Future Plans

Future Plans

Konoha's green vest!

Get

Lin Ke happily tore open the plastic bag and pulled the green vest over himself. The color was indeed rather vibrant, but this was proof that he had become a Chunin.

Incidentally, this was not equipment exclusive to Chunin. Once one became a Genin and took their graduation photo, it would be custom-made. During wartime, they would wear the distinctive green vest upon being sent to the battlefield, but in peacetime, they would generally only receive it after becoming Chunin.

It was somewhat like an unspoken convention everyone followed.

Should I wash new clothes before wearing them...

Lin Ke came to his senses, then swiftly tossed the thought aside. He was a Chunin now; showing off came first.

"Congratulations~" Nara Yan Shui appeared out of nowhere, raising his right hand in greeting as he said with a smile, "Please continue to guide me in the future, Chunin Lin Ke."

Yes, that was right. Even if someone became a Chunin, the team would still operate as before. Only when the other two Genin also became Chunin would it fully disband. For example, after Kakashi became a Chunin, he led Obito and Rin on missions alongside the Fourth Hokage. The same applied to Asuma's Team.

It was just that when carrying out missions, the Guidance Jonin no longer had the responsibilities of "guidance" and "babysitting," becoming purely a superior-subordinate relationship instead. Continuing to take missions together was due to their tacit understanding and familiarity, not because they were forcibly bound together. This gave them greater flexibility when accepting missions, and they would not be required to take low-rank missions together.

Book of Soldiers: A team must have at least one Chunin or higher assigned as its captain.

"Oh my, Yan Shui Teacher." Lin Ke was usually calm, yes, but becoming a Chunin this far ahead of schedule had still exceeded his expectations. Around people he knew, there was no need to maintain his composure, so he simply beamed and said, "Want to have barbecue together today? My treat!"

"Hmm, you're being so generous?" Nara Yan Shui nodded with a smile. "Then I definitely can't miss it."

After saying that, Lin Ke felt a little heartache over his precious money. But he was happy today, so it did not matter. He said readily, "Meet at Barbecue Q at noon?"

Nara Yan Shui raised a hand and vanished from the spot with a swish.

A Jonin's chakra really was abundant...

Lin Ke felt that every time he saw his Guidance Jonin, the man would arrive with the Body Flicker Technique and leave with it. Lin Ke only dared to carefully conserve his chakra in battle, using it only occasionally.

He did not linger foolishly near the Hokage Building. Wearing his green vest, he strutted through the streets, even deliberately taking a detour to Ichiraku Ramen to buy a can of cola—

The cola at Ichiraku Ramen was much more expensive than what was sold in vending machines outside.

"Little Lin Ke became a Chunin?" Ichiraku Uncle looked utterly astonished. In times of peace, it was rare to see such a young Chunin.

Lin Ke did not know whether Anbu were following him, but being polite was enough. "Mm-hmm, it's all thanks to the Third Hokage and Yan Shui Teacher's guidance."

"Hmm, in that case—" Ichiraku Uncle waved a large hand. "How about I treat you to ramen!"

"How could I possibly accept that..." Lin Ke said, while plopping himself right down on a seat.

With a ninja's appetite, eating at Barbecue Q would cost at least two hundred ryo per person. That was expensive, okay? Asuma: Choji, you really didn't hold back. You actually ate three hundred ryo worth...

Although ninja had high incomes, their expenses were high too. Exploding Tags and smoke bombs were not cheap. Kunai and Shuriken were a little cheaper, but how cheap could steel weapons really be? They also ate a lot on a daily basis. Ninja without side jobs were doing well if they could save even a little money.

In the manga, when Nara Shikamaru fought Tayuya: I had to use expensive Exploding Tags and smoke bombs all at once just to barely hide...

Saving wherever possible was still saving.

In the end, he shamelessly accepted Ichiraku Uncle's kindness.

Come to think of it, if there was peace in the future and ninja no longer needed to fight, what would I do?

While waiting for his ramen, Lin Ke suddenly thought of it. Once true peace arrived, he did not want to keep being a ninja. In the future, even elite Jonin Haruno Sakura would faint after smashing up her own home with one punch because her mortgage had not been paid off. The income was truly questionable.

Maybe I'll travel around the world. For the first time since crossing over, he revealed a look of longing.

Not struggling to grow stronger through monotony and pain, not needing to engage in treacherous slaughter, but seeing the unknowns of a brand-new world and traveling through its scenery and culture—wouldn't that be a life truly worth living?

Until then, let me work hard to grow stronger for that goal!

"Little Lin Ke, your ramen is ready~"

Lin Ke held his chopsticks, pressed his palms together, and said, "Then I'll dig in!" ... Seventh Training Ground.

"Why hasn't Boss come over yet? He's so late today." Yuan Wei sat on a rock, somewhat puzzled. It had already been more than an hour past their usual training time.

Xia stood nearby, hanging upside down from a fragile branch to train her chakra control. "There should be—wait?!"

She flipped down to the ground and stared wide-eyed at Lin Ke, who was strolling over slowly in the distance wearing a green vest. She let out the standard Japanese girl sound: "Ehh!"

"Boss became a Chunin!" Yuan Wei sprang to his feet and shouted, "Congratulations, Boss!"

"It's nothing." Lin Ke reservedly patted nonexistent dust from his green vest. "Sorry I'm late today. I went to the Hokage Building with Yan Shui Teacher, yeah."

"I became a Chunin." Saying a boastful line in the calmest tone possible—how should he put it?

It felt great.

"Does this mean we can take higher-difficulty missions now?" Yuan Wei asked excitedly.

He dreamed of becoming a powerful ninja. C-Rank Missions had felt fresh at first, but after a while, he understood that given Konoha's reputation, even escort missions usually only required Konoha ninja to stand nearby wearing their Forehead Protectors. Very few people would dare attack Konoha ninja.

Moreover, most C-Rank Missions only took place within the Land of Fire. It was truly hard to call them challenging.

Xia also looked at her two companions with a bit of concern. She did not really like going out and fighting, but it seemed becoming a ninja meant such things could not be avoided.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Ke said, "We won't be taking B-Rank Missions that soon."

Hearing this, Xia breathed a sigh of relief, while Yuan Wei was deeply disappointed.

"B-Rank Missions involve combat between ninja. I'll give you special training for a month, then we'll consider taking B-Rank Missions." Lin Ke explained. Fighting other ninja was still somewhat difficult for his two companions.

In any case, the village did not have any particular requirements for newly promoted Chunin. He could use this time to give his two companions special training and prepare them to accept B-Rank Missions.

"No more nonsense. Let's start training. I'm treating you to barbecue at noon today."