Chapter 44: Naruto : Uchiha : Chapter 44
He could almost feel a hair or two turning gray from the sleepless nights he would have, after he signed that official paper to stop the preparations for the relocation that is.
"Kami forbid the demon that created paperwork…" he cursed and sat on his desk to clear up the growing piles of papers upon his desk before he had to go and meet the blonde boy to see what progress he had made on the scroll he had him prepare six months ago.
...
Next Morning
Missions Office
"Squad Seven reporting in for duty." Sasuke spoke up, getting a nod from the stoic Hokage who picked up a sheet listing their mission successes and then rummaged through a small pile of scrolls.
"Alright Squad Seven, a small village nearby is being troubled by bandits…" Tobirama spoke, and Sasuke instantly stiffened and narrowed his eyes on the speaking Kage.
All three genin perked up upon hearing this, listening on at what seemed like their first important mission for them after a myriad of C-rank missions.
"You all shall be traveling to the village that is half a day away from here. The mission details are in the scroll, this will be your first B-rank assignment. Do not disappoint me." he spoke up, getting a nod from all three of them with wide smiles.
Only Naruto was the one who had a confused look in his eyes, but kept his mouth shut for the time being.
Sasuke could see his eyes calculating the details of said mission in the blonde's mind and felt pride and nervousness like never before at seeing the three of them going for their first mission, still blissfully unaware as to what awaited them.
"You all wait outside, I'll have a little chat with the Hokage and join you in a minute." the jounin sensei spoke, getting a nod from the three of them while Naruto left with a lingering gaze on Sasuke and Tobirama before he left.
Sasuke opened his mouth to speak up before he was cut off as soon as his lips parted. "It is time Sasuke, it's been six months and ten missions for them. The necessary time and mission count is done.
I shall hear nothing more on the matter, you are not to interfere in this mission. Just observe after handing them their orders and report the results directly to me…" the blank voice of Tobirama spoke up and raised his hand to quiet down the retort from his old friend before it could be put up at all.
"You may leave, I've said what I wanted. You have your orders…" he spoke sternly and Sasuke pursed his lips, though the anger in his eyes wasn't lost to Tobirama who watched the man clench the door knob so tightly that it buckled under pressure before he left.
"Sasuke…" Tobirama called out, making the Sarutobi turn his gaze around and caught a flying scroll in his hand effortlessly.
"Take them there on your way back and scout this area out, think of it as a secondary mission…" he spoke making the smoking man look at the scroll in his hands comprehensively.
"Only take them there if any one of them fails their tasks and have them complete it there, else send them back before you and scout it yourself. Dismissed."
Tobirama spoke in a dismissive tone and Sarutobi walked out without a word. Both knew what it was, and as much as Sasuke hated to have to do this, he too knew it was time for them to grow up.
He walked out, putting his hand in his pocket for a cigar but decided against it. He wasn't in the mood for a smoke today. Instantly, he flicked the scroll open, his eyes scanning each and every word carefully and he drawled out a long sigh while pinching his nose.
"Alright…" he spoke up, getting the attention of the three genins chatting away excitedly and obliviously unaware of their sensei's worries.
"… let's head out, we are wasting daylight." he spoke emotionlessly, and the three nodded happily and followed him out.
...
A small civilian farming village outside the village grounds
Sasuke dropped down from tree branch when the forestry came to an end and the village came into his view. His students looked on at him a bit peeved at his abrupt stoppage.
"What's the matter sensei? Let's go, we are about…" Sakumo was cut off by the elder man mid way.
"I will not be involved in this mission whatsoever." he spoke seriously, and they looked at him in stunned disbelief but stayed silent to hear him out.
"But why sensei? Aren't you supposed to lead us…" Naruto reasoned in when Sasuke shook his head in negative.
"Not this time Naruto, many a times I will have to go away on a separate part of the mission which I cannot involve you three in, while you three take care of the parts suited to you.
It's time you were stopped being coddled and grew up to be shinobi…" he spoke in a tone that the three weren't used to hear from the man.
His voice and eyes were cold as glaciers, as if every emotion in his eyes had died out in a moment only to leave a stone cold shinobi behind. Each of them had a feeling of dread and foreboding in their stomachs.
"Sensei what's the matter? Why are you being so serious all of a sudden?" Duy asked in a nervous voice, that didn't have any of his usual exuberance laced in it. Sasuke merely flicked the scroll open and decided to read up their orders.
"Alright, as you all already must have guessed we are here to take care of a small bandit camp…" he drawled out and got relieved nods from the three.
They had done this twice before, beat up those civilian wannabees and tie up the criminals until the local authorities took care of them. But Sakumo found something odd about this, as did Naruto.
"Sensei, we have done this before right? But they were all C-rank assignments. Why is this a B-rank?" Sakumo asked and Duy blinked in realization, before looking at his sensei with curious eyes.
Sasuke looked into those innocent eyes, that was the last time they would be this pure before they hardened up a bit for life.
"You three will go in and eliminate the bandit camp leaders before burning up the camp completely with no trace for survivors." he spoke coldly, and their eyes widened in horror.
"W-What?" Duy stuttered out in shock as if he hadn't heard him right the first time.
"The bandit camp is led by a small contingent of men that are residing in the main building in the middle of their resting place.
Go in, eliminate any three of them and seal their bodies in these…" he handed them the storage scroll especially designed to store human corpses and the three took the numbly, not quite absorbing it in fully in themselves.
"Then burn up the whole camp, blow it up. Do anything you wish for, but leave no traces or any survivors behind. That is your mission…" he finished and looked at his three numb students with a heavy heart.
He had grown attached to these idiots as much as he didn't want to admit it, and it pained him to do this to them.
"But sensei why kill them?" Duy asked and his two teammates agreed with him whole heartedly.
"Yeah why couldn't we just tie them up and take them back to be arrested instead of killing…" Sakumo suggested and flinched under the harsh glare that Sasuke gave him.
"Because your orders are to eliminate them, this is your superior officer's order. These are your Kage's orders which means it is ordered by the village you've sworn to protect and you will eliminate this threat to the village today." he spoke in a harsh tone making the boy look down and fall silent. As harsh as he sounded, Sasuke knew this was what they needed right now.
"Sensei…" Naruto's nervous voice came, who was scared at speaking of his cold sensei right now. Duy nodded to him and he nodded back before returning his gaze to Sasuke.
"… what if we …" he trailed off with a heavy gulp and Duy decided to help him out.
"What if…" Even Duy lost his voice before he could speak up and both looked down at their feet before falling silent.
"What if you couldn't do it, right?" Sasuke asked and the three nodded timidly. His heart pained at seeing the boys who weren't even meeting his gaze right now and he took a deep breath.
"Remember I told you I could strip you off your ranks as shinobi if I didn't deem you worthy at any point of time?" he asked and the three nodded timidly.
"Well, this is it. Failure to fulfill your objective will result in you being stripped off your headbands." he lied, and the three looked at him in shock. Their hearts skipped a beat and they looked at him pleadingly, as if wishing it were all a lie but he didn't waver in his stance with so much as a flinch.
"I have another mission to fulfill, you three head on out. When I return, I expect the camp to be demolished and those scrolls…" he pointed to the scrolls in their hands which they looked at as if it were the most disgusting thing on the planet right now.
"… should be filled. Do not disappoint me." he spoke and before any of them could utter a word, he vanished in a flicker of flames.
...
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