Chapter 169: Mission Perks

"Although D-rank missions are the simplest, being able to complete twenty D-rank missions in two days is considered outstanding among genin." Sarutobi Hiruzen said.

"Fire God Grandpa, does that mean we can take missions above D-rank?" Obito asked Sarutobi Hiruzen with an expectant look.

"Haha, well, that depends on your teacher. After all, I'm not too clear on your strength. If Muyue thinks you can handle it, then I'll specially allow you to take C-rank missions." Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a chuckle.

In truth, he didn't think it was a big deal. He had watched Obito and Might Guy's fight during the final exam of the summer special training, and their skills were quite impressive. Adding Kakashi, an experienced chunin, and Muyue, who came from Root, C-rank missions would be easy.

Because normally, C-rank missions rarely involve ninja combat. There will be fighting, but the opponents are usually slightly stronger ordinary people or wild beasts.

"Muyue-sensei, you know us. Our abilities shouldn't be limited to just odd jobs." Obito turned to Muyue, his big eyes filled with anticipation.

"Lord Third, I believe they are fully capable of completing C-rank missions." Muyue answered Sarutobi Hiruzen as Obito had hoped.

A very important aspect of him pushing the internship plan was to go out and do missions.

Konoha was too restrictive. When Muyue trained, he didn't dare unleash his jutsu fully. His several mastery-level jutsu each had greater destructive power than the last. If he made too much noise, he might attract the Anbu.

And he really needed a real, no-holds-barred fight to recognize his true strength, not just ordinary sparring.

Muyue didn't want to end up like Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, possessing incredible power but unable to use it effectively.

"With your word, Muyue, I can rest easy." Sarutobi Hiruzen said, stroking his beard with a smile.

"Thank you for your trust, Lord Third. I will definitely protect my students." Muyue said seriously.

Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled and nodded, then said to the registration ninja: "From now on, Muyue's squad can accept C-rank missions. The other intern squads will follow the previous rules."

The other intern squads didn't have a teammate like Kakashi. Even whether their instructors could beat Kakashi was a question.

The registration ninja quickly nodded. Since the Hokage had spoken, he had no objections. If something happened later, it wouldn't be his responsibility.

Although they had obtained permission to take C-rank missions, it was already evening, so naturally they couldn't take a mission now. Muyue led his three disciples home.

"Yeah!" After walking out of the Hokage building, Obito couldn't help pumping his fist in celebration.

"Kai, we're definitely the only two in our fourth-year class who can do C-rank missions. Everyone else is probably still stuck finding cats and catching dogs." Obito burst out laughing.

"This is indeed something to be excited about. It proves our youth is advancing to a higher level!" Might Guy also laughed loudly.

Their loud laughter attracted the attention of other ninjas coming to the Hokage building. Kakashi silently lowered his head a little.

He suddenly thought of his previous teammates. Although they weren't strong, at least they didn't suddenly burst out laughing in front of the Hokage building.

"Hey, Kakashi, you've definitely done C-rank missions. What kind of enemies usually appear in C-rank missions? Do chunin and jonin show up?" Obito asked with great interest.

"C-rank missions usually don't involve ninja enemies." Kakashi replied.

"Huh? Even C-rank missions have no enemies?" Obito was baffled.

He still remembered how stubborn the mission registration ninja had been earlier. It took the Hokage's arrival to let them take C-rank missions. The process was so difficult, even involving the Hokage, that Obito thought C-rank missions must be really dangerous. But Kakashi said they wouldn't encounter ninja enemies.

"It's not that there are no enemies, but that you usually won't encounter ninja enemies." Muyue corrected him.

"The combat-related C-rank missions are usually subjugating wild beasts and bandits. Neither involves ninjas." Muyue explained. Generally, missions where ninja enemies are guaranteed start at B-rank.

"How is that..." Obito was a bit disappointed. He had imagined going on a mission, defeating enemy ninjas, and then returning to tell Rin about his heroic deeds.

But subjugating wild beasts wasn't much to talk about. They had already killed a wild boar together during their picnic in the Southern Forest.

When they walked into their home in Konoha, Obito's mood improved again, because soon he would be able to eat the fresh cooking Muyue would make.

Muyue let Kakashi and the other two sit in the living room and chat, while he started preparing the food.

"Muyue-sensei, let me help you." Kakashi, not wanting to freeload, said.

"Then you can help me wash the vegetables." Muyue didn't refuse. Working together also helped build trust.

Kakashi stayed in the kitchen, observing Muyue's cooking. He was very curious about how Muyue made such delicious food.

"Muyue, are you back?"

Minato's voice came from outside the door.

"Minato, come right in. I'm cooking." Muyue said, turning around.

With Muyue's permission, Minato opened the door and entered Muyue's home.

As soon as he stepped inside, Minato noticed that there were two other youths in Muyue's house.

Obito and Might Guy also noticed Minato walking in.

Obito looked at Minato's dazzling blond hair and blue eyes and that somewhat familiar warm smile, instantly overlapping Minato's face with Mugetsu's.

"Hello, I am—" Minato showed a warm smile as he prepared to greet the two.

"I know, you must be Mugetsu-sensei's twin brother!" Obito blurted out.

"He looks just like Mugetsu-sensei without his glasses!" Might Guy felt Obito's guess made a lot of sense.

"And he looks a lot like Mugetsu-sensei with glasses too—look at that smiling expression, that warm feeling." Obito analyzed carefully; no one knew Mugetsu better than him.

Even though he was misunderstood, Minato was somewhat used to it—during the Jonin meetings, many acquaintances had made similar jokes at his expense.

So Minato smiled and explained, "I am Namikaze Minato, a friend of Mugetsu."

"Eh? Not from the Haryū clan?" Obito now felt that Minato and Mugetsu were long-lost brothers.

"Minato, sorry about that—they're all my students and came over to my place today." Mugetsu explained briefly.

"It's fine. After all, we do sometimes look quite alike." Minato smiled, indicating he didn't mind.

He was quite open-minded about it. If he looked like someone with a bad personality, he might care a bit, but looking like Mugetsu, who had such a mild temperament, he just saw it as fate.

Kakashi, who had finished washing the vegetables, curiously walked out of the kitchen to take a look at Minato. Just as he saw Minato smiling and explaining, he instantly understood why Obito thought Minato and Mugetsu were twin brothers.

Because the two really had similar expressions, plus similar hair and eyes—his first impression was the same.

But looking more closely, Kakashi could still tell the difference. Minato's aura had a bit of a dazed feel, while Mugetsu's did not.

"Mugetsu, need any help?" Minato asked verbally, but was already walking toward the kitchen.

"Minato, perfect timing. Help me handle those vegetables—cut off the parts we don't need." Mugetsu assigned Minato some work.

The two had been neighbors who mooched meals off each other for a long time now; they often cooked together, though most of the time Minato was just assisting.

"Minato, remember we talked before about the intern program? I ended up being in charge of a team too." After finishing the cooking, Mugetsu spoke up.

"I remember, but why is one person already wearing a forehead protector?" Minato nodded and asked curiously.

"His name is Hatake Kakashi. It's a special case—it's a bit complicated to explain—but now he's also a member of my team." Mugetsu replied.

"Hatake…" Hearing that surname plus Kakashi's white hair, Minato immediately recalled some unpleasant matters, so he didn't ask any more about Kakashi.

Next, Mugetsu introduced Minato to his students.

"Minato is a very strong jonin. Many of the village's powerful jonin admit they can't compare to him." Mugetsu praised with a smile.

"Wow, that must mean he's super strong." Hearing Mugetsu praise Minato like that, and since Minato looked so much like Mugetsu, Obito instantly felt that Minato was certainly just as incredibly strong as Mugetsu.

"It's not as exaggerated as Mugetsu says—there are still many seniors in the village worth learning from." Minato said modestly.

"Mugetsu, about today, I…" Minato started feeling a bit embarrassed—he kept coming over to eat and taking leftovers home.

"I know. I've already packed it for you." Mugetsu handed a lunchbox to Minato.

"I appreciate it." Minato thanked him.

He felt that Mugetsu might have already guessed something; the daily takeout was indeed a little suspicious.

If he was busy, he could still come to pick up food; if he wasn't busy, he used being busy as an excuse every day to pick up food.

But Minato had no choice—if Mugetsu guessed, then so be it. This couldn't be said openly. Kushina's identity was too sensitive, and telling Mugetsu about it would do more harm than good.

The only thing Minato could do was share his training experience with Mugetsu as much as possible, so that Mugetsu would grow stronger and safely get through this dangerous period.

"Mugetsu-sensei, I think you should investigate—maybe he's your long-lost brother," Obito suggested.

Smack!

Mugetsu brought two fingers together and precisely tapped Obito's forehead.

"If you don't eat now, Kakashi and Gai will finish all the food," Mugetsu reminded.

Obito then noticed that Might Guy and Kakashi were frantically gobbling up the food while he had been talking; their chopsticks were moving so fast they left afterimages on the table.

"Leave some for me!" Obito couldn't care less and started wolfing down the food too.

After Mugetsu sent a shadow clone to deliver meals to Shisui and Rin Nohara, he also began to eat.

Today I'm not in great shape. I've only written 8k so far. I'll try to see if I can write another chapter before 2 AM. If I can't, I'll make it up tomorrow. Everyone, don't stay up late. Go to bed early. Not sure about tonight, but tomorrow there will definitely be something.