The next morning, our team 10 meets in front of the village gates bright and early to head out on our first C-rank mission, the highest tier of mission a Genin team is allowed to accept. 

Unlike any of our previous D-tier missions which would never see any actual combat, C-rank missions have a possibility of facing against regular bandits or wild animals, but never trained ninjas.

True to the difficulty assigned to the mission, our first journey away from Konohagakure is the escort of a small-time merchant called Lawrence to his destination in the Land of Flowers. 

The trip should take us around two weeks. 10 days to reach our destination as we slowly walk beside Lawrence and his donkey-pulled wagon. And then 4 days, plenty of time for us to jog back to Konoha.

Though the exact time a mission takes can vary depending on circumstance it’s important to try to stick to it or at least inform Konoha of any delay as being gone for too long can result in a search and rescue mission from being issued to search for us. 

As a ninja, we are a weapon and also a service, has a service, we are encouraged to learn about our clients' preferences and consider them as we go about our mission.

A satisfied client is more likely to request services from Konoha again if given the chance. 

Lawrence was a white-haired man pushing past his 30s and very sociable.

He was an outgoing person and he’d often strike up conversations with us which helped keep everyone entertained through most of our long trip. 

I was expecting some disappointment in his face when he came to know it was our very first mission outside Konoha as Genin but his reaction was the opposite, becoming more curious about us and our background.

When I asked about it his reasons were well thought out.

According to Lawrence, an older Genin has almost peaked in life while a fresh Genin means possibly getting to know a future Jonin or maybe even the next Hokage. 

This kind of Genin can also be from a major clan and while Lawrence certainly understood Hinata’s background with a single glance he also respected her introversion and avoidance of any clan-related topics.

Finally, a squad of Genin in training also meant having a free Jonin along for the ride, making a B or almost A-tier protection detail.

While a Jonin teacher's job is to mainly supervise and protect his Genin are is not supposed to interfere too much in combat they will not sit idly by and risk the life of a protection target, often called the Principal.

Lawrence had done this trip multiple times before. Just last week he had done the same journey in the opposite direction, joining a caravan to deliver a batch of exotic flowers meant to be sold during Konoha’s spring festival.

The road leading to the Land of Flowers is usually safe and well maintained but he took the risk and cut into his profits to ensure he arrived home safely and as fast as possible.

Though he would have enjoyed staying a bit longer in Konoha and securing some products to sell elsewhere, he wanted to quickly make his way back to the Land of Flowers due to his pregnant wife being due soon.

This somewhat explains his nervousness and haste. I was starting to fear we'd get a situation like Naruto's Land of Whales mission where the client omitted crucial details to get a lower mission assigned for cheap. But what are the odds of that?...

Merchants generally travel in big caravan groups and share the cost of hiring a team of Chunnin for protection between their members.

Hiring a Genin squad for a single merchant is both more expensive and not as safe as traveling in a group.

During the night we would stop and rest, alternating watch duty throughout the night to prevent any possible ambush.

Anko-sensei wasn’t included in the shifts but I wouldn't be surprised if she were the first to react to any issue, if there were any...

As in the first days we were so close to Konoha’s the chances of running into bandits was essentially nil. 

It was mostly the last leg of the journey, as we reached the Land of Flowers, nestled between the Land of Fire, Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth that banditry became a bit more common as neither country ensured protection of the border populations.

True to this, we’d found no issues and only crossed a couple of groups heading the opposite way on the road during the first week.

It was on the 8th day that we finally got some action. Hinata was the first to find them thanks to her Byakugan. 

“Sensei, bandits ahead, 7 men hiding after the next turn, no ninjas”

The road ahead curved to the right, behind a mountain, hiding the visibility of any enemies until it was too late.

Lawrence had warned us of this exact spot last night as being known for ambushes due to its terrain and sure enough, there were bandits in wait there. 

Before we could react to the report Anko spoke out.

“Don't stop, pretend we haven't noticed until we are closer”

The textbook response would have been to stop, split into protection and assault squads, and deal with the enemies while ensuring maximum safety for our client.

But it would seem Anko is out for blood today…