Being a rogue ninja is worse than being Hokage.

The Shadow Clone Technique had just been dispelled when Kakashi, who was supposed to be dead, reappeared before everyone.

The three members of Team 7 reacted differently to Kakashi's appearance.

Naruto wore an expression of complete indifference, while Sasuke remained expressionless, showing no emotional fluctuation.

Sakura, however, seemed very happy.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Upon seeing that Kakashi was unharmed, Sakura shouted excitedly.

"Sakura is more concerned about me."

At least there was a little girl who cared about her teacher's safety, which made Kakashi very gratified.

Tazuna, however, was puzzled by the fact that Kakashi was still alive.

He stared at Kakashi for a long time, but still couldn't tell if Kakashi was a human or a ghost: "Weren't you dead?"

"That's a substitution technique that uses transformation magic."

Kakashi explained.

Tazuna looked toward the spot where Kakashi had died. The bloody "corpse" that had been scattered all over the ground had now turned into pieces of wood of varying sizes.

Having answered Tazuna's question, Kakashi turned his attention to the three members of Team 7.

"First, I apologize for not fighting earlier. I'm really sorry. But I also wanted to take this opportunity to test how you would handle things in actual combat."

Naruto and Sasuke didn't react much to Kakashi's words, but Sakura quietly lowered her eyelids.

Seeing the three's reactions, Kakashi continued, "Naruto and Sasuke did a great job! To be honest, your handling of the situation in actual combat completely exceeded my expectations!"

Kakashi recalled how Naruto, during the survival exercise, had also fallen under a genjutsu while trying to save Sakura.

And Naruto, who uses stratagems in the ever-changing battle against the Demon Brothers.

“Naruto, your actions this time were completely different from the drills. You’ve really grown. This time, after you sensed the enemy, you not only saved Sakura, but you also managed to use Shadow Clones to wait for the right moment to win after I was ‘dead’.”

They summarized Naruto's previous battle.

Kakashi then looked at Sasuke:

"Sasuke too. You, who originally regarded Naruto and Sakura as a burden, not only protected Sakura this time, but also cooperated with Naruto without needing to discuss after discovering that Naruto was hiding with the substitution jutsu. That really impressed me."

"Such cooperation is very difficult—many ninjas who have worked together for a long time cannot achieve the same level of teamwork as you and Naruto. This is something to be proud of!"

Kakashi's tone was full of praise for Naruto and Sasuke.

This made Sakura, who was listening nearby, lower her head even further.

"Kakashi-sensei, I...!"

After gritting her teeth and hesitating for a moment, Sakura, realizing that she had not only failed to contribute in the battle but had even become a burden, looked up again as if she had come to her senses, about to say something.

Kakashi interrupted her.

Kakashi smiled and looked at Sakura: "Sakura didn't do as well as Naruto and Sasuke this time, but she was still very impressive."

Sakura, who was prepared to receive a severe reprimand, was taken aback when she heard Kakashi's praise.

"In fact, Sakura, this kind of reaction is how you should react in your first real battle. When faced with an unexpected battle, you panic because of the 'death' of the strongest Jonin teacher, but when you find yourself having to fight desperately, you fight back and do your best to help in the battle."

Kakashi looked at the kunai that Sakura still held in her hand.

Although Sakura did not immediately adjust her emotions and fully devote herself to the battle like Naruto and Sasuke did after Kakashi "died".

But after realizing this, Sakura immediately began preparing for battle. Knowing that her strength was inferior to Naruto and Sasuke, Sakura assigned herself to the task of protecting Tazuna.

It is precisely because Sakura has resumed fulfilling her duties.

Sasuke was able to break free from his protective duties and carelessly shoot a kunai, allowing Naruto to successfully unleash the decisive ninjutsu.

This shows that the three students in Class 7 have understood the true meaning of "teamwork".

Kakashi, acting as an elder, reached out and gently patted Sakura's head, saying, "Naruto and Sasuke didn't think you were a burden, so you don't need to belittle yourself. People grow by learning from experience, and I believe that next time you won't be like this battle, and you will definitely become stronger."

Listening to Kakashi's comforting words, Sakura looked up at Sasuke and Naruto.

Sasuke stood with his hands in his pockets, still wearing that cool expression, but when Sakura gave him a probing look, he nodded slightly to her.

Naruto smiled at Sakura.

...Speaking of which, Sakura remembers that Naruto used to be like Sasuke, not liking to show his emotions.

But after joining Team 7 with Naruto and having actual contact with him, Sakura discovered that Naruto occasionally smiles nowadays.

Whenever he smiles, Sakura inexplicably feels at ease.

On the rooftop of the Ninja Academy, Sakura, who was about to give up before even taking the exam, decided to participate in the survival exercise because of Naruto's smile, despite Kakashi's threatening words.

During the survival exercise, Kakashi announced that they had failed the test, but it was Naruto's smile and "disregard" of the rules that allowed Team 7 to successfully become ninjas.

And it remains so now.

"Naruto, thank you for saving me just now."

Sakura said this was her heartfelt gratitude.

Then she looked at Kakashi and repeated her earlier words of resolve, which had been interrupted: "Kakashi-sensei, I won't do that again next time!"

"I believe you."

Kakashi's smile deepened.

Pulling Sakura out of her self-blame, she glanced at the three members of Class 7 who were getting along well.

Kakashi stopped smiling and looked at Tazuna seriously, saying, "Mr. Tazuna, I have something I'd like to ask you."

Chapter 14 The Mission Continues

Let's briefly summarize the mission levels that ninjas perform.

The missions performed by ninjas were divided into five levels according to the three ninja ranks: Genin, Chunin, and Jonin.

Following the order of the 26 letters, the difficulty levels are from high to low, with four levels: A, B, C, and D.

And S-level missions, which are more difficult than A-level missions.

Needless to say, D-rank missions are the only missions the three members of Team 7 have been carrying out since they became ninjas two months ago.

While D-rank missions are also ninja missions, it's more accurate to say that ordinary people can complete missions of this level—it's just that "if you hire a ninja to do it, things will be resolved much faster."

Just like Mrs. Shijimi, who always loses her pet cat, if her cat Koko is hiding on the roof, an ordinary person might have to think of another way.

But a ninja only needs to leap lightly to stand on the roof.

Therefore, D-rank missions pose no danger to ninjas.

They mostly do odd jobs like taking care of children, finding pets, or even helping with farm work.

C-rank missions are somewhat related to the nature of ninjas, and violence may be used in these missions. However, the targets of violence by ninjas in C-rank missions are only ordinary people who pose a threat of force.

Using ninjutsu to deal with these ordinary people is simply adults bullying children.

"...Mr. Tazuna, when you made a request to Konoha, you must have learned about the ninja mission ranking system from the Konoha staff who were responsible for issuing your request, right?"

After disposing of the Demon Brothers' bodies, Kakashi looked at the restless Tazuna and asked him a question.

Naruto used his Mind Decapitation Technique to imprison the two demon brothers, sparing their lives.

But as the ninja who attacked them, and also a rogue ninja, Kakashi couldn't let the two demon brothers live forever.

Having obtained the necessary information from the Demon Brothers, Kakashi disposed of them on the spot.

This is the norm in the ninja world: killing and being killed.

Even Konoha, the most peaceful of the five great nations, firmly adheres to this rule of survival.

Having obtained the information, Kakashi changed his previously easygoing attitude and confronted Tazuna in an interrogative tone.

Tazuna remained silent, as if he thought that as long as he adopted an attitude of neither admitting nor denying, he could evade Kakashi's questioning.

“…Mr. Tazuna, I know you may have some unspeakable difficulties. But we made the contract with you because the request you reported to Konoha was a C-rank mission.”

Kakashi glanced at Naruto and the others before continuing, "Depending on the mission's level, the village will assign ninjas of corresponding strength to carry out the mission—my subordinates just graduated from the Ninja Academy not long ago. Because your mission is a C-rank, the Hokage assigned my team to this mission."

"You concealed the true difficulty of the mission, which has reached level B."

According to regulations, even C-rank ninja missions can be assigned to lower-ranking ninjas.

B-rank missions that require fighting ninjas can only be accepted by ninjas with the strength of Chunin.

The commission cap for a D-level mission is 50,000 taels.

The minimum commission for a C-level mission is 30,000 taels.

The commission for a Level B mission is between 80,000 and 200,000 taels of silver.

However, it's almost impossible to hire a ninja for a B-rank mission with the lowest possible commission.

Just by looking at the commission rates for ninja-level missions, Tazna's reason for lying about the mission level becomes self-evident.

Tazuna's commission to Konoha was between the high price of a D-rank mission and the low price of a C-rank mission.

He hired ninjas to carry out B-rank missions at such an ambiguous price.

“This isn’t just about the commission. Providing false information will cause us ninjas to make the wrong judgment. Your request is beyond the capabilities of my team.”

Kakashi characterized Tazuna's actions.

This matter is extremely serious, and its severity needs no further explanation.

No matter what unspeakable difficulties Dazner may have, or how he tries to whitewash his actions.

What this drunken old man did was essentially still "pushing young children into a fire pit."

Tazuna clearly knew how irresponsible his actions were, both to the ninjas protecting him and to himself.

If Tazner's previous silence was intentional, now he truly has nothing to say.

Seeing that Dazna was unwilling to discuss things with him, Kakashi immediately stopped considering the feelings of his client.

Kakashi turned his gaze back to the three members of Team 7: "This mission is too early for you. Let's go back to the village first. I will report the details to the Hokage."

Naruto had no objection to this. The battle between Team 7 and the Demon Brothers was enough for Kakashi to include them in the upcoming Chunin Exams roster.