Inside the Hokage Building
Minato Namikaze led Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Tunan into the Hokage's office.
"Hokage-sama, do you have any suitable missions for us?" Minato asked.
Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Uchiha Tunan, who was standing respectfully behind Minato, his eyes filled with reverence. The Third Hokage nodded slightly before responding,
"There happens to be a rather troublesome E-rank mission available. It should be good for you all to start with."
"E-rank?" Minato frowned slightly. "Isn't D-rank the lowest level?"
Hiruzen coughed lightly before explaining,
"Ahem… The client is one of the first civilian shinobi who joined Konoha during its founding days. He's extremely old now, and his legs are paralyzed. He submitted a mission to have his house cleaned, but he's only willing to pay a commission of two hundred ryō.
"Given his contributions to Konoha in the past, we decided to accept it out of respect."
Minato hesitated. The payment was too low. With three team members, he would take 120 ryō, while Kakashi and Tunan would get 40 ryō each. That was barely enough to buy a bowl of Ichiraku ramen.
Noticing Minato's reluctance, Hiruzen sighed,
"This mission has been available for days, but no one wants to take it due to the low pay. If your team accepts, I can have it recorded as a D-rank mission."
Before Minato could decide, Uchiha Tunan gently tugged at his sleeve.
"Sensei, let's take it," Tunan said softly.
Minato glanced at the boy and saw his sincere expression. After a brief pause, he nodded.
"Alright, we'll take it."
Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled warmly at Uchiha Tunan before handing the mission scroll to Minato.
After bowing to the Hokage, the three left the office.
As they stepped out of the building, they were met with an unusual sight—Kushina Uzumaki, half-buried in a trash can, with only her legs sticking out and kicking.
Minato's mouth twitched. "Kushina… what are you doing?"
"Clang—!"
Startled, Kushina tipped over the trash can, sending garbage spilling everywhere. She scrambled out of the mess, her face turning red.
"Ah! N-nothing!" she stammered.
Then, without another word, she bolted away.
"I have something to do! I'll be going now!"
---
A Dilapidated House in Central Konoha
Under the eaves of an old, run-down courtyard, an elderly man with a stern face sat in a wheelchair. He squinted at the three young shinobi before him.
"You're the ones who took my mission?"
Minato nodded politely and patted the shoulders of his two students.
"Yes. These two will help you clean the house."
The old man snorted. "Alright, but be careful. If you break anything, you'll have to pay for it."
With that, he wheeled himself inside, muttering,
"If the cleaning isn't thorough, I won't sign off on the mission report. Don't think you can fool me just because I'm old."
Minato turned to his students.
"I'll leave this to you two. Once you're done, meet me on the Hokage Building rooftop."
With that, he vanished in a flash of yellow light.
Kakashi and Tunan exchanged glances before rolling up their sleeves and getting to work.
---
Inside the House
Kakashi, who rarely did housework, was tasked with organizing belongings while Uchiha Tunan swept the floors.
But then—
"Clang—!"
Kakashi frowned, staring at the teapot now shattered on the floor. He hadn't even dropped it—the handle had simply snapped off when he lifted it.
"You brat!" The old man wheeled back in, furious. "That was a teapot from my youth!"
Unbothered, Kakashi replied flatly, "I'll pay for it."
The old man's expression softened slightly as he pulled a small abacus from his pocket and began calculating.
"When I bought it, it was twenty ryō. But given its sentimental value, plus inflation…"
His fingers flicked across the abacus.
"You owe me two thousand ryō."
Kakashi, unfazed, pulled out his wallet and started counting the money.
Before he could hand it over, Uchiha Tunan quickly stepped in.
"Grandfather, even the most expensive teapots in Konoha cost no more than two hundred ryō."
The old man snorted. "It's not about the price—it's about history and meaning."
Tunan sighed and tried reasoning further, but Kakashi cut him off.
"Forget it, Tunan. It's not worth the trouble."
He handed over the two thousand ryō. The old man snatched it up and stuffed it into his thin wallet.
"Hmph. Fine. Get back to work."
Tunan exhaled lightly, shaking his head.
"Kakashi, why don't you head back? I'm better at cleaning anyway."
Kakashi hesitated. "But this is my mission too."
Tunan gave him a reassuring smile.
"It's our mission, and as long as it gets done, that's all that matters. You should focus on training—strengthening yourself will help our team the most."
Kakashi stared at him for a moment, then finally nodded.
"…Alright."
The old man gave Tunan a sharp look.
"You already accepted the mission, boy. You can't just walk away."
Tunan smiled politely.
"Don't worry, Grandfather. I'll make sure your house is spotless."
Reassured, the old man wheeled himself back to the porch to bask in the sunlight.
---
A Hidden Discovery
While tidying up the bedroom, Tunan's gaze landed on a short blade hanging on the wall.
His eyes narrowed. He reached up, carefully taking it down and drawing the blade from its sheath.
A sharp glint reflected off its polished surface.
This is no ordinary blade… It's a chakra-conducting weapon.
Silently, he slid the short blade back into place and resumed cleaning.
But a thought had already taken root in his mind.
An idea—an opportunity.