Mission Commission

A squad's seamless coordination was built through spending day after day together. For Hyuga Mirai's squad, who had only just met, to put a Konoha Jonin under an Illusion Technique was proof that they were exceptionally capable.

Although Hyuga Mirai had spent a long time with Hyuga Kiyomi, the two had never developed any tacit coordination. In Hyuga Kiyomi's eyes, Hyuga Mirai could not even use the Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms and would be defeated within a few exchanges against a Jonin.

Hyuga Mirai had not intended to give it his all either. He had only wanted to guide Hyuga Kiyomi and Yuhi Kurenai into making their moves. This test had also relied on the little tricks he had prepared in advance; otherwise, Kaminari Kaede's evaluation of them might have dropped several levels.

After stuffing themselves at the barbecue restaurant, Yuhi Kurenai's ruby-like eyes had gone wide with shock.

Fortunately, she had not insisted on treating them, or she would have had to shamefully call her father over to pay the bill and take her away.

Yuhi Kurenai simply could not understand why someone from the Hyuga Clan had such an enormous appetite. He had eaten forty or fifty plates of barbecue by himself, nearly ten pounds' worth.

Hyuga Kiyomi's expression was tense and rather unpleasant when she paid the bill. Although she was the Young Miss of the Main Family, this meal had nearly emptied all the money she had on her. Even if the Main Family gave her plenty of money, she could not afford many meals on the scale of today's feast.

If Hyuga Mirai had not remembered that he needed to train, he probably could have kept eating for another hour or two.

The next day, the three arrived early to gather in front of the Hokage Tower.

At the appointed time, Kaminari Kaede appeared right on schedule, neither early nor late.

"Come on. Let's pick up some missions."

After saying that, Kaminari Kaede headed toward the Hokage Tower, and Hyuga Mirai and the others obediently followed behind him.

Missions were assigned in the Hokage's office, where several assistants were helping out.

Hyuga Mirai immediately spotted the short figure behind the central desk: Konoha's Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was currently handling village affairs. The arrival of the Kaminari Kaede Squad did not even make him look up from his work.

Even though Hyuga Mirai was a genius whose Medical talent was no weaker than Tsunade's, Sarutobi Hiruzen had received Nakano's report long ago. However, once he learned that Hyuga Mirai belonged to the Branch Family, he lost interest in him.

The Caged Bird Seal of the Hyuga Branch Family surpassed any Curse Mark. Even Root's Curse Mark was a tier below it. A Branch family member had to be loyal to the Main Family first, and only then to anyone else.

If the Hokage wanted to send members of the Hyuga Branch Family to the battlefield, he had to discuss it with the Main Family before deploying them. This was a rule that both the Hokage and the Hyūga Clan had to follow. Not even Danzo's Root had any members of the Hyūga Clan; its Sensor Ninja all came from the Yamanaka Clan.

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo understood this calculation perfectly well. No matter how strong they raised Hyuga Mirai, he would ultimately belong to the Hyuuga Main House. Once they considered that outcome, ninety percent of their desire to train Hyuga Mirai vanished.

They might as well let him develop on his own. If the Hyūga Clan wanted to cultivate a powerful Medical-nin, they could put in the effort themselves. If Hyuga Mirai grew stronger, he would still be a Konoha Ninja, and Sarutobi Hiruzen, as Hokage, could still assign missions to him.

However, if Hyuga Mirai wanted to grow, he would have to rely on the resources of the Hyuuga Main House. Sarutobi Hiruzen would only act according to the village's rules, even if he was filled with the Will of Fire.

That was Sarutobi Hiruzen's attitude toward the Hyuga Branch Family.

Kaminari Kaede stepped up to the Hokage's desk and respectfully said, "Hokage-sama, I'm here to collect missions."

"Oh, so it's Kaminari. Let me see what missions are suitable for your squad."

The Third Hokage picked up the Mission Commission scroll and looked it over. Then he selected several items and said to the Kaminari Kaede Squad,

"Helping Villagers plow fields, driving away wild boars, and helping merchants with transporting goods from their warehouses."

After hearing the missions, Kaminari Kaede considered them for a moment before saying to Sarutobi Hiruzen, "Hokage-sama, if possible, I would like to take them all."

"Is that so? Of course."

Sarutobi Hiruzen gave Kaminari Kaede a surprised glance before agreeing. Newly graduated Genin squads needed to take D-rank Missions for a while to build experience. This was the path every Genin had to take.

Even if Kaminari Kaede acknowledged Hyuga Mirai and the others' strength, he would not break tradition by leading a newly graduated squad straight into C-rank Missions. However, he could speed up the process by accepting several at once and having Hyuga Mirai's group complete them separately to quickly build up their mission records.

As for teamwork, Kaminari Kaede felt that his three subordinates did not need to use D-rank Missions to polish their coordination any further. That would not help them at all.

After accepting the missions, Kaminari Kaede led the three away from the Hokage Tower.

Once outside, Kaminari Kaede spread out the Mission Commission in his hand and said to the three, "Pick one yourselves. Finish by three in the afternoon and gather at the Hokage Tower."

Hyuga Mirai stepped half a pace back, signaling for his two female teammates to choose first.

Of the three missions, driving away wild boars was probably the easiest. Plowing fields and transporting goods were obviously physically demanding jobs, and anyone who completed them alone would surely be exhausted.

Yuhi Kurenai and Hyuga Kiyomi had also been classmates for two years. Since both wanted the easier mission, they decided to settle it with rock-paper-scissors.

In the end, Hyuga Kiyomi went to help a Villager drive away wild boars, while Yuhi Kurenai helped a merchant transport goods, and Hyuga Mirai went to plow the fields.

What an annoying D-rank Mission!

Holding the Mission Commission, Hyuga Mirai headed for the fields that needed plowing. Other than building up mission qualifications, this kind of mission was completely useless.

Perhaps for other newly graduated Genin, these missions could help them train their Chakra control. But Hyuga Mirai could already use B-rank Medical Ninjutsu, and his Chakra control was outstanding even in Konoha Hospital.

After two hard hours of work, Hyuga Mirai finally finished plowing a large field. Once the client signed the mission document to confirm completion, he hurried straight to the ramen shop.

Only after downing five bowls of ramen in one go did Hyuga Mirai barely manage to fill his stomach a little.

"Mirai-kun, have you finished your mission?"

Hearing someone call to him from behind, Hyuga Mirai turned around and immediately saw a familiar pair of red eyes.

"Yuhi, my mission is already finished."

Yuhi Kurenai's red eyes brightened at once. A pleading expression immediately appeared on her face as she begged Hyuga Mirai, "Mirai-kun, could you help me with my mission? The merchant has far too many goods to transport. I'm afraid I can't finish it alone."

"Sure."

"Just this once. Next time, I'll also— Huh? Mirai-kun, did you just agree?"

Yuhi Kurenai felt as though she had heard something, and she widened her eyes as she asked again to make sure.

Hyuga Mirai smiled lightly and said to Yuhi Kurenai, "I said sure. We're on the same squad, after all. It's only right that we help each other."

"Th-thank you so much, Mirai-kun!"

Yuhi Kurenai said excitedly. She had not expected Hyuga Mirai, who normally spoke so little with her, to agree so readily. What he said even moved her a little. Yuhi Kurenai immediately wanted to say that she would treat Hyuga Mirai to a meal, but as the words reached her lips, she suddenly remembered his appetite during their last barbecue. Her bold declaration was forcibly swallowed back down.

Yuhi Kurenai cautiously said, "Once I've saved up some mission rewards, I'll treat you to a meal, Mirai-kun."

Hearing that, Hyuga Mirai let out a hoarse laugh before saying to Yuhi Kurenai, "Let's eat first. Afterward, we'll finish the mission together."

"Okay, Mirai-kun."

With Hyuga Mirai's help, the two quickly completed the transporting goods mission. After resting for a while, they gathered at the Hokage Tower before three o'clock.

Seeing Hyuga Mirai and Yuhi Kurenai drenched in stinking sweat, Hyuga Kiyomi felt extremely fortunate that she had not chosen either of those two missions.

Under Kaminari Kaede's lead, the squad turned in their missions and was then dismissed.

However, they still had to gather in front of the Hokage Tower tomorrow. Kaminari Kaede intended to let Hyuga Mirai and the other two accumulate enough qualifications to accept C-rank Missions in the shortest possible time.