Kakashi led the three kids quickly to the Hokage's Office.
Along the way, when the other Shinobi saw a very iconic yellow-haired brat from Team 7, they all showed hatred on their faces and gnashed their teeth, wishing they could rush forward and beat him into the ground.
But everyone's gazes didn't affect Naruto and Sasuke, even Kakashi didn't care.
Kakashi had experienced the angry looks of the villagers when he was a child, and Sasuke was fully consumed by his desire for revenge and couldn't care less about what anyone thought of him.
As for Naruto, he had been getting cold shoulders from his 'relatives' day in and day out, and he even had the guts to whistle provocatively right at their front door.
Besides, all the people who have been angry with him over the years could form a line that stretched all the way out of Konoha Village. If they want to glare at him, they should line up at the back first.
Sakura, on the other hand, was very frightened and kept inching closer to Sasuke, though it is unknown whether she's really afraid or just pretending to be afraid.
Kakashi put his hands in his pockets and walked into the Hokage's Office with the usual deadpan look.
At this time, Hiruzen was puffing away on his pipe, and the office was filled with smoke, looked more like a foggy dreamscape than an office.
It can be seen that Konoha's old village chief is very stressed.
"You're all here?"
Hiruzen glanced at the four people, then picked up a mission scroll on the table and threw it at Kakashi.
Smack…
Kakashi raised his hand to grab the mission scroll mid-air, then unrolled it to check the details.
Naruto, who had been unable to contain himself any longer, kept bouncing up to sneak a peek, only for Kakashi to push him back each time.
And he also found that Kakashi, who was reading the scroll, had a strange expression on his face.
'Why the hell did he look like someone just died?'
Naruto didn't understand Kakashi, and he just thought he didn't want to leave the village to do the mission.
'It's finally here!'
'The first dungeon… The Land of Waves!'
Naruto was practically shaking with excitement, imagining himself facing off against Zabuza.
'Waku waku!!!'
Kakashi looked at the mission scroll for a long time, even turning the scroll around like he thought maybe it was upside-down, before asking Hiruzen in an uncertain tone.
"Sandaime-sama..."
"Are you sure this mission complies with the regulations?"
The three kids all snapped their heads toward Kakashi.
They didn't know what the scroll said, but from how serious their teacher sounded, one thing was obvious...
This mission was going to be dangerous!
Sasuke chuckled coldly, and the corners of his mouth raised slightly.
"It's an unusual situation, yes..."
"But as far as protocol goes, there's nothing wrong with it."
Hiruzen took another puff of his cigarette, his expression as strange as Kakashi's.
Naruto was beyond annoyed at this point. If he hadn't watched Naruto, these two talking in riddles would've driven him insane.
'Isn't it just an escort mission for some old guy in the Land of Waves…'
'What's with all the drama?'
Naruto tugged on Kakashi's trouser leg, gesturing for him to show the scroll.
He wanted to see for himself what exactly was written there that could make Konoha's top technician pull a face like that.
Kakashi glanced down at Naruto, sighed deeply, and after hesitating for three seconds, he handed the scroll to Naruto.
'Let's see what we've got here…'
Naruto took the scroll and excitedly opened it, and then he saw...
[C-Rank mission: All members of Konoha's Team 7 to travel outside the village for a month.]
[Mission reward: 20 million ryo.]
[Mission Issuer: Jointly commissioned by the villagers of Konoha Village.]
Naruto's hands trembled uncontrollably as he held the scroll, his face cycled through a dozen expressions in a single second.
His mental went through a full arc of emotions:
From eager anticipation,
To crushing disappointment,
To sheer confusion,
And finally…
Rage.
'Damn it!'
'Isn't this straight-up bullying?!'
'I, Uzumaki Naruto, have bled for the Konoha Village!'
'How could they treat me like this!?'
'When will the Biju's Jinchuriki be able to stand tall?'
He forgot the beginning... he forgot the middle... he forgot the end... Anyway, he is so angry!
And it's a joint request from Konoha's villagers, no less...
What made it even more outrageous was the mission reward!
20 million ryo!!
That's literally more than half of what Asuma's head was worth!
At that moment, Naruto truly felt the full malice of the villagers aimed right at him.
If this mission hadn't been issued through official channels...
He, Uzumaki Naruto, would've jumped right off the Hokage Tower!
Naruto clenched the scroll and slammed it down on the floor, shouting angrily, "Old man Sandaime!"
"This is straight-up bullying a good, honest guy like me!!"
"What's so wrong about using shadow clones to do missions?"
"They were all low-rank missions anyway!"
"Did it really have to come to this?!"
Sasuke looked a little disappointed when he found out it was not a combat mission, but his reaction wasn't nearly as dramatic as Naruto's.
Meanwhile, Sakura was quite happy, after all, she could get money when she went out to have fun.
Hiruzen smiled awkwardly, picked up his pipe and took another long drag on his pipe.
He is also helpless.
Naruto had basically cleared out all the low-rank missions from the board over the past two months. What should the other freshly graduated Genin in the village supposed to do now?
He can't just let them run out of the village to carry out a combat mission as their first mission, right?
It's obviously not in line with Konoha Village's long-standing way.
In addition, the other Shinobi had too much resentment towards Team 7, so in the end, everyone just bit the bullet and raised a huge sum of money.
Anyway, they would first ban the cheating Team 7, so that everyone's team would have missions to do.
Hiruzen actually thought it was a pretty decent solution, so he didn't stop them.
After all, they're letting Naruto and the others go out and relax.
Hiruzen organized the thoughts in his mind, then spoke to Naruto with a kind face.
"Naruto..."
"You're already grown up, don't you want to see more of the world outside?"
"And besides, this mission's really easy..."
Having said that, Hiruzen still felt a little guilty.
After all, they're using a fake mission to send Naruto out of the village like this...
This was definitely a first since Konoha was founded.
Even Hiruzen had to admire the creativity of whoever came up with the idea.
"I…"
Naruto was speechless for a moment.
'Damn it!'
'So angry!'
'I just figured out how to solo Zabuza...'
'And now you were telling me that the village collectively sent me on a paid vacation for a month?!'
While the reward was quite high and the mission was quite easy, Naruto just felt very angry.
"Naruto, try to see the bright side."
"I think this is a good mission."
Kakashi's eye curved with joy as he patted Naruto's shoulder and said something comforting.
Even Sasuke and Sakura could smell the laziness emanating from Kakashi's body.
Naruto: "…"
'Of course you think it's great!'
'You eat my food, drink my drinks, and when you're bored, you took out Icha Icha Paradise and nap under a tree the entire day.'
Naruto was even starting to wonder if Kakashi was another transmigrator like him.
After all, when he watched the original Anime, he never realized Kakashi was this shameless!
After thinking it over for a bit, Naruto finally agreed.
Not that he had much of a choice, as Kakashi had the final say.
In this way, Team 7 accepted the 'leisure mission' out of the village.
Naruto, dragging his tired soul along, glanced at the overly cheerful Kakashi and his mood immediately become worse.
'That salted fish smell was practically leaking out of his body!'
Naruto sniffed the air and instantly winced.
'Wait!?'
'No way!'
'This is the real salted fish smell!'
Naruto's eyes regained their former luster.
'There is no such strong smell in Konoha Village. The fishy stench in the air was practically choking me. So it must be that old man Tazuna from the Land of Waves!'
After carefully observing the people near the Hokage Tower, Naruto soon spotted a little old man, maybe around 150 cm tall.