Kill the Bandits
This was a mission entrusted by a border village.
The destination was about 300 kilometers away from Konoha, and the village consisted entirely of ordinary civilians.
Normally, since it was within the Land of Fire's territory, it wouldn't be easy for it to be attacked. Especially not by ninjas.
Unless another nation chose to go to war with the Land of Fire and Konoha, such incidents were rare.
However, for some reason, a group of bandits had suddenly appeared in the mountains near the village.
Every so often, they would raid several nearby villages, plundering at will as if the villagers were nothing more than livestock.
The villagers had endured this torment for a whole month.
Finally, unable to take it any longer, they sent a young man to Konoha to request help.
Although Simu hadn't seen the young man, he figured it must have been a desperate situation.
After all, this was just how things were in the Land of Fire.
The country's infrastructure was extremely weak, and while the Daimyō was technically the ruler, his control only extended to the capital and a few major cities.
Small villages on the outskirts had long been neglected, with no military presence or protection.
Whenever they were attacked by outside forces, their only option was to seek help from Konoha's ninja.
To Simu, this system was absurd.
But in the end, what did it matter to him?
He was just another nameless ninja in Konoha.
Jiraiya raised his hand in a signal.
Everyone stopped and looked at him.
"We'll rest here for the night," he announced.
"Yes," the group responded.
After a quick setup, Minato strung thin wires around their perimeter, attaching small bells to them.
This way, if anyone approached, the bells would alert them immediately.
Simu popped a ration pill into his mouth, chewing with a frown.
"This thing tastes awful. Barbecue is way better," he grumbled.
Kushina, sitting cross-legged on the ground, quietly ate her own ration pill.
"You should be grateful you even have something to eat," she retorted.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya studied the map.
"At this pace, we should reach our destination early in the morning," he said.
Simu glanced at the map before asking the only question he cared about.
"How much is the mission payout?"
Jiraiya sighed.
Most rookies had one of two reactions to their first mission.
Either they were terrified, afraid of getting injured or even dying in battle...
Or they were like Kushina—excited, eager to prove themselves as true ninjas.
After all, for most people in a shinobi village, becoming a ninja was an honor.
But Simu...
He wasn't excited about being a ninja, nor was he scared of the dangers of their mission.
All he cared about was the paycheck.
Jiraiya had already come to accept that Simu's mindset was different from the norm.
He took out the mission scroll and glanced at it.
"This is a C-rank mission. The reward is 60,000 ryō."
"Half of that goes to the village. Then, the leading teacher takes half of the remainder. The rest is split evenly among the team."
"That means you'll each get about 5,000 ryō."
Simu sucked in a sharp breath.
"Konoha's basically a damn corporation," he muttered.
Ninjas risked their lives on missions, yet the village took half the payment without lifting a finger.
Disdainfully, he picked his nose and flicked the booger away.
"Konoha's so ruthless. And why the hell do you get half the reward?" he asked Jiraiya.
Jiraiya shrugged.
"That's just how the system works. Not my fault."
To be honest, he hadn't even thought about his own cut until Simu brought it up.
Before Simu could complain further, he suddenly felt a chill in the air.
He turned his head—
And saw Kushina.
Her crimson hair flared like flames, and her once innocent face now had an ominous shadow cast over it.
"Uh... when did you get a mole, Kushina?" Simu asked casually.
Her fists clenched, and her eyes burned with rage.
"HANYU SIMU!"
"YOU'RE DEAD!"
Her rock-like fist came crashing down toward him.
The moment Simu sensed her killing intent, he instantly activated his Logia ability.
His body transformed into countless flickering light particles, allowing Kushina's monstrous punch to pass straight through him.
Her fist smashed into a giant tree behind him, splitting it clean in half.
Simu's body reformed on a nearby branch.
"That was terrifying..." he muttered, still shaken.
Nonchalantly, he picked his nose again.
The veins on Kushina's forehead bulged.
"HANYU SIMU, IF YOU FLICK THAT BOOGER, I SWEAR I'LL TEAR YOU APART!"
Simu quickly pulled his finger away.
"Man, girls are scary..." he mumbled.
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