being heirs of their respective prominent ninja clans, already possessed their family's secret arts and bloodline limits, which made it impossible for them to learn Kurenai's genjutsu techniques. These advanced illusions were primarily performed using Yin Release Chakra, and to excel in genjutsu, one needed Yin attribute chakra. Among Team 8, Sato was the only one suitable for learning Kurenai's illusions, thanks to his aptitude for genjutsu and his recently awakened Three Tomoe Sharingan.

Determined to match or surpass the likes of Kakashi, Sarutobi Asuma, and even the earlier-promoted Jōnin, Might Guy, Kurenai spared no effort in teaching Sato all the illusions she was proficient in. In the first month alone, Sato quickly mastered two B-rank illusions, the Magic: Tree Binding and Magic: Sanjue Sakura. These were the same illusions Kurenai had used during the survival exercise.

Sato's talent for genjutsu astonished Kurenai, even though he intentionally withheld his true progress to avoid intimidating her. In the following month, Kurenai taught Sato all three of her favored illusions: Illusion: Absolute Lotus, Illusion: Mirage, and Illusion: Naraku Clone. Although these illusions were at the B-rank level, Kurenai refrained from teaching Sato any A-rank illusions at this stage.

Kurenai understood that A-rank illusions, along with other advanced jutsu, required a significant amount of chakra and could drastically drain one's energy. Until Sato had accumulated enough combat experience and developed the proper mindset, teaching him A-rank skills would only do more harm than good. Moreover, Sato's age and lack of experience would make it difficult for him to handle the power and allure of advanced techniques without falling into dangerous situations.

While Kurenai remained unaware of Sato's hidden strength, she chose not to teach him A-rank illusions for his own sake. Nevertheless, Sato had access to powerful genjutsu thanks to his Sharingan. What he truly lacked were non-Sharingan genjutsu techniques.

Throughout Sato's training, Kurenai didn't neglect Hinata and Shino. Although they couldn't learn Kurenai's genjutsu, she still imparted the fundamentals of being a ninja to them. As a result, Team 8 progressed faster than their peers and began practicing basic skills like tree-climbing and water-walking.

Kurenai was particularly pleased with Sato's swift mastery of these techniques. With him by her side, she believed they would be more than capable of facing the challenges posed by Kakashi and the others. Memories of the recent dinner where Sarutobi Asuma, Kakashi, and Might Guy had dismissed her accomplishments fueled Kurenai's determination to train exceptional students and prove them wrong.

After receiving the five illusions from Kurena. Sato finally found the opportunity in the second month to intensify his efforts to win Hinata's favor. After completing their daily missions, Sato would take Hinata to the waterfall, where he initially trained her in water-walking. However, this provided a pretext for Sato to teach Hinata basic medical ninjutsu.

Of course, teaching Hinata medical ninjutsu was merely an excuse. Sato's true intention was to strengthen their bond and boost Hinata's confidence. Since their time at the academy, Sato had been actively trying to gain favor with both Ino and Hinata. However, due to various circumstances, including the presence of Shikamaru and Chōji, who acted as deterrents, Sato's relationship with Ino had only progressed to the level of close friendship.

However, things were different now. Twelve years old, Sato had matured considerably, both in terms of strength and emotional capacity. Consequently, he aimed to bridge the gap between him and Hinata. His interactions with her had been limited until now, but having the chance to spend time alone together made Hinata secretly happy.

Sato devised a plan to help Hinata overcome her shyness and become more courageous in his presence. By repeatedly getting her wet during their water-walking training and subsequently distracting her with the pretext of teaching medical ninjutsu, Sato ensured that Hinata didn't faint from embarrassment. Through this repetition, Hinata gradually adapted and became more comfortable in wet situations. To prepare for these instances, she started carrying a small backpack with clean clothes during missions.

The two months flew by, filled with accumulating mission experiences and personal growth. Kurenai witnessed the remarkable development of her three disciples and felt immense satisfaction and pride. Impressed by their progress, she decided it was time to take them on real missions.

Real missions referred to those above C-rank. In terms of mission levels, they were classified as D-rank, C-rank, B-rank, A-rank, S-rank, and super S-rank. As Genin, Team 8 had been limited to D-rank tasks until now, such as fieldwork and menial assignments. However, with Sato's impending promotion to Chunin, Kurenai could appoint him as the team leader and allow him to lead two subordinates on C-rank missions independently, without her direct supervision.