The days following Team Seven’s formation passed quietly.
For most genin, the first few weeks after graduation were filled with disappointment.
They dreamed of exciting battles, dangerous missions, and proving themselves as true shinobi.
Instead, they found themselves performing tasks that had nothing to do with combat.
Cleaning yards.
Delivering packages.
Finding lost animals.
Helping elderly villagers.
The kind of missions that made young ninjas question why they had spent years training.
But Naruto Uzumaki saw things differently.
Every morning, he arrived before his teammates.
Every mission, no matter how small, was completed with the same seriousness he would have shown on a battlefield.
To Sakura, it was strange.
To Sasuke, it was suspicious.
To Kakashi, it was fascinating.
The boy who had once been known throughout the village as a troublemaker was now the most reliable member of Team Seven.
Something was wrong.
Or perhaps…
Something was very right.
“You’re thinking too much.”
Naruto sat on a rooftop overlooking the village, eating a bowl of ramen from Ichiraku.
Inside his mind, Kurama watched silently.
“I have a lot to think about.”
“You always did.”
Naruto smiled.
“But this time, I actually know what I’m thinking about.”
Kurama’s tails shifted behind him.
The fox understood.
Naruto was carrying memories no child should have.
The weight of a lifetime.
The knowledge of a future filled with war and loss.
“You can’t save everyone.”
Naruto’s chopsticks stopped.
The words were not cruel.
They were reality.
“I know.”
“Do you?”
Naruto looked down at the village.
“I couldn’t save everyone before.”
His grip tightened slightly.
“Jiraiya. Neji. My parents. So many others.”
The memories hurt.
Even after everything.
Even after becoming Hokage.
Loss never became easier.
“But I can try.”
Kurama was silent.
Then he spoke.
“That’s always been your problem.”
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
“Problem?”
“You carry the entire world on your shoulders.”
The fox looked away.
“And somehow, you still smile.”
Naruto laughed softly.
“Someone has to.”
Before Kurama could respond, a voice interrupted him.
He turned.
Sasuke stood behind him.
The Uchiha glanced at the ramen bowl.
“You eat that every day?”
Naruto grinned.
“Almost.”
Sasuke looked away.
“Strange.”
“You’re just jealous.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
“I’m not.”
Naruto laughed.
For a moment, Sasuke looked almost annoyed.
But Naruto noticed something.
The irritation was different.
It wasn’t hatred.
It wasn’t anger.
It was familiarity.
The kind of argument brothers had.
A few moments later, Sakura arrived.
She immediately looked between them.
“What are you two doing?”
“Talking,” Naruto answered.
Sakura stared.
“Without fighting?”
Naruto and Sasuke both looked at her.
“…”
Sakura sighed.
“This really is weird.”
The three walked together toward the training ground.
It was a simple moment.
A normal moment.
Something Naruto never appreciated enough the first time.
Back then, Team Seven had been a group of strangers forced together by a teacher.
Now…
Naruto wanted them to become a family before the world gave them a reason to depend on one.
When they arrived, Kakashi was already waiting.
This alone surprised Sakura.
“You’re early?”
Kakashi closed his book.
“I can be.”
Naruto almost laughed.
Almost.
Kakashi looked toward the three genin.
“I have an announcement.”
The atmosphere changed.
Everyone became serious.
“Your next mission request has arrived.”
Sakura immediately became excited.
“Finally! A real mission?”
Sasuke’s eyes sharpened.
Naruto remained calm.
Because he already knew.
Kakashi held up the mission scroll.
“Escort mission.”
Sakura smiled.
“Rank?”
Kakashi paused.
“C-rank.”
Sakura’s excitement increased.
A C-rank mission.
Their first mission outside the village.
A real opportunity to prove themselves.
Sasuke looked confident.
Naruto simply watched Kakashi.
Something was different.
Kakashi was hesitating.
Only slightly.
But Naruto noticed.
The mission was supposed to be simple.
Escort a bridge builder from the Land of Waves back to his homeland.
No combat.
No danger.
At least…
That was what they were told.
The next morning, Team Seven gathered at the village gates.
Naruto adjusted his equipment.
Sakura checked her supplies.
Sasuke remained quiet.
Kakashi stood with his usual relaxed posture.
Then their client arrived.
An old man carrying a bottle of alcohol.
He looked at the four shinobi in front of him with immediate disappointment.
“These are the ninja assigned to protect me?”
Sakura frowned.
“Excuse me?”
The old man ignored her.
“The village must be running out of proper ninja if they send children.”
Naruto looked at him.
Tazuna.
The bridge builder.
The man whose mission had changed everything.
The man who had shown Team Seven the true reality of the shinobi world.
Naruto already knew the hardships waiting ahead.
The enemies.
The bloodshed.
The lessons.
But this time…
There would be no inexperienced Team Seven walking into danger.
This time…
They had a Hokage’s experience.
And a Nine-Tails who had fought beside him.
Kurama’s voice echoed.
“Trouble.”
Naruto smiled.
“Yeah.”
He looked toward the road leading out of the village.
“The real journey begins now.”
As Team Seven stepped beyond the gates of Konohagakure, Naruto felt something he hadn’t felt since waking up.
Excitement.
Not because of the danger.
Not because of the battles.
But because this was where history truly began to change.