Chapter 75 — The Mission
Ninjutsu Exchange Office
"I've completed three A-rank missions. What level of ninjutsu can I exchange for?"
Truthfully, Taichi had never studied the exact rules for ninjutsu exchange.
The chūnin at the counter grew even more panicked.
Three A-rank missions?
Had he just offended a monster in child form?
While inwardly sweating, he spoke quickly and politely:
"Two A-rank mission records can be exchanged for one B-rank ninjutsu.
Or one A-rank record can be exchanged for two C-rank ninjutsu."
Taichi nodded. "So only B and C levels are available? What if I want to exchange for an A-rank ninjutsu?"
The chūnin straightened his posture, adopting a more formal tone.
"Apologies. We only handle B-rank and C-rank ninjutsu here. Any jutsu at A-rank or above requires direct approval from the Hokage."
He wasn't wrong.
B- and C-rank ninjutsu were safe enough—worst case, you simply failed to master them.
But A-rank techniques were a different matter:
destructive, dangerous, sometimes even life-threatening during training.
They were also considered part of a village's core heritage—not something a random shinobi could exchange for freely.
"In that case," Taichi said lightly, "exchange everything for C-rank ninjutsu. I'd like to look at all five elemental releases."
"All… five attributes?"
The chūnin stared at him, dumbfounded.
It wasn't surprising.
Normally only jōnin bothered studying a second elemental affinity to cover their weaknesses.
But this kid—who didn't even look past academy age—wanted all five?
"Of course," Taichi replied, feigning confusion. "Is there a rule against that?"
"N-no, of course not."
Realizing he had no grounds to refuse, the chūnin quickly opened a drawer, took out five scrolls, and handed them over.
"These contain the catalog descriptions of all C-rank ninjutsu available in each elemental release. Pick whatever you like. Once you've chosen, I'll bring you the original copies."
"Thanks."
Taichi unrolled the scrolls and read carefully.
There were quite a lot of ninjutsu listed, though many were variations of the same basic concepts.
Which made sense—most techniques were developed around core functions such as attack, defense, mobility, or disruption.
Different villages often reinvented similar jutsu under different names.
Before long, Taichi made his selections:
Water Release: Water Wave
Earth Release: Underground Projection Jutsu
Earth Release: Earth-Splitting Palm
Lightning Release: Lightning Ball
Lightning Release: Lightning Clone
Wind Release: Vacuum Bullet
Aside from Water and Wind, he had chosen Earth and Lightning techniques to complete the final two elemental transformations he lacked.
Mastering these would not only broaden his combat options—
but once completed, he would officially become a full-affinity shinobi.
After informing the chūnin of his choices, the man gave Taichi a very strange look.
To him, it probably seemed like this kid was squandering precious A-rank mission records on a scattershot collection of basic C-rank jutsu.
Which clan raised a child this bold?
The chūnin stared at Taichi for a long moment, his earlier annoyance completely gone.
Then he thought about it again, and a strange realization struck him:
Perhaps… this is just how geniuses operate.
We ordinary people will never understand their world.
After a short wait, the chūnin returned carrying all six of the ninjutsu scrolls Taichi had selected.
He handed over the scrolls and Taichi's ninja ID, then stood there staring at him, eyes practically shouting:
"Please leave quickly and peacefully!"
That look made Taichi's skin crawl.
Without another word, he turned and left the exchange office.
By the time he exited the mission hall, the sun had already dipped below the horizon.
Taichi walked home with a light step.
He knew what awaited him—
a mountain of training during the next few days.
---
Days of Training
Just as Taichi expected, the new techniques filled his schedule completely.
His daily routine became a cycle of training, walking to training, and thinking about training.
One day he discussed one-handed seals with Minato.
The next, he guided Rin through her medical-ninjutsu practice.
And of course, effort always brought results.
System messages flickered through his perception:
[Congratulations! Skill unlocked: S-Rank Water Release — Frenzied Water Dance Lv1 (20/100)]
[Congratulations! Skill merged: S-Rank Water Release — Great Water Prison (Revised).
Combined C-rank Water Prison + A-rank Great Water Prison →
S-Rank Great Water Prison Lv3 (142/400)]
[Congratulations! Skills learned:
C-Rank Water Release — Water Wave Lv2 (25/200)
C-Rank Wind Release — Vacuum Bullet Lv2 (32/200)]
As for the newly acquired Earth and Lightning jutsu:
He hadn't mastered them yet, but both had already formed as skills—just stuck at Lv0 (Unlearned).
Since Earth and Lightning weren't part of his natural affinities, they would take longer to grasp.
But once a skill existed, mastering it was only a matter of time.
---
Then—early one morning—
a dusty gray bird flapped clumsily into Taichi's sensory range.
Boldly, it swooped straight toward him despite him being in the middle of training.
With a swift movement, Taichi reached up and grabbed it from the air.
Caught completely off-guard, the bird slammed right into his palm.
"Ji! Ji! Let me go! Ji ji!"
The bird screeched with a startlingly unpleasant, duck-like voice.
Taichi held it at arm's length, disgusted.
"Quiet. You just dove at me head-on—aren't you afraid I'll roast you for breakfast?"
He tightened his grip slightly.
"Ji—!"
The bird instantly went silent, trembling all over.
"Alright," Taichi said. "Why are you here?"
"Ji ji—My name is Jiji, I'm Captain Yamaguchi Masasuke's summoning beast! I came to deliver a message, ji!"
Taichi blinked.
Captain Yamaguchi? With a summoning animal like THIS?
Jiji squirmed under Taichi's stare, nervously fluffing its feathers before speaking again:
"Ji! Masasuke says there's an emergency mission.
Prepare supplies.
Meet at the village gate in two hours! Ji!"
It flapped its wings to leave—but Taichi snatched it mid-air again.
"So anxious to run off? Don't you have ANY more details?"
"Ji! No more! I still have to notify Uchiha Yohei and Furukawa Saori! Let me go!"
Hearing the names of his teammates, Taichi released it.
The bird circled above him once, then shot away toward the village.
Taichi watched it disappear.
"An emergency mission with zero intel…
This really must be urgent."
He shook his head and hurried home to prepare.
---
Konoha Gate
An hour and a half later, Taichi arrived at the village entrance.
Yohei and Saori were already waiting.
The three exchanged greetings, each equally puzzled.
An assignment with no details?
That was rare.
Normally mission intel came before supply preparation.
Whatever this was, it was clearly special.
After a long wait, Captain Yamaguchi finally arrived—right on the dot.
"I'll keep it brief," he said.
"Our mission is to deliver a batch of supplies to a border outpost.
Due to special circumstances, their provisions are two days overdue.
Time is tight.
We depart immediately.
I'll explain the rest on the way."
"Yes, sir!"
The team answered in unison.