You Did Very Well, Don't Do It Again

Soon, Gekko Yugao led the team into a village called Yoshida Town and met the client for this mission.

An elder named Yoshida Inamori, with white hair and beard, leaned on a well-worn, polished walking stick. He was the village chief.

Village Chief Yoshida was still spirited and greeted the four of them cheerfully. After handing over the mission details, he led them to the farmland outside the village.

A small river wound through the area, surrounded by forests like walls. On the low hills along the river, terraced fields of varying heights spread out.

The higher dry fields were planted with wheat. At this season, the wheat seedlings had already formed ears but hadn't turned golden yet, standing lush and green.

Along both sides of the river, the low-lying paddy fields had all been leveled, like mirrors embedded in the earth. Many of these fields already had farmers working in them.

Yes, Higashino Makoto's group of three's task today was: rice planting.

According to Village Chief Yoshida, several households in the village had elderly members whose children were out making their way in the world, so they lacked labor. Every year during the busy farming season, they would issue D-Rank Missions to Konoha, hiring ninja to help.

Even though the price of a D-Rank Mission was steep for them, ninja were highly efficient—one could do the work of ten, making it quite a bargain.

Of course, Konoha wasn't foolish enough to treat Genin like cattle. After assessment, a fixed area of farmland counted as one D-Rank Mission. Today's commission in Yoshida Town totaled five missions' worth.

Having ninja with Supernatural Power farm the land? In some Dark Cultivation World, these commoners would probably be turned to ash on the spot.

I'm a Cultivator, damn it. Even if I farmed, it'd be Spirit Rice for a Foundation Establishment Great Power.

But this was the peculiar Shinobi World. A mission was a mission. A ninja was one who endures everything.

Village Chief Yoshida left after explaining the farmland they needed to cover. He didn't need to say more—after all these years, he knew ninja learned fast, even if they looked like mere children.

Higashino Makoto didn't actually need to learn. In his Previous Life, he'd grown up in the countryside and knew all about rice seedling cultivation and transplanting, having done it himself.

Still, he pretended to learn alongside Hayate and Yugao, standing in the fields and watching the farmers. He found it no different from his previous life.

After that, there was nothing much to say. They pulled seedlings, bundled them, carried them to the field edges, and tossed them out.

Ninja were ninja. Even in the details, you could see the difference from commoners.

The three moved incredibly fast. From their earlier observation, they'd calculated how far each bundle of seedlings would cover. When tossing, they even used Shuriken-throwing techniques. Every bundle landed precisely, as if measured with a ruler.

People often said they were too busy to split themselves, but the problem was, ninja really could use the Clone Technique. Both Hayate Gekko and Uzuki Yugao knew the Shadow Clone.

So the three formed Hand Seals. Hayate and Yugao only dared to make two clones each, unlike Higashino Makoto, who went "pop pop pop" and made over a dozen.

So when ninja did farm work, one being worth ten wasn't a metaphor—it was fact.

To conserve Chakra, Hayate and Yugao didn't use the water-walking technique. They simply took off their shoes and stepped into the Paddy Field, not minding their feet getting caked with mud.

Uzuki Yugao, that fair-skinned, pretty Little Girl, didn't complain either. She didn't even frown before stepping into the field.

Ninja had never seen themselves as noble cultivators. For a thousand years, no one had instilled that idea in them. On the contrary, the notion that ninja were tools was deeply ingrained.

Higashino Makoto had no interest in changing that mindset. Or rather, he didn't need to—change had already begun.

Decades ago, the establishment of the one-village-one-country system ended the era of ninja bound by clan ties. A flood of commoners without clans began becoming ninja.

Then came several wars, producing a large number of Rogue Ninja. These people had no guts to fight Ninja Villages, but they had plenty of guts—and then some—to lord it over the commoner world.

And then everyone realized: damn, so this is how ninja could live happily.

Was it fun for a ninja to bully helpless commoners?

Those Rogue Ninja, with women on both arms and money pouring in, would tell you: you can't imagine my joy.

At some point, commoners in the Shinobi World started fearing ninja and respectfully calling them "sir." This change was good for ninja, but for ordinary people, it was a disaster.

But that's how the world was. Even in Higashino Makoto's previous life's ordinary world, true equality didn't exist, let alone in this world of Supernatural Power.

Any attempt to preach equality here, or to think red could change the world, was utterly unrealistic.

The villagers of Yoshida Town once again witnessed the efficiency of ninja at work, even though they saw it several times every year.

In the mirror-smooth Paddy Fields, over a dozen figures moved like lightning. Green seedlings were thrust into the mud rapidly, and the fields turned into rice paddies at an astonishing speed.

What a family would need a week to finish, a single ninja could wrap up in a day without breaking a sweat.

Every time they saw this spectacular sight, the villagers would sigh inwardly: what a waste that ninjutsu isn't used for farming.

This mindset was like: the emperor must use a Golden Hoe to carry manure.

Everyone understood the logic, but it was never realistic. The emperor didn't carry manure either.

Take Higashino Makoto's group of three. They were doing the Rice Planting to complete the village's mission. They felt no resistance—in fact, they found it interesting and novel.

Higashino Makoto even felt a hint of the days he'd spent in the fields with his father in his Previous Life. Those were truly nostalgic childhood memories.

But if someone tried to make them do this every day, year after year...

That would be a different story. Whoever brought that up would be dead.

Soon, with the three's efforts, the mission was completed by around 3 PM. Higashino Makoto couldn't help but marvel: Chakra was great, Chakra was wonderful. After half a day straight, he didn't even feel sore in the back or legs.

Even Hayate Gekko and Uzuki Yugao were only a little tired.

Back in his Previous Life as a kid, when he followed his family to transplant rice, his back would give out before long, and by the end of the day, his whole body felt like it was breaking.

Hayate Gekko was about to suggest they go wash off the mud when Uzuki Yugao looked at the villagers still working. "Hey, since there's still time, let's keep helping. Let them finish early and go home."

Hayate glanced at Higashino Makoto, who gave a slight shake of his head and said nothing.

Yugao was a kind little girl, but sometimes, enthusiasm wasn't a good thing—especially for a ninja.

Yugao Gekko had vanished after giving out the morning assignments and didn't reappear until dusk. When he returned, he found Uzuki Yugao and the other two receiving praise from the villagers.

The riverside paddy fields, which had been smooth as a mirror that morning, were now planted with rice seedlings, specks of green sprouting from the silver expanse of water, beautiful and soothing.

After confirming the mission's completion with Village Chief Yoshida and getting his signature, Yugao Gekko led his disciples away from Yoshida Town.

On the road, Uzuki Yugao cheerfully recounted the team's good deed to her teacher.

Yugao Gekko didn't praise her right away. Instead, he shot a glare at Higashino Makoto and Hayate Gekko, who both quickly averted their eyes, pretending to admire the fiery clouds of the sunset.

"Yugao, you did well, but don't do it again!"

Yugao Gekko offered no further explanation, instead stopping in the forest outside the village, as if waiting for something.

Hayate Gekko murmured quietly, "If we help every time, the villagers might start having unnecessary expectations when they issue missions, causing losses for the village.

At the same time, it'll make things awkward for comrades who take on similar missions in the future."

Uzuki Yugao didn't quite understand, but she knew she had done something foolish.

After about seven or eight minutes, Yugao Gekko finally spoke: "Alright, let's go. It's not far anyway, so we'll walk back slowly."

A rather strange decision.