Task

At dusk, Tanzaku Street.

"It's so lively."

Lin Ke sighed. This place was truly bustling.

Drunks sprawled all over the place, gamblers swearing up a storm, bunny girls soliciting customers...

His ears were filled with noise, his nose with all sorts of strange smells. The various novel signs and methods of attracting customers were dazzling.

"Stop looking around. Let's find somewhere to rest first." Nara Yan Shui called out to the three students, who had clearly just left the village and were a little too curious.

With a client to look after, Fifth Squad's travel speed was bound to be affected. It was already getting dark, so they could only stay in Tanzaku Street for the night. Besides...

Once the four of them left a street near the red-light district, it became much quieter. There were countless inns and hotels nearby. As the adult, Nara Yan Shui quickly picked an inn that looked decent and led his three subordinates inside.

The receptionist was not particularly surprised to see Konoha ninja, as though it were an everyday occurrence. She only showed a slightly odd expression when she saw the three little kids. It was clear that plenty of Konoha ninja had come and gone here before. If they were not on a mission—

Well, it was hard to say what they had come to a place like this for.

As a wealthy member of the Nara Clan, Nara Yan Shui generously covered the lodging costs. He also took his three subordinates out for dinner, then left on his own afterward and vanished without a trace.

The remaining three wandered around Tanzaku Street together.

It was even livelier at night. The streets were brightly lit and packed with people, while many roadside vendors had come out to do business. There was no shortage of food, games, and all sorts of other things.

After making a round with them, Lin Ke felt that it was very much like wandering the streets of Japan in his previous life—extremely similar. After that, he lost interest. Watching the bustle was fine, but instead of spending time happily playing around, he would rather rest early and leave himself more time to train.

He bade farewell to his two companions, who were still having a great time, and returned to the inn. The moment he opened the door and saw a figure sitting in the room, he instinctively formed hand seals and unleashed—

Only then did he see clearly that the person in the room was his own Guidance Jonin.

A jonin's concealment skills were so exceptional that he had not sensed the other man sneaking in at all. If it had been a ninja exceptionally skilled in infiltration and assassination, like Momochi Zabuza...

Lin Ke had no doubt that he might have been killed in an instant without noticing anything at all.

His abilities were far too uneven. Strength, speed, genjutsu, and illusion were all frighteningly low. His ninjutsu rose and fell depending on the Stand; at its peak, it could reach a full ten. His taijutsu was probably only slightly above the passing line for a chunin.

Nara Yan Shui did not waste words and said directly, "Besides bringing you here to complete a C-Rank Mission, I also have an A-Rank Mission to carry out in Tanzaku Street. Lin Ke, if you are willing, I can take you along. If we complete it successfully and you perform well, it can count as you having carried out a B-Rank Mission."

He paused, his expression solemn as he reminded him, "Even I will have to go all out for an A-Rank Mission. There is a very real chance that I will be unable to look after you."

Jonin held tremendous authority. They could command the Anbu, issue missions, promote genin, and so on. It could be said that once one became a jonin, one had entered the upper ranks of the ninja village and gained decision-making power. Kakashi and Guy had both commanded and dispatched Anbu before, and Kakashi had even issued missions directly.

Even the Kage, or candidates for Kage, would consult with jonin when making many major decisions.

Incidentally, strictly speaking, Kage was not a title. Ninja only had three official titles: genin, chunin, and jonin. Kage was a rank. It was merely that ninety-nine percent of Kage were jonin who had attained that rank. Of course, there were exceptions...

For example, a certain guy who was still technically a genin even after becoming Hokage in Boruto.

Going along on an A-Rank Mission would count as me completing a B-Rank Mission.

That meant the mission's actual difficulty was only a conflict between ninja, and there would even be a friendly jonin assisting him—

"I'm willing." After a brief moment of thought, Lin Ke agreed.

Being cautious was one thing, but he could not avoid fighting other ninja forever. Facing enemy ninja while a jonin he could rely on watched over the battle was safe enough.

In fact, during non-wartime ninja clashes, the first to step forward was usually the ninja with the higher title. This was a tactic taught at the Ninja Academy.

That was because ninja combat depended heavily on intelligence. Ninja with lower titles either lacked strength or had flaws, making it easy for them to suffer a disastrous defeat when they lacked information.

When a jonin led the team, it was normal for the jonin to go first, probe the opponent's intelligence, preserve the subordinates' strength, and let them wait for an opportunity to provide support.

That was how it had been for Momochi Zabuza and Haku, Hatake Kakashi and Team 7, and Sarutobi Asuma and Shikamaru's group of three.

So even though summoning his Stand required time, he could trust his teacher to create more than enough time for him.

The shadow-based secret techniques were simply too good at stalling for time.

Nara Yan Shui smiled and nodded. "Meet downstairs in five minutes. We leave then." With that, he turned and departed.

Lin Ke hurried to arm himself.

He put back on all the equipment he had removed when checking in. After thinking about it, he brought his precious wallet as well.

Although the Body Binding Technique (Money) consumed a great deal, it was a simple ninjutsu that could almost be cast instantly. Its straightforward effect—more money meant stronger binding power—could be useful in almost any situation.

The only question was whether his wallet was fat enough.

For a B-Rank Mission and the hope of becoming a chunin, he had made thorough preparations.

...Ten minutes later, outside Tanzaku Street.

"This mission is to receive a comrade who infiltrated the Land of Rivers..."

As they sped along, Nara Yan Shui explained the mission details.

As expected, the mission target was indeed connected to the Land of Rivers. However, rather than assassinating or defeating a target ninja as Lin Ke had imagined, they were here to receive one of their own.

But if someone needed to be received, there should be ninja pursuing them, right?

Who were they receiving? Were the enemies Sand Village ninja? Rock Village ninja? Or perhaps Akatsuki...

His imagination ran wild, and he could not help letting his thoughts wander as they raced onward. Fortunately, his long-term training allowed him to maintain a steady breathing rhythm, instinctively conserve his stamina, and continue moving through the wilderness with standard ninja leaps.

After about twenty minutes, Lin Ke felt as though he was about to rush out of the Land of Fire and into the Land of Rivers.

Nara Yan Shui suddenly made a hand signal. The two slowed down, stopped, and waited quietly for a while.

"Huff..." Soft, measured panting came from the distance. Soon, the woman making the sound landed beside them in standard ninja leaps.

She had black curly hair, red pupils, a red-and-white jacket over a mesh bodysuit, and exhaustion written all over her face. After exchanging glances with Nara Yan Shui, she nodded, swallowed a Soldier Pill, then leaned against a tree trunk and closed her eyes to recover her strength.