Akihiro arrived at the training field and found Hiroshi and Aiko deep in conversation.

  —Hey, has Miyuki arrived yet? —Akihiro asked as he approached them.

  —No, they still haven’t shown up —Hiroshi replied, frowning and crossing his arms. —They were supposed to be here on time, and yet they’re still not here.

  Aiko, gazing into the horizon, added with a sigh —They told us to come early, and yet they haven’t even shown up.

  Akihiro nodded, feeling a mix of annoyance and understanding. Although Miyuki was their teacher and guided them in their training, their retionship with time had always been somewhat flexible. They were a great ninja, but their ck of punctuality often put their students in difficult situations. As genins, they had to stick to the established schedules, even if Miyuki didn’t.

  —I guess we should train a bit while we wait —suggested Hiroshi, trying to mask his frustration.

  —I’d rather do something than wait an hour for them to arrive —Akihiro commented in agreement.

  Aiko joined in, and the three began warming up, doing stretches and some basic movements.

  Finally, after more than half an hour, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed in the distance. They all stopped and looked toward the noise.

  —Sorry, guys, I’m te —Miyuki said, smiling and apologizing as they adjusted their headband. —Are you already training?

  —We didn’t have anything to do, so we started a bit early —Aiko commented.

  —You don’t have to train today —Miyuki replied as they pulled out a rge scroll from their back, which they had just realized they had.

  —What is that? —Hiroshi asked.

  —A scroll —Miyuki responded.

  Hiroshi rolled his eyes. —I know that; what I’m asking is why you brought it.

  —Oh, look at this —they said, and with a wave of their hand, several smaller scrolls flew out. —Okay, this one is for Aiko, this one for Hiroshi, and this st one for Akihiro —they said as they distributed the scrolls.

  Akihiro and the others looked at the scroll in their hands with confusion.

  —Open them and see what’s inside —they commented while gesturing.

  They exchanged gnces as they opened the scroll, surprised as they read its contents and lifted their eyes toward Miyuki.

  —They’re your rewards. Even though I arrived a bit te, here you go.

  Akihiro looked at the scroll in his hands. It was a jutsu called Material Clone Jutsu. It was the first time he had heard of this jutsu, but as he read it, he could understand it. It could be said to be an improved version of the Clone Jutsu, although not as powerful as the Shadow Clone Jutsu. The clones are material, and unlike simple clones that are illusions, they can attack and distract. However, they cannot use chakra, which automatically makes them inferior to the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and they also cannot share memories, so they aren’t useful for gathering information.

  In exchange, the Material Clone Jutsu was much easier to use and hardly consumed any chakra, just a bit more than the Clone Jutsu.

  —Thank you, Sensei —Akihiro said to Miyuki, genuinely grateful. He hadn’t expected much, considering it was a D-rank jutsu, but what he received was truly useful, and he wanted to learn it immediately.

  Not just him; both Hiroshi and Aiko were happy with their rewards. Although Hiroshi’s affinity was fire, Miyuki had also given him a lightning jutsu, encouraging him to pursue what he liked while urging him to learn a fire jutsu.

  Aiko didn’t reveal what they received, and Akihiro didn’t think to ask.

  —I’m gd you like it —Miyuki said. —You’d better keep those jutsus for now because besides that, I have another reward for you —they commented as they took out a piece of paper.

  The first to notice what it was was Aiko.

  —A C-rank mission?

  Everyone froze upon hearing what they said. It wasn’t a D-rank mission like the ones they had been doing for half a month, but an actual C-rank mission.

  —It’s a simple escort mission to Konohagakure. We’ll probably encounter some bandits on the way, so we need to be careful —Miyuki expined while detailing the mission.

  But Akihiro wasn’t paying attention to that; his mind was focused on the word Konohagakure. The Hidden Leaf Vilge, the main setting of the first part of Naruto. He didn’t know how to feel about it, as this would be the first time he would leave the vilge, and the first pce he would have to go would be Konoha itself. It was simply astonishing.

  —Akihiro, are you listening? —Miyuki asked, noticing that he was lost in thought.

  —Oh, sorry —he replied, acknowledging that he was distracted.

  Miyuki sighed. —It’s fine, I’ll repeat this ter anyway. Just take this —they commented as they handed each of them another scroll. —It’s a sealing scroll. It has everything you need for the mission. You’d better keep it safe because this is the only time I’m giving them to you; next time, you’ll have to buy them yourselves, so check the contents carefully.

  They nodded, and once that was done, they scattered to prepare. The mission would start tomorrow at dawn, so they had the whole day today to get ready.

  Akihiro took that time to spend a warm day with his mother, who was distressed at the thought of her son leaving the vilge for a mission. He had to talk a lot to calm her down.

  That night, he took some time to review the contents of the scroll, which included a set of kunai, shuriken, ninja ropes, some explosive tags, smoke bombs, and a small vial filled with military ration pills.

  The tter were special pills that nourished the body and could replenish chakra. They were made of powerful stimunts and nutrients that were absorbed almost instantaneously by the body of the person who ingested them, and it was said that they allowed the user to keep fighting for three days and three nights without rest. At the end of the three-day effect, the user would colpse from exhaustion. These pills were only used in hostile environments or prolonged combat, so having a vial just in case was the minimum acceptable.

  Besides that, there was also a small bag for storing weapons and tools. Although it didn’t seem very rge on the outside, its interior had much more space than it appeared, which surprised him. After examining it, he didn’t understand how it worked, but he ignored it and began to store everything he needed inside.

  Once everything was stored, he didn’t notice a substantial change in weight, which caught his attention even more. But since it was already very te and he would have to get up early tomorrow, he decided to go to sleep and ask Miyuki how the bag worked.

  AnnouncementI originally pnned to head straight to the mission, but then I remembered that I had set aside the reward. So, I thought I’d include it here instead and move on to the mission in the next chapter.