Ninja Life

When they arrived on the first floor of the mission hall, Watanabe saw Might Duy again.

He stood by the corner of the wall, looking lost and helpless at the crowds coming and going, like an outsider who had stumbled into another world, out of place with everything around him.

Uchiha Chiri also noticed Might Duy. Her mind stirred, and she intended to use this opportunity to continue lecturing Watanabe.

"See, it's useless even if you bring Might Duy into the mission hall. No client will entrust a mission to a regular person—"

"You guys go ahead, I'll catch up."

Watanabe hastily left a sentence and walked towards Might Duy.

Uchiha Chiri stood still, wanting to see what trick Watanabe was up to now. Hyuga Rei and Hiruzen watched with curious expressions.

"Didn't get a mission?"

A familiar voice came from beside his ear.

Might Duy turned his head and, after seeing who it was, scratched the back of his head and gave a dry laugh, "Without a ninja identity, it's indeed difficult to get a mission."

Watanabe pondered for a moment.

Actually, on his way over, he had seen several low-level missions like finding lost cats and dogs or guarding houses. Even ordinary people were capable of handling them.

But clients had their own selfish reasons. Since they had to pay anyway, they preferred to hire ninjas who were a symbol of status, making the money feel more worthwhile.

"I'll lend you my ninja headband."

Watanabe took off his ninja headband and handed it to Might Duy.

"How can this be!"

Might Duy quickly waved his hands in refusal.

"It's fine, just use this to fool them for now. You can return it to me after you complete the mission," Watanabe said frankly. Without some special means, Might Duy's chances of getting a mission were almost zero.

Afterward, he told Might Duy his home address and turned to rejoin Chiri and the others waiting for him by the entrance.

Might Duy stared blankly at the ninja headband in his hand, his eyes gradually welling up with tears. A long-lost warmth surged in his heart.

"Is Watanabe-kun very familiar with that person?"

On the way to the barbecue restaurant, Hyuga Rei asked curiously.

Chiri and Hiruzen quietly pricked up their ears.

Watanabe shook his head, "This is the first time I've met him today."

Hyuga Rei didn't understand, "You lent him your ninja headband on your first meeting?"

"He doesn't have a teammate. Having a headband will make it easier to get missions."

Hyuga Rei looked thoughtful. After a moment, she said again, "It seems Watanabe-kun is a very kind person."

Watanabe remained noncommittal about her assessment, believing he was merely offering help within his capabilities to someone he wanted to help. Let others say whatever they wanted—foolish, kind, hypocritical, a saint—it didn't matter, as he had a clear conscience.

"Watanabe-kun, who is so kind, why couldn't you go easy on me yesterday on the stage?" Hyuga Rei's expression suddenly became very resentful, like a pure girl hurt by a scumbag.

Watanabe's scalp tightened, and he sighed, "It wasn't that I couldn't go easy on you, but I had something I wanted to do."

"We don't actually have any deep grudges, and the graduation exam is already over. If you're still holding a grudge, I can apologize to you. I just hope you won't be hostile towards me anymore."

Watanabe intended to resolve their conflict. He couldn't afford to provoke this capricious girl; he wouldn't even know if she stabbed him in the back someday.

Hyuga Rei looked innocently, "Watanabe-kun misunderstands me. I'm not hostile towards Watanabe-kun."

Watanabe's eyebrows twitched slightly.

Not hostile towards me?

Then why did you just say your dream was to defeat me? Did you think I was as gullible as Jiraiya?

He calmed his emotions and ignored Hyuga Rei, letting her do as she pleased. If she wanted to stab him in the back, let her. As long as it wasn't in the backside, she couldn't touch him anywhere else.

Hiruzen pondered beside them. He felt Watanabe's actions just now were wrong.

A headband was a symbol of a ninja's identity. How could it be lent to others so casually?

However, seeing that even Uchiha Chiri hadn't voiced an opinion, he felt even less qualified to lecture Watanabe on how to act.

Soon, the four arrived at Konoha's busiest barbecue restaurant.

Uchiha Chiri, being both an elite Jonin of Konoha and a core high-ranking member of the Uchiha Clan, was never short on cash. Therefore, she was generous with her treat, ordering a lavish meal for the three of them as soon as they sat down.

The meal was quite good. Watanabe, fearing he might starve, didn't dare to eat too much, focusing on tasting the ingredients with good flavors.

Hiruzen, on the other hand, kept trying to get closer to Hyuga Rei and Uchiha Chiri, actively creating conversation topics at the table. He thanked Chiri for her hospitality one moment and asked Hyuga Rei for her guidance in the future the next.

Hyuga Rei was more receptive, treating Hiruzen very gently and politely, always maintaining a sweet smile.

Uchiha Chiri, however, maintained a cool demeanor throughout. Her attitude was neither warm nor cold from beginning to end. She hadn't even smiled once by the end of the meal, making Hiruzen anxious, wondering if she regretted taking him into her squad.

"Starting tomorrow, I will lead you in taking on missions. This is different from your previous school life. You may encounter all sorts of dangers during missions, so you must be mentally prepared."

Chiri gave the three a perfunctory warning. After confirming the assembly time and location for the next day, she dismissed them.

"The life of a ninja is finally about to begin."

On the way home, Watanabe was filled with emotion.

Ninja have a duty to complete missions. The more missions they complete, the higher their prestige among the villagers. To enter Konoha's higher echelons, one must achieve results and complete as many missions as possible.

"It's been a while since I've seen Tsunade, I miss her."

Watanabe muttered to himself. To this day, he still regretted not becoming the Third Hokage's disciple.

The Third Hokage was truly an unfeeling person.

Actually, at first, he genuinely treated Tsunade as just a friend. But ever since that day when Tsunade took the initiative to clarify their relationship and kissed him, Watanabe realized how much Tsunade meant to him.

She was like a beam of light shining into his life.

Watanabe had imagined what his life would be like if he hadn't met Tsunade. He might have joined Danzo's Root, helping him clean up unsavory matters, or perhaps he would have left Konoha to wander. In any case, it wouldn't have been better than now.

That night, Watanabe practiced Taijutsu while waiting for Might Duy to return his forehead protector.

He had already mastered enough Ninjutsu and didn't need to learn any new ones in the short term. Instead, he should focus his efforts on Taijutsu.

He definitely couldn't afford to neglect his Taijutsu. If his Taijutsu had been even a little stronger yesterday, he could have definitely defeated Hyuga Rei, instead of the Third Hokage having to declare their match a draw.

"If only there was a Ninjutsu that was both powerful and could damage the body!"

Watanabe, drenched in sweat, once again longed for a Taijutsu that only existed in his imagination.

The training of Taijutsu was truly arduous, and there were no shortcuts. Watanabe estimated that if he followed the conventional path, it would take him about ten to twenty years to make a name for himself in Taijutsu.

But reality didn't afford him that much time. The Second Shinobi World War was on the horizon, and he had to become strong quickly.