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Why someone would still be performing D-ranks when they were a Chūnin was beyond Naruto's comprehension at the moment, but he supposed someone had to take that option, since it was written there in blue and white. He also had to wonder why catching a cat was seen as such a big deal by the village's shinobi force.
Letting out a breath and trying to focus around his itching nose, Naruto gave the list of mission a moment of serious considering. Painting Fences would not only be a quick and easy way to start off with, plus it would give him the chance to test that little trick Iruka had told him about using his new [Suiton: Suigun Suima no Jutsu]. As for the other mission, he decided that walking the Inuzuka Clan's dogs would be good for Sakura-chan's and Ino's physical conditioning if nothing else, plus it would give him a chance at a rare loot drop.
As soon as he made his selections, colour seemed to flood back into the world in an instant and time started to flow again. The sudden shift was actually pretty jarring and more than a bit freaky.
"...now then, let us see what missions we have for your first set." Jiji seemed to pick up mid-sentence as he picked up one scroll, opened it up and glanced at it. "Ah, Haramura Nodoka-san needs her back garden's fence painted today. Also...Inuzuka Tsume has asked for someone to help her clan walk some of their ninken as well."
The old Kage had to use quite a bit of his years of experience to hide the smirk that wanted to emerge at the sight of the incredulous expressions on Ino and Sakura's faces. The sight of new genin being told to do what he knew very well were chores that civilians couldn't be bothered to do. Oh, there were the occasional requests by those too elderly and infirm to do maintenance that they could no longer handle themselves, but the majority of the low-to-mid D-Ranks barely qualified as handyman jobs.
Naruto was unsurprised, which Sarutobi had expected; his friendship with the adopted daughter of the Higurashi's had guaranteed that she would let him in on the reality of a fresh genin's career. The blond boy subtly caught his eye and used Konoha sign language while his teammates were distracted.
'Bloodline activated. Unusual occurrence. Will report later.'
So the Gamer power had activated in a way Naruto hadn't expected? That would be interesting to hear about later. Subtly nodding, Sarutobi solemnly handed the scrolls to his son before Iruka-kun started the standard 'be on your best behaviour' lecture that all new genin received from their former Chūnin sensei before their first D-Rank.
Traditions were important.
Also their expressions were hilarious, not that he would ever admit it to them.
Haramura Nodoka's Back Garden, Konohagakure no Sato
Their first client, Haramura Nodoka was a lady just entering her twenties who looked like she had to be related to Sakura given her mane of bright pink hair, although both denied any familial relations, especially Sakura, who was throwing envious and jealous looks at the older woman's impressively large bust. The white ankle-length dress didn't hide her figure by any stretch of the imagination.
"I would ordinarily do it myself, but I have to leave Konoha tomorrow to meet my partner in a nearby village." she apologised to the team as she led them to her fence. "That means packing and setting the house to be unoccupied for a while, so I'm afraid I will be busy for most of the day."
"Partner?" Ino asked curiously, her gossiping tendencies coming to the forefront. "A boyfriend?"
"Girlfriend." Nodoka corrected her with a smile. "Miyanaga Saki. She's going to move in with me next month. This meeting we're having is just to discuss various matters that will happen as a result of her leaving her family."
With that, she left them to it, having already bought the paint and brushes. Ino looked stunned.
"Wow...didn't think a civilian would ever admit to being gay." the Yamanaka Heiress said after a moment. "Usually, they're pretty prudish."
"She's actually a retired kunoichi." Asuma corrected her. "She was invalided out of the forces a couple of years ago due to a bad leg injury that the Med-nin couldn't heal. Can't tell because she's good at hiding her limp and she covers up her legs with long skirts and dresses to avoid showing the wound. Shame really, but if memory serves Haramura-san was never that enthusiastic about the shinobi life, she seemed more relieved than anything when she was told that she needed to hang up her hitai-ate."
"You know her sensei?" Sakura asked curiously.
"She's a friend of a friend." stated the jonin absently, placing another cigarette to his lips. "Enough taking, let's get down to business, that fence won't paint itself."
The fence painting was over far sooner than anyone anticipated, thanks to Naruto using the altered version of the [Suigun Suima] to slather the paint on the fence, with Ino and Sakura brushing it out smoothly in his wake. It also got him a reward.
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