Don't Be Unappreciative

The border of the Land of Fire.

A caravan rumbled along a road paved with yellow earth, breaking the border's tranquility.

This was a merchant convoy that had just returned from completing trade in the Land of Wind. The caravan leader chatted cheerfully with his people, the goods piled high on the wagons showing that this trip had been quite profitable.

Three ninja walked scattered around the caravan, guarding the merchants as they advanced.

On one of the wagons loaded with supplies, a boy of about ten lay on the roof, chewing a stalk of dog-tail grass, basking in the sun with nothing to do.

The boy was Narak.

Suddenly, Narak's eyes shifted, and he said flatly to those below, "On guard. A few flies."

The ninja moving forward immediately snapped into combat stances.

"Boom..."

Five figures burst out of the previously flat ground.

"Tch... Found out, huh? Was hoping to ambush them."

"What's the big deal? Just a few genin and a brat. Easy pickings."

The ninja wore Sunagakure headbands, but a horizontal line was carved through the middle—clearly rogue ninja from Sunagakure.

The three genin below and the merchants were visibly tense. The attackers were two chunin and three genin, a force beyond their ability to handle.

Rogue ninja, once they abandoned their villages, lost their income. To survive, they had to rob villages and caravans. Clearly, they had set their sights on this convoy.

Narak slowly sat up, glancing at the rogue ninja blocking the road. "You lot. I'll give you a chance. Leave now, and I won't kill you. I suggest you consider that offer. Don't be ungrateful."

The rogue ninja burst out laughing at Narak's words. "What? A brat like you? You kidding?"

Narak shot them a disdainful glance, said nothing more, and simply drew his long blade, charging at them.

One minute later, the battle was over.

The caravan continued on toward Konoha, leaving behind five mutilated corpses for the circling vultures to feast on.

Now, five years had passed since the kidnapping incident.

Five years ago, from the moment Narak killed the Cloud Jonin, he had entered the sight of Konoha's higher-ups. After all, a five-year-old boy single-handedly killing a chunin and a jonin—though it was later confirmed the jonin was only a special jonin—was still an incredible feat.

Within a few days, Narak was summoned by the Third Hokage. The Third had no suspicions about Narak killing the Cloud ninja, since Narak was a legitimate member of the Hyuga Clan, impossible to fake.

Moreover, Hyuga Hiashi had already told the Third about Narak's extraordinary talent. Narak himself stated that his strength had just broken through to chunin level a few days prior, and that the Cloud ninja had underestimated him, leading to his own defeat.

Hearing that Narak had reached chunin level, both the Third and Hiashi were overjoyed. A five-year-old chunin was a genius no matter where you looked.

Before this, the only other genius was Kakashi, who had become a chunin at six through the exam.

Though Narak had only reached the level in strength without formally passing the chunin exams, that was just a matter of experience. With his current power, a bit of field training would make him a chunin without issue.

So, after leaving the Hokage's office, Narak became a genin. The very next day, he began accompanying Konoha jonin on missions.

The Third was determined to train Narak, so he didn't assign trivial tasks like "find the eastern village rich lady's lost cat" or "buy a wheelchair for Cripple Wang in the western village."

At first, the jonin squad leader took him on a few C-rank escort missions to get him used to the mission format and integrate into the team.

After that, they moved on to B-rank missions that required combat with ninja.

In the beginning, Narak struggled. B-rank enemies were mostly genin, but they had combat experience and struck unpredictably, catching him off guard.

The squad leader, clearly under private orders from the Third to test Narak, never actively helped him, which cost him a few minor setbacks.

But thanks to the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan and his own chunin-level strength, Narak never completely fell into trouble.

After several missions, Narak learned from his battles, growing rapidly. Eventually, he handled enemies with ease, and those low-level genin could no longer threaten him.

Half a year later, during one mission, the squad was ambushed by an enemy jonin and three chunin. The squad leader was tied up with the jonin, and two teammates were gravely injured. In that situation, Narak unleashed astonishing combat power.

On the battlefield, Narak used Flash Step to move like a ghost, weaving through the fight. Combined with the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist, he killed all three chunin in just a few minutes. Then, he helped his squad leader take down the enemy jonin. The squad leader and the Third, when they learned of it, were stunned.

Everyone was a ninja, so why was he so flashy...

Thus, Narak was arranged to take the chunin exams.

At six years old, he became another genius ninja of Konoha, just like Kakashi, who had also become a chunin at six.

After becoming a chunin, Narak began leading his own squads on missions.

As the caravan rolled on, the gates of Konoha gradually came into view. The merchants, who had been slightly tense, visibly relaxed.

The caravan leader looked at the ninja escorting them. "Ah, well, thanks to all of you for the protection. When we get back to the village, I'll submit a positive review of your mission to the higher-ups. Next time, I hope we can work together again."

The genin walking at the front replied, "Yosh, boss, you've got good taste. Coming to us for missions is the right call. You won't be disappointed."

A female genin beside him rolled her eyes. "Come on, what are you bragging about? It's all thanks to the captain. Since he started leading missions, not a single one has failed, and every review is perfect. With your lousy skills, if the captain hadn't been watching your back, you'd have died a dozen times already."

The genin, red-faced at her rebuttal, stammered, "Well... we're in the same squad as the captain... If the captain's strong, that means we're strong too... Geez, mind your own business..."

Listening to the two bicker below, Narak lay on the wagon roof, his heart unmoved. He was long used to the dynamics within his squad.