"More accurately, it was a token reward. The payment was one child's daily meal allowance, around 200 ryo. The mission was to take children from the Orphanage around Kumogakure for a day."
"This mission..." Dodai somewhat understood what Dada meant.
"This is essentially a way to let orphans come into contact with the village's ninja, and let ninja come into contact with orphans. It benefits both sides. For the orphans, having adults accompany them and letting them take part in life in Kumogakure can greatly strengthen their sense of belonging, and it is also beneficial to their growth. For the ninja, most missions involve matters of life and death, creating immense psychological pressure. This kind of activity can demonstrate compassion and relieve stress. It can also let everyone know that if they have children in the future and unfortunately die in battle, their children will be well cared for. There are already several children in the Orphanage whose parents died as ninja of the village. Their former teammates would likely be willing to become the first group to accept this mission."
Dodai had no time to be surprised. A tiny mission with virtually no reward could actually serve so many purposes. To be honest, even he was tempted. He had been so busy with missions that, at his age, he had neither a wife nor children. Life-threatening situations were common during missions, yet even when he returned to the village, there was no warm haven where he could ease his stress. He could only throw himself into even more grueling missions, forming a vicious cycle.
And there were countless ninja like him.
As a ninja who loved the village more than himself, Dodai was very willing to accept such missions during his breaks. They would allow him to relax and avoid losing himself in the killing and cold-bloodedness of missions, while also helping the village raise its next generation and strengthening the children's sense of belonging...
Moreover, Dodai believed there would be no shortage of people like him.
Being a ninja was an extremely high-pressure and dangerous profession, even in peacetime.
This plan seemed to begin with something small, but it could indeed bring many positive effects to the village.
Seeing Dodai's gaze gradually heat up, Dada quickly added:
"Of course, there will be certain restrictions on those accepting the mission. For example, they must ensure the children's safety, return them on time, and not leave the village. Ninja with poor character cannot accept this mission, and they can only lead children of the same gender, and so on. The rest can be designed according to normal mission procedures. It can be posted at the village's Mission Assignment Office and remain valid long-term."
Seeing how logical Dada was and how he had considered every aspect, Dodai realized that the second young master of the Yotsuki Clan possessed astonishing talent. It was not talent for being a ninja, but talent for governance. Dada reminded him of several retainers beside the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning who were famous for their wisdom. They were just as methodical when planning for the Land of Lightning.
And now, such a scene was appearing in a six-year-old child.
Even without a bloodline limit, even if he cannot become a ninja, the second young master will surely become valuable talent for the village in the future, Dodai thought.
"Let's start with these two parts and see how things go. We'll decide on the rest depending on the situation." Seeing that his plan had convinced Dodai, Dada clapped his little hands. This was a good beginning. His greatest problem was his age. He needed the support of an adult ninja to carry out these plans.
"Let's begin with the first step. Uncle Dodai, are two male chunin currently in charge of the Orphanage?"
"Yes, Young Master Dada."
"Then replace one and keep the other. The one who stays can help transition the previous work. The new hire must be a woman, since she will find it easier to get along with the children and more conveniently care for the girls. Does the village have a suitable candidate? Strength does not matter; even a genin would do. It would be best if she is married and has children."
Dodai pondered. "Those conditions are not particularly demanding. There are still quite a few female ninja like that in the village..."
"There's more than one? That's great. Then we can be selective."
Before dawn had even broken, Morita Keiko got up to make breakfast. Her daughter was still asleep, but she had to finish preparing breakfast before her daughter woke up so she could make it to the Mission Assignment Office with the earliest group.
Morita Keiko was only twenty-five years old. She was merely a civilian-born genin with limited talent. Once, she had also been a happy woman, married to her childhood sweetheart with whom she had grown up. But the profession of a ninja was often marked by tragedy.
Not long after their daughter was born, her husband died during a mission. Morita Keiko could only bear the burden of life alone through her tears. Not only did she have to care for her daughter, she also had to go out and complete missions to earn their living expenses.
That was why she had to arrive at the Mission Assignment Office among the first every day. Only then would she have a chance of finding missions suitable for her: D-rank or C-rank, completed within the day and without leaving the village. After all, she was not very strong, and she still had a child to care for.
After waking her groggy daughter and reminding her about breakfast, Morita Keiko hurried out, only to see a letter bearing Kumogakure's emblem in the mailbox outside her door.
This was the kind of letter the village used for ordinary communication with ninja, meant only for routine notices that were neither important nor confidential. Even so, Morita Keiko rarely received one due to her low strength.
Morita Keiko opened the envelope. It was an exam paper? Or perhaps a questionnaire? She was not quite sure...
"Please complete the questions in this letter today and submit it to the Mission Assignment Office."
"Question One: Suppose that during a mission, you need to steal important intelligence. The intelligence is heavily guarded, and the only opportunity is at a specific time in an enclosed space. There is only one child in the room. What would you choose:
A: Kill the child and take the intelligence
B: Knock out the child and take the intelligence. (Once the child wakes up, they will immediately raise the alarm, adding uncertainty and difficulty to the retreat.)
C: Take the child and the intelligence together. (The child may not cooperate during the retreat, adding difficulty and uncertainty.)
D: At another time, attempt to force your way in and seize the intelligence. (The danger and difficulty would increase drastically.)"
Morita Keiko was utterly confused. These questions gave her no direction; it seemed she could answer however she liked. Still, it was a questionnaire issued by the village, so she had to answer it properly.
"Well, no matter what, killing the child would be too cruel... I'll choose B."
"Question Two: Suppose you are a team-leading chunin. The remaining three members of your squad are all genin who have just graduated from the Ninja Academy. During a certain mission..."
Morita Keiko strangely turned the letter over. There was only Kumogakure's emblem on the back, with no other explanation.
"So what exactly is this thing..."
Before you continue