Chapter 050: Taking a C-Rank Mission as the First Assignment?

In the end, Kakashi did not make things difficult for Sakura any further, letting Naruto and Sasuke introduce themselves first.

“My name is Naruto Uzumaki. My preferences are ninjutsu and ninja tool combat. I see myself as a firepower specialist, commander, and quartermaster.”

“My name is Sasuke Uchiha. My preferences are taijutsu and genjutsu combat. I see myself as an assault specialist, scout, and marksman.”

Kakashi nodded.

“Alright, I understand. I’ll train you according to how you see yourselves, but have you thought about this? Once you’re capable of standing on your own, how will you build your own teams?”

“I have thought about it. I plan to—”

“That’s enough, no need to tell me.” Kakashi raised a hand to stop Naruto. “As long as you have a plan in your heart, that’s all that matters. I don’t need to know.”

He then turned his gaze to Sakura.

Sakura opened her mouth, ready to mimic Naruto and Sasuke’s answers, but she was completely at a loss as to what preferences and self-positioning even meant.

Seeing her confusion, Kakashi said, “Alright, don’t trouble yourself over it.”

“I know you haven’t formed your own style yet, nor do you know your role in a team. That’s perfectly normal. You haven’t been through missions or battles, you haven’t developed your own approach. It’s fine.”

“After we’ve done a few missions, you’ll understand. During this time, make sure to think carefully about how you see yourself.”

With that, and without waiting for Sakura’s response, Kakashi clapped his hands.

“Tomorrow morning at six, meet at the entrance to the Hokage’s office. I’ll take you to perform a mission.”

Sasuke raised his hand. “Don’t we need to take an exam? I heard all team leaders test their Genin before real missions…”

“No need. I know your abilities inside and out.”

These two—at this point, their minimum strength was already that of elite Jonin. And their teamwork was seamless!

If I tried to test these two, I’d probably end up dying on the training field by accident!

Kakashi had no idea that Sasuke had already awakened the Mangekyo, along with those heaven-defying ocular powers. If he knew, he’d be even more unwilling to do a strength test.

Naruto felt a bit disappointed. His mechanical hand had just undergone the finest improvements—he was looking for someone to test it on.

They arrived at the entrance of the Hokage Tower.

This time, Kakashi wasn’t late.

“What?! Their first mission is a C-rank? That’s outrageous!” Iruka, who was on duty at the mission desk, shot to his feet and pointed at Kakashi, shouting, “Naruto and the others just graduated as Genin two days ago, and were assigned a team only yesterday! Now you’re taking them on a C-rank mission? Isn’t that too much? Every other ninja does dozens of D-rank missions before moving up to C-rank!”

“What’s the big deal?” Kakashi replied. “You know full well the strength of Naruto and Sasuke. They’re more than capable of a C-rank mission. If it weren’t for village regulations, I’d take them straight to a B-rank.”

Naruto and Sasuke looked nonchalant; Sakura, however, was trembling.

Starting directly with a C-rank mission? Does that mean her ninja career would begin with bloodshed?

No wonder Iruka was so agitated. According to the regulations of the Hidden Leaf, ninja missions were generally divided into different ranks.

The criteria for ranking missions were difficulty and importance. While there was some flexibility, the typical classification was as follows:

D-rank missions were the simplest, usually menial tasks like finding lost pets or cleaning up garbage. The rewards were low, suitable for fresh Genin to familiarize themselves with teamwork and division of labor.

C-rank missions were more difficult, involving escorting people or goods. Usually, it meant protecting civilians or non-combat materials such as building supplies, small commodities, or grain. Of course, sometimes you’d encounter some foolish attackers—meaning combat and killing couldn’t be avoided. The commission fee was higher, and even after splitting it, Genin could receive twenty or thirty thousand ryo.

B-rank missions were truly challenging, generally involving combat with enemy-hired ninja. Normally, these were missing-nin or ordinary ninja scraping by. Most of these opponents were at Genin or Chunin level, and with loot included, the payout could be over a hundred thousand ryo.

A-rank missions were very difficult, almost akin to acts of war, often involving the safety of the village or country. At this level, there would be large-scale ninja forces on the battlefield—the backbone of a hidden village’s military. You might even encounter renowned Jonin. For an ordinary ninja, this was nearly a death sentence. Such life-risking missions paid handsomely, with rewards of seven or eight hundred thousand ryo at least.

S-rank missions were the highest level, usually involving national secrets or security and carrying significant political consequences. For example, assassinating important officials like daimyos or city lords, stealing classified documents such as city defense blueprints, raiding granaries, armories, or fortresses. The payout was immense; if each member got less than a million or two, no one would even consider it. Generally, only large villages like the Hidden Leaf could take such commissions.

For instance, the attempted kidnapping of Hinata by the Cloud Village would have been considered an S-rank mission—stealing a bloodline limit from a hidden village, seizing strategic resources, and regardless of success or failure, risking a ninja world war.

But the Raikage chose a public ruse and a covert ploy—on the surface, it was an attempted theft, but in reality, it was a diplomatic provocation, a classic war of attrition. So, the team they sent was a bunch of nobodies—even a three-year-old Naruto could have taken them out solo.

The result was a disaster for the Cloud Village. If their slow-burn tactics had worked, that would have been one thing, but they failed, losing both face and resources.

Now, the entire ninja world knew the Cloud Village was the kind of fool that would send a bogus Jonin and a bunch of Chunin and Genin to carry out S-rank missions—leading to a plummet in mission commissions.

As for missions even more difficult than this—those beyond S-rank—they couldn’t really be called missions anymore, but achievements for the annals of history. Surviving such a mission, let alone completing it, was a miracle. In other words, it was a death sentence.

For example, assassinating Hashirama Senju.

First, never mind figuring out how to resurrect Hashirama just to kill him again—the real problem is, who could possibly defeat him? Even if you hit him with your fiercest techniques, he’d be unscathed. But when Hashirama’s giant wood golem comes crashing down, you’d be flattened into a pancake just a few millimeters thick.

It was precisely because Hashirama was terrifyingly powerful that Kakuzu of the Hidden Waterfall Village gained notoriety—he claimed to have fought Hashirama and survived. Though everyone joked that he had merely flung a shuriken from a safe distance.