Plans and Questionnaires

"To be precise, it's a micro-reward. The payment would be the cost of a child's daily meals, about 200 ryo. The mission content is to take a child from the Orphanage for a tour around Kumogakure for the day."

"This mission..." Dodai began to understand what Dada meant.

"This is actually a disguised way to let orphans come into contact with the Village's ninjas, and let ninjas come into contact with orphans. It benefits both sides. For the orphans, having an adult's company and being able to participate in the life of Kumogakure can greatly increase their sense of identity, and it is also conducive to the children's growth. For the ninjas, whose missions often involve life and death, the psychological pressure is immense. This kind of behavior can showcase compassion, relieve stress, and also let everyone know that if they have children in the future and happen to die in battle, their own children will be well taken care of. There are already several children in the Orphanage left behind after their parents—who were village ninjas—sacrificed themselves. I imagine their former teammates would likely be willing to be the first batch of people to take on this mission."

Dodai couldn't afford to be surprised at this moment. A tiny, zero-profit mission could actually bring about so many benefits. Honestly, even he was a bit tempted. Because his missions were so busy, he had reached this age without a wife or children. He often found himself hanging by a thread during missions, but even when he returned to the Village, there was no warm harbor for him to relieve his stress; he could only continue to throw himself into even heavier missions, forming a vicious cycle.

And such ninjas were everywhere.

As a ninja who loved the Village more than himself, Dodai was very willing to take on such missions during his rest periods. It would allow him to relax his body and mind, preventing him from getting lost in the killing and cold-bloodedness of missions, while also helping the Village cultivate the next generation and strengthening the children's sense of belonging...

Moreover, Dodai believed that there were definitely many people like him.

Being a ninja was truly a high-pressure and dangerous profession, even in times of peace.

This plan seemed to start from a very small place, but it could indeed bring many positive influences to the Village.

Seeing the gradually fiery look in Dodai's eyes, Dada hurriedly added:

"Of course, there will be certain restrictions for those who take the mission. For example, they must ensure the child's safety, return them on time, and are not allowed to leave the Village. Also, ninjas with poor character cannot take this mission, and they can only lead children of the same gender. Other than that, it can be designed like a normal mission and posted at the Village's Mission Assignment Office, valid long-term."

Watching Dada speak with reason and evidence, having considered every aspect, Dodai discovered that this second young master of the Yotsuki Clan possessed surprising talent. This talent was different from a ninja's talent; it was the talent for governance. Dada's demeanor reminded him of several retainers known for their wisdom beside the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning, who were just as logical and well-reasoned when planning for the Land of Lightning.

And this scene was now appearing in a six-year-old child.

Even without a bloodline limit, or even if he couldn't become a ninja, the young master will definitely be a precious talent for the Village in the future, Dodai thought to himself.

"Let's start with these two parts and test the situation; the rest will depend on how things go." Seeing that his plan had persuaded Dodai, Dada clapped his little hands. This was a good start. His biggest problem was his age; he had to have the support of an adult ninja to carry out these plans.

"Let's do the first step. Uncle Dodai, the two people currently in charge of the Orphanage are male Chunin, right?"

"Yes, Young Master Dada."

"Then replace one and keep one. The one who stays can help with the handover of previous work. The new replacement must be female; it's easier to bond with the children that way, and it's more convenient to take care of the girls. Are there any suitable candidates in the Village? Strength doesn't matter, even a Genin is fine. It's best if they are married and have children."

Dodai pondered, "The conditions aren't very strict. There are still quite a few female ninjas in the Village like that..."

"There's more than one? That's great, then we can even pick and choose."

Before dawn, Morita Keiko was already up making breakfast. Her daughter was still sleeping, but she had to prepare breakfast before her daughter woke up so she could make it to the Mission Assignment Office in the first batch.

Morita Keiko was only 25 years old this year and was just a civilian Genin with limited talent. She was once a happy woman, married to her childhood sweetheart who grew up with her, but the profession of a ninja was mostly footnoted by tragedy.

Her husband sacrificed himself in a mission shortly after their daughter was born. Morita Keiko could only bear the burden of life alone with tears in her eyes, not only having to take care of her daughter but also having to go out on missions to earn a living.

Therefore, she had to arrive at the Mission Assignment Office in the first batch every day. Only then would she have a chance to find missions suitable for her: D-rank or C-rank, finished on the same day, and not leaving the Village. After all, her strength was low, and she had a child to look after.

Waking up her groggy daughter and instructing her on breakfast, Morita Keiko rushed out, only to see a letter with the Kumogakure symbol in the mailbox at her door.

This was a letter used for general communication between the Village and ninjas, only for routine notifications that were neither urgent nor required confidentiality. However, even so, a low-strength ninja like Morita Keiko rarely received them.

Morita Keiko opened the envelope. Was it an exam paper? Or a set of questions? She wasn't quite sure...

"Please complete the questions in the letter within the day and submit them to the Mission Assignment Office."

"Question 1: Suppose that in a certain mission, you need to steal important intelligence. The location where the intelligence is kept is heavily guarded. The only opportunity is at a specific time in a sealed space. There is only one child in the space. What is your choice:

A: Kill the child and take the intelligence.

B: Knock the child unconscious and take the intelligence (The child will immediately raise an alarm after waking up, increasing variables and difficulty for the retreat).

C: Take the child away with the intelligence (The child may not cooperate during the retreat, increasing difficulty and variables for the retreat).

D: Attempt to force your way in and seize the intelligence at another time (Danger and difficulty increase sharply)."

Morita Keiko was confused. These questions didn't give her a direction; it seemed like how she answered depended entirely on her own preference. However, since this was a questionnaire given by the Village, she still had to answer it honestly.

"Well, regardless, killing is too cruel... I'll choose B."

"Question 2: Suppose you are the team leader Chunin, and the other three in the squad are all Genin who just graduated from the Ninja Academy. In a certain mission..."

Morita Keiko strangely flipped the letter paper to the back. There was only the Kumogakure symbol on it, with no other explanation.

"So what exactly is this thing..."

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