Chi and Yome gathered their clean clothes, said goodbye to Daigan's mother, and left.
"Daigan, is everything really okay?" Kureha asked with concern.
"What?"
"The news about you and Lady Temari is all over the village. We're just a common family. The gap between us and the Kazekage's daughter is too wide..."
Outsiders could laugh all they wanted, but Daigan's mother couldn't help but worry.
"It's fine, Mother, I know what I'm doing. I'm heading up."
"Daigan..." Kureha wanted to say more, but Daigan was already walking away. "Sigh..."
Life for a poor family in Sunagakure was harder than one could imagine. Thankfully, after Daigan became a ninja, his generous mission pay helped support the household. But a ninja's expenses were not small. A Genin's commission wasn't very high to begin with. After giving a portion to his mother and buying ninja tools, Daigan was left with very little.
***
Daigan gently pushed open the door to his grandfather Kazuchi's room. The old man was already asleep, his energy depleted by age.
Not wanting to disturb his grandfather's rest, Daigan returned to his old room. Although he hadn't lived in it for a long time, his mother had kept it clean, so it wasn't messy.
He took off his head covering and ninja vest, leaving him in a white athletic suit. He looked at the budding young ninja in the mirror.
His short brown hair gave him a spirited look. The color was a little darker than Chi's but lighter than Yome's, and combined with his sun-tanned, bronze skin, he looked healthy and vibrant.
*I don't look half bad. My face is well-shaped, not ugly. There's room for improvement. My height is just average, though, not very imposing. I'm only sixteen. If I keep training, I can probably still grow a little taller, right?*
***
The night was quiet. Sunagakure was blessedly windless and serene, with the bright moonlight blanketing the slumbering village. Even the Jinchuriki of the One-Tail, whose heart burned like a raging fire, had calmed slightly. He leaned against a corner of a roof, enjoying the tranquility the moon brought.
In the dark corners untouched by the moonlight, the Anbu, under the direct command of the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, monitored every move in the village.
In the communal apartments for single ninja, a boy was working out, drenched in sweat, oblivious to the pair of eyes observing him from outside his window.
"So that's him? Not bad. Talent and strength aside, his diligence alone surpasses most ninja."
Otokaze, a rising Jonin in Sunagakure, had just returned from a mission and was immediately assigned to temporarily lead a newly formed Genin squad. Though reluctant, he couldn't disobey orders and had come to observe the ninja who would soon be his subordinates.
The first member made a good impression. Seeing him in person was much more intuitive than reading a file. As for the other two, he would have to observe them tomorrow during the day.
Unaware of any of this, Daigan finished his workout and lay on the floor to rest for a while.
As if remembering something, he pulled a small wooden box from under his bed. Inside was a puppet about the height of an adult's arm. Its face was still a blur, but its body, limbs, and clothing were already exquisitely crafted.
*Something's missing. Right, I need to get a fan...*
The materials for a puppeteer's creations were quite expensive. Rare woods and metals that could conduct chakra were high-end goods one could only hope to stumble upon. With Daigan's finances, his only option was to hunt large creatures like desert giant scorpions or quicksand pythons and use their venomous fangs, bones, and scales as substitutes. With enough skill, puppets made from these could be just as good as those made from rare materials. It was just a lot more trouble and quite risky for a Genin.
Sunagakure produced many puppets each year and scrapped even more, but it was nearly impossible for second-hand materials to circulate. The chakra signature and battle marks on a puppeteer's puppet could reveal a great deal about their jutsu and fighting style. Unless a puppet was completely unusable, it would be utterly destroyed. Otherwise, puppeteers would repair and patch them up themselves.
*First, I'll see if I can get some materials from Saya and Kankuro. If that doesn't work, I'll have to go hunt some big game again. I need to finish this before the Chunin Exam.*
Daigan had been studying the Puppet Technique for some time and had learned a lot, but he still didn't have a single presentable puppet. As for the trump cards he couldn't show anyone, he was even more determined to keep them secret. It wasn't that he was being mysterious; he simply couldn't use them yet.
***
Three days later, Daigan finally received his notice. It was time to formally meet his squad leader and teammates.
The Jonin leader, Otokaze, had messy, grayish-white hair and a youthful, baby face that held a hint of young arrogance. At only twenty-six, this was his first time leading a Genin squad. Though it was only temporary, it was still a fateful encounter.
His other two companions, however, were rather interesting.
"Chi, Yome, it's you two. It's a small world."
One was a genjutsu user who needed battlefield positioning and secret medicines, coordinated with a fan, to be effective. Her taijutsu was poor, her ninjutsu was clumsy, but at least her mind was sharp.
The other was a support ninja with ocular jutsu. Her perception range was enormous, theoretically reaching tens of kilometers, and she could transmit information over long distances to a limited extent. She also had a so-so grasp of medical ninjutsu.
On the surface, the two seemed to complement Daigan's fighting style well, but their weaknesses were glaring. He couldn't rely on the two girls for any frontline combat. Daigan would have to serve as both the tank and the damage dealer, all while protecting the two fragile kunoichi from being flanked.
"It seems you all know each other, so no introductions are necessary. For the time being, I will be leading you on missions."
Otokaze looked at his three subordinates. Although each had their flaws, they were undoubtedly qualified by Genin standards. If they could play to their strengths and work together, D-rank missions would be no problem, and C-rank missions shouldn't be too difficult either. Of course, as things stood now, all three were still a long way from becoming Chunin.
"This is our first meeting, so that's all for today. We'll assemble tomorrow morning. I've already selected a mission: eliminate a group of bandits operating on the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Grass. Make sure you're prepared."
"Understood!"
"Good. Dismissed."
***
Chi and Yome hadn't expected to see Daigan again so soon, let alone be assigned to the same squad.
"Daigan, I heard your old team abandoned you. I thought it was a rumor, but it's true. I can't believe a guy like you would suffer such an injustice..."
"Shut up!" Daigan was embarrassed. His former prestige had been all but wiped out in one go. "Weren't you two abandoned by your squads as well?"
"It's different for us!" Chi seemed a little down at the mention of this. "One of my teammates was seriously injured and had to retire. The team was disbanded, and the other was reassigned to a different squad."
When a Genin squad lost its core member, it was often disbanded because it was difficult to find a replacement with similar skills to compensate for the remaining two, who couldn't stand on their own.
"What about you, Yome? Why are you a lone wolf now?"
"It's... a long story." Yome looked awkward, as if she didn't want to talk about unpleasant things.
Chi answered for her. "Yome's eyes are, for all intents and purposes, a Kekkai Genkai. It seems she was overestimated when she was first assigned and was placed in a very strong squad. But her squad leader and teammates felt her growth wasn't meeting expectations, and she couldn't keep up with the others."
"So they thought she was too weak," Daigan muttered, a bitter smile on his face.
Ultimately, it came down to Sunagakure's poor evaluation standards and a training system that was a complete joke. A short-sighted mentality permeated every aspect of the village. The harsh reality of their situation forced the entire village to neglect long-term planning.
And the village's decision to team him up with them basically meant they didn't have high hopes for his future. His two teammates' overall combat strength was lacking. The Chunin Exam in a few months would be crawling with prodigies; they had almost no chance of standing out.
However, their support abilities were decent. They had a good chance of helping Daigan pass the first exam and the second one in the Forest of Death.
The key was whether Daigan, the core of the team, could hold his own.
*Missions, money, materials, and training. The next few months are going to be busy. The students at Konoha's Ninja Academy should be getting ready by now, too. I'm really looking forward to it.*