Naruto: Path of Uchiha

Chapter 14: A 'C' rank or an 'A' rank?

It has been two months since the four best friends became Genin. Their previous classmates, who are still in the academy, are astonished to see them become Genin years before themselves.

The four youngsters, along with their sensei, were now at the Hokage's office, ready to receive their next mission.

'Alright. So for your next D-rank mission...you have to-', the Hokage begins to say, but stops seeing the miserable looks of the genin in front of him.

'Ji-chan, we have done so many D ranks. We want a C rank now at least', Naruto, who naturally takes on the role of spokesperson for the team, pleads.

'Yes, Hokage-sama, we want a C rank now', the other three Genin request as they bow their heads in unison.

The Hokage stays silent for a moment, considering their pleas. He then looks over to Obito, the sensei of team 7, and asks, 'What do you think? Are they ready for a C rank?'

'Yes, Hokage-sama, looking at how easily they've completed their D ranks, I can assure you that they will be able to handle the increase in mission rank', Obito explains.

As the days have passed, the genins have impressed Obito, completing an outstanding amount of D ranks in just two months.

'Very well then. I'll assign you a C rank', the Hokage says as he takes out a document from his drawer. 'This will be an escort mission. You have to make sure your client reaches safely to the place mentioned', he adds.

Obito reaches for the document from the Hokage, wanting to debrief the mission for his charges.

'Meet me at the gate in an hour; pack light even though we have a long way to travel; we will debrief the mission, then meet our client', he instructs, and the four Genin nod in response.

***

Naruto's POV

I, along with my team, stand near the gates, waiting for our sensei. I hope he's not that late today; I doubt we will be able to handle the client without him.

'Here he comes', Hinata, who looks the most excited of all of us, points out at Obito Nii-san coming our way.

'You're all here. Good job', he says as he observes us one by one.

He raises an eyebrow, probably thinking about where our stuff for the trip is.

'You guys didn't pack anything?' he asks.

Bingo.

'We did. Naruto sealed them in storage scrolls for all of us', Sasuke explains, causing our sensei to raise both of his eyebrows.

'Storage scrolls? Who taught you that?' he asks, looking at me.

'Jiraiya-sama did', I say, smirking inwardly.

'You're being taught by everyone but me'
'Your time will come, Kurama; don't worry'

'I should've figured', he says, crossing his arms. 'Let's get on with the briefing now, should we?'

I pay attention as Obito Nii-san debriefs the mission. It seems we have to escort a young girl and her older brother to the land of waves where their father is staying; they require protection as they are the children of a well-known merchant.

'Protecting them is just a formality; we just have to escort them, right?' Shikamaru asks.

'That's what we are told, but we should still keep on our toes'

'He is right. You never know when danger can come your way'.
'Yeah, I will stay alert'

'Here they come', Obito Nii-san points out to the two children coming our way.

One is a boy who looks older than us, and the other is a girl who looks just about the same age as us. They both have blonde hair and identical moles on their cheeks.

'Pleased to meet you both. I am Obito, the captain for this mission; this is my team', Nii-san points towards us.

Obito Nii-san sends us a look, wanting us to introduce ourselves. Hinata takes the lead.

'My name is Hinata'
'I'm Sasuke'
'Naruto'
'I am Shikamaru'

'They all look even younger than me? How will they protect us?!' The boy speaks up, anger lacing his voice.

'Well, you did request a C-rank escort mission, and they are Genin. I hope this sums everything up', Obito Nii-san deadpans, clearly not happy with the complaints.

This shut the boy up.

'Hello. My name is Akie, and this is my older brother Haku. Pleased to be in your care', the girl, who evidently looks the nicer one of the duo, says with a bow.

The boy, Haku, scoffs at his sister's actions.

'I already don't like the boy. The girl is okay'.
'You don't have to like them Kurama... We just have to escort them'

'Alright, Akie and... Haku? Let's get on with our journey',

***

We embark on our journey to the land of waves. Obito Nii-san on the front, our two clients in the middle, and us four in the back.

'Why did we have to get such troublesome clients', Shikamaru whispers, not wanting the two in front to eavesdrop.

'We have to deal with it. The girl, Akie, seems nice though', I reply, looking to my right, where Shikamaru and Hinata are.

'Y-yeah she is... alright', Hinata says with a frown, although I might be just imagining it.

Sasuke, who is on the left, nudges me and narrows his eyes. I shrug in response, not wanting to deal with whatever he has to say.

I hear Kurama sigh. I begin to ask what's wrong, but Obito Nii-san comes to a spot, preventing me from doing so.

I walk towards where Obito Nii-san is standing. As I reach near him, I feel a weird presence.

After looking around, I spot a puddle on the ground. Weird. It is very unlikely for a puddle to be here at this time.

'Nii-san, this...', I say, discreetly pointing towards the puddle.

'Yes Naruto. That's sharp of you to notice', he says, a small smile on his face despite the emergency.

'Everyone! Get in formation! Hinata and Shikamaru, you both protect the clients. Sasuke, Naruto, stand behind me', he instructs.

Shikamaru and Hinata quickly get into position without questioning what is happening. That's what Nii-san taught us.

Do as instructed without delay.

Sasuke and I also get into position.

'W-why what's happ-', Haku begins to ask, but gets interrupted by five men appearing from the unusual puddle.

'Bandits', Obito Nii-san mutters.

'It seems Konoha ninja are sharp. Oh! We also have Tobi of the Leaf here', one of the bandits remarks.

'Just give over the girl and the boy, and we will not harm you at all', another bandit says, a smug look on his face.

They're underestimating us, excellent.

'Plan changed. You four take on the bandits; I'll protect the clients', Obito Nii-san instructs us and changes his position in a blink.

'He's testing you',
'Mhm, we will try not to disappoint him',

We follow quickly.

'You're leaving mere genin to us? Oh, this will be fun'.

'I agree, this will be fun', Sasuke imitates the bandit, causing a sour look to appear on his face.

'Let's do this', I say as Team 7 charges at the bandits.

***

Sasuke takes on the bandit with a bigger figure, having chains as weapons. He tries to dodge them, but quickly realizes it is taking too much time. 'What will you do now, huh?', the bandit smirks.

Sasuke doesn't bother to respond. Wanting to end this quickly, he takes out his shurikens and manages to catch the chains with them, causing the bandit to be stuck to the tree with the fault of his own weapon.

Shikamaru and Hinata, like Sasuke, take on one bandit each. Having taijutsu to her advantage, Hinata becomes victorious in a spar, resulting in the bandit being paralyzed.

Shikamaru, having not learned his shadow techniques yet, relies on his intelligence. He fools the bandit into thinking he has won the spar, but attacks from the back, leaving the bandit in shock.

Naruto, the only one to take on two bandits, makes shadow clones. He sends some off to one bandit while fighting the other one himself. Also excelling in taijutsu, he defeats his opponent quickly. His shadow clones, on the other hand, use tree climbing jutsu strangling the opponent to the tree.

The genins emerge victorious, having the bandits tied together, not giving them a chance to escape.

'Well done. I am impressed', Obito says, clapping to showcase his immense pride in his students. 'I'll call for someone to take care of them', he adds, pointing towards the bandits.

'You left it all to us, troublesome', Shikamaru says, a frown on his face.

'We didn't want our clients to be uncertain of us, did we? In addition to that, I wanted to see how well you all would do', he says, smiling brightly.

'We figured', Sasuke and Hinata said in unison, sighing.

'I am sorry. I shouldn't have underestimated you all', Haku says, with a deep bow.

'Oh, it's alright; now tell us. Why were these bandits after you?' Naruto asks, not wanting to deal with fraud.

Obito observed Naruto; he noticed the puddle, took down two bandits on his own, and even managed to notice the fraud in this mission rank. He certainly is in a different league.

'We're extremely sorry. It's just that... Our father is targeted by someone very strong. The person wanted my father to do an illegal trade, but he obviously refused. So now the evil person is targeting us in hopes our father will agree', the girl, Akie, explains.

'Why didn't you just request a higher rank mission then?' Sasuke, not happy with getting tricked, asks.

'We couldn't afford it. My father lost all his earnings due to the man. He refuses to pay his debt', this time, Haku answers.

'Any idea who this man might be?', Obito asks, taking in the information.

'We have no idea; we just know that he desires immortality through the products he is asking for. He contacts us through his lackey', Haku says truthfully.

Obito, observing the situation, looks towards his Genin.

'Usually, when something like this happens, we have the option to abandon the mission or continue. We will do whatever you decide'.

'Let's continue this', Hinata says, looking towards her teammates for confirmation.
'Yeah, let's continue', Shikamaru agrees.
Naruto and Sasuke hum in agreement.

'Well then, this mission just turned into a B rank, it might even turn into an A rank given the circumstances. We will be sure when we see the villain behind this', Obito says, crossing his arms.

The Genin did not falter; they were determined and ready to take on what comes ahead.