Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it is owned by Masashi Kishimoto.

In the Future

Chapter 3

"This is Jadeite," Mikoto spoke softly into her mouthpiece, perched in hiding on a branch high on a tall tree overlooking one of the Konoha suburbs. "Target is approaching zone of operations, acknowledge."

"This is Nephrite." Shinachiku said just as softly into his mouthpiece, similarly perched on top of an electric post a good distance away. "Acknowledged, standing by to close the gap."

"This is Zoisite," Mai also softly spoke into her mouthpiece, lying prone on the ground and peering through a series of bushes along one side of the street. "Acknowledged, standing by to deploy the package."

"Acknowledged, standing by." Mikoto said.

"Standing by." Shinachiku said.

"Standby…standby…" Mai murmured, making a half-seal and ready to make the other half on a moment's notice, as the target wandered into the zone of operations, towards the target site.

The target, a brown-furred tabby with grey markings sniffed at the air suspiciously before apparently dismissing whatever misgivings it might have, and continued to pad down the street. Its destination was a plastic plate set in the middle of the street, on which was a single fish, freshly-purchased from a local grocery store, specifically as bait for the approaching cat.

The cat crossed the boundary of the sealing circle placed on the ground, around the plate, and sniffed at the air once more before approaching the plate. It poked at the fish suspiciously a couple of times, and then sitting down with its tail curling behind it, looked around. And then moving almost too fast for an untrained Human eye to follow, it swiped its claws at the fish, as if to see if there was something…off, about it.

The fish being, well, a fish, didn't react to being cut up by a cat's claws. A moment later, and the cat got up, its suspicions satisfied, and padding closer, began to eat. "The target has reached ground zero." Mai said with a grin. "Please confirm."

"Deploy the package." Mikoto ordered.

"Acknowledged." Mai said, and finished her hand-seal. At the gesture, the sealing circle erupted in a cloud of stun gas, the cat jumping out with a yowl of angry surprise only to stagger away, tottering after a few steps to collapse unconscious on the ground. "Target is down! I repeat, target is down!"

"Yeah!" Mikoto said with a grin.

"Alright!" Shinachiku said, already moving in towards Mai's position, leaping from one electric post to another to get there. "We fucking did it!"

"Language, Shina." Mikoto said, also moving in while switching frequencies. "K-One, this is Jadeite. Mission completed, I repeat, mission completed."

"…acknowledged, Jadeite." Konohamaru replied after a moment. "Proceed to rendezvous point, acknowledge."

"Acknowledged."

Turning off the radio, Mikoto hurried to where her fellow genin were, and arrived in time to see Mai locking the cage their quarry had been placed in. Bending down for a closer look, she raised an eyebrow. "It looks out." She observed.

"That's because it is out." Mai replied with a roll of her eyes. "That stun gas I placed in the trap seal was top shelf stuff, the kind they use to bring in priority targets like traitor nobles and escaped convicts. Cost quite a bit, too."

"Huh…good stuff." Mikoto observed. "Anyway, let's get moving to where Konohamaru-sensei's waiting for us."

"Sounds good to me." Shinachiku said with a nod before scowling. "Let's finish this job before the little monster wakes up."

"That'll take a while." Mai said, lifting the cage for a closer look. "Like I said, top shelf stuff."

"True."

Konohamaru regarded the unconscious cat inside the cage with a deadpan look, and then turned back to his genin. They'd just finished explaining to him how they managed to catch the cat, and he couldn't quite believe his ears. "Let me get this straight," he said. "You gassed the cat."

"Yes." They chorused.

"…couldn't you have found a different way to bring it in?" he asked.

"We tried wires the last time." Mai reminded him. "The cat was just too fast. And we don't know to do a lightning release stun trap…"

"…which might just kill it…" Shinachiku murmured.

"…and that would result in mission failed." Mai said with a nod, and then added to her previous statement after a moment. "…we'd have to pay the owner damages too if that happened."

"None of us know how to do genjutsu yet either." Mikoto chimed in. "That would probably be the cleanest option. Something to keep in mind too, for when we already know how to use genjutsu and we still have to chase that stupid cat."

"This is the fifth time this month we had to do that." Shinachiku groused. "Stupid cat…why doesn't his owner just chain him?"

"…not really any of our business, Shina." Konohamaru said with a sigh. "Anyway…mission accomplished, I guess. Come on you three. Let's go back to the Hokage's Tower and hand this over to collect our pay for this mission."

The three genin nodded in acknowledgement, and followed Konohamaru up onto the rooftops and across the suburbs to Konoha proper, and thence towards the Hokage's Tower. It had been a month now since they'd become full-fledged genin of the Hidden Leaf, and they'd progressed well since. That they were now able to keep up with their jounin sensei while leaping across the skyline was proof of that, Mai and Mikoto having completed the Tree Climbing Practice within three days of starting the exercise though it had taken them another week to finish the Water Surface Walking Practice (Shinachiku though had finished two days after they'd started thanks to his innate chakra control, to much envy on their part).

Mikoto and Shinachiku had also managed to catch up with Mai during their endurance training by the middle of the second week, though that only meant Konohamaru adding more laps to further push their boundaries. He'd also considered adding obstacles to further increase the difficulty, though for now he held off on that thought.

Konohamaru had thus far refrained from teaching them new ninjutsu, instead focusing on their taijutsu. Mikoto was typical of her clan in that regard, focusing on speed and precision, at the expense of power and endurance, something Konohamaru intended to correct. Shinachiku though was the opposite, preferring to weather an enemy's attack and then break them down with powerful counterattacks, again – somehow – typical of his parents. He sacrificed speed and precision for that though, which was again something Konohamaru intended to correct.

Mai was the least concerning here, her style being a balance between speed, precision, power, and endurance. And while Konohamaru had expected to have to nudge her towards personalizing her style beyond the academy standard, he was pleasantly surprised there was no need for that, Mai having already done so (likely with personal training from her mother considering the weapons-oriented personalization she sported).

Considering all that on the way to the Hokage's Tower, plus a month having passed, Konohamaru wondered if the time was right to take his team out on their first C-rank mission.

"Good job with capturing Miko…again," Naruto said and finishing with a sigh, a chuunin carrying away the angrily yowling and hissing cat in its cage out of his office, to a waiting area for its owner to pick up. "And seeing as there's still a few hours left in the day, there are other missions here available…let's see…"

Konohamaru gave a cough. "Pardon the interruption, Hokage-sama." He began. "But if possible, I'd like to request a C-rank mission for my team. If so, then I'd like to dismiss them early to make preparations are needed."

Mai, Mikoto, and Shinachiku looked at Konohamaru in surprise, though they quickly schooled themselves – badly – to avoid looking overly-enthusiastic at the prospect of a C-rank. "A C-rank, huh?" Naruto asked with a small smile, resting his head against an elbow. "Well, it has been a month already, so why not?"

The smile widened further as the genin's expression continued to slip in their excitement. "Alright, let's see what we've got." Naruto said while sitting up. He went through his files, nodded, and entering a series of commands printed out a scroll before filling in the necessary details. Rolling it up, he sealed it and handed it to Konohamaru. "Return here to my morning to receive the mission package. Your mission is to keep it secure, and carry it to the border guard post of the Land of Grass, where a team from Hidden Grass will be picking it up to carry it to its final destination."

"Understood, Hokage-sama." Konohamaru said with a nod. Naruto nodded, and dismissed team seven. Filing out of his office, the moment they were in the clear and their excitement couldn't be held back any further.

"Finally!" Shinachiku burst out. "A C-rank! I am so sick and tired of D-ranks! Even if it's courier duty, it's a world of improvement over everything we've done over the past month!"

"Oh come on." Mai said. "They weren't that bad."

"…oh really?" Shinachiku asked deadpan. "Are you saying you enjoyed cleaning up dog shit over at the Inuzuka kennels? Or deer shit in the Nara clan grounds? Or how about…"

"…okay, okay, okay!" Mai gave in. "I get your point. That said, while some of the D-ranks were definitely…bad, not all of them were. As I recall, you enjoyed those three days we spent helping reorganizing the central library, didn't you?"

"I guess I did." Shinachiku muttered, and Mai grinned.

"See?" she said. "Like I said, not all bad."

Shinachiku muttered some more, before turning to the unusually-thoughtful Mikoto. "Something wrong?" he asked. "Earlier, you were just as excited, but now…"

"I was just thinking, that's all." She said.

"About what?"

"The C-rank curse."

Shinachiku and Mai looked at her flatly, and then the former gave a sigh. "Not again," he said. "You and your superstitions, Mikoto."

Mikoto gave him a flat look in her turn. "You never know about these things." She said. "The Sage of the Six Paths was also supposed to be just a legend. Oh wait…didn't our parents meet him at the end of the war?"

"…that was different."

"Really?"

"…"

Mikoto snorted and laughed. "Yeah, that's what I thought." She said, smirking as Shinachiku fumed in frustration.

"…anyway," Mai said with a cough. "What's the C-rank curse?"

"It's an old superstition about how every ninja's first C-rank mission always goes wrong one way or another." Konohamaru answered. "Complete nonsense, of course. My first C-rank went off without a hitch, as did the first C-ranks of plenty of ninja. And while just as many had a few issues, when all is said and done, they weren't anything serious. Those that did are probably just the result of random chance, that of anything that can go wrong actually going wrong."

"Then let's hope our C-rank tomorrow doesn't end up in the last category." Mikoto said while scratching her head. "Our team's designation doesn't really bode well on that note, considering what the previous team seven's first C-rank ended up becoming."

"…yeah, let's not tempt fate here." Konohamaru said, and Shinachiku giving Mikoto a light tap on an arm. The redhead just raised an eyebrow at her blonde friend and teammate.

"I thought it was just a silly superstition?" She asked with a small smile. He couldn't answer, and she smiled wider.

Konohamaru coughed. "Anyway," he said. "Considering the global situation and comparing it to the one we and your parents grew up in…nothing like that should happen. So…dismissed for the day, but be sure to arrive here at the Hokage's Tower by eight tomorrow morning. We'll leave for the Land of Grass once get what we're supposed to be carrying, so be sure you have all your supplies and other stuff with you by then."

"Got, sensei." Team seven chorused, and Konohamaru nodded.

"Now, off you go."

"A C-rank mission?" Sasuke Uchiha asked with a faintly-curious look on his face as he poured himself a glass of water in his house's kitchen.

"That's right." Mikoto said with a nod, and placing ration packs into a sealing scroll on the kitchen table. Making a hand-seal, she sealed them inside the scroll, which she then rolled up and placed with a stack of other scrolls.

Sasuke grunted as he took a seat at the table, unbuckling his jounin vest and pulling it off before removing the polished, star-shaped badge that his father had worn before him, just as it had been worn by every Uchiha Clan head for generations past. It would be worn by Mikoto in her turn too…if that was the path she chose, of course.

It was the badge of the Chief of the Konoha Military Police. Four-pointed, enameled in sea-green, and bearing at its heart the red and white fan of the Uchiha Clan.

At the end of the war, following months of solitary confinement within the Konoha Detention Center, Sasuke had left the village for three years, on what he could only describe as a journey of atonement for the crimes he had committed in the years leading up to the war. In those years, he had wandered the continent, not just the Land of Fire but surrounding countries as well, discreetly and at times, covertly, eliminating what seeds of potential threats to the new peace he could find, and establishing a new spy network much like Jiraiya of the Sannin once had, to provide information to the village of any potential threat and matter of interest they could find.

He had returned at the end of those three years, to attend the wedding of his former teammates Naruto and Sakura, and following which he'd received a surprising offer from the Sixth Hokage, Kakashi Hatake, to rebuild the Konoha Military Police Force. After all, it had been customary for the Uchiha Clan Head to be its chief, therefore who better than Sasuke to rebuild it?

Sasuke had initially refused, stung with indignation and remembering how the military police had originally been meant to isolate the Uchiha and prevent them from obtaining other positions inside the village. In response, Kakashi had only said one sentence, again surprising Sasuke and causing him to retract his previous statement.

It's entirely up to you whether or not the military police will be a chain or the legacy of the Uchiha, Sasuke.

In the end, Sasuke had agreed…though only in part because of Kakashi's reasoning. In the decade since, he'd rebuilt the military police, made up of ninjas and (former) civilians alike, and reestablish the force's reputation and respectability, especially in light of the village's explosive growth in size, population, and diversity after the war.

The biggest change though, was yet to come. While the military police chief was traditionally meant to be the head of the Uchiha Clan, Sasuke planned to offer it as a choice to his daughter. If she didn't want to be police chief, then he would respect and support her decision.

That would break the chain, and ensure the legacy of the clan forever. After all, how can the Uchiha be limited to the military police when his daughter had a successful name for herself outside of it? And how could the military police not be their legacy, when no matter who led it, it was their clan's emblem which was symbolic of it?

"Where?" Sasuke asked. "And what's it all about?"

"The Land of Grass," Karin beat her daughter to the punch. "They'll be playing courier from what Mikoto tells me."

Sasuke grunted again as he digested what his wife told him. "Don't get careless, Mikoto." He finally said. "Things might be calmer now than they used to be, but things can still get dangerous these days."

"I know, dad." Mikoto said. "And careless? Me?"

"…it only takes a single moment with your guard down." Sasuke responded.

"…point." Mikoto conceded.

"Listen to your father, Mikoto." Karin sternly said. "The Land of Grass is probably among the most dangerous places in the world right now. Ever since the war ended and the Five Great Nations began getting along really well…the Land of Grass being in the middle of the Lands of Earth and Fire have made it into a hotbed of trouble."

"…what kind of trouble?" Mikoto asked, looking uneasy.

"Nothing overt, if at all." Sasuke said. "Hidden Grass has managed to keep it under wraps at the daimyo's behest, but take a look under the table, peek into the shadows, and start tipping stones…"

"Hey, Sasuke!" Karin snapped. "Don't give your daughter any ideas!"

Sasuke just shrugged, and Karin turned back to their daughter. "Long story short," she said. "Plots, conspiracies, and counter-plots between the gods know how many groups and organizations are all over the place in the Land of Grass. Stick to your mission, get it done, and get out."

Mikoto held up her hands. "Got it, mom." She said. "I don't want any trouble."

"That's more like it." Karin said, turning back to her cooking. "You're much too like me and your father when we were at your age. Considering all the trouble we got into…"

As Karin ranted on and on about what she and her husband had gotten into in their youth, Sasuke and Mikoto shared a resigned look between them. And then sighing, Sasuke gestured for Mikoto to leave and continue with her preparations for tomorrow, leaving Sasuke alone to handle Karin's reminiscing and potential explosion.

He loved the woman, but by the gods, she could be quite the nag.

"The Land of Grass, huh?" Tenten said. "It could get really dangerous over there. Especially when you're going to be on courier duty."

"I've heard stories, but is it really that bad?" Mai asked her mother over the dinner table.

"The stories are all probably exaggerated." Tenten said. "But they're all rooted in the truth. Lots of trade and people pass through that country these days, ever since the war came to an end. As you might expect, that made the Land of Grass an excellent place to set up businesses in or to run them from, catering not just to the domestic market, but also the surrounding countries. Not necessarily a bad thing…except the daimyo reduced the regulations on and oversight of big business and corporations based in his country, the better to attract money from outside and to encourage the growth of business."

"…it worked, didn't it?" Mai asked.

"Yes…it worked…too well." Tenten said with a sigh. "It's just that with only token regulation and limited oversight, all those big businesses and corporations are constantly scheming and jockeying with each other for money and influence. It's all Hidden Grass can do to keep them from essentially taking over, and simply running wild afterwards."

"If it's that bad, then why hasn't the Shinobi Union taken action?" Mai asked.

"Well, for one thing it's not like the Land of Grass' big businesses are threatening to start a war." Tenten said. "And ultimately, they're all legit."

"About what you said about Hidden Grass keeping their country's big business from taking over," Mai continued. "If they're that threatening to the daimyo's power, why hasn't he simply reigned them in? Or…is it already too late?"

"Probably that…" Tenten said with a nod. "And he might not want to rock the boat that's pouring money into his treasury. There's also the influence those big businesses have in his court, or even…in Hidden Grass itself."

"…so, it's only a matter of time, huh?" Mai asked.

"Maybe…but while it will cause trouble, it shouldn't start a war." Tenten said with a shrug. "An intervention no doubt, but nothing more serious. More importantly…you're going to be on courier duty. I don't know what it is you're escorting, but expect it to draw the interest of many people and groups inside the Land of Grass. Be careful, and watch your backs. Those interested people might not just want to get their hands on whatever it is you have, but might even want to destroy it, and any potential witnesses around."

"Including my team…I've got it." Mai said grimly. "Don't worry, mom. I'll be careful."

Tenten nodded. "That's all I can really ask for." She said. "Well…here's to seeing you come back home safe and sound."

Sakura was brushing her hair while sitting at her dresser, getting ready for bed when she felt her husband's arms snaking around her torso, and pressing his warm body against her back. "Are you still angry I'm sending Shina and his team on that mission?" Naruto asked, softly speaking into her ear.

Sakura sighed and placed the brush down, looking at her husband with her dresser's mirror. "No..." she said. "And I wasn't really angry…just…"

"Concerned?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah…he's my son, after all." Sakura worriedly said. "I can't help but worry. The Land of Grass is very dangerous now, and they're going to be on courier duty. You know how dangerous that bunch of Gatos that all but ran the Land of Grass are. Whatever it is they'll be escorting…"

Naruto hummed in agreement. "…I can't keep them from taking this mission." He finally admitted. "It wouldn't be fair. Especially if my only reason is because my son is part of the team with the mission."

"I know." Sakura said, placing her hands on and entwining her fingers with her husband's own. "Though, why is it even a C-rank in the first place? Given how dangerous it can get…shouldn't it be a B-rank if not A-rank?"

"…they won't actually be heading into the Land of Grass, you see." Naruto answered. "Just a border post, where they'll be handing their package over to Hidden Grass ninjas who'll handle the rest across the border."

"…that's only on paper, and you know it."

"…I know." Naruto admitted with a sigh. "But there's nothing more I can do. Not yet…"

Sakura turned her head, Naruto doing likewise and giving her a smile. "…things finally coming together in the Land of Iron?" she asked.

"It helps that Kurotsuchi has finally reached the limits of her patience over in Hidden Rock, and their daimyo is also becoming annoyed too at how he's losing influence to that bunch in the Land of Grass." Naruto said.

"Now, if only it had happened sooner." Sakura sighed.

"Agreed…" Naruto said before letting go and stepping away. Sakura turned on her seat, watching her husband walk over to their windows and look out. "Shina's a good kid…strong too…stronger than I was when I was at his age."

"Really, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

Naruto gave her a knowing look. "My taijutsu was terrible," he said with an embarrassed smile. "I couldn't break a genjutsu, and…okay, my ninjutsu wasn't so bad, though in hindsight that's probably only because I could drown enemies with shadow clones no matter how bad my taijutsu was."

Sakura giggled. "Okay, that's true." She said. "And I guess it's also true that Shina's stronger than I was back then. In fact…this team seven's stronger than we were, not just because of what they can do, but also…"

"Yeah," Naruto agreed, walking over to their bed and lying down with arms folded behind his head. "They work better together than we did…less baggage holding them back too…"

Sakura nodded as she walked over, and sitting down on her side of the bed, reached out to stroke Naruto's cheek. "All true," she said. "But that's also only because we dealt with all that baggage holding us back, so it would never hold them back in their turn."

Naruto snorted and then nodded. "Also true," he said before looking up at Sakura. "I trust them. Not just to finish their mission, but also to get back safe and sound."

Sakura nodded before lying down and curling up next to Naruto, who placed his arms around her and held her close. "I guess that's all we can do." She said. "Trust in them, and believe they'll come back to us in one piece."

"…besides," Naruto eventually said, one hand stroking Sakura's hair. "We faced worse at that age. If we could do it, then I'm sure they can too."

"Hmm…yeah, you're right." Sakura said, closing her eyes and relaxing at the feel of Naruto's hand going through her hair.

As Sakura's breathing relaxed and evened out, Naruto also closed his eyes, his thoughts going to their sleeping son in the other room.

Finish the job and come home safe, Shina. You can't end because of a bunch of people like Gato used to be back in the day getting out of hand here and now.

A/N

Again, nothing really to say here.