Back home

"Do you mind telling me what happened after we passed out?"

Seeing Baki's expression, I didn't lie and told him everything.

...

He looked at me with a shocked expression and gulped once before opening his mouth.

"And… Are you sure that it's under control now?"

"Yes. No need to worry."

Letting out a sigh of relief, he looked as if though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. But anyways, being saved by a genin did hurt his pride a little.

"Anyways, now it's my turn to fill you in. When I woke up, Hanae's body had disappeared, so I ran a search through the area. I found the dead bodies of our original targets… And this. It was probably part of her clothing."

Reaching for his pocket, Baki brought out a piece of white cloth with a swirling red symbol engraved on it. He gave it to me, and after seeing it everything started to make a little more sense.

"So she was an Uzumaki…"

Closing my arms, I started thinking of possibilities, trying to solve the puzzle. If she was from that clan then I can understand her power a bit more.

"If this is true, then she was probably one of Orochimaru's experiments. Judging by her mental state, I don't think it was a successful one."

"Giving an Uzumaki the ability to absorb other's chakra, as well as the curse mark…. Was Orochimaru trying to create a monster? I can't imagine the danger our world would be in if he was successful."

Well I know for sure he won't be. I've seen the series end in my past life after all, but that's a secret. Hearing my thoughts on the matter, Baki nodded and took the cloth back.

"What you have said has a high chance of being true. I won't ask you why you know so much, so don't worry. I know you're a bookworm."

Hearing that, I could only smile awkwardly and scratch the back of my head. The knowledge I possess could be considered astronomical, especially with the system's memory function.

I can run through all the episodes and chapters that I've seen or read, gathering the information that most would miss.

Kyo then spoke up, breaking the silence.

"Well, now the question is… Where is she? And if she survived, why not finish us off?"

"If I had to take a guess, I'd say that another one of Orochimaru's underlings retrieved her corpse, leaving us. There's no use in thinking too much about it."

Agreeing with my words, Shira added to them.

"Yes, since we found the bodies of the rogue ninja anyway, we can say that the mission was completed in the end. We might even get a bigger reward for driving that girl away."

After that, we all looked at Baki, who sighed once again. This time, he had a smile on his face.

"Although there were a few bumps on the road, I am proud to say that team three have completed their first mission. And it wasn't just a normal B-rank either."

"Yes!"

Shira and Kyo looked ecstatic, while I still thought about what happened. Was this canon? Or did I already cause some irreversible changes in this world… I guess I'll find out with time.

---

The way back took no longer than two days. We reached the village at sunset, with our target's head. Well, not really his head, but we brought his signature weapon, to prove that the job was done.

After heading straight to the Kazekage's building, we entered my father's office to report. Like last time, Baki kneeled down before speaking. The three of us mirrored his actions.

"Greetings, Kazekage-Dono. I, Baki, am here to report that the B-Rank mission assigned to team three has been successfully completed."

"In addition, we found information on one of Orochimaru's current experiments."

Rasa looked at us with a smile on his face. He placed both elbows on the desk and held up his chin with one hand.

"So you managed. And you even got some relevant information out of it... I'm impressed. I never expected Orochimaru to be doing such obscene experiments. We have to prepare for the worst."

"Dismissed! Take a good rest, you deserve it."

"Hai! Thank you, sir!"

After that, we headed to the tower's treasury and received our reward. Since this was a B-Rank mission with extra dangers not accounted for in the scroll, the reward was quite generous.

About fifty-thousand Ryo[1] each. That translates to around five thousand dollars in real life.

"Fifty-thousand? Fifty-thousand! Being a ninja is the best!"

Shira's eyes had literally become dollar signs, and the drool that only came out when food was there, appeared in large quantities. Baki just looked on with tender eyes.

"I want to congratulate all of you, you did well. The next mission we take will be a hard C-Rank. I want you to get more field experience."

'Come to think of it, the Chunin exams are coming up… I wonder what the Kazekage will do.'

While Baki was thinking to himself, we separated. It had been a while since we had slept in a decent bed, and some of us had families to go to. In my case, Yashamaru was waiting.

Walking through the streets of the village, I breathed in the dry desert air and looked up in the sky. It had really been thirteen years since I was reincarnated... In those thirteen years, I managed to achieve many things, and I even made friends.

Most importantly, I have someone that I can call family.

All in all, the experience has been pleasant, but now is when things get serious. I have to get stronger in order to survive and achieve my objectives.

As I was daydreaming, I had already made it to my apartment. Opening the door, I noticed a bunch of people were inside.

"Gaara! Welcome back, we heard that you completed a B-Rank mission successfully!"

"I still can't believe that you actually did that… I've been a ninja for a year and I haven't even done a hard C-rank yet."

Both Temari and Kankuro were in my living room, waiting for me. Not knowing how to react, I just nodded at everything they said without really thinking. It wasn't long before Yashamaru came over from the kitchen.

"Gaara, welcome back. Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No, I'm fine. Thanks."

Smiling, I walked up to him and gave him a light hug. Temari on the side was pouting in jealousy while Kankuro gagged. I don't care what they think, Yashamaru is the only person I hold dear.

"Well, I've made some Gyozas for dinner, who wants some?"

"Me!"

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[1] The ryō is the currency used in the Naruto world. It is based on an old Japanese gold coin that was used in Japan before the Meiji period. It was later replaced by the yen. The exchange rate of 1 ryō is 10 yen.