Don't Underestimate the People of the World

'I didn't expect this brat to be so cautious, even though he's just a kid. Once he grows up, he'll be another serious threat to our Iwagakure!' The Iwagakure ninja hid behind a large tree, seeing Jiogan's caution. He made up his mind, 'If I can take down a Konoha genius with my life, it'll be worth it!'

Immediately after, he unleashed the Earth Release: Earth Spear again. Jiogan, now prepared, dodged instantly and shot several shuriken towards the direction the Iwagakure ninja attacked.

The Iwagakure ninja dodged the shuriken, thinking to himself, 'Even if I die, I won't be taken down by a mere few shuriken!'

Just then, something unexpected happened. One of the shuriken suddenly let out a 'bang', flashed a white mist, and disappeared. Jiogan appeared behind the Iwagakure ninja, who was greatly alarmed!

At such close range, the Iwagakure ninja had nowhere to escape. 'Leaf Great Whirlwind!' The Iwagakure ninja was hit at close range, and even the large tree beside him was kicked down. The Iwagakure ninja didn't even have time to scream before he met his end!

Jiogan remained cautious this time. After spitting out a Water Release: Water Gun and seeing no further reaction from the Iwagakure ninja's corpse, he approached to loot.

As he was rummaging through the Iwagakure ninja's combat vest, an explosive tag suddenly ignited with a 'sizzle'. Jiogan cursed internally, 'This is bad!' and immediately formed hand seals!

With a 'boom', the Iwagakure ninja's corpse was blown to mere remains, and Jiogan disappeared.

Kurama Heiji, who had been watching the entire battle between Jiogan and the Iwagakure ninja from not far away, sensed that something was wrong and immediately appeared. Just as he was anxiously blaming himself, a voice called out.

'Teacher Heiji, you're too late! I almost got killed!' Jiogan coughed twice and appeared from behind a large tree nearby.

It turned out Jiogan's sixth sense had activated again. The moment the explosive tag was triggered, he had formed hand seals and used the Substitution Technique, successfully evading the explosion.

'This Iwagakure ninja is truly insidious! He's tricked me twice in this battle!' Jiogan cursed loudly!

Seeing that Jiogan was unharmed, Kurama Heiji also breathed a sigh of relief. 'You brat, you truly live up to my expectations. An ordinary Chunin would likely have been outsmarted and killed by this Iwagakure ninja. Jiogan, I think you're qualified to be evaluated as a Chunin!'

'Moreover, your tactic of transforming into a shuriken to ambush the enemy from behind was simply brilliant. I've never seen such a move before. Jiogan, you've truly surprised me!' Kurama Heiji praised.

Jiogan blushed upon hearing this and gave a silly grin, thinking to himself, 'This is a classic tactic of Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. I just borrowed it!'

Kurama Heiji looked at the grinning Jiogan and couldn't help but shake his head. 'No matter what, he's still just a kid!'

'However, this battle was indeed dangerous. I can now slightly understand the perils of the ninja world!' Jiogan said.

Indeed, a Chunin was already this difficult to deal with. One couldn't just assume that only Jonin and above were worth paying attention to just because they had seen Anime. One should never underestimate anyone.

Just then, sounds of rustling came, and seven or eight figures appeared. Jiogan was startled and immediately prepared for battle!

'Jiogan, don't be nervous. They're allies!' Kurama Heiji stopped him.

It turned out to be Konoha's Border Patrol team, who had come to investigate the commotion from the battle.

After Kurama Heiji communicated with the patrol team, the team surveyed the scene and confirmed there were no further issues. They then accompanied Kurama Heiji and Jiogan back to the merchant caravan's location to retrieve the bodies of the other four Iwagakure ninja.

An hour later, everything was settled, and the merchant caravan set off again, heading towards the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rice.

This battle yielded no Ninjutsu Scrolls, but they did acquire quite a few ninja tools. They also obtained six explosive tags, with three people each getting two. Their ninja tool pouches were almost full. It was a shame that the last Iwagakure ninja's body was blown to pieces, rendering all items on him unusable.

The rest of the journey was uneventful, with only a few encounters with bandits who were easily dealt with and sent away.

Finally, six days after leaving Konoha, the merchant caravan was safely delivered to its destination in the Land of Rice. After signing the mission completion form, Team 11 members browsed the town and sampled local delicacies before embarking on their return journey.

The journey home was much smoother, with no unexpected incidents. The group arrived back in Konoha in three days. After submitting the mission, it was once again rated as a B-rank mission, and the team went out for some yakiniku to celebrate.

After this mission, Kurama Heiji gave the three of them another three days of rest, saying these were the last days of peace and urging them to relax and prepare themselves mentally, as he planned to accept border patrol missions. Border patrol missions typically lasted for months.

Jiogan understood clearly, as Might Duy had already accepted three border patrol missions. The shortest one lasted two months, and the most recent one was accepted a few days ago, heading to the western border of the Land of Fire. He wondered which direction he would be sent this time.

In the following days, Jiogan learned a new Water Release Ninjutsu, the Water Prison Technique, to enrich his tactics.

Meanwhile, his Tai Chi training also progressed. His Dantian's Chakra Amount had reached a level where he could perform C-rank Ninjutsu 30 times. It could be said that Jiogan no longer needed to worry about his Chakra Amount during battles.

Time passed quickly. Team 11 reassembled, and Kurama Heiji told the three, "Border patrol missions do not have a mission rank. They are rated based on patrol time and combat achievements. Simply put, the longer the patrol time and the more enemies killed, the higher the rating."

"Under normal circumstances, a patrol mission will be rated at least five C-rank missions. As long as you repel or kill a Chunin, you will be awarded B-rank mission credits based on the number of combat encounters," Kurama Heiji added. "This is why border patrol missions are dangerous, yet many ninjas flock to them. The greater the risk, the greater the reward! Keep up the good work, young ones! This is the path you must take to become stronger!"

At the Mission Hall, Kurama Heiji accepted a patrol mission for the eastern border. The eastern border faced the sea, and the Land of Waves, Land of Artisans, Land of Water, and Land of Lightning all bordered the Land of Fire to the east.

The Land of Whirlpools was an ally of Konoha. The Land of Waves and the Land of Artisans had no shinobi villages. This meant that the ones to be wary of were the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning, both of which were among the Five Great Nations. Second Hokage Tobirama Senju had even died in the Land of Lightning.

The eastern coast of the Land of Fire was Jiogan's hometown. Jiogan's father, Takoyakiwan, had moved to Konoha from a fishing village on the eastern coast. On this eastern patrol mission, Jiogan had the opportunity to visit his hometown and experience it. Moreover, having lived two lives, Jiogan had never been to a coastal area or seen the sea.