Akihiro was saying goodbye to his mother at the door of their home. She wrapped him in a strong embrace, as if she wanted to convey all her strength and love in that gesture.

  —Be careful on your mission and look after your teammates —she said, gently stroking her son's head while still holding him in her arms.

  Akihiro nodded with a smile; it was clear he wasn’t too worried.

  —Don’t worry, Mom. It's a simple mission; I’m just going to Konoha —he continued—. I promise I'll come back safe and sound —he replied, trying to ease his mother's anxiety.

  However, deep down, he was more excited than anything else. After all, it was Konoha, the Hidden Leaf Vilge, the pce where all the main events of the original story unfold. Although his impression of that pce had changed a lot over the years and he had understood many things he didn't grasp before, he still wished to visit it at least once in his life.

  Of course, as with any ninja mission, anything could happen along the way.

  His mother smiled and released him, though her eyes still shone with contained tears. Still, she was happy that her little boy was growing up to become a true ninja on his first trip outside the vilge.

  —Of course, son. Good luck on your mission.

  Akihiro gave her one st strong hug and separated from her, running toward the vilge entrance. It took him only a few minutes to arrive, which surprised him to some extent; he noticed the improvement in his body, as that distance would have taken a normal person a little over ten minutes to run at full speed.

  Immediately, he spotted his teammates and joined them.

  —Hi, Akihiro —Hiroshi greeted him.

  Akihiro returned the greeting and asked, —Where’s Miyuki? She’s not te, is she? —he said, a bit worried.

  —Surprisingly not; she’s talking with the person we’re escorting —Hiroshi replied.

  Akihiro nodded and did a final check of his gear.

  —Hey, Hiroshi —he called to his companion.

  —Yeah? What’s up? —Hiroshi asked.

  —Aside from the military rations, aren’t we bringing any other food? —Akihiro inquired.

  Hiroshi shrugged; he didn’t know the answer.

  —Probably just things like jerky or canned food —Hiroshi suggested.

  Akihiro nodded in understanding. He looked around, searching for someone.

  —Where’s Aiko? —he asked.

  Hiroshi shrugged again. —No idea; they haven’t arrived yet.

  —That’s... odd —Akihiro murmured. Aiko wasn’t the type to be te, especially for an important mission.

  —Don’t worry, they’re just taking care of a few things. You guys should get ready; it’ll be a long trip to Konoha —Miyuki's voice suddenly came from behind them.

  They turned around and saw Miyuki walking toward them.

  —Did you finish? —Hiroshi asked, referring to her conversation with the target.

  —Yeah, the target was a bit annoyed that a team of kids was escorting him, but with a little friendly conversation, I managed to convince him —Miyuki replied with a smile.

  Akihiro shook his head; he didn’t want to know what Miyuki had done to convince him.

  The group waited for a while, and finally, Aiko arrived.

  —Hi —Aiko greeted the group.

  —Hi, you’re te —Akihiro commented while responding to their greeting.

  —It’s a long trip; I had to get everything ready for my return —Aiko said.

  —What do you mean by that? —Akihiro asked, a bit confused.

  —It doesn’t matter. How long until we leave?

  —We were originally going to set off at sunrise, but the target had some issues, so we got deyed —Miyuki commented.

  —That will make it take longer.

  —Yes, but there’s not much we can do about it; once we accepted the mission, unless you want to abandon it and face issues with the higher-ups, we can only wait.

  The group continued chatting until finally a man in what looked like expensive clothing approached. Apparently, he was the target to be escorted.

  —Can we depart now? Are you ready? —he asked, simply wanting an answer.

  —Yes, sir, we are prepared.

  The group immediately stood up, with Miyuki at the front.

  Without further dey, they set off. The target was in a medium-sized carriage filled with boxes containing various products for export.

  As soon as the group set out, they encountered a forest. Kusa was surrounded by a vast forest that served as a good hiding pce. Unfortunately, it would only be a perfect hideout if it weren't for the two rge vilges nearby with ninjas experienced enough to find the small vilge of Kusa.

  The group walked in front of the carriage, with Aiko at the front, Akihiro on the right, and Hiroshi on the left. Miyuki was next to the target, peeking out from time to time to ensure there were no ambushes along the way.

  The mission continued in this manner until nightfall. Since walking in the middle of the night was too dangerous even for a ninja, they decided to stop and rest until dawn.

  —This was more boring than I expected —Hiroshi commented.

  —I agree —Akihiro nodded. While he didn’t expect to fight rogue ninjas, bandits, or anything else on the first day, just walking and constantly checking their surroundings was exhausting.

  I understand now why there aren’t many ninjas; if this were constant, anyone would want to quit and be a simple civilian.

  —You should enjoy this time of peace; when a war comes or they send you on rank B missions, you'll want to come back to these rank C missions —Miyuki commented as she approached. —Here, eat this —she offered a piece of jerky to everyone.

  Each took a few strips.

  —Since we have chakra, we can go without food for a while, but that’s not good in the long run. So we’ll stop at a vilge to eat something more appropriate —Miyuki expined.

  Akihiro nodded and tried the jerky. The texture was very tough and not very appetizing, and the taste wasn’t much better. He could only eat it with his mind switched off, ignoring the fvor.

  —Aiko, stay awake with me to keep watch. Hiroshi and Akihiro, sleep for now; I’ll wake you when it’s your turn.

  Everyone agreed and went to sleep. At midnight, Hiroshi and Akihiro were awakened, taking the watch until dawn, when they set off immediately.