The Heavens: From Naruto to sign in

"Oh, kids these days are so precocious," Anko mumbled through a mouthful of tuna sushi. "Back in our day, we had no clue about this stuff."

"Anko," Kurenai Yuhi chuckled behind her hand, "you really should think about finding a boyfriend."

"Tch. If my boyfriend dared try to snatch food from me, I'd dump him on the spot," Anko said without missing a beat, grabbing another skewer of meatballs without even looking up.

Not long after, Asuma's team and Kakashi's team also arrived and joined the impromptu feast.

Yoruha had originally planned to treat everyone until the end.

But then—Sarutobi Asuma stepped in.

The son of the Third Hokage. Future head of the Sarutobi clan. Former elite of the Twelve Guardian Ninja from the Land of Fire. A top-tier jonin of Konoha—and also Kurenai's ex.

He stepped up like a man on a mission and boldly covered the entire bill.

In a room full of people…

Well, if someone's offering to pay, Yoruha had no reason to say no. He simply smiled and kicked back.

No need to be polite about it.

Then his gaze drifted across the table—and landed on Sasuke.

The Uchiha was eating in silence, eyes downcast, his cheeks slightly puffed from stuffing himself.

Yoruha couldn't help grinning. "Sasuke, what's the deal? Did you skip breakfast or something?"

Sasuke nearly choked on his rice.

The memory of that morning's humiliating bell test came rushing back.

Suddenly, his appetite vanished.

From the next day onward…

The ninja careers of the newly graduated genin officially began.

According to village tradition, fresh genin could only accept the most basic D-rank missions under their jounin's guidance.

These jobs were mundane internal assignments within the village:

– Helping villagers repair fences

– Cutting grass

– Picking up trash

– Finding lost pets

– Babysitting rambunctious kids

These were tasks often posted by the wealthier families in Konoha.

In fact, Yoruha's own family used to hire genin to do these sorts of jobs.

And now?

Yoruha had to do them himself.

By the stream, Yoruha knelt beside several baskets of yard tools, scrubbing them clean. Meanwhile, Anko lounged in a tree overhead, letting the breeze ruffle her hair.

"Anko," Yoruha called out with a groan, "when can we start doing real missions? These D-rank jobs are so boring. We don't even get to leave the village."

"Relax," Anko replied, smirking down at him. "Higher-ranked missions will come eventually. But first, you need to get familiar with how this all works."

She leapt lightly from the branch and strolled over to inspect the tools.

Nodding with satisfaction, she added, "This is all part of the foundation. You build your experience from the ground up."

"The process?" Yoruha raised an eyebrow. "What process? Go to the Hokage's office, get the mission, do the mission, hand it in. It's not rocket science."

"Don't underestimate D-rank missions," Anko said, putting on a mock-serious tone. "They help build your foundation… and your Will of Fire."

She burst out laughing halfway through the sentence.

Even she didn't believe what she was saying.

"Come on, sensei," Yoruha grumbled. "I've finally got time for a break and I'm stuck scrubbing tools in a river. Can't you just cut me some slack?"

"Don't even," Anko said with a flick of her fingers. "I've been pulling mission after mission lately—three, four times more than any other team. And you think I don't deserve a break?"

Yoruha looked up at her seriously.

"Fine. Then just tell me—how do I get us assigned to a real mission? One that's at least C-rank or higher?"

Truth be told, Yoruha wasn't in any rush to take missions. He didn't need the money. And to be honest, spending his days in the village with a beautiful teacher like Anko wasn't so bad.

But.

His system had just issued a major new task:

"Go to the grave of Zabuza Momochi in the Land of Waves and sign in."

The problem?

Zabuza wasn't even dead yet!

And even if he did end up getting killed by Kakashi's team…

How the hell was Yoruha supposed to know where his grave would be?

Worse still, ninja didn't have the freedom to just run off on their own.

So there was only one solution:

Yoruha had to take the mission to escort Tazuna to the Land of Waves—before Kakashi's team got assigned to it.

Then?

He'd make sure Zabuza didn't walk away from the fight.

He'd help dig the man's grave himself if he had to.

Mission complete. Sign-in secured.