The sun was shining so brightly that it was starting to feel like a personal attack on my pale skin. It was one of those annoyingly peaceful days, and that tranquility was just another reminder of how bored I was with the routine.
I glanced to my side and saw Jimei, his messy hair sticking out in odd directions as usual, walking beside me with his signature awkward smile. He was saying something about our last D-rank mission, probably rambling about the onigiri that nice old lady gave us after we heroically removed weeds from her garden.
Normally, I would've responded—maybe even laughed—but my mind was elsewhere. Stuck in the never-ending cycle of dull, soul-sucking D-rank missions. Pull weeds, deliver packages, walk Inuzuka dogs that had more authority in this village than I did… It was all the same.
I knew life as a genin would be like this. But at the very least, I thought the pay would make up for it. Spoiler alert: It didn't. Most D-rank missions paid around 10,000 ryō, and even that was split up. Now, if it were just divided among my team, great. But no, the village took a whopping 40% off the top as a "service fee" (because even in a ninja world, taxes exist). It was absurd—there was no escaping capitalism, not even in another universe.
Then Dekai-sensei, our towering, ever-serious mentor, helped himself to 30% because reasons, leaving me, Jimei, and Natsu to split the scraps.
In the end, I usually walked away with about 1,000 ryō per mission. And while that didn't sound too bad at first—since we did one or two missions a day—there was one tiny problem: I now had to pay back the village for my training and pay my rent. Guess how much that was per month? 15,000 ryō.
BAt that moment, I truly understood why that guy Kakuzu was so obsessed with money.
Jimei suddenly stopped talking and looked at me expectantly. Oh crap. He'd been saying something, and I'd zoned out completely. I forced a halfhearted smile.
"Uh… Sorry, Jimei. I was… thinking."
"That's never a good sign." he said with a snicker. "You always look so serious, but when you don't answer, I know you're in one of your brooding moods."
I sighed and tilted my head back, letting the warm sunlight hit my face.
"It's nothing serious. Just... these missions. They're so repetitive." I confessed in a frustrated tone.
"Oh yeah, I noticed." Jimei replied, straightening up as he kept walking. "But at least we have training too, right?"
That made me frown. Training? What training? Sure, I stuck to my own daily training regime, but our official team training with Dekai-sensei was… questionable. Every Saturday, we spent the whole day practicing teamwork exercises. That was it. No cool new jutsus, no power-ups, just endless battle formation drills.
The only real technique Dekai had taught us so far was walking on water. And while I mastered that in a week, I was getting really tired of all these theoretical fights. I wanted to shoot fire from my mouth! Was that too much to ask?!
"Ken-kun, what's with the sulky face? You look like someone just spit in your food." Jimei teased, poking my cheek with his finger.
"I just wish Dekai-sensei would teach us something new!" I admitted with a dramatic sigh. "It's been two months of nothing but teamwork drills. I wanna learn a new jutsu! Or at least have him help me with my techniques."
Finally voicing my frustration made me feel a little better. But when I turned to look at Jimei, he was staring at me like I had just confessed to eating dirt for breakfast.
"…You're joking, right?" he asked, his face full of disbelief.
I was surprised by Jimei's doubt. Of course, he knew what I meant, right? He had to be joking.
"Huh? No, I'm serious." I replied quickly, a bit irritated. "He's our jounin sensei. Isn't it his job to teach us new techniques?"
Jimei let out a long, suffering sigh and looked at me with something close to pity.
"I have no idea how you were the best student at the academy…" he said, shaking his head. "Jounin senseis lead the team during missions, Ken-kun. They help us improve, but—and this is the important part—you have to actually ask them to teach you new jutsu."
"…Ask?" I repeated, my brain buffering.
"Yes, ask," Jimei said, now looking at me like I was a particularly slow toddler. "Sensei isn't gonna spoon-feed you techniques. You have to request training."
I stared at him, horrified.
"But… how? He's our sensei, isn't he? Shouldn't he be teaching us new techniques?"
Jimei looked almost exasperated. He sighed again before continuing.
"You're an idiot, you know that? Dekai has been teaching me some new genjutsu, but I asked. He didn't just offer."
"Wait. So you're saying… you've been learning new genjutsus… because you asked?" I was shocked.
"Duh." Jimei shrugged. "I asked, he taught me. It's not rocket science."
My soul left my body. Two whole months. Wasted.
"You're telling me… I could've been learning cool new techniques this entire time?!"
"Yep. And now you look extra dumb." Jimei smirked.
Great. So not only had I been stuck in an endless cycle of lame missions, but I'd also been voluntarily missing out on actual training. And I call myself smart?
"What about Natsu? Is she learning anything new from sensei?"
"No, Natsu isn't learning anything, at least not that I know of." He explained patiently. "She's from the Hyuuga clan—apparently, they can only use clan techniques."
I was starting to understand. Next time I saw Dekai-sensei, I would ask him to teach me something new. Or maybe he could help me with that technique I had been trying to replicate in this world. It wasn't taijutsu, so I was struggling a bit to pull it off.
Just then, we arrived at the administrative building, where we found Natsu nervously adjusting her hair. She seemed lost in thought, but when she saw us, she visibly relaxed. Standing beside her was Dekai-sensei, as rigid and unreadable as ever.
Our conversation was cut short as we stepped up to them.
"Hey, guys!" Natsu greeted us with a smile. "Ready for the mission?"
I nodded, trying to suppress my ever-growing boredom. Another thrilling D-rank mission awaited us. Dekai-sensei acknowledged us with a simple nod, his expression as serious as ever.
"Let's go in." His deep voice left no room for argument.
Inside, the usual bureaucratic atmosphere of the mission office filled the air. We were just about to receive our next thrilling task when Natsu suddenly spoke up.
"Sensei…" Her voice was quiet. "Can we take a C-rank mission?"
I snapped my head toward her, shocked. Natsu? Asking for a C-rank mission?
Natsu was never one to ask for something so bold, especially considering how nervous she always was during missions. It was clear she was trying to show more confidence, and honestly, I felt proud of her.
Jimei practically vibrated with excitement. "YES! PLEASE, SENSEI! ME AND KEN-KUN WANT ONE TOO!"
Dekai's gaze flicked between us, unreadable. "A C-rank mission?" He repeated, expression neutral. "Are you sure about this, Natsu?"
"Yes!" Natsu seemed more confident with Jimei's support. "I feel like we're ready for a bigger challenge. We don't want to keep doing such simple missions."
I couldn't let this chance slip away—I had to back them up. I couldn't stand another damn D-rank mission.
"I agree," I said, summoning all my pent-up frustration into one determined statement. "We're ready for more. The D-rank missions aren't helping us grow anymore."
Dekai studied us for a long moment, his ever-serious face making it impossible to guess what he was thinking. Finally, he sighed.
"…Fine. A C-rank mission."
Jimei gasped dramatically. "REALLY?!"
"But…" Dekai added, his voice firm, "understand that this will not be easy. You must be fully prepared."
We all nodded eagerly.
As we stepped into the mission office, we were greeted by a young chūnin sitting behind a desk, shuffling through a mountain of papers. To my surprise, the woman in question was none other than Kurenai Yūhi.
I recognized her instantly—the Kurenai, the one with those mesmerizing red eyes. This was the first time I'd ever seen eyes like that in person. She looked young, maybe just a few years older than me.
Dekai-sensei gave her a brief nod, his usual gruff expression barely changing. But something was off—he looked a little surprised to see her there.
"Kurenai." he said in that same neutral, no-nonsense tone of his. "You're in charge of missions today?"
She smiled, looking a little flustered as her cheeks turned slightly pink. Huh. That was odd. I always thought she had a thing for Asuma, but judging by the way she was reacting, it seemed like my sensei might've been her real type all along.
"Yeah." she answered, clearing her throat. "It's part of the requirements for becoming a jōnin."
Wait, really? That was news to me. Then again, I had no idea how jōnin promotions actually worked—the anime never covered that.
She quickly composed herself, her expression shifting into something more professional.
"Alright, Team Four, we have plenty of D-rank missions available. Any preferences?" She asked, looking at Dekai-sensei.
For a brief second, I panicked. What if Dekai-sensei changed his mind?
But to my relief, he shook his head. "No. Today, we're taking a C-rank mission."
Kurenai blinked. Then blinked again. "A C-rank? For them?" She gestured toward us, as if double-checking that Dekai hadn't picked up a random group of academy students by mistake. "You do realize what you're asking for, right?"
"Yes." Dekai answered firmly. "I'll be leading them. We're ready."
Kurenai gave us another look, then sighed and grabbed a mission scroll.
"Alright… here it is. You'll be delivering an important package to an artisan in the Land of Rivers. It should be a simple job, but the roads are dangerous, so stay alert."
A C-rank mission. Finally, a real challenge! My heart pounded with excitement. No more painting fences, no more chasing runaway cats, no more pulling weeds. This was actual ninja work!
Dekai-sensei took the scroll and nodded. "Meet at the east gate in two hours." His voice was as serious as ever, but I could tell—he was just as ready as we were.
We all nodded in response. My mind was already racing with anticipation. I was finally leaving Konoha, finally going to see more of this ninja world!
…Oh, right. I needed to find Naruto and let him know we wouldn't be able to hit Ichiraku today. It had become sort of a tradition for us to grab ramen together after my missions. Maybe that was why I was constantly broke.
Then again, it's not like I'd stop. Naruto was way too skinny, and even though ramen wasn't the most nutritious thing in the world, at least I knew he was eating something.
But that was a problem for later.
Right now, all that mattered was the mission.
A C-rank mission.
Finally.