Journey to the West: Life Simulation of Sun Wukong

"Still a D-rank mission?"

Naruto felt disheartened, but Sakura advised, "It's unwise to aim too high. In these minor things, we can best see Konoha's shortcomings."

"For example, cleaning the riverbed allows us to see the underlying filth and arrogance beneath Konoha's civilized surface. The reckless dumping of garbage highlights the malicious hearts behind some people's harmonious facades."

"And then there's our current task, helping the lady Daimyo catch her pet kitten."

"This task has reportedly been completed many times before, and the lady Daimyo's kitten has gotten lost many times as well, which indicates that the lady Daimyo must be mistreating her pet, causing the kitten to frequently run away."

Naruto suddenly realized, "So the lady Daimyo is a villain... Kakashi-sensei, let's teach the lady Daimyo a lesson."

Kakashi choked on his words, feeling that there was some implication in Sakura's previous statement, but he thought he might be overthinking it. Sakura was just good at considering issues from different angles.

"The lady Daimyo is our employer, and as ninjas, once we accept a mission, we must complete it, regardless of the specifics of the mission."

"Besides, she is the lady Daimyo?"

"Most of Konoha's funds and the majority of tasks come from the Fire Country Daimyo and the nobility. We ninjas, frankly speaking, are like mercenaries—complete the task, get the reward, and that's it."

Sasuke didn't care about these, focusing only on one thing—how to get stronger during the mission and catch up with Sakura and Naruto. However, a task like catching a kitten would definitely not make him stronger.

Naruto pouted, "What the heck, even the great Hokage is so miserable. It must be because Grandpa Hokage is getting old. When I become the Hokage, I will certainly secure more funds."

He who does not manage affairs does not know its difficulties.

That's what Kakashi thought, encouragingly saying, "Hmm, then you work hard."

Half an hour later, Sakura and the others caught the brownish-grey tiger-striped cat and handed it over to the lady Daimyo.

The fat lady Daimyo, dressed in a dress and wearing a pearl necklace, delightedly held her kitten, mashing it against her face, much to the disdain of the poor cat.

Cats, being clean animals, dislike the sweaty, obese people; it's no wonder they frequently run away from home.

Especially since the lady Daimyo was not only exceptionally fat but also pressed her cheeks so hard against the cat, it was almost like she was using it as a towel.

"This situation should count as abuse," Naruto said with a twitch of his mouth, feeling that he might need to remind the lady Daimyo to consider her pet's feelings. But seeing her greasy face made him reluctant to get close.

"Is it this handsome young man who helped me find little Tiger? I'm so grateful to you!" Seeing Naruto's tall stature, the lady Daimyo stepped forward, gripping Naruto's arm tightly, "You really are very well-built."

"Hiss—" This version was sourced from M|V|L^EMPYR.

Naruto immediately withdrew his hand from the lady Daimyo's embrace, keeping a distance from her as though she were some ferocious beast.

The main thing was, he feared he might not restrain himself and end up punching her.

If that happened, not only would the mission fail, but news that he had hit the employer would spread widely. He might even be dismissed from the ninja ranks.

If they couldn't provoke her, could they still not avoid her?

"The young man is bashful, ha ha." The lady Daimyo covered her mouth, a hint of regret in her eyes, but as long as she had her little Tiger back, everything was negotiable.

"Kakashi-sensei, do you think I should wear a mask like you?" Naruto pondered.

"Don't flatter yourself, you're not as handsome as I am." Kakashi chuckled, approaching the Third Hokage, "Lord Hokage, could you give us a task to clear out some bandits? My students have had a bit of downtime and need some real ninja experience."

"No problem," the Third Hokage laughed heartily, having already prepared, "Thirty kilometers from our Konoha Village is Pasture Village, which suffers from bandit raids. Some of the bandits can use chakra and even perform ninjutsu, their strength estimated to be at the chūnin level."

"That's the one." Kakashi accepted the task, addressing Sakura and the others, "All right, we're starting this C-rank mission next. Are you ready to experience real ninja action?"

"No problem, I can't wait to give those bandits a proper beating!"

Naruto clenched his fists in preparation, while Sasuke was eager to try.

"Finally touching upon missions like these? I'm about to become a real ninja!"

Afterward, Kakashi took the trio to Ichiraku Ramen for a meal before preparing to depart within an hour, instructing everyone to go home and gather necessary items, then meet at the village entrance after an hour.

An hour passed in the blink of an eye.

Naruto and Sasuke each carried a large pack, a mix of excitement and anticipation evident as they left the village for the first time.

Meanwhile, Sakura didn't bring anything.

"Sakura, didn't you bring any food?" Kakashi questioned, "We are going on a long journey, and it's highly likely there won't be any shops on the way. Gathering supplies could be tricky, and Pasture Village, being a small village, doesn't have stores."

Typically, ninjas would bring sufficient supplies for a mission to meet unexpected needs. Considering Sakura's scholarly prowess, it's puzzling that she would forget such a detail.

"Don't worry, I have my ways." Sakura raised her hand to a nearby tree, channeled her chakra, and little mushrooms started to grow.

She picked them, handing them to Kakashi, "Have a taste, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi took them and briefly lowered his mask only to close it again; his right eye instantly changed. "Is this chicken flavor? Then, apple? Strawberry?"

How did she do that?

Sakura explained, "According to my research, mushrooms have both animal and plant cells. By altering their genetic information, they can mimic corresponding animals and plants... Chakra plays a significant role in this, but first, the user needs to memorize various genetic codes of organisms."

Kakashi: "..."

Forget it, even with the Sharingan, he couldn't master it.

After all, this wasn't a Ninjutsu that could be solved by forming hand seals; it required prior recording of biological theories... Haruno Sakura, this child, might change the form of Ninjutsu in the future.

Assuming, of course, she became Hokage and expanded her influence.

"This Ninjutsu of yours is really good, it could save us the hassle of carrying food in the future," Kakashi said with a laugh. "Let's get going, we are leaving."

Kakashi reported to the guards at the gate and then led the three of them out of Konoha.

Naruto looked back at the gate of Konoha and exclaimed, "This is my first time leaving the village; it's going to be a wonderful experience!"

However, after walking nearly five kilometers, Naruto felt bored.

"Kakashi-sensei, how much longer until we arrive?"

"About twenty-five kilometers."

"That's still so far? Isn't this too slow, Kakashi-sensei? Can't you walk a bit faster?" Naruto complained, thinking that they would have gone on their own if they didn't need Kakashi to lead the way.

"Please, as a ninja, you need to conserve your energy and use chakra on the blade," Kakashi said exasperatedly.

"Chakra needs conserving?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"... Forget I said anything." Kakashi's head was full of black lines as he remembered that the three in front of him, even Sasuke, had about seventy percent of his chakra capacity.

After rounding up, the one with the least chakra on the team was actually himself!

It's a sad story indeed.

Sharingan, how he loved and hated this thing.

"Let's name our team," Naruto suggested. "Team Seven, calling it that seems too straightforward. Sakura, what do you think?"

"It's fine." Sakura thought for a moment and offered her opinion, "I think, let's call it Red Team, after all, flames are red and it's the most brilliant color!"

"Good name, well done Sakura!" Naruto praised.

"Ugh, disgusting," Sasuke internally sneered at Naruto, knowing that no matter what Sakura proposed, the blonde would fawn over her like a dog.

But—

"Actually, that's a not bad name, when I become Hokage, I'll establish my own special forces unit called Red Organization," Sasuke said aloud.

"Red Team? Not a bad name." Kakashi remembered that back in the ninja academy, Sakura and other students from Team Ten had also formed a red group.

It's undeniable, the youth definitely have more energy than he does.

"Kakashi-sensei, I read in a book that in some small countries, there are steam trains that can very conveniently transport goods. Why don't we have them in such a large country?" Sakura asked, "If we had them, could we quickly reach other parts of the country?"

"Because of the existence of ninjas," Kakashi replied succinctly.

Steam trains are indeed very convenient.

As long as there are no ninjas around.

Ninjas can use chakra to cast powerful Ninjutsu, making even train tracks vulnerable to damage through a mere Earth Release technique. Why go to all that effort just for it to be destroyed?

In the Land of Fire, only Konoha itself is covered by a barrier; the rest of the country is unprotected. What if a ninja from another country sneaked in and sabotaged the railway transporting vital resources? Wouldn't that be all in vain?

Therefore, big countries don't build railways because they are too easily destroyed by ninjas; and some small countries don't have the resources and aren't considered critical enough to justify the expense.

Only those countries that are not strategically important, have local resources, but due to environmental factors and other reasons are not targeted by the major ninja villages, can afford to build steam trains.

"I see," Sakura murmured thoughtfully, realizing that if she was to quickly develop Konoha upon becoming Hokage, she might first need to unite the ninja world.