Dark Phoenix of Konoha by White Angel of Auralon

Part 12 - First C Rank Mission

First C Rank Mission

It was the end of the first month and the three jonin senseis for the rookie teams met in a bar. They had planned on reviewing their success in training their teams over the last month.

"I am really satisfied with how far my team has come. While there is still much work to do, they are a well-working unit and know how to combine their clan techniques to reach good results in my fake missions." Kurenai said.

She had not taken as many missions as the other teams; instead she simulated some to train her team's specialty, tracking, better.

"By the way, I think they are ready for some resistance seals now. Kakashi, would you mind coming around tomorrow to place them?" She asked.

"Sure, I can leave my team alone over lunch break. So I can get to it around one tomorrow. Asuma, do you also want the seals for your team?" He asked.

"Yes, I have already forewarned them. While Shikamaru thinks it is troublesome and is thoroughly unmotivated, forcing him to train even if he doesn't want to can only be good for him. The only one motivated on my team is Ino and she only wants to not lose to Sakura in getting Sasuke's attention. She thinks if she and her team are weak Sasuke will never notice her." Asuma sighed.

"I see, well, placing the seals doesn't take more than five minutes per person, so I could do your team after I did Kurenai's. Hm, seems like my team gets a longer lunch break tomorrow." Kakashi mused.

"That's something I also wanted to know. How comes you are following such a rigid schedule with your team? And why are all the missions you take practically completely out of public sight?" Kurenai asked.

"Ah, I just need to get Sasuke away from the worship of the villagers. He needs to realize that nobody will just fall to his knees because he is an Uchiha in a fight. The villagers put that idiotic idea in his head. The Uchihas were also always very arrogant and arrogance can lead to death on a mission. Sasuke's father Fugaku especially was a very proud and arrogant man and convinced that being an Uchiha made you practically royalty. As the villagers treated Sasuke like a pampered Prince after the massacre, he didn't learn that nobody outside the village would give a damn about it. My harsh training and keeping my team isolated from the villagers is meant to remedy that idea quickly.

"I also don't want to have Sakura think she could slack off on missions. Those missions your teams do are ones that would give her too much time swooning over Sasuke without repercussions. If she does that on higher ranking missions, it can get her or her team-mates killed. I won't let that happen. Sakura is one of the worst fangirls I've ever seen. I know that girls crushing on one boy or another is normal at that age, but if they want to be ninjas, they have to know when they can act on it and when not. Sakura was raised with the goal of her mother to have her daughter marry into a rich clan and Sasuke as the sole heir of the Uchiha fortune is a prime candidate. Asuma, while Ino is also crushing on Sasuke, is lucky that Ino is from a ninja clan and knows that she has to put her missions first and not to completely neglect her training. He has a better base to work with.

"And you are the really lucky one, Kurenai. Hinata never showed any signs of being a fangirl and wants to become strong enough to prove herself to her father and her clan. While she is timid, with the right support and good team-mates that show her they have her back, she can get over that. And I have the feeling your team is well-suited for it. Kiba as an Inuzuka was raised with the mentality that the pack is the most important thing to protect, which for him includes his clan and his team. Shino as an Aburame knows about hive mentality and while he needs to get better in social contacts, he will always protect his team-mates and will work to improve the overall strength of a team. You have known Hinata for years and are well-suited to help her with the confidence issues." Kakashi said.