บท 42: Chapter 42: Ahu
"Point A, position reached."
In a hidden alley, Sakura concealed her presence, quietly reporting her position through the radio earpiece.
Meanwhile, Sasuke, not far from her position and also hidden, spoke with a serious expression through his earpiece:
"Point C, in position."
Sakura and Sasuke exchanged a brief glance, completing an unspoken communication between them.
At the same time, they carefully observed their target.
The agile figure displayed incredible speed, and its powerful limbs proved just how strong the enemy was. It occasionally let out a growl, and there seemed to be something in its mouth.
With a sharp "crack" sound, the target's prey was swiftly torn apart with powerful teeth and swallowed whole.
Clearly, this was a formidable enemy.
"Naruto, are you in position?"
Sakura spoke into her earpiece with a serious tone.
"Point B, in position!"
A loud voice came through the earpiece, causing both Sakura and Sasuke to instinctively pull the earpieces from their ears.
A flash of yellow appeared in the sky, and Naruto dove straight toward their target!
The target let out a sharp screech upon seeing Naruto hurtling toward it from above.
"Naruto! This idiot!"
Sasuke's heart skipped a beat as he saw this. His expression turned to one of irritation as he rushed forward, afraid that Naruto's reckless actions would cause the target to escape. He quickly closed the distance, trying to trap their target alongside Naruto.
With Naruto and Sasuke working in tandem, even the most fearsome of enemies would not escape the hands of the ninjas!
"Wahaha, got it!"
Naruto hugged the target, his face breaking into an excited grin.
"Meow!!!"
The target, now in Naruto's arms, revealed its sharp claws and started slashing at him furiously.
"Don't let go! It took us this long to catch it!"
Sakura emerged, holding the mission report, and looked at the cat in Naruto's arms. She checked the report to confirm that the cat in Naruto's arms matched the description of the target, nodding with satisfaction.
Mission Target: Ahu
Client: Madam Chimei
Mission Rank: D
Naruto grimaced as he looked at the large tabby cat in his arms, which had a bow on its ear. His face was covered in scratches from Ahu's wild swipes.
"Well done, huh?"
Kakashi appeared from somewhere, smiling as he looked at the trio. He then took Ahu from Naruto's arms by the scruff of the neck, pulling the cat away from him.
Naruto finally managed to escape the cat's scratching range.
"You're such an idiot. You could have caught it without being so impulsive."
Sakura sighed as she looked at the blood on Naruto's face. She immediately placed a hand on him, glowing with green chakra as she began healing his wounds.
Naruto, with his strong healing ability and Sakura's medical ninjutsu, quickly recovered from the minor injuries.
"But it seems like this cat has run away a lot of times, right?"
"Why does it insist on being a stray?" Naruto asked while receiving treatment, glancing at Ahu in Kakashi's hands, who looked utterly disinterested in the situation.
"Who knows~~"
Kakashi's eye crinkled into a smile as he responded.
Konoha Mission Department
"Oh~~ my Ahu~~~"
"I've missed you so much, my dear~~~"
A well-endowed noblewoman affectionately held Ahu in her arms and began to lovingly pet him, making Ahu's face twist into a human-like expression of utter resignation.
Naruto, seeing Ahu in the woman's arms, couldn't help but twitch his mouth. He began to understand why Ahu had run away so many times.
"Well done, Konoha ninjas are really efficient."
The noblewoman dropped a wad of cash and was about to leave, but then noticed Sakura beside Naruto. She gave her a bright smile, one that also held a touch of ingratiation.
"Lady Haruno, I didn't expect you to be involved in this mission~~"
Sakura looked at the noblewoman with a somewhat formal smile, replying with a hint of distance:
"Yes, Madam Chimei."
"If you have nothing else to do, I'll be leaving now. Please visit again sometime~~"
As the noblewoman left, Naruto, a little confused, turned to Sakura:
"Do you know that lady?"
"We've met a few times on missions."
Sakura explained to Naruto. The woman was a member of a faction from the Resource War who had supported Konoha, and by chance, Sakura had crossed paths with her a few times.
Naruto scratched his head, then quickly shifted his attention to the Hokage, who was sitting behind the desk.
"All we ever do are these boring D-rank missions. Can you give me an S-rank mission or something?"
"These D-rank missions are way too easy!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen, feeling a headache coming on from Naruto's persistent complaints, looked over at Sakura, who was quietly going to get a drink of water from the dispenser.
The five days since Kakashi's so-called "drill" had passed, and in that time, they had only been assigned D-rank missions.
Sakura didn't mind, but she hadn't expected Naruto to endure for this long before finally blowing up. She had thought he'd snap after three days.
On the other side, Sarutobi Hiruzen, unable to bear Naruto's nagging any longer, glanced at Sakura, who was now at the water cooler, and cleared his throat.
"Sakura, why don't you take a look and see what mission would be suitable for your team?"
Sakura caught the meaningful look from her teacher and couldn't help but twitch her lips.
Great, now it's directly being pushed onto me.
This old man still hasn't paid me back for the whole expulsion thing!
Sakura walked over to the desk and scanned through the mission scrolls.
"Sakura, choose an advanced mission. I'll definitely protect you well!"
Naruto eagerly watched as Sakura picked out a mission.
"Here, this one."
Sakura picked out a mission to clean up debris in a river.
"Eh?!"
"Why like this?" Naruto slumped, utterly disappointed.
Kakashi glanced at the mission and smiled thoughtfully before speaking:
"Well, actually, this mission isn't bad."
Sarutobi Hiruzen, hearing the conversation, chuckled softly.
"You're still genin. After you complete a certain number of D-rank missions, you'll be eligible for C-rank missions."
"Don't overthink it. Just focus on the task at hand."
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