C-Rank Beast Capture Mission

"Capture beasts—Omba?"

Inside the Mission Assignment Office, Genma, Kurenai, and Raiton all cried out in surprise upon hearing the mission details.

What was an Omba? This exceptionally ferocious animal was guaranteed to appear in wilderness survival books.

Adult Ombas were snow-white all over, while their heads were black, making them look as if they had black faces.

Wild Ombas were generally incomparably violent, and their eyes were often scarlet. It was said that they lived in Konoha Forest, and Jiraiya, one of the Sannin who had seen these creatures, had even declared them unmatched.

Genma had no idea whether that was an exaggeration.

However, Genma, who knew the original plot, also knew about Ombas. He remembered that when Naruto, the original protagonist, went out training, he brought one back with him. It grew so quickly that it had to be frequently assigned missions outside the village.

Later, by chance, the Omba on him encountered its original mother and was ultimately separated from him.

Naruto had thought he would never see an Omba again, but after returning to the village, he was astonished to discover that Konohagakure was full of people carrying little Ombas on their backs...

They were clearly in the village forest, yet exceedingly rare, only to later appear in great numbers. Genma had been utterly baffled by what was going on.

Still, Ombas were said to grow very quickly, so perhaps it really was possible for them to exist in large numbers.

Seeing the three of them so shocked, Kamise Yushi smiled gently. "You're just going to steal some Omba cubs. Apparently, they're meant to be raised as Summoning Beasts. This mission was posted by a ninja from the village."

"Uh, as Summoning Beasts? And what do you mean, some?"

Seeing Genma immediately identify the key issue, Yushi smiled approvingly. "It seems you noticed something too. Adult Ombas are difficult to deal with. Even Chunin would have trouble facing them, so this is a mission that can be repeated."

"A repeatable mission? Are we supposed to steal that many cubs?" Stealing even one cub meant separating it from the adult Omba, and Kurenai could not help feeling uneasy about it.

"Sensei, can I raise an Omba as a Summoning Beast? Ombas are supposed to be really powerful. Maybe one would suit me perfectly~"

The more Raiton spoke, the more excited he became. Before long, he had sunk into a beautiful fantasy, wearing a foolish grin.

"A Summoning Beast... that might be rather difficult. Omba cubs may regard the first person they see as family, but their wild nature is still easily provoked. The ninja who posted these missions probably already thought of a way to tame them as Summoning Beasts, so you should give up on the idea."

Seeing Kurenai's worried expression, Yushi crouched down and said, "If they're only going to be Summoning Beasts, they probably won't be mistreated. Separating these Ombas from their original families is the standard initial method of taming all Summoning Beasts. It's also very common."

Kurenai was not some overly sentimental little girl. Though she was still conflicted after hearing Kamise Yushi's words, her tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed.

Seeing that the three of them had no further questions, Yushi turned toward the mission clerk again.

Mission clerks were never permanent, and today's clerk happened to be one of the rare female ones. She was quite attractive, with jet-black hair that reached her waist, fair skin, delicate features, and a gentle, pleasant smile.

Genma did not dare stare too much, but Kamise Yushi and Namiashi Raidō had looked at her repeatedly without the slightest concern for their image.

Taking advantage of the chance to inquire about the mission, Yushi brushed aside the hair on his forehead, leaned forward slightly, and propped one hand against the desk piled with missions. "Miss Zhizi, are there any other teams that have accepted this beast capture mission? Could you tell us about their team?"

The female mission clerk named Zhizi smiled faintly. "Of course. It's common for this sort of mission to be carried out jointly with other teams. Hmm, let me see. Oh, it seems to be a team from your class. It's Fifth Squad, led by Jonin Baiyun Yano."

"Fifth Squad... so it's Noma's team." Kamise Yushi murmured, then quickly adopted a grateful expression, his gentlemanly air overflowing. "Thank you, Miss Zhizi. Would you like to have a meal together sometime?"

"Uh, I actually already have a boyfriend. Sorry, Captain Yushi..." Zhizi gave him an innocent, charming smile, but Yushi's heart instantly went cold.

"Goodbye, Miss Zhizi~"

Yushi left with his head hanging dejectedly, and Genma's group followed along.

Genma deeply sympathized with Yushi's experience of suffering a breakup before he had even begun dating, and Kurenai felt the same. Raiton, however, seemed even more emotionally invested. He looked as though his soul had left his body.

"Ahem, Sensei, how are we supposed to find Fifth Squad?"

Yushi said nothing, his mood gloomy, which made Genma somewhat anxious.

"Fifth Squad? Won't we run into them once we reach the mission location? There's no need to rush~"

Yushi laboriously raised his head and stared into the distance.

Though he had gotten an answer, it was not the one Genma wanted. Konoha Forest was so vast that finding another team would not be easy.

He had thought there might be some special means of contact, but Yushi did not seem to be in the mood—and apparently, there was no special method at all...

The atmosphere in the entire team was terrible. The heavy sorrow of single men made Genma worried, but they soon left the village and entered Konoha Forest.

Perhaps the green surroundings could heal the heart. As they walked, the sorrow of single men gradually faded away. Whenever they happened upon one or two brightly colored flowers, Kamise Yushi's mood grew considerably brighter.

"The weather is so nice. Let's hurry up and find Fifth Squad!"

Yushi took a deep breath and quickened his pace, and the whole team sped up with him.

With the Telescope Genma had provided, the team searched efficiently. Before long, they found traces of ninja passing through.

Following those traces, the team finally met up with Fifth Squad around dusk.

Fifth Squad consisted of Might Guy, Ebisu, and Shii Iwashiro. They were all very familiar faces.

Their team leader, Baiyun Yano, looked like quite a stern man. His long hair was tied up, he never smiled, and there was a long vertical scar beneath one eye.

"So it's you, Yushi. You accepted the Omba capture mission too?"

"Yeah. You really made us work to find you~"

As he spoke, Yushi looked over at Might Guy, who was training diligently; Ebisu, who lay lazily on the grass with a foxtail stem between his teeth; and Shii Iwashiro, who stared dumbly at the food in the pot.

"These are your students? They certainly have plenty of personality~"

"Your students are pretty impressive too. You actually have two sword-wielding ninja~"

Noma glanced at Genma and Namiashi Raidō, both of whom carried swords, then looked at Kurenai, whose eyes were very beautiful. "This girl also looks very hardworking. Your team must be full of drive. I heard you even completed an A-rank mission earlier?"

"Ahem, ahem~" Yushi scratched his head awkwardly. "Actually, we only managed it because of Minato. We were just along for the ride..."

"Minato... he was the greatest genius of our class~" Noma murmured, sounding somewhat proud.

"That's right. Good thing it was him, or I might have died there. By the way, aren't you going to treat us to a meal? We searched for ages to get here~"

The moment the words left his mouth, Yushi received a fierce glare from Noma.

"If you want to eat, cook for yourselves. My team is all boys. Do you have any idea how much they eat?"

"Uh... fine..."

After being scolded, Yushi could only leave awkwardly and find an open space to take out a pot and ingredients.

Genma and the other two tacitly went to gather dry firewood, occasionally picking some wild vegetables and mushrooms along the way. Namiashi Raidō, meanwhile, exaggeratedly used his sword to catch fish.

To be fair, Raiton's skill at catching fish with a sword was truly impressive. He hardly ever missed, so he must have practiced it specifically.

There were quite a few people in Genma's team who could cook, so before long, a faint fragrance wafted from the large iron pot.

These natural, unpolluted ingredients hardly needed much seasoning when cooked together. Just a few pinches of salt and some scallions made them incredibly fresh and delicious.

However, their aroma was obviously much stronger than Fifth Squad's next door. Baiyun Yano turned to look at Kamise Yushi and the others eating heartily, feeling rather stifled inside.

Did they lack ingredients?

They had caught fish, gathered wild vegetables and mushrooms, and brought both ingredients and seasonings. Yet the flavor simply could not compare with the food next door.

So they were not lacking ingredients at all.

What they lacked was a good cook.

It was one thing that his team was full of careless, rough boys, but none of them could even cook. Baiyun Yano suddenly remembered that they would be working together over the next few days and began regretting his earlier decision.

He should have been more welcoming just now...

Filled with regret, Baiyun Yano sped up his eating, hoping to numb his stomach quickly enough to escape the torment of the neighboring aroma.

"Mmm~ Guy, Washi, the food next door smells so good. How about we go get some~"

Joy immediately appeared on Guy and Washi's faces, but before they could even rise, Noma stopped them with a dark expression.

"You're not allowed to go!" The three of them looked at Noma in surprise, making him feel a little embarrassed. "Uh, what I mean is... finish what's in your own pot before going!"

"Oh, right. Sensei, are you coming with us too?"

Honest and simple Washi accelerated his eating, smiling as he looked at Noma.

Baiyun Yano nearly spat blood.

What kind of students were these?

Why did every last one of them side with outsiders and keep provoking him?

"I'm not going! Ninja cannot be too obsessed with food, and outstanding ninja must learn to control their weight!"

"Sensei, that's something from the old days. Ninja these days don't have rules like that~"

In the original story, Ebisu was the tutor of the Third Hokage's grandson and was known as an elite instructor, so his knowledge was extremely broad.

Now, while still young and not yet transformed into a lecherous, gloomy man, he always maintained a serious attitude toward impractical claims.

However...

Bang!

"Wah..."

"How could the things passed down by our ancestors not make sense? How can someone who cannot control himself be called a ninja?"

As he spoke, Noma stood up, looking passionately righteous.

"Listen carefully. Ninja are called ninja because they can endure what ordinary people cannot endure. Do you understand~"

"Yes~"

The three answered dejectedly and weakly, making Noma feel embarrassed. But when he noticed gazes sweeping over from behind him, he endured it.