Early the next morning, at Training Ground 7.
When Kagutsuchi Shin arrived, Ken and Yumi were already there. Both of them looked slightly restless, pacing back and forth while repeatedly glancing toward the entrance.
"Shin!" Ken called out the moment he saw him, his face overflowing with irrepressible excitement. "Today we're going to the Hokage-sama's office to receive a mission! A real ninja mission!"
"Finally, the day has come." Yumi also walked over quickly, her tone equally excited as her hands unconsciously clenched together. "I wonder what kind of mission we'll get."
Shin simply nodded in response.
The black hair beneath his forehead protector fluttered slightly in the morning breeze, but unlike his two teammates, there was barely any excitement visible on his face.
The starting point for rookie Genin...
The so-called "beginning of a ninja career", would most likely consist of endless trivial chores that had nothing to do with Chakra or Ninjutsu—cleaning trash from rivers, helping villagers harvest crops, or babysitting noisy children.
This wasn't an era of war. There were no urgent border conflicts or dangerous reconnaissance missions waiting for fresh Genin.
What the village truly wanted was to temper the patience, teamwork, discipline, and obedience of newly graduated ninja.
"Hmm?" At that moment, Shin's gaze shifted slightly.
Almost simultaneously, Yamato silently appeared behind them, leaning casually against the railing near the entrance to the training ground.
"Te-Teacher!"
Ken and Yumi jumped in surprise and shouted in unison, immediately straightening their posture. Their faces reddened slightly, embarrassed at having been caught acting so impatiently.
Shin greeted him calmly. "Yamato-sensei."
Yamato's gaze swept across the three of them before pausing briefly on Shin. Then he smiled lightly.
"Everyone's here. Let's head to the Hokage Building."
"Yes!" Ken and Yumi responded immediately, their excitement returning almost instantly as they hurried after him.
Shin followed behind at a steady pace.
—
Inside the Hokage's office.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, looked at the three rookie teams lined up before him with a gentle smile.
When his gaze landed on Shin, it paused ever so slightly before his smile deepened.
"From today onward, you are ninjas capable of standing on your own. The village will entrust missions to you and place its trust in your strength."
He picked up a mission scroll.
"Now then, let us begin the assignments."
"Team One, your mission is…" He pulled out one scroll and opened it. "…to help villagers clean the accumulated trash from the river."
"Yes." Yamato stepped forward and accepted the scroll.
The excited expressions on Ken and Yumi's faces instantly froze solid. Their shoulders drooped at exactly the same time.
"Cleaning… trash?" The two exchanged glances, both clearly seeing the disappointment reflected in each other's eyes.
—
On the road toward the river.
"How did it end up being trash cleanup…" Ken kicked a pebble along the road as he sighed dramatically.
"I thought we'd at least get to leave the village and see the outside world…" Yumi also looked discouraged as she muttered softly,
"Yeah… I was expecting something more like an actual ninja mission…"
Hearing their complaints, Yamato, who was walking ahead of them, suddenly stopped and turned around with a patient smile.
"Although I personally didn't fully experience this stage myself, from what I know, every newly graduated Genin goes through this process."
He paused before continuing calmly.
"D-Rank missions may seem simple, but they are important for developing a ninja's patience, attention to detail, and teamwork."
"More importantly, by handling these seemingly insignificant tasks, you gradually become familiar with every part of the village and gain a better understanding of the daily lives of its people."
"That itself is a very important part of a ninja's growth."
The explanation sounded reasonable enough that the disappointment on Ken and Yumi's faces eased somewhat, replaced with expressions of understanding.
However, Yumi was more observant than Ken. She quickly caught the unusual wording in Yamato's explanation and blinked in confusion.
"Eh? Yamato-sensei, you just said you 'didn't fully experience this stage'?"
"Why?"
The moment those words were spoken, even Shin, who had been quietly walking without much interest, slightly shifted his gaze toward Yamato.
Yamato's expression remained perfectly calm, as though he had merely mentioned something trivial in passing.
"As for why I didn't go through those experiences…"
He deliberately dragged out his words, clearly teasing the curiosity growing on Ken and Yumi's faces.
Then he smiled.
"Well… It's a secret."
"Tch!" x2
The disappointing answer instantly destroyed the curiosity the two had just developed.
Both of them clicked their tongues simultaneously and lowered their heads again in disappointment.
Yamato smiled helplessly at their reactions before turning around and continuing to lead the way.
"Alright, stop overthinking it."
"Focus on the mission."
—
The cleaning work proved to be both tedious and time-consuming.
Shin created three Shadow Clones, instantly increasing their efficiency several times over.
At first, Ken and Yumi worked with obvious reluctance, but after watching Shin calmly clear through large amounts of work at incredible speed, the two gradually became more motivated as well.
Before long, they were working together smoothly—collecting debris, sorting trash, and even discussing strange rocks or oddly shaped shells they occasionally found while cleaning the riverbed.
Yamato quietly observed from the side, nodding inwardly.
Shin's leadership and efficiency were unquestionable.
As for the two civilian-born children, although their talent was average, their personalities were honest and hardworking, and they adapted well to the team's pace.
—
By sunset, Team One had already completed four D-Rank missions in a single day, including cleaning the river, helping harvest crops, and finding lost pets.
As the orange glow of dusk spread across the village, Yamato handed each of them a small money pouch.
"This is today's mission reward. It's divided equally according to village regulations."
Ken and Yumi immediately accepted their shares excitedly.
They weighed the pouches in their hands while listening to the crisp clinking of coins inside, smiles quickly returning to their faces.
"Hehe… the first money I've ever earned myself!" Ken laughed excitedly.
"It actually feels… pretty nice." Yumi carefully tucked away her pouch with obvious satisfaction.
Ken had already started planning ahead enthusiastically. "I'm definitely going to try the new item at Ichiraku Ramen!"
Yumi thought for a moment before saying, "I think I'll buy a new headband."
Seeing that Shin remained silent, Ken nudged him with his elbow. "What about you, Shin? What are you planning to do with your share?"
Shin looked down at the pouch in his hand for a moment before lifting his gaze toward Yamato, who seemed ready to dismiss them for the day.
"Speaking of which…" Shin suddenly spoke in a teasing tone.
"I heard from other teams that after passing the assessment, the instructor usually treats their students to a barbecue meal as a celebration."
As he spoke, his gaze landed directly on Yamato's face. "But it seems our team still hasn't had any kind of celebration meal."
"So…" He lightly tossed the pouch in his hand. "How about using our first mission payment to treat you to dinner today?"
"What do you think… Yamato-sensei?"
The moment those words fell, Ken and Yumi's eyes immediately lit up.
The two stared at Yamato simultaneously, their expressions filled with disbelief and expectation.
Yamato suddenly found himself speechless. A trace of obvious embarrassment appeared on his face.
"This…Shin, it's not that I'm stingy." He awkwardly tried to explain himself. "It's just that… I really do have something important to handle tonight…"
Feeling the gazes of all three students on him—especially Shin's calm eyes that seemed capable of seeing through everything—Yamato coughed lightly before finally compromising.
"How about this?"
"Tomorrow."
"After tomorrow's missions are finished, I'll personally take all of you to Yakiniku Q. My treat. How does that sound?"
"Great!" Ken and Yumi nearly jumped in excitement as they answered in unison.
Seeing his goal achieved, Shin also nodded lightly. "Then it's a deal."
"Mhm. Dismissed." Yamato let out a subtle sigh of relief before waving them off.
The four separated afterward.
Ken and Yumi continued excitedly discussing tomorrow's barbecue plans as they walked away, the atmosphere between them completely relaxed.
Meanwhile, Shin headed home alone through a relatively quiet street. The setting sun stretched its shadow long behind him.
Suddenly—
Shua! Shua! Shua!
Three ninja wearing animal masks appeared soundlessly around him without warning, forming a triangular formation that surrounded him completely.