Konoha: The Honored One

A few days passed, and the new Genin of the village, under the supervision of their teacher—the laid-back Jōnin, Gojo—found themselves slogging through the most mundane of D-rank tasks.

When most people first become Genin, they're filled with excitement and dreams of tackling dangerous missions—maybe even capturing a bandit or two. But as the days wore on, those dreams quickly crumbled.

Some of the more exciting D-level missions included chasing after lost cats. Others involved babysitting or running errands for old ladies. But then there was that one mission where they had to spend an entire day at a restaurant—serving dishes, refilling drinks, and smiling politely at cranky customers.

But of course, Gojo wasn't around to babysit. He was off doing... who knew what? Meanwhile, the Seventh team was stuck playing cat-catcher and babysitter.

Gojo, it seemed, had better things to do—like spending the day in Red-ligth Street, playing money games with some "well-endowed" women.

But today was different. The sun was high, the sky was clear, and despite the perfect weather, the park felt eerily empty.

Naruto, holding a small white kitten, had his arms and face covered in scratches—a clear sign of his failed attempts to catch the speedy creature. Still, he held it up with pride, grinning ear to ear as he showed it off to Sasuke, who stood by, arms crossed and expression utterly unimpressed.

"Hahaha! Look, Sasuke! I caught the cat first! I won the mission!" Naruto exclaimed, beaming with his usual enthusiasm. "If you keep trying, you might just catch up to me!"

The kitten, clearly unimpressed by the whole ordeal, scratched Naruto's face again, leaped from his arms, and dashed off into the grass.

"Damn it, don't run away!" Naruto yelled, chasing after the cat, but it was already far out of reach. "I'm gonna be Hokage! You're just a dumb cat!"

Sasuke, ever the brooding loner, watched the chaos unfold, his voice laced with annoyance. "You really are something else, aren't you?"

Sasuke had pictured his time as a Genin as a stepping stone to greater strength, a chance to get closer to his goal of revenge on his older brother, Itachi UchihaI. But chasing cats, watching over babies, and working at a restaurant? This was a waste of time. He wanted power, not… this.

Nearby, Sakura, lounging on the grass and stretching with a sigh, casually remarked, "You know, this kind of feels like a date, doesn't it, Sasuke?"

Her face flushed, and she added quickly, "Not that I'm implying anything! It's just... something I thought."

"Get lost, ugly girl. Don't bother me," Sasuke replied coldly, not even bothering to look at her.

The words hit Sakura harder than she expected. She had been a fan of Sasuke since childhood, and though she knew he could be aloof, hearing "ugly" stung more than she cared to admit.

Fists clenched, she considered giving him a good punch, but then she looked at his perfect, delicate features. Her resolve crumbled.

Sasuke, sensing her frustration, chuckled darkly. "Where's Gojo? Haven't seen him in days. What's he been up to?"

"Gojo-sensei said the D-level tasks were too boring." Sakura replied, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "So, he told us to just do them half-heartedly."

Sasuke scowled, standing up. "I'm done here. I'm not wasting any more time on this nonsense."

He had no interest in wasting his days with trivial tasks. He needed to get stronger, and this wasn't going to cut it.

Before Sakura could stop him, a pair of hands suddenly gripped her shoulders.

"Whoa!" She shouted, spinning around, fist ready to strike.

Gojo easily intercepted her punch, twisting her wrist behind her back in a perfect hold.

"Ow! That hurts!" Sakura gasped, her eyes narrowing as she glared at Gojo, who was smiling lazily, clearly enjoying her reaction. "Gojo-sensei!"

"Take it easy, Sakura. You can't even control your chakra, and you're complaining about getting stronger?" Gojo drawled, popping a lollipop into his mouth. He glanced over at Sasuke. "Those kid's way too impatient."

Sasuke shot Gojo a frustrated look. "What's the point? We're just wasting time on these stupid tasks. I want to get stronger!"

Gojo turned to Sakura with a teasing grin. "Maybe you've gained a few extra pounds recently, huh, Sakura?" He squeezed her wrist just a little harder, his playful smirk widening.

"I'll kill you!" Sakura hissed, pulling her arm away. "Since when does a teacher grapple with his female students like that?"

Gojo smirked. "You think I'm a gentleman? I could beat you up without breaking a sweat, even if you are a beautiful woman."

Sakura rolled her eyes in exasperation. "You're impossible, Gojo-sensei."

Sasuke, still visibly annoyed, muttered, "Just because you can do a few flashy moves doesn't mean anything. I can already use Fire Style."

Gojo raised an eyebrow. "Really? Then let's see what you've got."

He looked over at Naruto, who was still chasing after the cat. "Hey, Naruto!"

Naruto, holding the kitten again, looked over with wide eyes. "Gojo-sensei! Where have you been? What kind of teacher just disappears like that?"

"I'm here to teach you the basics of ninjutsu." Gojo replied casually, leaning against a tree.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "We've learned the basics in school. Do we really need a refresher?"

Naruto puffed his chest out proudly. "Of course we do! I'm already a ninja! I don't need any more lessons!"

Sasuke frowned. "What do you mean by 'ninja basics'? I don't get it."

Gojo pointed to a tree in the distance. "Climb it."

"Climb a tree?" The three Genin stared at him, completely bewildered.

"Are you serious?" Naruto scoffed. "I could climb a tree before I could even talk!"

"Shut up, you're the one who always gets in trouble." Gojo retorted. "Just watch."

Without another word, Gojo walked over to the tree and scaled it with ease, reaching the top effortlessly.

Naruto's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Whoa! That's awesome! How did you do that, Gojo-sensei?"

Gojo casually tapped the tree with his fingertips and hung there, defying gravity. "Chakra control. You focus chakra where you need it."

The kids were stunned. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

Gojo slid down, grinning. "Alright, now you try."

Sakura, eager to impress, walked over to the tree. She focused her chakra and gingerly placed a foot on the trunk. To her surprise, she didn't fall. She placed her other foot, and before she knew it, she was standing sideways on the tree. "It's working!" she exclaimed.

But as she tried to climb higher, her chakra flickered and she fell with a small thud. "Ow!"

Gojo clapped his hands together. "Not bad, Sakura. You have talent."

"Really?" Sakura beamed, her confidence growing. "You mean it?"

"Yeah. For someone who hasn't trained much, you're a natural."

Naruto rushed up to the tree, eager to try. He focused, but as expected, he tripped and fell face-first into the dirt. "What the hell! Why can't I do it?"

"Because you're an idiot, Naruto." Sasuke muttered, forming hand seals and gathering chakra beneath his feet. He tried again, but once again, he fell. "What the hell…"

Gojo watched them both with a smile. "It takes practice. Keep trying, but this time, focus."

"One day, I'll get it." Naruto grumbled, rubbing his backside.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "I'll be better than both of you."

Gojo grinned. "Good. Keep working at it. The goal isn't to be better than them. It's to be stronger than you were yesterday."

The trio continued their frustrating attempts to master tree climbing, all secretly wishing for a more exciting challenge. As for Gojo, he was content to watch them struggle, perfectly at ease in his own invincible skin. After all, why work hard when you were born to be awesome?