The week after passing the bell test had been... underwhelming.
"I thought being a ninja meant fighting rogue shinobi and saving princesses," Michio grumbled, dragging a cart full of cabbages through Konoha's muddy outskirts.
"Not delivering produce."
Naruto flopped over the side of the cart, groaning. "This is so lame. When do we get to fight bad guys and learn forbidden jutsu?!"
"Maybe after you learn how to not trip over your own kunai," Sakura snapped, swatting his head.
Sasuke walked silently ahead, carrying a mission scroll and radiating his usual "I'm too cool for vegetables" energy.
> Ultra Gainz System Notification:
Side Quest: "Weight Training, But Make It Agricultural"
Push your strength stat by pulling a cart over 10km with full load
Reward: +2 Strength, +1 Endurance, +1 Farmer Respect
Bonus Objective: Carry Naruto at the same time (Optional… but funny)
Michio's eye twitched. "Do not tempt me."
---
Their next mission was worse.
"Your task," the old lady said sweetly, "is to retrieve my sweet potato-eating pig, Tonton. She ran off into the forest again. Poor thing's probably terrified."
Naruto blinked. "Tonton's a pig?"
Sakura sighed. "It's literally right there in the description."
Kakashi handed them a map. "Try not to get lost. Or eaten."
---
In the forest, things escalated fast.
They found pig tracks… but they weren't just pig tracks.
"Are those... claw marks?" Sakura asked, kneeling beside a tree gouged by something with very bad intentions.
Before they could answer, the bushes exploded.
A massive, wild boar—not Tonton—charged straight at them with a roar that did not belong to a normal farm animal.
Naruto screamed and climbed a tree. Sasuke moved to intercept with a kunai. Sakura ducked.
And Michio?
He dropped into a low stance, muscles tensing, eyes locked on the charging beast.
"...I got this."
> System Notification:
Random Encounter Triggered: "Wild Boar from Hell"
Strength Requirement: 10
Your Current Strength: 9
Bonus Objective: Lift it. Just because you can.
He ran toward it.
Sasuke shouted, "Are you insane?!"
"No," Michio muttered. "I'm training."
At the last moment, he dropped low, dug his heels into the dirt, and caught the beast by its tusks.
The momentum nearly flipped him—until he planted one foot, pivoted, and with a roar that echoed through the trees…
He lifted the wild boar overhead.
Naruto's jaw hit the branch. "WHAT?!"
Sasuke took a full step back.
Even the boar looked confused.
Michio held the pose, trembling from the effort, but smirking.
> Quest Complete!
+2 Strength
+1 Endurance
Title Unlocked: "Beast Handler (Unofficial)"
Tonton now fears you slightly less than nature.
---
They found the real Tonton an hour later, stuck in a log and covered in sweet potato crumbs.
Kakashi showed up just as they returned to the village, casually flipping his book.
"Nice job," he said. "Heard you scared a wild boar into early retirement."
Michio shrugged, stretching his sore arms. "It was leg day."
> System Notification:
Daily Workout Complete
You feel like a beast.
Also, your shoulders are now illegal in three countries.
Kakashi's eye twitched. "You are... a very unusual genin."
Naruto flopped over. "Can we please fight some bad guys next time?!"
Michio looked up at the sky, a smile playing on his lips.
He was getting stronger. And the real journey hadn't even begun.