"Really... really, all you want is a big meal? Don't hold back, Long Yan. And Anna too!"
The twisted branches all around them sped backward as the Bearded Man's face filled with guilt. Looking at the two children keeping pace beside him, he could not help but speak.
He truly could not get over it.
It was an old habit of his. It was not that he panicked; he had simply trained rapid reactions too diligently in his daily practice. He had overtrained. Whenever something suddenly appeared, his instinct was to fling a kunai at it.
Under normal circumstances, he could still restrain himself. Although he might draw a kunai, he could ultimately suppress the impulse.
But during missions, or whenever his nerves were taut, the kunai would fly out beyond his control.
Because of this, the village no longer assigned him cooperative missions. They only arranged solo assignments requiring one or two people, such as intelligence escort missions suitable for one person.
If he had not been one of the best among the Genin in terms of strength, he probably would have been reduced to clerical work long ago.
Even so, he was deeply grateful to Haneda Yu Ze, the village's newly appointed leader. These solo missions had been specially assigned to him by the new leader despite opposition. The new leader had also told him that in the future, once his strength caught up, he could become a Special Jonin.
Kusagakure had not originally had the rank of Special Jonin, but the new leader seemed very familiar with Konoha's administrative system. Not only had he implemented a ninja academy system and ninja ranking system very similar to Konoha's, he had also established this position.
A Special Jonin was a rank between Chunin and Jonin. Their strength could range