A week passed by in the blink of an eye.
Being Kushina's disciples was a double-edged sword for Saiki and the others.
Kushina was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki; she wasn't allowed to leave the village whenever she pleased.
As the "nuclear weapons" of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Jinchuriki held immense strategic importance.
This meant that if one appeared outside the village, they became the primary target for assassination by foreign enemies.
Since Kushina was their Jonin leader but couldn't leave, Saiki and his teammates were effectively grounded too.
This didn't bother Saiki much—it just meant lower-level missions and less pay.
However, with the Third Great Ninja War looming, a lack of experience outside the village was dangerous.
For Shizune and Genhai, never having "seen blood" or real combat was potentially fatal.
Saiki gathered intelligence and realized that while they were stuck inside, their classmates were moving out.
Kurenai, Rin, and Obito Uchiha had already begun receiving missions beyond the village walls.
Inside the Leaf, Saiki's team was stuck catching cats, walking dogs, and babysitting.
Shizune and Genhai were enthusiastic for the first two days, but the children soon grew restless.
Even Saiki himself began to feel a slight itch to see what lay beyond the gates.
He knew it was dangerous out there, but he was curious about the reality of a field mission.
Fortunately, Kushina had finally begun teaching them high-level Ninjutsu.
"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"
BOOM!
Genhai successfully completed his hand signs and gathered chakra in his throat.
He spat out a massive sphere of water that slammed into the river, sending plumes of spray into the sky.
"Well done! You've pretty much mastered the basics of this jutsu," Kushina noted with a nod.
Genhai scratched his head sheepishly and grinned.
"Hehe, thanks for the teaching, Sensei Kushina! But I'm still a dummy compared to the Boss and Shizune."
"Don't compare yourself to them; they've already practiced this stuff before," Kushina said, shooting Saiki a look.
Kushina was actually a very generous teacher; most Jonin leaders rarely taught their students specific jutsu.
In the original series, the "Konoha 11" learned quickly because they were all children of prominent clans.
Commoners rarely became powerful because they had to "buy" every jutsu through mission credits and hard work.
Facing Kushina's gaze, Saiki just smiled.
"That's right, Genhai! It took you only two days—that's impressive. It took me just as long to learn it."
Shizune nodded in agreement.
The three of them shared a strange affinity with Kushina: they all possessed Water-natured chakra.
Without that shared affinity, Kushina would have had a very difficult time teaching them anything useful.
The reason Kushina looked at Saiki with such annoyance was that she realized she had nothing left to teach him.
Except for Sealing Jutsu, Saiki was already beyond her standard curriculum.
She secretly blamed Tsunade for letting Saiki browse through high-level scrolls so freely.
Of course, Saiki had paid a price: he had to feed Tsunade like a pampered princess every single day.
Despite her occasional irritation, Kushina genuinely liked Saiki.
When Minato Namikaze was in the village, he always bragged about his student Kakashi's brilliance.
Now, Kushina felt she had her own "monster" of a student to brag about.
Kushina's dream was to be Hokage, and so was Minato's—she saw him as her rival.
Though she now realized her status as Jinchuriki barred her from the office, she wanted Saiki to surpass Kakashi.
Still, Kushina wouldn't let that affection show on her face.
"Get your real body over here. I have some good news for you all," she said, looking grumpy.
"Good news? You can just tell me now," Saiki's clone replied.
Smack!
Kushina slapped his shoulder so hard Saiki stumbled, nearly causing the Flower Clone to disperse.
"When I tell you to do something, you do it! Stop talking back!"
Saiki was eventually forced to yield to Kushina's overwhelming physical dominance.
"Fine, fine. I'm coming back now."
The clone dissolved into flower petals, and moments later, the real Saiki emerged from the forest.
"Sensei Kushina, what is it?"
Kushina practiced "individualized instruction" because Saiki, Shizune, and Genhai were on completely different levels.
Genhai was a standard Genin, Shizune was much higher thanks to Tsunade's training, and Saiki... well, not even Kushina knew his true ceiling.
After the bell test, she had tried to find excuses to "discipline" him, but without using chakra, she couldn't catch him.
She had nothing left to teach him but Sealing Jutsu, so she usually let him train on his own.
"Who is this?"
A woman stood there with a large grey dog at her side.
She wasn't particularly tall, wearing the standard green Konoha flak jacket and dark brown spiky hair.
She had red eyeshadow and the distinct triangular face markings of the Inuzuka Clan.
She wasn't a conventional beauty, but she radiated a raw, wild energy.
"Yo! I'm Tsume Inuzuka, a Chunin. Since Kushina can't leave the village, I'll be your leader for a while."
"Really?!"
Hearing that they could finally take missions outside the village, Shizune and Genhai's eyes lit up.
They turned to Kushina in confusion. "Sensei, what's going on?"
Kushina confirmed it with a nod. "For certain reasons, I cannot leave the village easily."
"I saw how much you wanted to go out, so I spoke with the Hokage. From now on, Tsume will lead you on external missions."
Initially, Kushina had tried to argue for her own release, but Hiruzen Sarutobi had shut that down immediately.
However, Hiruzen knew he couldn't keep Saiki's team cooped up forever while the war intensified.
He needed every shinobi he could get. Eventually, amid Kushina's shouting, he agreed to let Tsume take them.
Saiki didn't care about the change, but Shizune and Genhai—raised on the "Bonds" ideology—looked sad.
Saiki maintained a neutral stance, caring more about the dog than the team dynamic.
Since the dog appeared, Saiki felt it watching him with an oddly knowing look.
Kushina wasn't surprised by Saiki's lack of reaction, but she felt touched by the other two.
"You're just going on missions with Tsume-senpai. You're still my students," she reassured them.
"Sensei Kushina! Sensei Tsume!"
Shizune and Genhai greeted their new leader with deep bows, and Saiki followed suit with a polite gesture.
The profession of a shinobi is a business of killing.
Since ninja do not produce goods, missions and commissions are their lifeblood and source of income.
The money for food and the resources for training all come from completing assignments.
Those who try to survive by simple pillaging usually don't last very long in this world.
The hidden villages were established precisely to manage the relationship between civilians and shinobi.
If ninja were allowed to run wild, the world would have burned down ages ago.
At the Mission Assignment Desk, Kushina and Tsume brought the team to pick their first real job.
Mission ranks are divided into S, A, B, C, and D.
S and A-rank missions are reserved for the Hokage and Jonin. Chunin handle B and C, while Genin take C and D.
Saiki's team didn't get the "Naruto treatment"—they didn't need to see Hiruzen for a simple C-rank job.
Only B-rank missions and above required a formal briefing with the Third Hokage himself.
Kushina was a recognizable figure, and people quickly made way for her at the desk.
"Ah! You're in luck. Looks like there are plenty of C-rank missions available!"
Kushina slapped Saiki's shoulder happily. He winced at her strength; she would have sent Shizune flying.
We're the ones leaving the village, why are you the excited one? Saiki thought.
Compared to the D-rank board, the pay for C-rank missions was significantly higher, starting at 100,000 Ryo.
While Shizune and Genhai scanned the board curiously, Saiki turned to Tsume Inuzuka.
"Sensei Tsume, which mission should we choose?"
The others looked to Tsume as well, as she was the acting commanding officer for this excursion.
Tsume studied the board for a moment before making a decision.
"Let's take the escort mission—taking a merchant caravan from Hot Springs Town back to the village."
Tsume had carefully weighed her options; she was responsible for their lives.
C-rank missions usually involved simple escorts or document delivery.
Many of the other missions involved crossing international borders, which was too risky in this political climate.
The Hot Springs Town mission was near the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Steam, but it was still within Fire territory.
After discussing terms with the client, they successfully secured the commission.
They would rest for the night and depart first thing in the morning.
It had been three years since Saiki arrived in this world and was brought to the Leaf by Tsunade.
For the first time, he was finally leaving the village. He felt a tiny spark of nervous anticipation.