Chapter 65 New Mission

The answer is obvious. The reason why Shikamaru only has a few friends is because he is willing to go through fire and water for his friends, and he will definitely keep his promises and keep secrets.

Shikamaru nodded calmly.

"Is it about Sasuke?" he asked casually. Naruto was visibly relieved.

"Yes." He said softly, bending down to pick up a piece of paper that was scattered on the ground. "It's about his brother, and the Uchiha clan's extermination case."

Shikamaru nodded again.

"what do you want to do?"

"I want you to help me confirm the authenticity of this information." Naruto said, his voice was even deeper than before. "I can't... I can't just tell him like this unless I'm sure..." He didn't seem to know how to express his thoughts, so Shikamaru said it for him.

"You want me to help you verify the authenticity of this information and make sure all the facts are correct."

Naruto nodded.

"Where is the information?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto reached into his shirt and pulled out a thin document bag, handing it to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru quickly stuffed the document bag into his clothes. It was obvious that Naruto had made careful plans for this matter.

"I'll do my best," Shikamaru promised.

Naruto nodded gratefully.

"Thank you so much this time. If you need any help in the future, just let me know!"

Shikamaru nodded as well, and put one hand on the pocket where the documents were hidden. He knew where to start.

***

Catching up with Kakashi-sensei every morning has become a compulsory course for Class 7.

They would give Kakashi fifteen minutes to prepare, because Sasuke said Kakashi would report to the memorial every morning, and they couldn't be so unreasonable, but fifteen minutes later, the game would begin.

Finding Kakashi was not difficult, but catching him was another matter.

Kakashi was the fastest ninja Naruto had ever seen. The three of them finally caught up with him, but in the blink of an eye, the senior ninja disappeared. When they reacted, he was already standing several meters away, starting to point fingers at their actions.

"That's too inefficient, Naruto," Kakashi said, his voice coming from a tree.

Just a few seconds ago, Naruto broke a branch with his foot and fell from the tree. "You only need to use half of your chakra."

Naruto grumbled a few words under his breath, but still obediently followed Kakashi's instructions.

Although Kakashi was very strict with them, Naruto was grateful that he didn't treat them like children or order them around, except for the occasional prank. They were always on D-rank missions, which was frustrating, but Sakura Haruno said that they had completed more missions than any other team, which was somewhat comforting to Naruto.

At least most of the time, he would complain about the boring tasks that felt more like chores than tasks.

"These tasks are too easy for you." The Nine-Tails couldn't help but complain, but this was already a cliché. Kakashi certainly knew what Naruto, Sasuke and Haruno Sakura were thinking. He seemed to like seeing them go crazy, but he would increase the amount of training for them as compensation, so Naruto couldn't say anything.

One day, two weeks after starting training, Kakashi suddenly made an announcement during lunch.

"You don't have to train this afternoon." He said lightly. "I'll sign you up for a C-rank mission tomorrow, so go to bed early today."

"Cough cough cough..." Naruto choked on the ramen in his mouth and coughed violently. Haruno Sakura hurriedly patted his back.

"Finally!" Sasuke said excitedly. "What's the mission?"

"That depends on what missions we have tomorrow," Kakashi said calmly. "I hope to receive some longer and more difficult missions, such as border patrols."

"Teacher, stop kidding!" Haruno Sakura complained. "We are already capable of performing more advanced tasks, you know."

"I know, but learning skills and applying them are two different things. I want you to be fully prepared."

Naruto finally stopped coughing, but the words he had intended to say got stuck in his throat.

Kakashi asked them to "be fully prepared", which was almost equivalent to reminding them to be cautious. Although Kakashi's tone was calm, Naruto still heard a hint of worry in his words.

"Whatever the mission is, we will complete it." Naruto said seriously. "We will take it seriously, Sensei, I promise."

Kakashi looked down at Naruto, who felt his worry ease a little.

"Very good." Kakashi said, pushing the untouched bowl of ramen in front of him to Naruto. "Eat it quickly, you need it more than I do."

"Don't forget to check your equipment for tonight. Have you brought everything you need? Have you taken out the necessary tools from the scroll? Do you have enough ration pills? Where are the detonating talismans?"

"Ku Lama, we checked everything. We checked it again before we set off."

"Where's the little girl? Is she ready too? Did she bring enough ration pills?"

"Haru, Ye, Sakura."

"What's wrong? I've put a lot of thought into you three little brats. I don't want to see you get hurt due to negligence or get trapped in the enemy's territory."

"This is just a C-rank mission. We're not going to war."

"Accidents can happen during C-rank missions," Kyuubi insisted.

"You worry more than Iruka-sensei."

"nonsense."

There was a knock on the door, interrupting Naruto and Sasuke's equipment check.

"I'll go open the door." Naruto said and stood up. He could feel Chakra outside the door, so he opened it without hesitation.

Haruno Sakura walked in with a dark face without even saying hello.

"I'm staying here tonight," she said angrily and walked straight to the storeroom.

She brought nothing with her, neither a backpack nor a tool bag. She was wearing a loose home outfit and looked like she was going to sleep directly.

Naruto silently watched Haruno Sakura walking around the kitchen, opening and closing cabinets and drawers aimlessly, then he silently walked to the coffee machine and started making coffee.

Finally, Haruno Sakura seemed exhausted. She slumped in the chair with her head in her hands.

Naruto took out milk and sugar from the refrigerator and prepared a cup of sweet coffee for Haruno Sakura.

He didn't try to comfort her, he knew Haruno Sakura had a stubborn temper, so he just silently put the coffee in front of her and left the kitchen.

Sasuke was leaning against the doorframe, obviously eavesdropping.

"Is she okay?" he asked quietly.

"Leave her alone," Naruto replied quietly.

Sasuke nodded and he and Naruto returned to their room to continue organizing the equipment they might need for tomorrow's mission.

A few minutes later, Haruno Sakura also came in. She sat between the two of them, her back leaning against Naruto's shoulders and her legs resting on Sasuke's legs.

Her eyes were red, but no one mentioned it.

"My parents are so unreasonable." She complained quietly, taking a sip of coffee. "Especially civilian parents." She added.

"We have no way of knowing." Sasuke said lightly. He put his arm around Haruno Sakura's shoulders, but other than that, he did not make any other moves.

Naruto hummed softly and also put his arms around Haruno Sakura, then began to divide the things into three portions instead of the two portions as before.