Chapter 15: Yugito Nii: What's Your Type?
A half-month later, in the Raikage's office.
"Neji, as your senior, there are a few things I want to say to you," A said, a nostalgic look on his face.
"It would be my honor, Lord Raikage."
"Once you become a shinobi, your life truly begins, and the warmth of your childhood will fade. One day, you will look back and realize that these past few years were the best memories of your life."
Neji closed his eyes, then slowly opened them again. "Perhaps I am an exception, Lord Raikage. I am fully prepared for what lies ahead."
A nodded and handed his own forehead protector to Neji. "Then go. Embrace your new future."
Neji solemnly accepted the forehead protector, with its symbol of the Hidden Cloud, and tied it around his forehead.
A pointed a single finger toward the ceiling. "Go. Your Jōnin leader is waiting on the rooftop."
Neji nodded slightly and quickly left the office.
On the rooftop of the Raikage's office building, Yugito Nii, who had just returned from her training at the Unraikyō the day before, stood with her arms crossed, letting the cool wind wash over her face as she looked down upon the entire village.
Ever since she had become the Jinchūriki of the Two-Tails, she had spent all her time at the Unraikyō, training relentlessly in the hopes of one day reconciling with her Tailed Beast, just as Killer B had, and becoming the first perfect Jinchūriki of the Two-Tails in history.
Her hard work had paid off. After several years of arduous training, she could now communicate with the Two-Tails, Matatabi, and could draw on its power to enter a partial Tailed Beast state.
"Five years... a full five years. I've finally made something of myself," Yugito murmured, a lovely smile gracing her lips.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The sound of steady footsteps approached from behind.
Yugito's smile vanished as she turned to look at the young, white-eyed boy walking toward her.
"Excuse me," Neji asked, looking around and seeing no one else. "Are you the Jōnin leader assigned by Lord Raikage?"
The woman was tall, at least 170 centimeters, with exquisitely delicate features and skin as fair as jade. She looked completely different from the other Kumo shinobi, almost as if she wasn't from the Hidden Cloud at all. She had long, straight, biscuit-blonde hair tied in a long, waist-length braid. Her entire demeanor was heroic, carrying the air of a queen, but her lively, intelligent eyes gave her a touch of cuteness.
On a scale of one to one hundred, she was a solid ninety. The other ten points were lost on a slightly tomboyish edge that didn't quite fit her otherwise perfect features.
This was the most beautiful kunoichi in the Hidden Cloud, the Jinchūriki of the Two-Tails, Yugito Nii.
Yugito leaped down in front of Neji, studying his eyes with keen interest. "If there isn't a second pair of Byakugan in the Hidden Cloud, then I must be the one."
Neji was quite surprised. He hadn't expected his new sensei to be a Jinchūriki. Jinchūriki were living weapons of war; their importance was self-evident. Konoha's Kushina had never been allowed to lead a Genin team. She was monitored by the ANBU day and night, her movements restricted to a sealed barrier. The village had, in effect, stripped her of her freedom. The treatment of Jinchūriki in the Cloud was certainly much better.
Still, to make a Jinchūriki a Jōnin instructor was an incredibly risky move, no matter how you looked at it.
The debt I owe Lord Raikage... I'll never be able to repay it all.
Yugito continued to stare at Neji with curiosity, not saying a word.
The silence stretched until Neji began to feel awkward. "I've heard," he said tentatively, "that when forming a ninja squad, we're supposed to introduce ourselves, right?"
Yugito blinked, looking slightly embarrassed. "This is my first time leading a team. What am I supposed to introduce?"
Neji stroked his chin, thinking for a moment. "Probably your name, what you're good at, things you like, things you hate, and your dream for the future. Yeah, I think that's it."
"Interesting. You go first," Yugito said, blinking again as she continued to stare at him.
Neji gave a helpless smile. This Jōnin leader was not only inexperienced, but also a little bit of an airhead.
"My name is Hyūga Neji. I've never attended the Ninja Academy, and I've just made my debut, but I'm very, very strong. Don't think of me as just a Genin brat."
"I like hot baths, sleeping in, and occasionally slacking off. I hate it when people try to force their will on me."
"As for my dream for the future..." Neji's eyes narrowed. "I have many. To bring ruin to the corrupt Hyūga clan, to build a new Hyūga clan in the Hidden Cloud, and then to lead this village to supremacy in the shinobi world, among other things."
This kid...
Yugito looked at Neji with genuine surprise. She then mimicked his introduction.
"My name is Yugito Nii. I'm the Jinchūriki of the Two-Tails. I've been in training for a long time, so this is my first time as a Jōnin leader, and I'm not very experienced. I like cats and papayas. I hate women who are all talk and no substance. My dream is to become the first perfect Jinchūriki of the Two-Tails."
"Hmm, a very worthy dream," Neji said, clapping his hands politely. "Now then, I officially declare Team Yugito form—"
"Wait."
Yugito suddenly cut him off, a playful smile tugging at her lips. "I have one more question."
"Oh?" Neji looked at her curiously. This was new. A Jōnin grilling a Genin during introductions was definitely not standard procedure.
Yugito's eyes narrowed. "Tell me, what's your type?"
"..."
Neji froze. What in the world is she talking about?
"Yugito-sensei, if this question were coming from a brothel owner doing market research, I wouldn't find it strange."
Hearing this, Yugito's face hardened, and she adopted her queenly persona. "Brat, are you talking back to your sensei?"
"Of course not." Neji shook his head and then answered honestly. "Snow-white skin, a thin waist, long legs, stockings, uniforms, glasses..."
Before he could finish, Yugito suddenly rapped him on the head with her knuckle, looking at him with utter disdain.
For the rest of the day, Neji had to endure Yugito's murderous glares. He was completely baffled. I'm just a kid, what did I do wrong? You were the one who asked! And then you get mad when I actually tell you!
Missions were divided into five ranks: D, C, B, A, and S.
For the first month, Yugito and Neji exclusively took on D-rank missions. What many didn't know was that D-rank missions were a blessing. For every D-rank mission posted, the village actually lost money. Tasks like moving furniture, finding lost cats, or escorting an old woman to visit her relatives—things that required no real skill and could even be done by civilians—were all classified as D-rank.
Normally, clients wouldn't post such low-level requests. But the village's new Genin needed time to familiarize themselves with the mission process, and D-rank missions were perfect for that. Therefore, for every D-rank mission a client posted, they received a subsidy from either the village or the Land of Lightning itself.
On this day, having thoroughly learned the ropes, Yugito took Neji to the mission assignment desk to pick up a C-rank mission.
At the C-rank window, Neji took the list of available missions and looked through them one by one. Exterminating bandits, driving away wild boars... none of them were very appealing. They were either too easy or too close to the village. Neji wanted something with a higher difficulty, or a mission that would take him far away from the Hidden Cloud, preferably outside the Land of Lightning entirely.
As he reached the last entry on the list, his eyes lit up.
"An escort mission... to the Land of Grass..."