…
The morning air in front of the mission center was fresh, almost deceptively calm as Murakami arrived later than usual.
Not by much, but enough that the difference was noticeable the moment he stepped into view.
Hideki was the first to spot him.
"…Well, look who decided to join the living today."
Sora didn't look up immediately. He was seated near the edge of the clearing, calmly adjusting the strap on his equipment pouch. "You're late."
Murakami stopped a few paces away, his expression neutral. "I am aware."
Hideki smirked, clearly enjoying this rare reversal of roles. "What, did the great Murakami oversleep? Or did the universe finally decide you needed rest?"
Murakami glanced at him. "If I ever oversleep, assume the war has already ended."
"Comforting," Hideki muttered. "Really puts my life at ease."
Sora finally looked up, his gaze sharper than Hideki's. Not amused or irritated, just observant.
"That's unusual," Sora said. "You don't arrive late without reason."
A brief pause followed.
Murakami didn't immediately answer. His eyes drifted past them for a moment, as though replaying something only he could see.
"I needed to confirm something," he said at last.
Hideki leaned forward slightly. "Confirm what?"
Murakami looked at him then at Sora.
Then, calmly: "That I don't currently have access to the village archives."
A beat of silence.
Hideki blinked. "...That's what made you late?"
"Yes."
Sora's expression shifted faintly. "And?"
Murakami replied without hesitation. "And I lack sufficient contribution points."
Hideki frowned. "Contribution what?"
Murakami wasn't surprised at his ignorance of the subject but he didn't elaborate. He simply said, "A constraint imposed by the village."
That, more than anything, made Sora's eyes narrow slightly. "You went to the administration building."
"Yes."
"And got denied."
"Yes."
Hideki let out a short laugh. "So the genius gets locked out of books. That's kind of hilarious, actually."
Murakami looked at him for a second too long. "…You're enjoying this too much."
'Your foolishness, that is.' he added inwardly.
"I'm enjoying something, yeah."
Sora ignored Hideki entirely now, his focus on Murakami. "So what's the requirement?"
Murakami paused. "Five hundred."
Hideki blinked. "That's a lot or…?"
Sora answered before Murakami could. "For Genin? Yes."
Murakami gave a small nod. "My current total is insufficient."
Hideki tilted his head. "By how much?"
"Four hundred and seventeen."
Another silence.
This one longer.
Then Hideki exhaled. "Man… you even lose in numbers quietly."
Murakami ignored him again.
Sora, however, was thinking.
Not because he understood everything, he didn't.
But because he was doing what he always did first: trying to make the pieces fit with the available information he had.
If Murakami, the best in the team of three had eighty three points, then it is a given they had the same, if not lesser.
Murakami didn't say unnecessary things, so anything he did say was either relevant… or a piece of a system Sora hadn't seen yet.
Sora glanced at Hideki first. "Still clueless." he concluded.
Then back at Murakami.
If Murakami was being blocked, then this wasn't a simple "permission denied" situation.
It had to be something measurable. Something recorded. Something the village could track.
Points.
The word itself sounded administrative, not combat-related.
Sora frowned slightly.
So it wasn't strength that mattered here. At least, not directly. Because Murakami clearly had enough of that to pass almost any Genin requirement.
Which meant the village wasn't asking, "Can you do the job?"
It was asking, "How much have you done for us?"
Sora let that sit for a moment.
That was… different.
He looked at Murakami again, watching how calmly he accepted the restriction. 'No wonder he called it constraints.'
There were no signs of frustration or confusion in his eyes or expression. Just that same calm.
Acceptance.
Like this kind of system already made sense to him.
Sora exhaled slowly. 'As expected of him…'
"You're treating it like a resource threshold," he said slowly. "Not a permission system."
Murakami's gaze flicked to him, a faint smile appearing on his lips. "It is both."
That answer ended the conversation for a moment as the wind moved lightly across the field, brushing through the grass in slow, uneven waves.
Then Sora spoke again. "Then our next step is obvious."
Murakami didn't respond immediately. Sora was a smart kid, if he's saying it like this, then he already knew what was necessary.
So, he waited as Sora adjusted his glasses. "Missions."
Hideki's eyes widened before he groaned immediately. "Oh great. More work."
Murakami, however, said nothing.
Because at that exact moment, footsteps approached from behind and a lazy voice followed.
"Looks like you're all early for once… or late, depending on how you look at it."
Kaito-sensei stepped into view, hands in his pockets, his eyes swept over the three of them.
Then landed briefly on Murakami and paused. "…You're late."
Murakami forced himself against rolling his eyes and replied evenly. "Noted."
Kaito exhaled through his nose, almost amused. "Good. Saves me the trouble of pretending I care."
Hideki perked up. "So we're actually doing something exciting today or just doing the usual?"
Kaito ignored him, instead, he reached into his pocket and produced a scroll. "C-rank escort mission," he said casually.
That immediately shifted the atmosphere.
Even Hideki straightened slightly and Sora's expression sharpened.
Murakami's attention focused completely.
Kaito rolled the scroll between his fingers. "Supply run. We're escorting a merchant convoy to a forward logistics point."
He tossed the scroll lightly toward Murakami.
Murakami caught it without looking away from him.
Kaito continued, "Destination is Kanzashi Supply Village."
That name alone changed the mood.
Hideki perked up slightly. "Never heard of it."
"Because you didn't need to," Kaito replied immediately.
Sora's eyes narrowed faintly, already focusing on the implication rather than the unfamiliarity of the village.
Kaito continued. "The route's usually safe. Usually." A faint pause. "…Lately, not so much."
Hideki groaned again. "Of course it's 'usually safe'. That's shinobi code for 'you might die but it's fine'."
Sora ignored him while Murakami looked through the scroll.
Then slowly closed it.
"Understood," he said.
Kaito smirked faintly. "Good. Because you're leaving in ten minutes."
He turned slightly, already walking past them.
"Oh," he added over his shoulder. "And try not to think too hard about contribution points on this one. Just survive it."
Murakami's eyes lingered on his back for a moment, then turned to the two. "Let's go."
Saying that, he kicked off the ground, moving ahead without waiting for further discussion.
Hideki reacted a moment later. "Hey—wait up!"
Sora followed without complaint.
The three of them moved through the streets of Konoha in silence, rushing as they made their way to the village gate.
The mission was supposed to start in ten minutes so the earlier they got to the gate, the better.
They reached the village gate within minutes.
The massive gate structure loomed ahead, but they remained inside the village perimeter, in the designated assembly area just before the exit corridor.
Shinobi and mission personnel were already gathered there, forming up in front of the controlled passageway.
Leaving without authorization was not permitted. Every outbound mission required formal clearance.
Murakami stopped, his eyes scanned immediately.
A caravan of five covered wagons stood arranged in a loose line, each reinforced with wooden plating and marked with the Konoha seal.
The wheels were thick, built for rough terrain rather than speed. The carts were accompanied by crates already strapped down and guarded.
Around it, personnel were assembling. Civilian merchant, escort and Shinobi.
He counted quickly.
Seven shinobi.
Three on one side of the convoy, three on the other, and one standing slightly forward… organizing.
Two additional groups stood separated but clearly assigned to the same operation.
Murakami's gaze narrowed slightly.
So this was not a single team escort, but a multi-unit assignment.
Three teams total.
That increased the complexity of the mission. Coordination risk rose exponentially in mixed-unit missions.
He noted it without any change in expression. It wasn't in his place to worry about that.
But just then, his expression shifted as he spotted a familiar figure.
White hair with a calm posture.
Murakami's eyes paused on the figure.
Hatake Sakumo.
The boy stood with his own group slightly apart, hands loosely at his sides, expression unreadable as he observed the convoy.
The same quiet confidence from before, now placed into a different context.
Murakami's gaze lingered for a fraction longer than usual before he exhaled lightly. 'Interesting.'
Sakumo seemed to sense the attention and turned his head slightly.
Their eyes met briefly but there was no greeting or acknowledgment, just assessment of the other.
Murakami looked away first, already cataloguing the rest of the group.
Sakumo's group consisted of three Genin, standing loosely in formation. No Jonin.
Just like theirs.
Murakami's eyes shifted again.
The second group was different.
Three Genin stood together in a tighter formation, clearly more disciplined in posture alone, while a single Jonin stood slightly ahead of them with his arms crossed.
He wore a neutral expression but alert as he scanned the area with habitual authority.
Murakami noted the contrast immediately.
Three teams. Two without leadership oversight. One with full command structure.
That imbalance alone could create friction during engagement scenarios.
His analysis stopped when Hideki finally caught up, slightly out of breath.
"…Why is everyone already here?"
Sora adjusted his glasses as he looked around. "Because we're the last team to arrive."
"Obviously," Murakami said flatly.
Hideki clicked his tongue. "You don't have to say it like that."
Before further argument could develop, movement shifted near the convoy.
The Jonin leader stepped forward, clearing his throat once.
"All units accounted for." His voice carried easily across the open space. "We move out in five minutes."
Murakami made no moves and observed silently.
Likewise, Sakumo remained still, but his eyes were now fixed on the road ahead.
The other Genin group adjusted their gear in preparation, their Jonin issuing brief instructions.
Hideki leaned slightly toward Sora. "This feels… bigger than a normal escort."
Sora didn't respond immediately.
Murakami answered instead. "It is." He paused then added quietly. "Three teams means expectation of interference."
Hideki groaned softly. "Great. Love that for us."
Murakami ignored him.
His gaze shifted once more toward the forested road beyond the gate.
Kanzashi Supply Village lay somewhere beyond that stretch.
And whatever justified this level of escort strength would not remain theoretical for long.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Like it? Vote and Add to library! Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.
But y'all still don't🙂↔️... Anyways, I'ma be writing and posting on my patr@on page for a while. Interested individuals can check it out here. I've got 10 extra chapters there.
[email protected]/This_Young_Lord