Multiversal Wanderer: Starting in Naruto
Chapter 121: The First Mission Outside the Village

Chapter 121: Chapter 121: The First Mission Outside the Village

"Wind Style: Big Breakthrough!"

"Fire Style: Great Fireball!"

Naruto and Sasuke unleashed their jutsu in tandem. The gusts of wind amplified the roaring flames, creating a powerful wave of fire. But despite the explosive combination, the attack failed to land.

Across the field, Shisui calmly sidestepped the blast with a smirk. "Your talent is impressive—wind and fire at your age, huh? But no matter how strong your ninjutsu is, it’s useless if it doesn’t hit your target."

"Wind Style: Great Scythe Itachi!"

"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!"

They attempted another combo, but Sasuke’s jutsu fizzled out mid-air. Naruto’s wind technique had created a vacuum, nullifying the flames entirely.

"You idiot!" Sasuke snapped. "Why the hell would you use Scythe Itachi? Didn’t I tell you it cancels out fire jutsu?!"

"Wait, really?" Naruto scratched his head, blinking. "You said that?"

Sasuke’s eye twitched. "I definitely said it."

With ninjutsu proving ineffective, the trio—Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin—had no choice but to rely on taijutsu. They clashed with Shisui using only their fists, trying to land any kind of hit. At the very least, Shisui didn’t mind lowering himself to hand-to-hand.

An hour later, they were completely drained, collapsed in the dirt and gasping for breath. Despite their natural talent and recent graduation, the difference between them and Shisui was painfully clear.

"I’ve seen enough," Shisui said as he stood over them. "Your ninjutsu is solid—better than average for genin—but your physical combat needs serious work. That’s partly due to your stamina. We’ll start real training tomorrow. You’re dismissed for today."

With that, Shisui’s figure popped in a puff of smoke.

"A shadow clone..." Sasuke muttered.

"We’re still miles away from his level," Karin said, flopping onto her back.

---

Training Ground No. 6

Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino stood in front of Uchiha Itachi, each of them feeling an intense pressure just from his presence. Ino, however, was visibly swooning over his face more than worried about his strength.

"There’s only one test today," Itachi said coolly. "Pass my illusion trial."

Before they could even respond, the three of them dropped to their knees as the genjutsu took hold.

Ino found herself in a world filled with nothing but handsome men. Drooling in real life, she was too entranced to fight it.

Choji, meanwhile, was lost in a fantasy where the food never ended—roasts, sweets, ramen. Pure bliss.

Shikamaru, however, was stuck in a nightmare. A mountain of red and green beans that he had to sort. Tedious. Infuriating. Eternal.

Ten minutes later, all three were drained. Itachi dispelled the illusion with a flick of his hand.

"I’m not impressed," he said coldly. "You all know what you saw. A ninja must learn to overcome their desires. Go home and rest. We’ll begin missions tomorrow."

"Man, what a cold-hearted jōnin..." Ino muttered, cheeks flushed with embarrassment. There was no way she’d admit what her illusion had been.

The team disbanded, each student lost in their own thoughts.

---

Elsewhere in the Village

Neji, Tenten, and Lee remained under Might Guy’s mentorship. Hinata, Shino, and Kiba were assigned to Kakashi—though the white-haired jōnin was no longer the legend he once was.

Years of grief and guilt had left Kakashi hollow. Ever since the Fourth Hokage’s death, his spark had faded. While Shisui continued to rise, Kakashi became a recluse, doing only the bare minimum.

---

One Month Later

After a month of endless D-rank missions—dog catching, fence painting, and weed pulling—Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin had had enough.

"We’ve trained enough," Sasuke said, arms crossed.

"We’re ready for a real mission!" Naruto insisted.

Shisui smiled slightly. He had been expecting this. The D-ranks had served their purpose—grinding down their pride and teaching discipline. Now it was time to give them something meaningful.

"This is your next mission," Shisui announced. "You’ll be escorting a man named Tazuna from the Land of Waves. He’s a bridge builder. Your task is to protect him and oversee the construction of the Cross-Sea Bridge."

The trio was thrilled—finally, a real mission outside the village.

Shisui followed from a distance, his teleportation technique allowing him to intervene instantly if needed.

As they walked a forest path, Sasuke’s eyes narrowed at a puddle on the sunlit road.

"Doesn’t feel right," he muttered. He didn’t hesitate. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

The puddle exploded—and one of two enemies hidden inside was instantly engulfed in flame. The second tried to run but was cut in half by Naruto’s Wind Style: Cutting Blade.

Behind them, Tazuna froze in horror.

"These kids... they’re lethal," he whispered, sweat dripping from his brow.

Karin stepped forward, arms crossed. "You care to explain this, Tazuna? You said this was a C-rank mission. But that was a ninja assassin—even if he was a low-level one."

"Yeah," Sasuke added coldly. "This mission’s nothing like what was described."

Tazuna dropped to his knees and began sobbing.

"I’m sorry! I really am! I lied because I had no choice... My country’s being crushed by a tyrant named Gato. He’s using thugs to stop us from finishing the bridge. I didn’t have the money for a higher-rank mission..."

Naruto looked moved. "He’s just trying to help his people..."

"You’re too soft, Naruto!" Karin snapped. "If everyone lies about mission ranks, our ninjas will die for other people’s mistakes!"

But Tazuna bowed his head deeply, groveling.

"I’ll take any punishment—just please help us..."

Naruto stepped forward. "I don’t care what anyone says. I promised to help him finish the bridge, and that’s what I’m gonna do. That’s my ninja way!"

"You’re an idiot," Sasuke sighed. "A loud, stubborn idiot."

"We’re not deciding this," Karin said, turning to the trees. "Let’s ask Brother Shisui."

With a swirl of leaves, Shisui appeared in front of them.

"I’ll leave the choice to you," he said calmly. "You’ve trained well. If you believe this mission is worth it—go ahead."

He vanished once more, leaving the decision in their hands.

----------------

"I know it might be too much to ask, but I think being a ninja should mean more than just completing missions. Uncle Tazuna may have lied to us, but... I really want to help him," Naruto said earnestly.

He understood his request was over the line—it wasn’t just up to him anymore. Now, it depended on his teammates.

"Tch. I really can’t deal with you, idiot," Sasuke muttered, pretending to be annoyed. Classic tsundere.

Karin crossed her arms. She didn’t look particularly bothered. While she did sympathize with Tazuna, lying was one of the things she hated the most. Still, with Naruto and Sasuke both in agreement, there wasn’t much to say.

Shisui simply watched, silent and distant. Growth only came through adversity—he wouldn’t interfere.

They pressed on, more alert this time. Everyone knew another ninja ambush could happen at any moment.

Sure enough, it came.

A massive sword spun through the air toward them. Naruto and Sasuke, walking ahead, spotted it just in time and leapt aside to dodge.

"Not bad, kids," a deep voice called out. "Looks like you’re the ones who took out the Demon Brothers. Now, hand over the old man, or things get messy."

A tall man stepped out of the mist, his most notable feature being the complete lack of eyebrows.

"...Sasuke, why the hell doesn’t this guy have eyebrows?" Naruto asked, completely serious even in the middle of danger.

"Oi, brat—are you trying to piss me off?" the man growled. "I’m the Demon Zabuza. You wanna die that badly?"

Naruto didn’t back down. "Sasuke, ever heard of this guy?"

"Nope."

"Then do you know who my dad is?"

"My dad’s the Fifth Hokage—Uchiha Fugaku!"

Naruto and Sasuke bantered like it was nothing, casually name-dropping their lineage.

Zabuza paused.

Wait... what? Fugaku, the guy who beat the Raikage and became Hokage? That Fugaku?

Suddenly, Zabuza was rethinking everything. Getting on the Uchiha clan’s bad side could lead to serious trouble.

"So? You scared?" Naruto asked with a cocky grin.

Zabuza’s fingers twitched. Backing down now would destroy his reputation—even traitors had pride.

Before he could answer, Karin smacked both boys upside the head.

"Would you two stop provoking him?! That’s basically forcing him to kill us just to shut us up!"

She turned toward Zabuza. "He’s not just some thug. He’s an elite jonin from the Land of Water. Yeah, he’s a rogue now, but he once assassinated the Mizukage and got away clean. He’s not someone to mess with."

Zabuza raised an eyebrow (or he would’ve if he had any). "Well, at least one of you knows my name."

Naruto piped up again, "So, who’s stronger? Hokage or you?"

Karin sighed deeply. "Seriously, Naruto? What kind of question is that?! Obviously Hokage-sama is stronger. Among the current Five Kage, Tsuchikage Ohnoki and Hokage-sama are the strongest."

Zabuza let out a short laugh. "Not bad. Smart kid. But you’re too young to really know strength. No Kage’s a pushover."

Karin adjusted her glasses. "I’m not speaking for myself. This is based on records left behind by our clan’s ancestor—the God of Ninja, Uchiha Xiuyu. He called Ohnoki a brat, but said he’d live long. So it’s not my opinion."

Zabuza blinked. She brought up her ancestor? The God of Ninja? This girl was on another level.

Then Naruto cut in again, "Hey, are we done talking? Because this is getting kinda scary!"

Zabuza’s lip twitched. These kids... are so damn annoying.

His patience snapped.

"That’s it. I’ve had enough!"

He charged. Even if he didn’t want to kill them, these brats needed to be taught a lesson.

Zabuza attacked in a flurry of slashes and kicks, but the three dodged every strike with surprising coordination. Tazuna had already taken cover, trembling in fear.

"Hmph, not bad. You brats actually dodged all of that. Maybe you’ll have a story to tell about surviving me."

As he fought, Zabuza grew more cautious. The black-haired kid had awakened the Sharingan—definitely Uchiha. The redhead was likely an Uzumaki, judging from her chakra-sensing abilities. And the blond loudmouth... unknown background, but clearly important.

Zabuza cursed under his breath. Of all the teams, why did I have to run into this freakin’ royal squad?

"Your moves are too slow, old man!" Sasuke taunted.

That did it.

Zabuza’s aura exploded in fury. "You little—!"

He kicked all three of them back.

"Hidden Mist Art: Silent Killing Technique!"

A thick fog engulfed the area, chakra-laced and blinding.

"Be careful!" Karin called out. "This mist has chakra—it’s a jutsu!"

Zabuza’s voice echoed ominously from the haze. "Eyes, throat, heart... which do I take first? You brats ready to die in the mist?"

"Nine o’clock, Naruto! Defend!" Karin warned.

Naruto barely blocked the attack.

"One o’clock, Sasuke! Duck!"

Sasuke bent low just in time, dodging two kunai.

Zabuza gritted his teeth. The redhead’s a sensory ninja... this really is Konoha’s ’Prince Team.’

Then, before he could react—

A man appeared in front of him, smiling.

Suddenly, the world shifted.

He stood in a field of sunflowers.

What the hell?! This isn’t Wave Country! Where am I?!

"Hello. First time meeting. I’m Uchiha Shisui."

Zabuza’s blood ran cold. He knew that face. Back in his ANBU days, he’d seen the files. This was one of Konoha’s most dangerous operatives.

"You’re in my genjutsu now," Shisui said with a calm smile.

Zabuza tried to break free—once, twice, over and over—but nothing worked.

"Why?! Why won’t it break?!"

Shisui stared into his soul with Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Stop struggling. There’s no escape. You stand no chance before these eyes."

Zabuza’s surroundings blurred. The sunflower field became a towering illusion, a divine force pressing down on him. He felt like an ant facing a mountain.

"You don’t like sunflowers?" Shisui asked. "Fine. I can switch them to red spider lilies."

The field shifted again, blood-red petals blowing in the wind.

"Now listen carefully," Shisui continued, voice cool but heavy with command. "Fight the kids. You can go all out—but don’t seriously hurt them. Scare them. Push them. But if you cross the line..."

His eyes narrowed, Mangekyō spinning.

"You’ll stay trapped in this illusion. Forever."

Zabuza clenched his fists. "...Tch."

"Oh, and if you’re thinking of resisting—remember what happened to the Eight-Tails. Think carefully before you answer."

The smile never left Shisui’s face—but his tone left no room for argument.

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