Bab 4: Chapter 4
Hayama's impression of Kenji was that of a hidden wolf in sheep's clothing. A cunning young man who fooled everyone and hid his skills.
He wasn't even sure of the extent of the boy's abilities.
After having tested his students, Hayama concluded that Kenji was leagues above any genin, or even chunin he had ever seen. It was like a jonin had graduated from the academy.
His taijutsu was very unique and gave the jonin sensei a run for his money. To be on a stand still against a fresh 10 year old genin in taijutsu was supposed to be humiliating, but Hayama could only see Kenji's amazing future.
"Alright! Let's do some missions today!" Hayama cheered.
"Yes! I wonder what it will be? Protect a princess? Maybe a sure secret mission where we defeat an evil guy." Kohaku exclaimed excitedly.
"You don't know?" Kenji asked.
"Know what, huh? You're making fun of me being a dead last? I'll tell you, I was just hiding my skills! Right, Kiyomi-chan?"
Kiyomi scoffed and said, "I don't see you showing anything new than what you did in the academy."
"What?! I'll beat Kenji! That'll show you!!"
"Arf!"
"See? Shiromaru agrees!"
Kenji rubbed the bridge of his nose and said, "Haven't you ever seen genin doing chores all over the village? My dad has given delivery missions to genin teams numerous times. That's what genin teams do. They're D-rank missions which are mostly chores."
"Hah?! I don't want to do chores! My mom makes me do them anyway! I thought we were ninjas! Sensei, surely we'll be given better missions, right? We are the best team of the year!"
Hayama could only shake his head at the loudmouth.
"Kenji is right. You can't be given missions above D-rank until you complete a set number of them."
They arrived at the Hokage tower and went to the missions desk. Namikaze Minato had recently become the fourth Hokage after the third had stepped down as a result of the war. Minato's awe inspiring performance in the war had enemy villages give him a flee on sight order to their shinobi.
Minato had single handedly changed the tides of the war in Konoha's favor, and ws hailed as the sole reason behind Konoha's decisive victory. It was an incredible tale of heroism and sacrifice.
Minato had lost two of his students in the war. His last remaining student had joined the ANBU and was under crippling depression. Kenji knew that Kakashi would only get worse over time.
The team took a mission of repairing the fence of a local farmer's pasture which had been damaged by wild animals. Kohaku was the only one to shout his misgivings over being give a useless mission. The rest could only sigh at his attempts of compensating for his lack of ability.
The team performed their task with due diligence. Hayama knew that aside from Kenji, the other two were not ready for a mission outside the village.
Kiyomi had her sharingan and she was skilled in using fireball jutsu. Her repertoire wasn't too impressive, but it wasn't lacking for a genin.
In case of Kohaku, the boy only relied on his clan jutsu as he said, 'It's the only thing I need to become the strongest!'
It was idiotic stubbornness that could eventually bite the boy back. Hayama was not willing to let the boy die out of his own stupidity. So, he made up his mind to quickly breeze through the required number of D-rank missions and take the genin out of the village for real combat.
Kohaku needed a brutal awakening.
Meanwhile, Kenji focused on his tasks as he left 2 clones at home to work on smithing and fuinjutsu. He wasn't going to let his time go to waste.
The team was cooperative with one another. Kohaku, while brash, was willing to listen when Hayama was serious. Kiyomi was a little reserved, but she was coming out of her shell and had taken up to learning tantojutsu from Hayama.
Kenji was the one who preplexed Hayama the most. There was little he could teach the boy. Sometimes, he even felt that Kenji could teach him a thing or two about bukijutsu and taijutsu.
Other than experience, Hayama had nothing on Kenji.
Kenji would only ask for regular spars against Hayama. They had a mutual understanding that Kenji's days as a genin were numbered. If not for rules and protocol, he would be a jonin doing solo missions. So, Hayama focused more of his teaching on the other two.
Kenji wasn't going to complain. He was getting a sparring partner that wasn't his clone. He was thirsty for improvement. Hayama being a veteran jonin had a lot of experience. His analytical skills were amongst the best in the village.
Kenji was not going to let that go to waste. He used his time as genin to hone his battle IQ and learn to analyze his opponents. He even learned how to detect traps and dismantle them, playing with the opponent's mind before engaging, and battlefield tactics.
In one month, they completed 50 D-rank missions and were more than ready for C-ranks. The mission desk in the Hokage tower gave out missions upto B-rank. But, for a genin team, their first C-rank mission was given by the Hokage themselves.
"Yes, send them in."
Hayama and team entered the office and were greeted by a smiling Minato.
"Team 7, finally here to accept your first C-rank mission?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Minato ruffled through a stack of papers and said, "Let's see... A band of ronin are causing trouble near Hacho village. The village militia is having trouble with them. They have asked for our assistance. How does this mission sound?"
Hayama looked at the excited faces of his genin and said, "It seems like a perfect first C-rank mission for my team. We accept it, Hokage-sama."
Minato smiled and handed the mission details to Hayama. Then he looked at Kenji and said, "Mimura Kenji, do thank your father for those kunai I asked of him. He is very good at making them. I have no complaints at all."
Kenji smiled and said, "Thank you, Hokage-sama. I will. I have a sample of a new batch of kunai that you may be interested in. They are even better than the last batch."
Minato chuckled and said, "Ever the little businessman, huh? Alright, show me the kunai."
Kenji unsealed the kunai set and placed it on Minato's table for him to inspect. The kunai were beautifully crafted and felt even better to handle than the last batch. There was something special about them.
"Your father is simply too good. I didn't think he could improve upon his craft any more, but he doesn't cease to amaze me."
He looked at Kenji with interigue and asked, "Tell me Kenji-kun, was that storage scroll created by you?"
Kenji beamed and said, "Yes! I've been learning fuinjutsu ever since I learnt of your victory against the thousand Iwa shinobi. It's very interesting. I can't seem to get enough of it!"
Minato smiled and said, "Fuinjutsu is a very interesting art. It took me years to master hiraishin. Perhaps, you'll be the next 'yellow flash'? It is pretty difficult. Even my sensei, Jiraya of the Sannin has trouble with it and hasn't managed to use it."
Minato propped up and and took out one of his kunai before handing it to Kenji.
"Here, take this with you. The seal formula is inscribed on the handle. Study it during your mission. I'd like to know what you can learn from it. We will meet again after your mission is over."
Kenji inhaled in excitement. It wasn't something he had expected. Perhaps it was Minato's way of humoring a kid, or he wanted to see if there was a hidden genius who could replicate his art and greatly increase the village's combat prowess.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama! I promise I will work exceptionally hard on this seal! I won't disappoint you!"
Adding another deterrent against enemies was always welcome. It was the reason he had allowed his guards to thoroughly study the seal. Sadly, no one had managed to crack it.
There was something about Kenji that made Minato hopeful. The way the boy carried himself was different.
"Alright, you can leave for the mission tomorrow. For now, prepare for it. Hayama, please stay behind. I want to talk to you."
"Yes."
As the three genin left the office, Minato aasked Hayama, "Tell me about Mimura Kenji."
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone