S-Rank Mission

Akimichi Toribo thoroughly enjoyed the meal.

Umino Sasuke was also quite pleased, saying he had benefited greatly.

Taking advantage of the gathering, he had secretly kept the Infrasonic Radar Technique active, sensing every minute change within Akimichi Toribo's body as he ate. He studied and analyzed them while comparing them against his own attempts at imitation.

By the end of the meal, he had finally grasped the underlying principles.

It turned out that while using chakra to stimulate the vagus nerve endings in the intestines, there was an even more precise method of chakra stimulation, one that had even reached the level of chakra-based Cellular Activation.

Based on the differences between the cells and neural networks in each part of the body, the entire process involved multilayered, high-frequency, and exceptionally precise chakra stimulation, thereby improving the conversion efficiency of food energy.

Moreover, this stimulation, akin to chakra-based Cellular Activation, varied in frequency at different stages. As a result, intestinal peristalsis and the secretion ratios of gastric acid, bile, and digestive enzymes all differed considerably over time.

For example, during the initial stage of eating, the proportion of gastric acid secretion was relatively high. After eating stopped, however, bile secretion increased instead. There were countless such minor details. They seemed trivial on their own, but together, they formed the key to an entire system governing food energy conversion efficiency.

Fortunately, Akimichi Toribo had been eating and digesting food right in front of him, allowing for continuous comparative experiments. It was practically the same as using the Sharingan to copy a ninjutsu. If he had tried to develop it alone, he could never have created such a complex digestive system without decades, perhaps even centuries, of tireless research.

He finally realized that the Digestive Technique he had developed that afternoon was far too simple and crude. Not only did it waste a large amount of food energy, it also increased the burden on the heart, liver, and gallbladder's detoxification functions. The problem might not show in the short term, but over time, the excessive strain would inevitably cause the body to collapse.

The complete Akimichi Digestive Technique, on the other hand, not only achieved near-perfect food energy utilization, but also accounted for the burden on the body. Its solution was exceptionally ingenious: it incorporated the concept of an energy circulation system, powered not by one's own chakra, but by the food energy produced through digestion itself.

As expected of a secret technique of the Akimichi Clan. It was truly remarkable.

He gained an even deeper understanding of how terrifying the foundations of these ninja clans were. For a long-standing ninja clan like the Akimichi Clan, the inheritance and accumulation of countless generations of predecessors had built an unfathomably deep foundation. Merely glimpsing one corner of it was enough to benefit endlessly.

"Sasuke, the Mission Merit Points from the Land of Wind Intelligence Mission we brought back after intercepting the Sand ninja last time have been issued."

Akimichi Toribo patted his belly, then leaned closer and said in a low voice, "That Land of Wind Intelligence Mission was extremely high-ranking and involved a Jinchuriki. It was an S-Rank Mission."

"What? It actually reached S-Rank, and it even involved a Jinchuriki?"

Umino Sasuke's gaze sharpened, and his heart shook violently. Although he knew about Jinchuriki, he put on a puzzled expression.

Akimichi Toribo did not explain further, especially regarding the sensitive subject of Jinchuriki. He merely said somewhat embarrassedly, "Sasuke, we were originally supposed to split the Mission Merit Points evenly. But now you only received thirty percent and one S-Rank Mission Completion Record. I got such a huge advantage that I feel a little bad about it."

"Lord Toribo, thirty percent is already plenty. As long as the Captain looks after me more in the future, even if I gave all thirty percent to the Captain, that would be fine."

Umino Sasuke showered him with flattery, but inwardly, he was overjoyed. Mission Merit Points were valuable, but compared with an S-Rank Mission Completion Record, they were not worth mentioning at all.

Mission Merit Points could be slowly accumulated by grinding low-level missions, but records of completing Advanced Ninjutsu missions could only be earned by risking one's life or relying on luck.

Advanced mission completion records were mandatory prerequisites for evaluating ninja rank and exchanging for mid- to high-level ninjutsu.

Over the past half year on the battlefield front lines, he had braved wind and rain and fought desperately, yet he had only accumulated a dozen or so C-rank mission completion records and two B-rank ones.

Even including the previous owner's more than ten years as a ninja, there was not a single A-Rank Mission Completion Record in his mission log.

His luck this time was unbelievably good. He had actually received a super-high-level mission completion record. He had thought getting an A-Rank Mission Completion Record would already be excellent, yet it turned out to be S-Rank.

He knew that S-Rank Missions like this were generally strategic-level operations. Even Elite Jonin might not complete more than a few in their entire lives.

The rank of a mission completion record was not only used to evaluate ninja rank; it was also directly tied to the rank of ninjutsu one could exchange for.

For example, to exchange for a C-rank Ninjutsu, one had to complete enough B-rank missions to gain authorization.

Otherwise, no matter how hard one worked to complete countless C-rank missions, one could only increase Mission Merit Points and exchange them for common D-rank Ninjutsu. One would never qualify to exchange for C-rank Ninjutsu.

An S-Rank Mission Completion Record, meanwhile, was a necessary prerequisite for exchanging for A-Rank Ninjutsu and being evaluated for the rank of Konoha Jonin.

This prerequisite policy completely cut off those who wanted to grind low-level missions in order to exchange for Advanced Ninjutsu and raise their ninja rank.

Originally, during the era of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, one hundred C-rank missions equaled ten B-rank missions, which equaled one A-Rank Mission. They could be exchanged upward. As long as one completed enough missions and accumulated enough Mission Merit Points, even A-Rank Ninjutsu could be exchanged for. In extreme cases, even forbidden techniques might not have been out of reach.

But after the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, took office and implemented reforms, he blocked the possibility of exchanging multiple low-level missions for higher-level ones. Only after completing missions of the corresponding rank could one qualify to exchange for ninjutsu of that rank and be evaluated for ninja rank.

This policy seemed quite good, eliminating the drawback of large numbers of ninja grinding low-level missions rather than actively undertaking high-level ones.

But it also created an even greater problem: it further widened the gap between Civilian Ninja and the Konoha Ninja Clan.

Ninja clan disciples already possessed inherited ninjutsu, and they were often led by Jonin. With the strength of Konoha Jonin, these ninja clan disciples naturally had many opportunities to complete higher-level missions beyond their rank. Once they had high-level mission records, advancing their ninja rank became a matter of course. As for exchanging for Advanced Ninjutsu, all they lacked were Mission Merit Points.

As for ordinary lower- and middle-tier ninja without backing, they could basically only rely on themselves. If they wanted to exchange for mid- to high-level ninjutsu, Mission Merit Points might seem difficult to accumulate, but there was at least still hope. As long as they remained ninja long enough and kept accumulating them, they could still save up quite a few.

But when it came to the rank of mission completion records, it often completely blocked the path of the vast majority of ordinary ninja.