Yugito: What's Your XP?

Half a month later, at the Raikage Building.

"Neji, as your senior, I have a few words I'd like to share with you."

Yozuki A's face was full of nostalgia.

"It's an honor!"

"Once you become a ninja, your life truly begins, and there'll be no warmth from then on. One day, after you've become a ninja, you may look back and realize that these years right now were the happiest memories of your life."

Neji closed his eyes, then slowly opened them again.

"Lord Raikage, perhaps I'm an exception. I'm fully prepared now."

Yozuki A nodded and handed Neji his Forehead Protector.

"Then embrace your new future."

Neji solemnly accepted the Forehead Protector emblazoned with a cloud and tied it around his forehead.

Yozuki A pointed toward the roof with his index finger. "Go on. Your Jonin instructor is on the rooftop."

Neji nodded slightly and quickly left the office.

The rooftop of the Raikage Building.

Yugito, who had just returned from training in the Valley of Clouds and Lightning the day before, folded her arms across her chest and let the cool breeze brush her face as she gazed calmly down at the whole village.

Ever since becoming the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, she had stayed in the Valley of Clouds and Lightning, training hard in the hope that one day she could make peace with her Tailed Beast like Killer B and become the first perfect Two-Tails Jinchuriki in history.

Hard work had paid off.

After several years of arduous training, she could now communicate amicably with Matatabi, the Two-Tails, and draw on its power to enter a partial Tailed Beast transformation.

"Five years. A whole five years. I've really made something of myself."

A cute smile appeared at the corner of Yugito's mouth.

Tap, tap, tap!!!

Steady footsteps rang out.

Yugito's smile faded as she turned to look at the Byakugan boy approaching her.

"Excuse me, are you the Jonin instructor Lord Raikage assigned to me?" Neji looked around, saw no one else, and asked.

The woman was tall, around 170 centimeters by his estimate, with delicate, picture-perfect features and fair, jade-like skin. She was nothing like the other Cloud ninja and didn't look like a woman from Kumogakure.

She had long, tea-colored hair, braided into a plait that reached her waist.

She was brimming with confidence and had the air of a queen, yet her lively, expressive eyes gave her a cute look.

If beauty were scored out of a hundred, she'd get ninety. The remaining ten points were docked for her lifelong nemesis: being bald.

Kumogakure's number-one beauty, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Yugito.

Yugito hopped in front of Neji and studied his eyes with interest. "If there isn't a second Byakugan in Kumogakure, then you must be Neji."

Neji was rather surprised.

He hadn't expected his instructor to be a Jinchuriki.

Jinchuriki were War Weapons; their importance went without saying.

Konoha's Kushina didn't even get to lead Genin teams. She was watched by Anbu all day, and her movements were restricted to the area inside the barrier. You could say the village had stripped her of her freedom.

The Jinchuriki in Kumogakure seemed to be treated pretty well.

Still, making a Jinchuriki a Jonin instructor was a risky move, no matter how you looked at it.

Lord Raikage, I'll never be able to repay your kindness...

Yugito kept studying Neji with curiosity, without saying a word.

After waiting until he was thoroughly confused, Neji finally asked tentatively, "I heard that when a ninja squad is formed, everyone is supposed to introduce themselves. Is that right?"

Yugito froze, then said awkwardly, "This is my first time leading a team. What should I introduce?"

Neji pinched his chin and thought for a while. "Probably your name, the abilities you specialize in, things you like, things you dislike, and your dream for the future. Yeah, I think that's it."

"Interesting. You go first." Yugito blinked, then continued staring at Neji.

Neji smiled helplessly.

His Jonin instructor lacked experience and seemed a little absent-minded.

"My name is Hyuga Neji. I've never attended the Ninja Academy, and I've only just started out, but I'm really, really strong. Don't think of me as some little Genin.

"I like hot baths, sleeping in, and slacking off now and then. I dislike people forcing their will on me.

"My dream for the future..."

Neji's gaze sharpened slightly. Then he continued, "There are a lot of things. Destroy the rotten Hyuga clan, establish a new Hyuga clan in Kumogakure, and lead Kumogakure to dominate the Shinobi World, among other things."

This kid...

Yugito looked at Neji in surprise, then copied his example.

"My name is Yugito. I'm the Two-Tails Jinchuriki. I've spent a long time training, and this is my first time leading a team, so I lack experience. I like raising cats and eating papayas. I dislike women with huge breasts. My dream is to become the first perfect Two-Tails Jinchuriki."

"Mm, that's a very nice dream."

Neji clapped his hands and smiled politely. "Now, Team Yugito is..."

"Wait."

Yugito suddenly thought of something and interrupted him, the corner of her mouth curling into a teasing smile.

"I have one more question."

"Oh!"

Neji looked at Yugito curiously.

It was unheard of for a Jonin to ask a Genin a follow-up question during introductions.

An unexpected turn of events.

Yugito narrowed her eyes. "Tell me, what's your XP?"

"..."

Neji froze.

What was Yugito up to?

"Teacher Yugito, I wouldn't find this question strange if a brothel owner were asking customers for market research."

Hearing that, Yugito put on a stern face and struck a queenly pose.

"Kid, are you talking back to your teacher?"

"I wouldn't dare."

Neji shook his head, then answered honestly. "Yukiko, slim waists, long legs, stockings, uniforms, glasses..."

Before he could finish, Yugito reached out and tapped him on the head with her finger, looking at him with disdain.

Neji spent the rest of the day under Yugito's gaze, which seemed ready to kill him at any moment.

Neji felt completely wronged.

I'm still a kid. What could I possibly have done wrong?

You're the one who asked me to say it!

And now that I've told you, you're unhappy.

Missions were divided into five ranks: D, C, B, A, and S.

During their first month, Yugito and Neji kept taking D-Rank missions.

A lot of people might not realize it, but D-Rank missions were a form of charity.

The village lost money every time it put up a D-Rank mission.

Moving house, finding cats, carrying old ladies to visit their relatives... These were all D-Rank missions—jobs with practically no difficulty that even ordinary people could handle.

Normally, clients wouldn't put out such low-level missions.

But village Genin needed time to get used to the mission process, and D-Rank missions were perfect for that.

So, whenever a client posted a D-Rank mission, they received a subsidy from the village or the Land of Lightning.

That day, after becoming completely familiar with the mission process, Yugito took Neji to the Mission Hall to accept a C-Rank mission.

At the C-Rank mission counter, Neji took the mission list and examined it page by page.

He wasn't satisfied with any of the missions, whether they involved wiping out bandits or driving away wild boars.

They were either too easy or took place close to Kumogakure.

Neji wanted a challenging mission, or one far enough from Kumogakure—ideally, one that took them outside the Land of Lightning.

When he saw the final mission, his eyes lit up.

"An escort mission. The Land of Grass..."