Maeno Aritomo moved quickly towards the gate.  The message had not given a specific time of day, so presumably it meant 'as soon as possible.'  He was dressed for a mission outside the town-- dark brown pants and long-sleeved coat.  A few decades ago, it would have been rather silly for a Genin to expect his first mission to take him outside the city walls.  But thanks to the Hokage's new initiatives, there was a surplus of Genin all over the Konoha.  Older, more experienced Genin such as himself were regularly called out on missions that would have taken a Chuunin or higher in the past-- in part because they were as skilled as any Chuunin.<br/><br/>The Hokage had no doubt hoped that raising the minimum age and experience to take the Chuunin exam would reduce casualties, but the ever-more-experienced entrants had caused examiners to design ever-more-difficult trials.  It was a self-reinforcing cycle.  And Tomo was glad of it, because it meant he probably had some competent shinobi on his squad.  Probably.<br/><br/>Up ahead, the train of houses ended abruptly.  He continued at full speed.  As he jumped off the last roof, his hands flashed through an intricate series of gestures.  "Fuuton: Shihai!"  For a brief moment, his head was framed by the giant stone faces of previous Hokage.  Then a gust of wind caught his back and accelerated him across the town, depositing his body gently by the main gate.  He looked around.  This early in the morning, there weren't too many people going in or out.  The guards, a few messengers who'd ridden through the night...  his squad leader should be easy to spot.  There were some other Genin nearby, too.  Were any of them his future squad members?