A Girl's Secrets Are Not Yours to Guess

"Uh?"

Maruboshi Kosuke's hand holding his chopsticks suddenly froze as he savored the hot pot. A faint look of surprise appeared on his honest, good-natured face.

So soon?

He had thought his Water Clone could play with Fugaku and the others a while longer. Who would have guessed it would go offline before they had even finished the first batch of ingredients?

"Are kids these days really this formidable?"

He picked up an enticing slice of fatty lamb from the boiling hot pot and shook his head with a wistful look.

That Water Clone might not have been strong, but it still possessed thirty percent of his ability—more than enough to deal with ordinary Chunin.

That showed Fugaku and the others were far stronger than graduates their age.

"Not bad. They'll only get stronger in the future."

Uchiha Gin, who had been hunched over and stuffing his face across from him, looked up. He wiped his greasy mouth with a napkin and nodded with firm conviction.

What was so impressive about beating up a Jonin clone at ten? In the future, fifteen- and sixteen-year-old brats would be saving the world.

"Haah, this really is a headache of a mission."

Maruboshi Kosuke chewed on lamb drenched in sesame sauce as he sighed.

"Why did Monkey choose you to be their Guidance Jonin?"

Seeing Maruboshi Kosuke's pained expression, Uchiha Gin asked curiously.

"Who knows? Maybe he thought I was too idle."

Because of the mission subsidy program Sunagakure had launched in recent years, clients throughout the Ninja World had become more inclined to post missions in the Wind Country. This had affected the overall mission market of the other ninja villages to varying degrees.

S-Rank missions and C- and D-Rank missions were still alright. Due to their difficulty and quantity, their prices