"Let me finish!" Growing impatient, Daigan casually grabbed a large wooden club and brought it down on each of the sisters' heads. The two kunoichi let out a sharp cry of pain, clutching their foreheads as they crouched down. The world was finally quiet.
"The person I'm talking about isn't a ninja yet, but his taijutsu is very strong, far stronger than most Genin. Miss Saya, you just need someone to fill a spot. What's there to complain about if you get a taijutsu expert?"
"But he's not even a ninja…"
"You're a rich young lady, aren't you? You can't even secure a Genin slot for someone?" The disdain in Daigan's voice was palpable.
"Of course I can!" feeling slighted, Miss Saya immediately retorted.
"Then there you have it. I don't know that taijutsu-only guy very well, but my teammate Yome deals with him often. I'll introduce you tomorrow. Whether it works out or not is none of my business."
"Fine… all right." The circumstances forced her hand. The longer she waited, the fewer her chances became. It was worth a shot, now that she had a potential candidate. "If it works out, I'll give you a finder's fee."
"No need."
"You'll take it whether you want to or not!" Miss Saya casually pulled a few bottles from her pocket and tossed them over. "This is a deposit. There'll be another reward upon success. If you don't accept it, I'll curse you…"
"High-grade topical medicine! How generous. In that case, it would be rude to refuse."
***
In the dead of night, after finishing his training, Daigan leaned against the window, gazing at the moon bathed in the night breeze. He gently picked up the medicine Miss Saya had given him, then unwound the bandages from his hands, revealing palms covered in tiny cuts.
He pointed his right hand toward the slanted moon. With his left, he formed a one-handed seal, concentrating chakra in his right palm. A swirling ring of wind-natured chakra shot forward, forming a cloud of shattered, silvery wind blades that collided and ricocheted off each other with the crisp sound of clashing metal.
The wind blades appeared and vanished in an instant. From his wrist to his fingertips, bleeding cuts appeared. The sudden pain made Daigan's outstretched hand tremble.
*Still can't control it completely, but it's barely usable.*
This was where Saya's medicine came in handy. He carefully spread the ointment evenly over the wounds, and a cool, soothing sensation spread from the cuts throughout his body.
*High-grade stuff really is different.*
With something this good, he could speed up his Wind Release training.
*Was it a coincidence that Miss Saya gave me the exact medicine I needed, or has she discovered my secret?*
Ninja training could be this tedious sometimes—requiring constant accumulation of skill and the resolve to endure solitude and pain. His scarred hands were proof of his efforts.
*A specialty in Wind Release…*
A look of melancholy crossed Daigan's face. A few years ago, when he discovered his chakra nature leaned towards wind, he had been ecstatic, thinking his time had finally come. Rasengan, Rasenshuriken—they were all devastatingly powerful techniques. If he could master them, he'd be unstoppable.
He later realized he'd been thinking too much. A Sunagakure Genin using the signature jutsu of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato? That was just asking for trouble. Konoha wouldn't ignore it, and Sunagakure's Anbu would have questions for him, too.
Besides, the Rasengan wasn't well-suited for him. Both the Rasengan and the Chidori were powerful piercing attacks. You either needed a Sharingan like Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Sasuke, or reaction speeds that topped the ninja world like Namikaze Minato. Otherwise, you'd either miss your target or be easily countered. Uzumaki Naruto used it with a swarm tactic—a Shadow Clone for every Rasengan, then charge all at once. Jiraiya's Rasengan had basically never hit an opponent on his level; he only ever used it on weaker foes.
As for Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, Daigan didn't even dare to think about it now. Uzumaki Naruto, with his Uzumaki clan constitution and the Nine-Tails' chakra for recovery, nearly crippled himself using it. A small fry like Daigan shouldn't even try. Once he learned Sage Mode, he could throw the Sage Art: Wind Release: Rasenshuriken from a distance, but as a Suna-nin, Sage Mode was just a dream.
In his years as a Genin, Daigan had only learned a little of the Sand Manipulation Technique under Iron Sand. Sunagakure had a few masters of Wind Release—Baki was one of them—but he was the teacher of the Fourth Kazekage's three children and had no connection to Daigan. In the end, he had to rely on himself.
He had been diligently practicing wind-nature transformation for nearly four years and was now quite skilled. After all, the leaf-cutting training method was readily available, simple, and effective, though it required time to slowly build understanding. As for wind-shape transformation, he could only explore it on his own. His scarred hands were just part of the price of developing his own ninjutsu.
In the future, the Puppet Technique and Sand Manipulation Technique would be his standard combat abilities, while Wind Release would be a trump card, not to be revealed lightly.
***
Three days later, a frantic and furious Miss Saya blocked the entrance to Daigan's apartment building.
"Miss Saya, I did what you asked, and you got what you wanted. Why are you still bothering me?"
"You big liar, you really screwed me over! Give me back my medicine!"
"Can't do that. The transaction is complete, we owe each other nothing. The medicine you gave me is mine now."
"But you didn't tell me that Shira wasn't eligible to participate in the Chunin Exam!"
"That's not my problem. You didn't ask at the time." Back then, they had agreed he just needed to find someone to fill a spot.
The next day, Daigan had introduced Saya to Yome, who then introduced her to Shira. Though the meeting had been less than harmonious, Shira, desperate for recognition, had accepted the harsh conditions set by the Saya and Sana sisters. Graduation season was in less than two months. After arranging a makeup exam or two, Shira successfully obtained his Genin qualifications and joined Saya's team. The Jonin leader of Saya's squad had been specifically assigned by her father's faction to train Saya and Sana.
However, when it came to qualifying for the Chunin Exam, Shira ran into a big problem. In principle, a Genin needed to complete a certain number of missions to be eligible. Konoha Genin needed a record of at least eight completed missions to apply, while Sunagakure required ten. As a newly minted ninja, Shira's mission count was zero. This meant that Saya's team would have to complete at least ten missions non-stop within a few months, with a one hundred percent success rate, just for Shira to be eligible for a recommendation.
Miss Saya was not happy about this. Low-rank missions were boring, and she didn't care much for the paltry commission fees. Why would she want to do those tedious D-rank missions?
"What do I do now? It's too late to change anything." If it weren't for this guy's thoughtless advice, she wouldn't be in such a difficult position.
"What you should be doing now is rushing to snatch up D-rank missions that don't take much time, to rack up Shira's mission count."
"There's less than two months left…" Sunagakure's traditional Chunin Exam was held in mid-to-late May. Any later and it would be too hot in the desert for Genin to take the exam.
"Do your best and leave the rest to fate," Daigan advised patiently.
There was definitely enough time. Soon, Konoha would send an invitation to Sunagakure for a joint Chunin Exam. The first stage would be held on July 1st, a month and a half later than Saya expected. Barring any accidents, they could complete ten D-rank missions in time.
"I guess that's the only way."
Saya left sullenly to contact her teammates and Jonin leader.
Meanwhile, Team Otokaze had a major series of missions to complete. The northern border fortress was rotating its garrison. Team Otokaze would join a supply convoy heading north, where they would remain to carry out patrol missions assigned by the local commander for a period of two months.
By the time they completed the mission and returned to Sunagakure, the Chunin Exam would not be far off.