The correct way for the Uchiha to rise

Chapter 43 Escort Mission

The next day, the three members of the third squad did not train, but instead prepared for the upcoming mission.

Konoha, Training Ground 7.

Orochimaru was quite satisfied with the three students who had changed so much compared to six months ago. Sarutobi Saku's chakra output had finally increased, and he could now use at least three C-rank ninjutsu. Nawaki had also mastered the ninjutsu he had learned and his grasp of the battle situation was now adequate. With Uchiha Kiyoshi's current abilities, this team could finally be considered truly mature.

Kiyoshi Uchiha had roughly sensed the chakra reserves of the three individuals. His own chakra was currently over 350 kilocalories, enough to allow him to use the Substitution Jutsu two or even three times, even at a distance of ten meters.

Nawaki remained the same, only able to roughly estimate that it consumed five or six times his own chakra, at least a thousand calories—a terrifying amount even for a genin. His chakra control was still inadequate; he couldn't learn many B-rank ninjutsu and could only fight with C-rank techniques. However, the consequence of this was that Nawaki became a turret. A ninja with a thousand chakra, yet limited to C-rank techniques consuming only a few dozen calories—it's safe to say that any ninja would be bombarded, uh… a genin. Chunin, on the other hand, had ways to dodge it.

Saku Sarutobi consumed the least, around two hundred calories, but that was enough for him to last through a battle. Unlike Nawaki, Saku Sarutobi was quite well-rounded in all aspects except ninjutsu, including taijutsu and ninja tools, all of which were among the top five in this generation.

"Alright, I assigned you a C-rank mission yesterday. We're setting off today, and I've reminded you of all the necessary preparations. Let's go, it's time to meet up with our employer. This mission is an escort mission. A caravan is heading to the Land of Earth to purchase goods. Our task is to escort them to the Land of Earth, wait for them to finish their purchases, and then safely escort them back. Hmm, these kinds of missions are generally quite safe, but occasionally we might encounter some robberies. That's also part of our job—to stop those robbers."

If the journey is safe, the reward is 70,000. If bandits are encountered along the way, the reward will increase. In other words, the initial reward for this mission is 70,000, and the amount will increase depending on the strength and number of bandits encountered. Theoretically, there is no upper limit; if you encounter many bandits, earning 200,000 to 300,000 is not a problem. Of course, this is just a hypothetical situation; the five great powers have relatively good order and conduct regular bandit suppression missions, so it's impossible for there to be that many bandits.

Along the way, Orochimaru explained the details of the mission to them.

"The same old rule applies. You'll complete this mission yourselves, and I won't interfere. Unless something like the accident happened last time, don't blame me for being ruthless if you make any mistakes."

As he spoke, Orochimaru stared at Nawaki for a while, seemingly expecting him to make some mistake, and unconsciously stuck out his tongue to lick the corner of his mouth.

Nawaki felt a chill run down his spine from being stared at. He secretly resolved to be extremely careful this time and absolutely not let anything go wrong, or he would be in deep trouble. The thought of Orochimaru's punishment sent shivers down Nawaki's spine, as if he had just remembered something.

Sarutobi Saku was also awkward. He thought of the extra training Orochimaru had given him when he was first discharged from the hospital; that period had been truly agonizing. "Yeah, I really need to keep an eye on Nawaki, make sure nothing goes wrong,"

Thinking about all this, Sarutobi Saku also looked at Nawaki.

This sight made Rope Tree quite uneasy.

"What?! Why are you all looking at me? Are you saying that I'm to blame for everything that goes wrong?"

"No, no, it's just that you're more likely to make a mistake."

Uchiha Kiyoshi showed no mercy, directly revealing this "cruel" truth. Nawaki initially wanted to refute it, but after thinking about it, he decided against it. "Hmph, I won't bother with them."

On the way, Uchiha Kiyoshi encountered several familiar figures, including Uchiha Tao and a few other classmates.

Compared to Team 3 led by Uchiha Kiyoshi, the other teams of ninjas who graduated at the same time did not go on C-rank missions so early. They continued to train in their respective areas, so they rarely met.

Initially, seeing that Team 3 had gone on a C-rank mission, many newly graduated genin were clamoring to leave the village for missions. However, after Sarutobi Saku returned to the village injured and spent half a month in the hospital, those people stopped clamoring to go out. Their generation, whose taijutsu and ninja tools alone were enough to rank them in the top five, and whose ninjutsu was even among the top three, had fallen to this state. They didn't have the confidence to be stronger than Sarutobi Saku.

The other teachers breathed a sigh of relief; it was quite annoying that the students would clamor to go outside the village to carry out missions every day.

Now, about nine months after graduation, the various teams have only gradually begun to carry out C-level missions.

Seeing their former classmates, although their relationship wasn't very close, it wasn't bad either, so Uchiha Kiyoshi and the others naturally greeted each other.

"Uchiha Tao, are you guys going on a mission too?"

"Oh, no, we just came back from a mission. Sigh, in two months, we've completed five C-level missions."

Before Uchiha Tao could speak, another ninja from his team spoke up.

For Nawaki, who hadn't been able to go out on missions for half a year, this was quite a shock. Nawaki had just been allowed to carry out C-rank missions and had been bragging about it to many people. Well, karma was coming back to bite him; for the past two months, he had been frequently provoked like this, making him extremely envious.

"Wow, don't be so smug. Humph, we can take on missions now too."

Besides, don't forget, we completed a B-level mission last time; even five C-level missions couldn't compare.

As he spoke, Rope Tree became smug again.

"What B-level mission? You just got lucky. You think you can complete a B-level mission?"

"Hey! Are you looking down on me? Jealous, huh? Hahahaha!"

......

Ignoring Nawaki's argument with them, Orochimaru, Uchiha Kiyoshi, and Sarutobi Saku walked away silently, leaving Nawaki alone to argue.

"Qing, don't you think so?"

Hey? Teacher, Qing, why did you leave without waiting for me?

Slow down, wait for me.

Finally realizing that Class 3 had already gone far behind, Rope Tree stopped arguing and hurriedly chased after them.

"Qing, you guys are so inconsiderate, leaving without even saying goodbye."

"It's pointless to argue with them about these things. You'd be better off doing more tasks instead."

And so, amidst Nawaki's rambling, the four arrived at the place in Konoha where employers were received.

This is a place specifically for employers who post tasks. Generally, employers from outside the area will stay here before someone accepts the task, and they will also meet here.

Following the instructions in the mission, Orochimaru quickly found his employer, a portly middle-aged man who greeted him with a smile.

Even though Ishimura Yukito, who had been doing business in Konoha for several years, didn't know who the man leading the team was, he could roughly understand the situation of the team that had taken on his mission just by the aura he exuded.

They're probably a squad of genin who just graduated. That's fine. Although they might be a bit weak since they're fresh out of school, having a mentor makes all the difference. Usually, only special jonin or higher-ranking ninjas serve as mentors, or at the very least, elite chunin. They're more than capable of completing their missions.

Having been familiar with the process, Ishimura Yukito didn't wait for Uchiha Kiyoshi to ask any questions and immediately began to explain the details of this mission.

"We're going to Giantwood Castle in the Land of Earth to purchase a batch of timber. Giantwood Castle is a city in the Land of Earth near Konoha. It's not too deep in, so the danger level for us this time isn't high. There might be some bandits along the way, but if we're careful, we won't run into any Iwagakure ninjas."

......

"Then, sir, when shall we depart?"

After explaining the mission details, he looked at Orochimaru, seemingly seeking his opinion.

Orochimaru did not answer, but looked at Uchiha Kiyoshi and let him make the decision.

Over this period of time, Uchiha Kiyoshi gradually became the core of the team. When Orochimaru was not in charge, he was the one who gave the orders.

"Let's not delay, let's set off immediately."

Yukito Ishimura wasn't disappointed. Although he was the employer, he still had to be mindful of others' feelings, because strength was the key.

The group set off, heading towards the Land of Earth.

Chapter Forty-Four: Attack

This mission is different from the last one. Last time it was about suppressing bandits, so the journey wasn't too difficult. This time it's different; we're escorting a caravan, which requires the entire convoy to keep up, so the journey will be much slower.

After registering and leaving the village, the caravan headed west towards the Land of Earth.

"Qing, do you think there's anything different about the Land of Earth? Although we went out of the village together on a mission last time, we only stayed within a hundred miles of Konoha, and didn't even leave the heart of the Land of Fire. I wonder if there will be anything special in the Land of Earth this time."

Also, what's Giantwood City like that we're going to this time?

"You're asking me? I've only read about some special places in books, but I've never actually been there."

Uchiha Kiyoshi rolled his eyes and said helplessly.

Perhaps because Nawaki had indeed been talking too much along the way, Uchiha Kiyoshi reminded him.

"However, although the escort mission is said to be very safe, we cannot be too relaxed."

Unexpected events can occur during a mission, so we must remain vigilant.

Upon hearing what Uchiha Kiyoshi said, Nawaki was about to speak again when Sarutobi Saku interjected.

“That’s right, Nawaki. Rest and stay alert. There can’t be any lapse in concentration during a mission. That’s a ninja’s basic discipline. Aren’t you going to be Hokage? Can’t you even do this?”

As expected, after being provoked by Sarutobi Saku, Nawaki stopped talking and began to be on guard to prevent being ambushed.

Orochimaru didn't walk with them, but followed secretly. Seeing Nawaki's change, he was pleased; at least he had improved. A ninja must be able to endure loneliness, not remain restless like before. He had originally planned to tell Nawaki after returning, but unexpectedly, Nawaki's two teammates spoke first, allowing the kid to escape unscathed.

"I was originally planning to have Tsunade remind me, Nawaki is really lucky."

Rope Tree was on guard when suddenly he shuddered, a bad premonition creeping over him, but it quickly dissipated. Rope Tree looked around in confusion, finding nothing, but he became more alert nonetheless.

"It seemed like something bad was about to happen? Oh well, if we can't find it, we won't look for it. Let's just be on high alert for now."

Huh? Was someone about to attack us? And then, seeing how vigilant I, Nawaki-sama, was, they gave up because they thought there was no hope?

Sure enough, Qing and the others were right; we can't let our guard down during a mission.

"Rope Tree, was something there just now? What are you looking for?"

"Oh, no, it's nothing, I was just on guard."

The entire ninja world isn't actually that large. It takes about three days to walk from Konoha to Sunagakure, that's the speed of a ninja. Converted to the distance between Konoha and Iwagakure, it's about four days. Giant Wood Castle is in the Land of Earth, closer to Konoha, so it's even closer than Iwagakure, taking about three days to reach.

However, this is based on the ninja's travel speed, which is about 300 kilometers a day.

Giantwood City is only 900 kilometers away from Konoha Village. At a rate of 10 kilometers per hour and 10 hours of travel per day, it would take about nine days to reach the city.

These are just the straight-line distances calculated. In reality, the total time required is about eleven or twelve days. Including the round trip and the time for sourcing the goods, this task will take a total of one month.

However, the cost-effectiveness is still good. The risk is low and the reward is not low. The two round trips are actually counted as two tasks.

Nine days later.

"We're about to enter the Land of Grass, everyone be careful."

Unlike the Five Great Nations, the Grass Country's own ninja villages are weak, and bandits are rampant within its borders, frequently causing robberies.

Moreover, the small ninja villages are not strong enough and their vigilance is not very good. In addition to bandits, there are also many rogue ninjas or rogue ninjas who gather in these countries.

The Land of Grass is like that too.

Upon entering the Land of Grass, Uchiha Kiyoshi gave his two teammates a heads-up. However, he didn't go too far, lest he scare them, and then offered some explanation and reassurance.

"But there's no need to be afraid. We are Konoha ninjas, and it's rare for anyone to come looking for trouble with us. As long as we don't provoke others, we won't be in danger."

With Orochimaru out of the open, Ishimura Yukito had been staying with Uchiha Kiyoshi and the others. Hearing Uchiha Kiyoshi's words, he smiled and replied.

"What this young man said is right. The Land of Grass is indeed one of the more dangerous places in our group. However, with you Konoha ninjas here, few people will dare to provoke us."

Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned. Although few people provoke them, there are exceptions.

Nobuto Yagi was a lucky boy who accidentally obtained a scroll containing methods for chakra extraction and the Three Body Techniques—the fundamentals of ninja training. He has diligently trained for over twenty years since the age of ten, but unfortunately, lacking guidance and talent, he now only possesses the strength of an ordinary Chunin.

Lacking natural talent and without formal education, Yagi Nobuto's only path to advancement lies in acquiring resources. As a rogue cultivator, his only options for obtaining resources are accepting missions posted on the black market and robbing passing caravans.

It's not easy for one person to do it alone, so he gathered three other low-level ninja and rogue cultivators to form a gang that specializes in robbing passing caravans.

Their original targets were only small caravans with weak defenses. They couldn't afford to rob medium-sized caravans like Ishimura Yukito's, which were escorted by Konoha ninjas.

But this time, seeing that Ishimura Yukito's sizable caravan was only escorted by three kids, Yagi Nobuto also set his sights on them.