The mission office was chaotic, stacks of scrolls everywhere.
A frazzled mid-level chūnin hugged a pile of dossiers before dumping them onto a desk.
The clerks around him looked utterly defeated.
Only then did he finally answer Kaito:
"Kaito, these aren't normal missions. The village is short on manpower. We're relying on you squad leaders to train good genin fast—so they can help relieve the pressure."
"I see. Thanks for explaining, Yōsuke."
"It's fine."
Nara Yōsuke sat down wearily.
As mission office chief, he knew Kaito well—
D-rank maniac, barely glancing at assignments before taking them, completing them perfectly every time.
Now he had three students tagging along behind him.
"Sensei, it's seven thousand ryō total—how do we split it?"
Nonō asked, holding the seven crisp thousand-ryō bills.
Behind her, Duy panted softly while Mikoto yawned arrogantly—D-rank missions bored her.
Kaito nodded thoughtfully.
"Alright. Four thousand for me, three thousand for you three to split."
"???"
"Why?!"
Mikoto clenched her fists.
Six thousand before—fine, he took half.
But seven thousand and he still takes the bigger share?!
She didn't need money, but still—
They worked hard for that cash!
"When you three become squad leaders, you'll understand."
Kaito said, already slipping the four bills into his waistband.
At that moment, Yōsuke suddenly remembered something.
"Kaito, the Chūnin Exam registration just opened. You signing up this year?"
"Yeah."
Kaito didn't even look up from pocketing his money.
"It's still free this year, right?"
"...Yes. Free."
Kaito nodded, then turned to his three students.
"You three signing up too?"
"Sign up!" x3
Duy didn't care how much he got paid—any amount was fine.
But the chūnin exam?
He was determined this year.
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office—
"Father, I believe my squad is already at chūnin level. They only need a C-rank mission. Do you have an easy one available?"
The black-haired youth standing before the desk waited respectfully.
Hiruzen leafed through mission files, scanned him briefly, then handed over a scroll.
"A small bandit-suppression task. It's yours."
"Thank you, Father!"
Knock knock knock.
"Enter."
Sarutobi Shinnosuke took the scroll and headed for the door—
Only to run straight into Kaito.
"You? You're here to request a C-rank mission too?"
"?"
Kaito stared.
Since when did you need Hokage approval for a C-rank request?
"I'm here to register for the chūnin exams. My whole squad is joining."
Shinnosuke snorted, shot his father a glance—
Hiruzen simply nodded, silently telling him to leave.
Shinnosuke stormed out, brushing past Kaito with an exaggerated scoff.
Internally, Kaito:
This brat acting up again?
Once the door closed, Hiruzen placed a folder on his desk and looked at Kaito.
Inside was the monthly performance record of Kaito's Team 11.
He frowned.
"In just over a month… you've completed thirty-seven D-rank missions?"
Meanwhile—
His own son Shinnosuke's Team Two?
Sixteen.
"Kaito," Hiruzen asked calmly, "do you know why you've always been allowed to participate in the chūnin exams?"
"Why?"
Kaito wondered if the old man was about to brainwash him.
"It's because your old team once completed a C-rank mission.
But afterward, you quarreled with Tokubetsu Jōnin Yazaki and cut ties with the squad."
Kaito nodded. That much was true.
"That Yazaki then threatened to resign unless I revoked your shinobi registration."
Hiruzen's voice was calm, but his gaze sharp.
"To resolve the conflict, I cleared all your Team Six mission records from your file. Only then did he back down."
"Okay, I understand. But—"
"Young people are impatient."
Hiruzen cut him off, pulling out another scroll.
"This is a C-rank mission."
"To qualify for the chūnin exam, genin typically must complete at least two C-rank missions."
"Your students clearly haven't."
"At minimum, they must see blood once. Only then are they truly shinobi."
He placed the scroll before Kaito.
"Go. Don't worry. It's an escort job.
There may be an assassination attempt on the merchant, but intelligence suggests the killers are ordinary people, not shinobi.
You can handle it."
Hiruzen needed to push Kaito now—
Otherwise, during the exam he'd create another mess and force yet another provisional promotion.
He didn't want Kaito being temporarily bumped to chūnin as cannon fodder.
Kaito inhaled deeply.
Face calm.
Heart screaming.
This "C-rank" mission?
One glance and he could smell the B/A/S-rank death flags from the horizon.
"Can I refuse?"
"You can."
Hiruzen nodded.
"But then your other two students cannot participate in the exam."
"As for Mikoto—Uchiha have special arrangements. She'll be placed on a mission to 'experience real shinobi duty' regardless."
Only Kaito would dare directly reject a mission.
Any other genin?
Hiruzen wouldn't have entertained the question.
"...Fine. I understand."
Half a month remained before the exam's first stage.
Completing a C-rank in that time wasn't hard—
As long as it truly stayed C-rank.
Kaito examined the mission dossier at home:
"Merchant from the Land of Hot Water… Mizutani Shōto, 34.
Plans to open a hot spring inn in Konoha.
Offended a Fire Country gang while traveling.
Gang placed a 30,000-ryō bounty on the black market.
No ninja have accepted the job—yet."
Something felt wrong.
This smells like a setup.
If someone picks up the bounty midway… boom, instant B/A/S-rank death march.
He slumped onto his couch.
"And once you take a mission, you can't return it.
Perfect."
He rubbed his temples.
"Tonight I'll notify those two girls.
Maybe I really should learn Shadow Clone…
Doing all the errands as my main body is exhausting."
But learning it from the Hokage would count as ninjutsu proficiency—
Which meant:
Instant forced promotion → instant conscription.
No thanks.
Commercial Street.
Two girls carrying a pair of small cakes left a bakery, chatting happily.
The baker watched them go, relieved—
Business was terrible during wartime; a few sales meant survival.
As they cut through a narrow stairwell between shops—
A black-haired figure silently appeared behind them.
Two hands clamped down on their shoulders.
"KYAAAAAA!!" x2
"Relax. It's just me."
To read advanced Chapters, head over to p@treon:
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