The classic bandit hunting mission (Part 1)

From that day onward, Ren's clone training schedule changed. One clone focused on wind jutsu, another on earth jutsu, and the third practiced yang release. The final clone was divided into nine smaller clones, each with just enough chakra to stay active, all dedicated to fuinjutsu practice.

After successfully creating his first explosion tag, Ren took it to Utakata, who merely nodded in approval and instructed him to keep the fuinjutsu book safe. After the explosion tag Ren moved on to his second seal, the storage seal. This seal utilized the space and hold symbols in multiple ways. Typically, storage seals required a large surface area and were commonly inscribed on scrolls. However, after a bit of practice, Ren managed to shrink the seal's size enough to fit onto the belt he wore around his waist, making it far more convenient for carrying essential items.

Team 1 entered the mission hall, a spacious room where ten chunins were stationed, busy handling mission requests and reports. However, today, the Third Hokage himself was present, seated at the center of the hall. This was not unusual, the third hokage often made unannounced visits to observe mission assignments, though no one knew his exact reasons for doing so.

Upon seeing him, Team 1 immediately stopped and greeted, "Lord Hokage."

The old man gave them a kind nod, his usual grandfatherly smile in place, before turning his gaze to Utakata who responded, "Team 1 is here for a C-Rank mission."

"Ah, yes, Team 1," Hiruzen murmured, scanning the three genins briefly. "I remember seeing a mission that would suit you quite well."

He pretended to think for a moment, stroking his beard before retrieving a scroll. "Ah, here it is."

Unrolling the scroll, he read aloud, "Hito Village, a civilian settlement to the east of Konoha, has reported sightings of bandits. Additionally, several children have gone missing. Your mission is to investigate, recover the abducted children if possible, and eliminate all the bandits."

The genins, now fully attentive, straightened up and responded in unison, "Yes, sir!"

Utakata took the mission scroll and gestured for his team to follow. As they exited the building, he glanced at them and asked, "Do you have everything prepared?"

"Yes, sir," the genins confirmed.

Satisfied with their response, Utakata gave a brief nod. "Alright, let's go. I'll show you the procedure for leaving the village on a mission. Meet me at the East Gate after you inform your families, however this is the only time I will allow this. You are to inform your familiies that you may be sent away without any prior notice in the future, since you all are from shinobi families I believe this won't be a problem." Without waiting for a reply, he flickered away.

Ren quickly returned home and left a note for his father that said that he would be away on a mission and rushed to the east gate.

Konoha had four main entry gates, one in each direction, with the main gate facing north. Since Hito Village was to the east, Team 1 assembled at the East Gate, where Utakata was already waiting. He led them toward the guard station at the gate, where two shinobi stood watch.

Handing over the mission scroll, Utakata explained, "Every mission outside the village requires four stamps. First, from the guards when leaving the village. Second, from the employer upon mission completion. Third, from the guards again when returning. And finally, the fourth from the mission center when submitting the report."

The guard, understanding that this was Team 1's first mission outside Konoha, gave a small, encouraging smile. "Good luck out there."

As he handed the scroll back to Utakata, the three genins nodded in acknowledgment before stepping beyond the gates.

Leaving the village for the first time since arriving in this world should have been exciting for Ren, but any enthusiasm quickly faded as he realized the scenery barely changed. Beyond Konoha's walls, the landscape consisted of an endless stretch of thick trees, their dense canopy blocking out even the sunlight.

Team 1 moved in a single-file formation as they traveled, following the standard Konoha squad arrangement. Hitoshi, the team's sensor, led the way, followed by Yugao. Utakata, as the squad's healer, stayed in the middle, and Ren, the second combatant, covered the rear. This formation ensured that any potential threat would be detected early, with the combatants positioned to defend both the front and the back.

As they moved swiftly through the dense forest, Yugao asked, "Sensei, do you know the exact location of the village?"

Utakata nodded an then shook his head. "Yes, but Hitoshi will locate it."

Hitoshi, who had been deep in thought, suddenly spoke. "Konoha doesn't allow civilian settlements within 20 kilometers of the village walls, since this entire region is filled with dense forest it serves as a defense line. Sensei, is Hito Village a pure civilian settlement?"

"Yes," Utakata confirmed.

Hitoshi nodded. "Then the village should be between 20 to 50 kilometers from Konoha. Any settlement with a shinobi presence would not be permitted within 50 kilometers."

With that information, the team moved forward at full speed. A 20-kilometer distance was nothing for a shinobi. Ren covered more than this every morning during his training with weights. Now that he had removed them for the mission, travel felt even easier.

Upon reaching the 20-kilometer mark, they slowed down. Hitoshi turned to Utakata once more. "Sensei, what is the estimated population of Hito Village?"

"Around 250," Utakata replied vaguely.

Hitoshi nodded and immediately sent out his insects to scout. After a short silence, he finally spoke. "Found it."

Before anyone could respond, Utakata cut in. "You were lucky that no other nearby settlements had a population similar to Hito Village, so you identified it easily. However, in the future, you won't always have such a simple search. I expect you to employ multiple methods to track locations faster."

"Understood," Hitoshi acknowledged.

Ren and Yugao, knowing this wasn't their area of expertise, remained silent as they followed their teammate. Soon enough, they reached a wooden signboard at the entrance of the village that read Hito Village in bold letters, confirming that they had indeed arrived.

Utakata didn't pause and immediately spoke, "I will lead the mission this time. In future missions, the three of you will take turns leading, and I will not interfere in any way. You will be responsible for every decision you make."

Without waiting for a response, he walked toward the village entrance, where two guards stood holding shovels, clearly not trained fighters. Their expressions hardened when they saw approaching strangers, but as soon as their eyes landed on the Konoha forehead protectors, they visibly relaxed. One of them immediately turned and ran back into the village, likely to inform someone of importance, while the other stepped forward and greeted, "Welcome, Shinobi-sama. Our village chief will meet you shortly. Please, come in."

Utakata nodded, and Team 1 followed him inside.

The moment they entered, a young man rushed toward them, the same guard from earlier trailing behind him. The man stopped just in front of the team and gave a respectful bow before introducing himself.

"Greetings, Shinobi-sama. I am the village chief, Sugawara. May I see the mission scroll?"

Without hesitation, Utakata handed him the scroll. "Greetings. What can you tell me about the bandits?"

Sugawara scanned the scroll, confirming its legitimacy, and sighed deeply before answering. "A few days ago, one of our trade caravans was returning from Kuma Village when it was suddenly attacked. Some of our guards tried to fight back, but they were quickly overpowered. It wasn't that the bandits had greater numbers it was their strength that was the problem."

The village chief took a deep breath and continued. "They all wore gray caps, and their leader was especially powerful. I think… I think he might be a shinobi."

The man shivered slightly, but Utakata offered no comfort. Instead, he spoke with a neutral tone. "Please do not make assumptions. Now, tell me about the missing children. Do you have any sketches of them?"

Nodding, the chief reached into his pocket and pulled out four pieces of paper, handing them over. Without even glancing at them, Utakata passed them to Hitoshi.

Hitoshi examined the sketches, and Ren and Yugao peered over his shoulder. There were two boys and two girls. The boys looked older than the three of them, while one girl appeared around Ren's age and the other was slightly older.

Suddenly, Hitoshi's insects swarmed the portraits, covering them entirely.

The gathered villagers flinched in terror, clearly unaccustomed to such a sight. Some even took a step back, eyeing Hitoshi with visible unease.

Utakata ignored their reactions and motioned for the village chief to continue.

Sugawara swallowed and spoke hesitantly. "Yes, the two boys went missing about a week ago, right around the time the bandits first appeared. The two girls, sisters disappeared four days ago, which is when I finally decided to request Konoha's help."

Utakata nodded, then turned to Hitoshi. "Do you have a general location?"

"Yes," Hitoshi confirmed.

Utakata shifted his attention back to the village chief. "Thank you for the information. We will investigate the trail we found and update you soon."

Hitoshi once again took the lead as Team 1 left Hito Village, guiding them toward the trail his insects had discovered earlier. As they moved, he explained, "While searching for the village, my insects also found wheel tracks accompanied by horse and human footprints. There was a faint trace of chakra that my Kikaichu picked up, but it's extremely weak, not even comparable to the residual chakra a genin would leave behind."

Ren was the first to answer, "There are two possibilities. Either someone tried to erase their chakra trail but wasn't entirely successful, or the bandit chief has his chakra pathways opened but lacks the ability to use it effectively."

As soon as Ren finished, Yugao added, "But if the bandit chief were a shinobi, wouldn't that make this a B-rank mission?"

Utakata shook his head slightly. "No. It's the second possibility. The village always confirms the difficulty level of a mission before assigning it. If there were a risk of encountering a shinobi opponent, the ranking would have been adjusted accordingly. The fact that this remains a C-rank mission means there is little to no chance of us facing an actual shinobi. Thus Ren's analysis is right the bandit leader has likely opened his chakra pathways but lacks the proper training or control to be a threat as a shinobi."

"Let's go we will finish the mission today and return." Utakata ordered.

{Overused first C Rank mission however it would not follow the cliche}

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