Target

"Do you want to take the Chunin Exams, or accept a C-Rank Mission?"

That was what Nara Yan Shui asked.

The Chunin Exams and a C-Rank Mission? Lin Ke froze for a moment and began weighing the pros and cons.

Without a doubt, whether it was the Chunin Exams or a C-Rank Mission, both would give him a chance to advance toward becoming a chunin.

The Chunin Exams were more difficult. After all, he would have to fight other ninjas. If he performed well, he might even become a chunin directly. C-Rank Missions generally did not involve fighting ninjas, but he would have to slowly accumulate mission experience instead.

"So our next mission will be C-Rank?" He did not ponder for long before looking up with a smile.

There was no need to take the Chunin Exams. Intelligence was extremely important to ninjas. Fighting openly under so many eyes would inevitably expose his abilities. Accumulating enough missions to rank up would not take too long anyway. As long as he was willing to grind, it did not matter. There was truly no need to expose his intelligence in that kind of exhibition match.

Nara Yan Shui understood what his subordinate meant and was somewhat surprised. He had assumed that this subordinate of his, so eager to improve, would choose to participate in the Chunin Exams—

But this was good too.

"Then it's settled. Will you tell the others?" he asked.

As the Guidance Jonin, he was delegating authority to his subordinate. His meaning was already obvious: he was preparing to recommend his subordinate for promotion to chunin and establish the future Lin Ke Squad.

As long as there were no major mistakes during missions outside the village, becoming a chunin would not be much of a problem, even if his performance was not especially outstanding.

"Mm." Lin Ke nodded. Watching the Guidance Jonin turn to leave, he said, "Thank you, Yan Shui Teacher."

Nara Yan Shui did not turn back. He merely waved a hand, gathered chakra beneath his feet, and vanished from the spot with a swish.

Finally...

Lin Ke clenched his fist, unable to hide his delight. He was becoming a chunin much faster than he had expected.

On his way home, he nearly could not stop himself from humming.

Don't misunderstand. He meant humming a song.

The tension he had been holding onto finally eased considerably. To celebrate his progress, he made a detour to Amaguriama and bought himself a piece of Chestnut Yokan as a reward.

Amaguriama: Located on Tea Street in Konoha, it was most famous for desserts such as Chestnut Yokan and chestnut pastries.

Tea Street: A central street in Konoha filled with teahouses and dessert shops. While drinking tea or dining there, one could admire Hokage Rock from up close.

Yokan was not cheap to begin with, and this was Amaguriama, a famous dessert shop on a prime commercial street. The price was truly steep.

But it really was delicious.

As a child still growing and training intensely every day, Lin Ke's fondness for sweets was practically an instinct of the body. Ever since Xia had brought him a box of desserts from Amaguriama one day, he had been thinking about them constantly.

Now that he could leave the village for C-Rank Missions and had a chance to become a chunin, he naturally had to celebrate. Amaguriama had been the first thing that came to mind.

"So expensive... my wallet. So delicious..."

At first, he had planned to go home, eat dinner, then make some tea and slowly savor the expensive yokan. But on the way, thinking of how much he had spent made his heart ache. At the same time, he was curious about the Chestnut Yokan's flavor. Seeing no one around, he secretly broke off a piece from the box and stuffed it into his mouth. (It was a whole block of yokan that needed to be cut.) Then he entered the cycle of one more piece, there's still plenty left, and then another piece.

His little cheeks kept moving, chew chew chew, never stopping the whole way. Before he even reached home, Lin Ke's hand reached into the box again.

?

Where did my huge piece of Chestnut Yokan go?

He spread his little hand and felt around the box, then withdrew it as he realized something.

He had finished such an expensive serving of yokan on the way home?

His heart hurt, but he still wanted more.

Lin Ke returned home carrying the empty package. Just as he was about to throw it away, he suddenly remembered that he had broken the yokan apart with his hands, so there should still be crumbs inside. Unable to resist the temptation, he opened the box and tipped it into his mouth.

Delicious.

Satisfied, he tossed the box into the trash bag. As he sat cross-legged on his bed and considered what to eat for dinner, he looked at his fingers, which still carried the sweet fragrance from breaking apart the yokan.

"Ahem~" Lin Ke gave a light cough and gradually moved closer to his fingers. He was alone at home, after all, so...—Anyway, back to the serious topic.

Originally, Lin Ke had only wanted to become a chunin before the Konoha Crush Plan. By then, there would still be three years before Shippuden began, which should have been enough time for him to climb to jonin.

Now, he had gained this opportunity more than a year early. That gave him much more room for error. After becoming a chunin, he would apply to the village to learn ninjutsu.

His target was—

Earth Release: Earth Dragon Hiding Technique.

It was a C-Rank ninjutsu with a low learning difficulty and extremely low chakra consumption. Judging by its name, it might mutate into an interesting ability.

Most importantly, Earth Dragon Concealment Technique was the same type of ninjutsu as the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique, Fish Reflection in Earth Technique, and Earth Style: Subterranean Voyage Technique. All of them involved using different methods to burrow into the earth and wait for an opportunity to ambush an enemy. He had already learned the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique, so after obtaining it and familiarizing himself with it a little, he should be able to use it.

As for things like the Lightning Blade and Flying Thunder God... well, he could think about them once in a while. There was no need to pursue them now.

Under normal circumstances, he should have been able to buy the Earth Dragon Concealment Technique, but—

Among the many ninjutsu that allowed one to enter the ground, Earth Dragon Concealment Technique was an obsolete type, so it was not sold on the market at all.

Earth Style: Subterranean Voyage Technique used chakra to liquefy the soil, allowing the user to move freely through the earth as though swimming. Fish Reflection in Earth Technique worked on a similar principle, and the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique was much the same.

As an obsolete earth-burrowing ninjutsu, Earth Dragon Concealment Technique used chakra to turn soil into fine sand, then dug forward like an earth dragon...

Everyone else could move through the earth however they pleased, while your Earth Dragon Concealment Technique had to dig tunnels. You were not even qualified to attend this meeting.

Therefore, in Konoha, which was not particularly known for Earth Release, Earth Dragon Concealment Technique was simply unavailable on the market. Probably only some ninjas who had experienced war and were proficient in ninjutsu still knew this technique.

Earth Dragon Concealment Technique was not entirely without advantages. It allowed the user to sense targets on the surface from underground, while also allowing them to descend deeper underground—after all, it involved digging. It could effectively evade the searches of sensory ninjas, making it better at concealment. Whether for surprise attacks or escapes, it was very useful.

Furthermore, it required very little chakra to use. (Once activated, it required the user to dig, so there was additional stamina consumption.) It was the kind of ninjutsu that would absolutely have its uses in certain situations.

The reason it had been phased out was also simple.

Among ordinary ninjas, sensory ninjas made up only a small proportion. How deep one could burrow underground meant little against ordinary ninjas.

If one truly wanted to conserve chakra, Fish Reflection in Earth Technique did not consume much either. For speed while burrowing, Earth Style: Subterranean Voyage Technique was the fastest. For ambushes, the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique had the best effect...

Taken together, it was naturally eliminated by ordinary ninjas and the market.