Chunin Compensation

Seeing the Water Bat's body severed in two, Umino Sasuke felt a chill of lingering fear—and his mind immediately began to race. This was a perfect chance to win sympathy and demonstrate the Will of Fire.

It could also further solidify his persona. So Umino Sasuke instantly slipped back into character.

"Little Strong! Little Strong, what's wrong, Little Strong?"

Umino Sasuke hurriedly channeled chakra to his eyes, stimulating his tear glands as he wailed with heartrending grief. "Little Strong, you can't die! We relied on each other through thick and thin for so many years. I raised and taught you like my own flesh and blood. Who would have thought that today, I'd have to watch a child die before his father..."

Umino Sasuke fell to his knees, burying his head as he clutched the Water Bat's corpse, looking utterly devastated.

In truth, while this Water Bat had been with him the longest, it was merely one of the more durable among his many Water Bats. If it had not possessed relatively strong poison resistance, he would have ruined it long ago through his endless poison tests.

Raised like his own flesh and blood? What kind of parent fed poison to their child every day and used it as an experimental subject?

"Alas, this is a ninja's fate."

Seeing this, all the Konoha Ninja apart from Sarutobi Kagejiro were moved. Still, none of them was overly saddened. Such scenes had clearly become commonplace to them.

After experiencing the same thing several times, one got used to it.

But a ninja like Umino Sasuke, so loyal and righteous, with such a powerful Will of Fire—even if he had seen this many times, he must still be deeply grieved, right?

Those damned Sand Ninja deserved to go to hell. Those bandits should rot there.

"Senior, the dead are gone. Please don't be too sad."

Putting on the air of a little adult, Konohamaru patted Umino Sasuke on the shoulder and continued consoling him. "Senior, the village acquired a batch of Sand Falcons from the Land of Wind. Quite a few even have the bloodline of high-level Summoning Beasts. I'll find a way to get one for you."

"Really?" Umino Sasuke looked at Konohamaru with tear-filled eyes, reddened to an almost exaggerated degree, his face a mixture of grief and expectations.

As everyone knew, the Shinobi World was vast. Low- and mid-level Summoning Beasts could be found everywhere, but tameable high-level Summoning Beasts were exceedingly rare, each one a precious treasure.

Wild high-level Summoning Beasts were highly intelligent. Some could even understand human speech, while others possessed intellects nearly equal to humans. They were generally difficult to tame, and without overwhelming strength, there was no way to subdue them.

Naturally, tameable non-wild high-level Summoning Beasts became highly sought after.

And flying high-level Summoning Beasts like Sand Falcons were the finest of the finest.

Even in later generations, after Second Pillar obtained a Summoning Beast from Ryūchi Cave, one of the Three Great Sacred Lands, he still contracted a giant eagle. That showed just how valuable flying high-level Summoning Beasts were.

"It's true."

As the jonin in charge of this war zone, Akimichi Toribo had more accurate internal intelligence. Some time ago, a young man named Hatake Sakumo had destroyed a Sand Hidden Ninja Beast Breeding Base and obtained quite a few Sand Falcon chicks, Summoning Beasts unique to Sunagakure.

They were currently stored in the Logistics Department, listed among the high-grade exchange items.

One could be exchanged for just five B-rank mission merit points.

However, given Umino Sasuke's status, with the Logistics Department's usual shady backroom dealings, he definitely would not have qualified for an exchange. But now that Konohamaru had brought it up, the Logistics Department presumably would not make things difficult. On the contrary, they would be more than willing to do Konohamaru a favor.

For this interception of the Sand Ninja, they would earn at least the merit of one A-Rank Mission. Exchanging it for a Sand Falcon Summoning Beast chick would be more than enough.

Still, he did not recommend that Umino Sasuke exchange for a Sand Falcon. Konohamaru lacked ninja experience and was mainly considering things emotionally. It would be far more practical to exchange the points for ninjutsu, weapons, or supplies.

A Sand Falcon's growth period was not particularly long, but neither was it short. They were currently in the middle of a ninja war. By the time the Sand Falcon matured, the war might have already been over for years.

Seeing how upset Umino Sasuke was, Akimichi Toribo did not point out the issue directly. He intended to remind him after some time had passed.

Seeing Umino Sasuke so distraught, the Konoha Ninja let him have some time alone while they swiftly finished cleaning up the battlefield.

After assigning everyone their tasks, Akimichi Toribo pulled Konohamaru aside and gave him several instructions. Before leaving, he specifically added, "Konohamaru, when you submit the mission report, also report the Water Bat Summoning Beast's casualty as a Chunin-level comrade. List Umino Sasuke as the bereaved family receiving the compensation."

It was customary to grant compensation when a Summoning Beast died, but this generally only applied to the Inuzuka Clan and a small number of powerful, well-connected ninja. Ordinary low- and mid-ranking ninja did not receive such benefits.

Umino Sasuke was now one of his capable subordinates. Securing some benefits for one of his own did not count as breaking the rules too badly.

As for the Summoning Beast's rank, Umino Sasuke was a Chunin. It was perfectly reasonable for him to have a Chunin-level Summoning Beast, wasn't it?

Other Chunin even dared to report the deaths of jonin-level Summoning Beasts. Was it excessive for his capable subordinate to report a Chunin-level one?

Besides, with Konohamaru submitting the report, who would dare object?

The village's compensation for a fallen Chunin was quite substantial. At least it could help Umino Sasuke recoup some of his losses.

"Mm!" Konohamaru nodded heavily, showing that he definitely would not forget.

Clearly, Konohamaru still needed to accumulate ninja experience. He only had a partial understanding of the Water Bat Summoning Beast's rank, but he had plenty of experience with the ninja management system. Naturally, he was familiar with the reporting procedures for a fallen Summoning Beast.

"We're leaving."

Gekko Yoru nodded to Umino Sasuke, then carried Hyuga Asuka on his back and sped off with Konohamaru.

"Senior, I'm off! I definitely won't forget about your Sand Falcon."

Konohamaru bounded off the giant tree with several leaps and vanished from sight, but his voice continued echoing through the forest.

At the same time, Akimichi Toribo gave Maruboshi Kosuke, who stood some distance away, a meaningful look. Maruboshi Kosuke understood at once, secretly formed hand seals, and left behind a Shadow Clone while his real body followed Konohamaru.

"Lord Toribo, I still need to return to the Patrol Zone to prevent the Sand Ninja from taking this chance to break through, so I'll be heading back first."

Once Umino Sasuke saw that the battlefield had been cleaned up and that Konohamaru and the others had left, he hurriedly bid Akimichi Toribo farewell. He did not even have time to build some rapport with the shadow clone of Maruboshi Kosuke, the strongest Genin, before rushing off toward his own defensive zone with Tejudo and the other two.

"Truly a reliable and capable subordinate."

Akimichi Toribo nodded. He was clearly extremely satisfied with Umino Sasuke's dedication and sense of responsibility. Turning to Aburame Shibi beside him, he instructed, "Shibi, keep a closer eye on Sasuke's group in the future. Their weapons and supplies are completely depleted now, and their combat strength has basically hit rock bottom. Don't let the Sand Ninja exploit that opening."

"Mm." Wearing a pair of small dark sunglasses and wrapped up so tightly that he had no presence at all, Aburame Shibi nodded to show that he had heard.