***
The time had come. It wasn't just the rookie ninja of Konoha who were beginning to make a name for themselves; in Sunagakure, the annual review of official ninja was also due.
Konoha, with its deep foundations, had a Ninja Academy that cultivated a large batch of qualified rookies every year. Sunagakure, on the other hand… was another story entirely.
In name, Sunagakure also had a Ninja Academy, but it was nothing like Konoha's mature and comprehensive education system. Given Sunagakure's conditions, they could only manage a pale imitation. From Daigan's experience at the Sunagakure Ninja Academy, it couldn't be called a school at all. It was more like a Boy Scout training camp. The post-graduation evaluation and selection process was also highly unprofessional. The few decent top students were cherry-picked, and the rest—the rejects—were essentially abandoned.
In Sunagakure, the relationship between a jonin leading a genin squad on missions was nothing like the semi-apprenticeship seen in Konoha. It was almost purely a union of interests, like a collection of rival gangs where lieutenants picked their underlings, forming cliques for mutual benefit.
With a tradition like this, it was impossible to expect any investment in students with niche talents or those who were too specialized and had a low probability of success.
That was why, even now, Shira—the taijutsu prodigy who couldn't use ninjutsu and created his own Seven Heavens Breathing Method, a future powerhouse teammate for Chi and Yome—wasn't even a ninja yet. He would only get his chance years later, after Gaara became the Fifth Kazekage.
As for the current Daigan, whether he could carry two support-type female ninja like the future Shira would depend not only on his own strength but also on whether Chi and Yome could be as useful as they would become in two years' time.
A mission like eliminating bandits was an excellent opportunity for observation.
It was rare for a genin squad to face other ninja in combat. Bandit groups occasionally had powerful rogue ninja or disgraced samurai among their ranks, and the other blood-soaked thugs were ruthless and difficult to deal with. But with the strength of a genin squad, as long as they planned properly and employed a strategy of divide and conquer, wiping out a bandit gang was certainly manageable.
As long as they didn't run into official ninja from other villages, Sunagakure's genin were quite formidable. Though they lacked long-term potential and produced few geniuses, in their youth, their individual combat strength was generally a cut above that of other villages—barring the homicidal maniacs from the Village of the Bloody Mist.
***
Early the next morning, Daigan, Chi, and Yome left the village with Otokaze, heading toward the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Grass to complete their mission.
Daigan's former jonin leader, Iron Sand, was two or three years older than Otokaze. Over the years, Daigan and Iron Sand had developed a decent relationship, and he had been well looked after. As for his current leader, Otokaze, Daigan had no intention of being overly friendly until he had a better grasp of his personality.
The Chunin Exam was approaching, and the Konoha Crush was about to begin. The ones carrying out Sunagakure's surprise attack would undoubtedly be elite jonin and chunin. They would be the ones to suffer the heaviest losses. Getting close to Otokaze now might be a waste of effort if the man ended up dead in Konoha.
In contrast, the less capable genin were likely to be safer. For Daigan, who knew what was coming, the danger wasn't particularly great.
Of course, as members of the same team, a professional attitude was the bare minimum. Daigan could still manage a pleasant conversation with the jonin who was clearly just going through the motions.
After nearly half a day of hard travel, the group finally found a weathered rock cave in the Gobi Desert to rest and replenish their food and water. The four of them sat in a circle, making rare small talk about the past.
Jonin Otokaze was the eldest, but he was still a hot-blooded young man. He had little in common with the youthful Chi and Yome, but he found he could chat quite well with Daigan, who bridged the age gap.
The natural topic of conversation was Daigan's reckless attempt to punch above his weight—the story of a poor, unremarkable boy pursuing the princess of Sunagakure had spread throughout the entire village in a matter of days. And the butt of the joke, naturally, was the thick-skinned Daigan.
"Young people these days certainly have a lot of energy!" Otokaze couldn't resist joining in on the gossip. Daigan had become quite the celebrity in Sunagakure recently. "Temari's mother, Karura, was also a great beauty back in the day. She had many suitors, but in the end, it was the outstanding Fourth Kazekage who won her heart!"
"Always talking about the past is a sign of old age, Captain Otokaze!" Daigan chuckled. He was long used to the endless stream of jokes and teasing. You needed a thick skin to endure it.
Otokaze, however, quite liked Daigan's cheerful demeanor. He clapped him on the shoulder. "You're… not bad. If you had a better background, or even if your father had lived a few more years, things would be very different for you! What a pity!"
That was just how Sunagakure was. Without someone to pull you up, it was incredibly difficult to get ahead. There wasn't a single child from a powerful family in their entire squad. Forget the sibling trio of Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari; among the ancestors of Daigan, Chi, and Yome, the most accomplished was, ironically, Daigan's own father, who had died young. Otokaze himself had only reached his current position because Baki had taken a liking to him in his early years.
Yura, who assigned the squad members, clearly didn't think much of these three genin and was unwilling to allocate many resources to them. Otokaze himself was only a temporary leader. A genin squad like this, if nothing unexpected happened, had a bleak future.
"You can't choose your birth," Daigan said, grateful for the jonin's candor, "but I have no intention of resigning myself to fate."
"There's something I want to say in advance, especially to you, Chi, and you, Yome…" Daigan got straight to the point, his words bordering on arrogant. "The Chunin Exam in the middle of this year… I am definitely participating."
Chi, who had been silent, was taken aback, then teased, "You're really dreaming. Is Chunin a rank you can achieve right now?"
Yome chimed in, expressing her disbelief.
"I'm not joking," Daigan stated calmly, his tone firm. "I hope you two will also aim for the Chunin Exam. Otherwise, things will get very awkward for me."
"Is that so!" Seeing that Daigan was serious, Chi and Yome couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.
Otokaze studied Daigan with renewed seriousness. "I've underestimated you. The Chunin Exam, eh? Looks like I, the temporary captain, am going to get dragged into this."
"It would be best if we could get your recommendation, Captain."
"And if I don't recommend you? What's your plan then?"
"I don't know." Daigan thought for a moment and shook his head. "I'll figure it out when the time comes."
"If even I don't approve of you after spending a few months together, who else could you possibly turn to?" Otokaze stood up, dusting himself off. "Time to go. Let me see what you're made of, Daigan. Ever since the Third Kazekage disappeared, there haven't been many interesting young people in the village…"