Chapter 156 - First C Rank Mission

It was almost 9:30 in the morning. Kakashi slowly walked through the forest of Training ground 3 and found his student meditating. He quietly walked up to Daichi and before he could announce himself he saw the boy open his eyes and look at him. 'His senses are good. I made sure to keep my chakra and the sound of my footsteps concealed.'

"So what's the excuse for being late this time?" Daichi asked the man.

"Well, you see on my way here a black cat crossed my path and- "

"And you had to take the long way around?" Daichi interrupted him with a smirk.

"Well no… It looked so hungry, I had to feed it. So I took it home, fed it some milk and then took the long way around… You know. To avoid any bad luck." The Jonin ninja replied with a somewhat smug manner.

Daichi just sighed at the man's quirks. "Let's just get the missions."

Both of them made their way to the Hokage tower. As they walked Kakashi spoke. "You know, meditation helps with chakra control, managing stress, reducing negative emotions and makes one self aware…"

"Is there a question in there?" Daichi asked.

"Your chakra control is already as good as it will ever get. And you don't look like someone who's stressed. You have a good grip on your emotions… Well most of the time anyway. And I'm sure you can make an objective evaluation of yourself…"

"I'm still not hearing a question."

Kakashi turned to look at his student. "Why do you meditate?"

Daichi wasn't all that surprised by the question. 'With all the time I've spent meditating it would have been weird if he hadn't asked me this.'

Daichi decided to give a partial truth as an answer. "Meditation helps me focus more. It helps with gathering chakra and moving it throughout my body. And I will have a better understanding of how fast my chakra moves through my coils. How quickly I can release chakra through my chakra points and execute techniques. I would also be able to know if there were abnormalities within my body."

Kakashi nodded as he heard that answer. 'A person would require extreme discipline and knowledge to achieve something like that.'

They didn't say anything else and soon reached the Hokage tower. Daichi and Kakashi met the Hokage after a short wait.

"Well… We have a few D Rank missions…" The old kage spoke but he saw Daichi let out a tired sigh and slightly smiled. 'It's a bit soon but perhaps it's time I gave him something else.'

"But we also have a C Rank mission that I think would be perfect for your team." The old leader saw Daichi's eyes lighting up as he heard those words.

Kakashi was only slightly surprised to hear that. 'So he's starting to test the waters with Daichi. See how the kid operates.'

"What do you say Daichi? Are you ready for a C Rank mission."

"Yes sir." Daichi replied excitedly.

"Very well. Your mission is to escort the goods trader Hanz to the capital. Protect the Goods and escort the man to the capital and back. Daichi, since you've spent some time in the capital I believe your team is perfect for this assignment." The Hokage told them the mission. He gave the mission scroll to Kakashi.

At that moment a new quest appeared for Daichi.

[Quest created - Escort Hanz to and from the Capital.]

[Hanz is a merchant that makes frequent trips to the capital. Escort him and his products safely to the capital and back and complete this C Rank mission.]

[Conditions:]

Don't not let anyone harm Hanz during this trip.

Protect the Goods during the journey.

.

[Rewards:]

4500 Exp.

Reputation slightly increases with Hanz.

.

[Failure:]

Reputation decreases with the Hokage, Kakashi Hatake and Hanz.

No C Rank missions for a while.

[Accept Y/N]

Daichi accepted the quest without hesitation. 'Finally. My first C Rank mission… I wonder how this will go down?'

The meeting place was given in the scroll so without wasting time Team Kakashi went to meet the merchant. They soon reached a large shop with the sign 'Greenfield trading Company'. They soon met the person they were going to escort.

"Hello. Are you my team?" Hanz was a bulky older man with a large mustache and tan skin. Despite his aggressive look he greeted Kakashi and Daichi with a warm smile.

"Yes. We're team Kakashi. This is my student Daichi. We'll be your escort team for this mission." Kakashi introduced himself and his student to the client.

"You know, when I paid for a Genin team, I expected 2 more Genins." The man said, looking at Daichi.

"We're a special team sir. We'll be more than enough to handle any problems that arise on a C Rank mission." Daichi spoke with a polite tone and a smile.

"A Genin team with only one student. I've never heard of that… You must be something special then…" Hanz replied.

Daichi just smiled and used 'Observe' on the man.

[LV. 25][Hanz]

Age: 58

HP: 3386 CP: 2680

[Hanz is a merchant and citizen of the leaf village. He is the adopted son of late Mido who was also a minor merchant. Hanz studied in the ninja academy but dropped out due to his lack of talent in the ninja arts. He later found out his calling as a goods trader and later created the company Greenfield.

STR - 58

AGI - 37

INT - 55]

"When do we leave?" Kakashi asked the man.

"In a few moments. My men are loading the wagon as we speak."

A short while later the whole party was at the village gates. There was Kakashi and Daichi as protection and Hanz and his associate on their horse pulling a large goods wagon.

"It's a little after 10. If we leave now, we'll be there by evening. We'll rest up for the night. I've already booked rooms at an inn. My business at the capital should take about 2 days to conclude. And after that we return."

Daichi and Kakashi nodded to the mission details. "Daichi, you take the rear. I'll take the front."

The group began their journey and slowly made their way to the capital.

Daichi was on full alert. He wasn't sure if he caught the curse of Team 7 where a seemingly simple mission can go straight to hell. So he was vigilant of his surroundings. Daichi had exceptional senses and he used chakra to increase its range.

"Daichi, relax. It's a C Rank mission. While we might face enemies I doubt they would be ninjas." Kakashi spoke to the boy. He noticed Daichi's vigilance bordering on paranoia and wanted to reassure the boy.

Daichi nodded and let out a breath. He kept an eye on his surroundings but slightly relaxed himself. As they walked he asked Hanz a question that's been on his mind for a while.

"Hey mister Hanz. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Go ahead."

"The name of your company. Why Greenfield? Does it have any special meaning?"

When he heard that, a smile formed on the man's face. "Yes. There is a reason why I chose that name for my company."

Daichi and his sensei listened to the man's story.

"A merchant named Mido was traveling near the roads of the fire country and he got lost when a storm hit. He walked for hours and ended up in a large field. At that moment he suddenly heard a cry. It was a baby's cry. He looked all around and all he could see were fields of green. Tall grass and plants were the only thing his eyes landed on. He heard the baby's cry again and he started searching. Several minutes later he found the baby in a small wooden crib hidden behind the tall growing vegetation. He took the baby and raised it as his own… I'm sure you can make a good guess as to who that baby was?"

Daichi nodded and replied. "You."

"Yes. Some might say that field was where I was abandoned but the way I see it, that place was where I was given my second chance. Where I was reborn as Hanz. Where I met a kind man who took me in and raised me as his own without hesitation. So I decided to name the company Greenfield."

"Wow. I never realized that name had such a backstory when I first saw it." Daichi spoke with a smile.

Hanz merely laughed at that.

"What kind of trading do you do?" It was Kakashi who asked this question.

"Well, I mainly deal with agricultural products. Rice, vegetables and some herbs. But occasionally I also trade quality textiles."

"Do you often journey to the capital for business?" Daichi asked.

"Every two months or so." The man replied.

They made small conversations along the journey and Daichi found out more about the man named Hanz. The trip to the capital was smooth and without any problems. By late evening they reached the capital gates without encountering any enemies.

'The mission is half complete. I suppose it's to be expected. This is the main road leading to the capital from the village. If any bandits were present they would have been taken care of by the patrolling ninjas.'

Hanz and his associate Coran took the wagon to a warehouse for storage. "Don't worry. It's gonna be safe here." Hanz said but Daichi created a shadow clone and had it hide inside the wagon as a precaution. Kakashi discreetly nodded at Daichi in approval.

They left the warehouse and soon reached an Inn. Daichi and Kakashi did a sweep of the room for enemies or anything out of the ordinary. Finding nothing they left the room and Hanz and Coran entered.

"Your room is the one adjacent to ours. Food will be delivered to your room and take my word for it, they are quite excellent." Hanz smiled at the two ninjas.

Kakashi and Daichi relaxed inside their room.

"Well… Dinner will be here shortly. What do you want to do?" Kakashi asked his student.

"Nothing much. Shouldn't we be keeping an eye on our client?" Daichi didn't think the mission would be this easy.

"This is a C Rank mission. On C Rank missions were not expected to battle ninjas. Just some bandits or thieves who aren't too bright."

"What about unusual situations where you might have to deal with shinobi?" Daichi questioned.

Kakashi hummed as he thought about a scenario like that. "If that happens my job will be to take on the biggest threats and keep you safe and your job will be to keep the client safe."

Daichi nodded. "I'm gonna take a walk."

Kakashi nodded and Daichi left the inn. He roamed near the area and then walked through the streets of the capital. 'It hasn't been long since I left this place. And I'm back here so soon…'

Daichi spent a few hours roaming the streets and then returned to his room. He made sure the client was well and decided to take the first watch.

As Daichi sat on the balcony outside his client's room he thought about the situation. 'We're in the middle of the capital. If someone wanted to attack him, this is the last place they would choose to do so. And since this is a C Rank mission, the threat probability is low. But it doesn't mean I should let my guard down.'

A couple hours after midnight Kakashi came to relieve him of his shift. Daichi went to sleep and woke up early the next morning. He created a clone to stay at the Inn and went to workout in a secluded spot near the building.

Once his morning workouts were completed he freshened up and joined Kakashi.

The 2 ninjas shadowed their client throughout his meetings and business deals. Hanz was good at bartering and traded his goods at a profitable rate for him. He and Coran then bought several items from the capital that could be sold at the Leaf village and loaded his wagon.

They spent the two days in the capital without incidents. And on their third day they were ready to return.

"Things went much better than expected. Kakashi, Daichi. Our work here is done. What do you say, we head home."

Daichi and his sensei nodded and both took positions. Their return journey began and Daichi created a few clones to scout ahead of them. Kakashi just sighed watching his students' antics. 'Well… Better be safe than sorry I suppose.'

The team left early in the morning from the capital so they would reach the leaf village by late afternoon. The team of 2 ninjas and clones kept a vigilant watch but it was unnecessary. They reached the village walls and didn't encounter a single enemy throughout their trip.

After splitting up from Hanz, Kakashi and Daichi made their way to the Hokage tower. "This mission was kind of… Anticlimactic." Daichi said to his sensei.

"What exactly were you expecting?"

"I don't know. It was too easy. And we didn't fight a single enemy."

The Jonin raised an eyebrow at that. "Isn't that supposed to be a good thing? You know. A boring mission is much better than one with enemies coming for your head. And you have to remember… This was a C Rank mission. The only way they ever go wrong is if the clients lied about the enemies after them, which would be idiotic. Or if we encounter an enemy ninja by chance. And since this is not war time the chances of that happening is low."

Daichi nodded with what the man was saying. 'He makes a good point. If all missions happened like the wave mission then no ninja would accept missions from clients without wasting a ton of resources digging up everything about them.'

The duo made their way to the administration table and got their pay. At that moment Daichi got the quest completion reward.

[Quest 'Escort Hanz to and from the Capital' Completed.]

[Rewards:]

4500 Exp.

675 Exp.

[Reputation slightly increases with Hanz.]

Kakashi then looked at his student. "Meet me at training ground 3 at 8 am tomorrow. We're going to do something different."