Chapter 9: Target: The Country of Waves

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During these days, Sasuke rarely attended Kakashi's classes in person. He often used his clone and only came occasionally for fun.

Kakashi felt helpless about this. He couldn't do much about Sasuke, but Naruto was unhappy with Kakashi-sensei's inaction.

It wasn't just that which bothered him. The mundane tasks of finding kittens and catching puppies had already tested Naruto's patience. Naruto, who dreamed of becoming Hokage, didn't want to waste his time here.

"Kakashi-sensei, when will we go on an S-rank mission?"

Kakashi nearly choked. An S-rank mission? It's true that newborn calves are not afraid of tigers. But you, a little genin, need some self-awareness.

"People can die on S-rank missions. At the very least, you need to be a jounin to take them on. You, a little brat who just left the ninja academy, should curb your delusions."

"Tch, who's a little kid? Mr. Kakashi, you were beaten to a pulp by Sasuke." Naruto shouted, dissatisfied.

Kakashi stopped talking. Naruto always used Sasuke to criticize him, but what he said was true.

Kakashi thought for a while, put the book into his bag, and said, "Okay, since you're not satisfied with the current tasks, we'll go to the Hokage's office to see if there are any suitable missions."

"Hahaha, Kakashi-sensei, I knew you were the best and worthy of being a jounin."

That's not what you said just now. Kakashi felt his head buzzing; Naruto changed his tune very quickly.

"Hey, Sasuke, you're finally here," Naruto said excitedly. Since Sasuke showed his true strength, Naruto had become more eager to grow stronger. He vowed to surpass Sasuke and wasn't discouraged by Sasuke's strength.

"Hey, what's your attitude? Who are you looking down on?"

Naruto was irritated by Sasuke's indifference and looked like he was ready to fight. However, he stayed where he was and shouted, "Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, please don't stop me. I have to take care of Sasuke today."

Sakura and Kakashi looked at Naruto in confusion as he psyched himself up. Who stopped you?

Sasuke walked up to Naruto and looked down at him. "I'm right here. If you don't take action first, you'll waste a good opportunity!"

Naruto swallowed, looked at Sasuke dumbfounded, and begged, "Can you not hit me in the face?"

"Of course not."

Sasuke smiled and said that life and death were uncertain, and Naruto immediately looked like he was about to cry.

"Don't be too rough, Sasuke," Kakashi said calmly. With Naruto's character, he didn't believe Naruto hadn't been taught a lesson by Sasuke before.

"Don't worry, I'm measured." This wasn't the first time Sasuke had beaten Naruto. He had been beating Naruto since they were kids, but this guy always liked to provoke him.

After Naruto had rested, the four of them headed towards the Hokage Building.

Looking at the impressive Hokage Building, Sasuke sneered internally. Sarutobi Hiruzen, we meet again.

"Lord Hokage."

Hearing Kakashi's voice outside the door, the Third Hokage paused his document work.

As soon as the Third Hokage raised his head, he saw Sasuke. His deep eyes remained unreadable, and he didn't show what he was thinking.

After taking a sip of tea, he said, "Kakashi, what brings you here?"

"Naruto and the others want to take on a more challenging mission..."

As soon as Kakashi finished speaking, Naruto had already sat on the Hokage's desk. "Grandpa Third Hokage, please don't always give us such easy tasks, okay?"

"I, Uzumaki Naruto, am already a man. I want a mission that involves real danger. Do you understand?"

Kakashi hurriedly pulled him down. This kid was so bold to be rude to the Hokage.

The Third Hokage didn't mind and said with a smile, "Little Naruto, do you want to take a mission so much? It's not impossible. I happen to have a C-rank mission here. I wonder if you're willing."

"Yes, yes, thank you, Grandpa Third Hokage."

Naruto jumped up with excitement as their client, Tazuna, walked in with a sake bottle, looking drunk. He was about to put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

Noticing the cold look in Sasuke's eyes, Tazuna's head cleared, and he quickly stepped away from this intimidating young man.

When he came back to his senses, he felt embarrassed for being frightened by a kid, but he didn't dare to get angry at anyone else.

Suddenly, he noticed the shortest Naruto, who had a whisker-like mark on his face and looked easy to bully, and said, "That short brat, please stand up for me."

"That's you."

After hearing Tazuna's words, Naruto looked around blankly and realized he was being addressed. He became furious.

"Old man, who are you calling short? Are you a bad old man? You still have the nerve to laugh at me."

Tazuna was dissatisfied and said to the Third Hokage, "Lord Hokage, is this the ninja you hired to protect me? Can you change it to a more reliable one?"

The Third Hokage said, "Don't worry. There will be a jounin accompanying you on this trip, so you don't have to worry about your safety."

"Okay." Tazuna fell silent upon hearing that there would be a jounin. Although there were no ninjas in his country, the Land of Waves, he knew some things about ninjas.

Jounin were undoubtedly the elite, a strategic weapon of every major country.

"Then it's up to you."

An hour later, several people gathered at the gate of Konoha.

Sasuke didn't bring anything with him. All his things were stored in the system space without any hassle.

Sakura, who was the first to arrive, started talking again, but Sasuke wasn't interested at all. He closed his eyes and thought, mainly because Sakura was still young and couldn't arouse his interest.

"Finally here."

Naruto was carrying a backpack taller than himself, filled with things, and ran over panting.

Kakashi said angrily, "Naruto, we are on a mission, not a vacation. Why did you bring so many things with you?"

Naruto didn't take it seriously. "It's rare to leave the village. I'll make sure to enjoy myself before coming back."

"Right, Sasuke?" Naruto winked at Sasuke with a sly grin.

Sasuke was speechless. He knew what Naruto was implying. He just wanted to visit the entertainment districts. Don't make yourself sound so refined.

This started a few months ago when Sasuke went to a dance hall to kill time and Naruto saw him.

Since then, Naruto had become more and more interested in such places. This time, he finally had a chance. No one outside knew him.

Sasuke didn't even have to guess. Naruto definitely wanted to borrow money from him to enjoy himself.

After all, Naruto was so poor that he could hardly afford to eat. He couldn't possibly borrow money from Kakashi or Sakura, so he turned to Sasuke.