Naruto, my father's name is Uchiha Madara.

Page 31

Nine-Tails yawned: "Is it really necessary to go to all this trouble just to find a cat?"

Now it had figured out how to find the cat. It stood outside Konoha Village, activated its Tailed Beast Ball, and warned the entire village: "Wangcai, do you want to be destroyed along with Konoha Village, or come with me?"

Half an hour later, in the back alley of the commercial street.

"Found it!" Sakura whispered, "It's behind that trash can!"

A large orange cat is lazily sunbathing.

The name tag hanging around his neck clearly read "Wangcai" (meaning "Prosperity").

However, its eyes revealed a sense of world-weariness and vicissitude.

"Alright, watch this!" Naruto formed hand seals, "Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

Hundreds of Narutos instantly filled the entire alley.

Wangcai's cat eyes widened instantly, and all its fur stood on end.

"Go! Catch that cat!"

An unprecedented battle between humans and cats has begun.

The shadow clones surrounded them from all sides.

Wangcai, with its amazing agility, weaved through the crowd, occasionally swatting Naruto, who was closest to it, with its claws.

"Ah! My face!"

"It ran to the left!"

"No, it's on the right!"

Sasuke and Sakura stood on the rooftop, calmly directing the battle.

Sakura kept throwing shuriken to block Wangcai's retreat, while Sasuke used his Sharingan to predict its every move.

"Now!" Sasuke suddenly shouted.

The three Narutos pounced at the same time, finally cornering Wangcai.

One of the shadow clones reacted quickly and grabbed the plump orange cat.

"Gotcha!" Naruto shouted excitedly.

Wangcai rolled its eyes listlessly in the shadow clone's arms, as if to say, "Foolish humans."

At the mission reception desk, a noblewoman with an almost square figure rushed over excitedly.

"My little Wangcai! Mommy misses you so much!"

She pulled the orange cat into her arms and rubbed her face against its fur.

Wangcai's expression changed from utter despair to utter hopelessness, his limbs drooping limply, looking like a squashed plush toy.

Naruto's lips twitched as he watched: "Now I understand why Wangcai always tries to run away..."

Sakura muttered to herself, "This cat doesn't have it easy either."

Sasuke turned his face away, trying hard to suppress his laughter.

Kakashi calmly accepted the reward and said to the three of them, "Alright, we still have three D-rank missions waiting for us today."

"Huh? Another one?" Naruto wailed.

Just as they were about to leave, the Third Hokage walked in with his hands behind his back.

"Three generations of grandfathers!"

Naruto immediately rushed over: "Give us a harder task! Since the day before yesterday, it's been either cleaning or weeding, and now it's finding a cat..."

Sasuke, unusually, agreed, "Indeed. With our abilities, we can do more important tasks."

Sakura mustered her courage and said, "Hokage-sama, we really tried our best!"

The third generation chuckled and stroked his beard: "Oh? I heard you guys completed a task that took other groups half a day in just one hour?"

Kakashi nodded: "Thanks to Naruto's shadow clones and Sasuke's tactical arrangements."

Inside the sealed space, Madara scoffed disdainfully, "Something to be proud of in such a trivial matter?"

Minato said with satisfaction, "They cooperated very well."

After a moment of contemplation, the third generation pulled out a scroll from his sleeve: "Actually, I had already prepared a C-rank mission for you."

"really?"

Naruto's eyes lit up immediately.

“But…” the Third Hokage’s expression suddenly turned serious, “A Rank C mission means you might encounter real danger. Are you sure you want to accept it?”

The three exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Of course!"

The Third Hokage smiled and handed the scroll to Kakashi: "Then, we'll set off early tomorrow morning to escort bridge-building expert Tazuna back to the Land of Waves."

After leaving the mission hall, Naruto excitedly danced around: "Finally, a decent mission!"

Although Sasuke appeared calm on the surface, his eyes gleamed with anticipation.

Sakura, meanwhile, has already begun planning what supplies she needs to prepare.

Inside the sealed space, Minato suddenly frowned: "The Land of Waves? I remember that place has always been closed off. How come there are missions from there?"

Madara looked at Minato: "What do you mean?"

Minato replied, "The Land of Waves is a country without ninjas. When I took over as Hokage, the Land of Waves declared itself closed off from the outside world."

Ban scoffed, "Then suddenly a mission came along, huh!"

The Nine-Tailed Fox pricked up its ears: "I smell trouble."

In the distance, the setting sun bathed the leaves in gold. Unbeknownst to Class 7, their first C-rank mission would be far more dangerous than they imagined…

Chapter 36 is not a C-rank mission in terms of difficulty.

The gate to Konoha Village gleamed with an ancient luster in the morning light, and a thin mist shrouded the stone pillars like a veil.

Naruto squatted on the boundary marker by the roadside, idly carving the words "Hokage" with a kunai;

Sasuke leaned against the doorpost, closed his eyes to rest, his fingers unconsciously stroking his ninja tool pouch;

Sakura checked the bandages and antidote in the medical kit for the third time.

"Hey! You're the ninjas who accepted this mission?"

A hoarse voice, carrying a strong smell of alcohol, broke through the fog.

The three of them looked up at the same time and saw an old man with gray hair and messy hair staggering towards them.

His hunched posture made his already short stature appear even more stooped.

His cloudy whites were bloodshot, and the bottle he held in his hand swayed with each step, spilling amber liquid.

Without a doubt, this person was their client, bridge-building expert Dazner.

"Old man, you're drunk this early in the morning. You're not going to throw up on me later, are you?" Naruto pinched his nose and jumped off the boundary marker, dramatically waving his hands to dispel the smell of alcohol.

Tazuna squinted, peering at the three men over his filthy glasses: "Is Konoha short of people? Sending three greenhorns to escort me?"

"What did you say?!"

Naruto instantly bristled, his azure eyes widening in shock. "I'm going to be Hokage! A million times better than a drunkard like you!"

Sasuke looked at Tazuna with a cold expression. If it weren't for his upbringing telling him not to swear, he would have liked to be like Naruto.

"Please, you two, don't do this!"

Sakura hurriedly stepped in between, bowing to Tazuna and saying, "Mr. Tazuna, we are professionally trained ninjas and will ensure your safe arrival in the Land of Waves!"

"Professional training?"

Tazuna chuckled, unscrewed the bottle, and took a swig: "This blond brat's blustering way of acting? I doubt he can even hold a kunai properly—"

Naruto suddenly appeared in front of Dazuna, the tip of his kunai only half an inch from his nose.

Dazner's mockery froze on his face, and the bottle fell to the ground with a "crash" and shattered.

"Do you think I have it firmly in my grasp now?" Naruto grinned, revealing his sharp fangs.

Inside the sealed space, Madara was very satisfied with Naruto's actions: "That's it! I've been annoyed with that guy for a long time."

Minato was somewhat helpless, but he could only remind him, "Naruto, you shouldn't do that again, or your reputation will suffer."

Kakashi appeared behind everyone unnoticed, the pages of "Icha Icha Paradise" turning gently in the morning breeze: "Ah, everyone's here?"

"Your student almost murdered the client!" Tazuna pointed at Naruto in exasperation.

Kakashi's single eye curved into a crescent moon as he spoke coldly with a grin: "But what I saw was that you provoked me first. By the way, damaging a quest scroll will cost you three times the deposit."

He glanced meaningfully at the broken pieces of the wine bottle on the ground.

Dazner pulled out crumpled banknotes with a grim face.

Two hours after leaving Konoha, the fog in the forest gradually thickened.

Naruto led the way, holding the last rice ball he had stolen from Tazuna.

Sasuke stayed behind, his dark eyes constantly scanning the shadows between the tree canopies.

Sakura walked beside Tazuna, her fingers always resting on her ninja tool pouch.

"Hey kid, hurry up!"

Tazna urged for the fifth time, "At this speed, we won't reach the shore before dark!"

Naruto turned around and made a face: "If you're so tough, why don't you carry that heavy toolbox in front of you, you old geezer!"

He patted the patched metal box behind him, which belonged to Dazner.

"That's a precision instrument! If you break it, you couldn't afford to pay for it even if you sold yourself!"

"Huh? Who are you talking about—"

Sasuke suddenly grabbed Naruto's shoulder, his eyes fixed on the pavement ahead. "Something's wrong with the puddle."

Everyone followed his gaze—in the dry forest of midsummer, an exceptionally clear puddle lay quietly in the middle of the road, its surface devoid of even a single fallen leaf.