First C-Rank Mission

Another month slipped by in silence.

Orochimaru looked at the thin remittance slip in his hand, the numbers printed on it bringing a genuine smile to his face.

The payment for his manuscript had arrived; while it couldn't compare to the windfall from that night at the casino, it was enough to save him from the embarrassment of living on dirt.

More importantly... his Hidden Blade had finally arrived.

With this thought, Orochimaru focused his mind, using his chakra to trigger the mechanism, and the sharp blade of the Hidden Blade snapped out instantly.

Looking at himself in the mirror, clad in white robes with the Hidden Blade equipped, Orochimaru nodded in satisfaction; he truly carried a bit of the flair of the legendary assassins from his memories.

After tidying up briefly, Orochimaru headed out, as today was the day their three-man squad was scheduled to meet.

As soon as he arrived at the training ground, he saw a familiar golden figure sitting cross-legged in the shade of a tree. Her ten fingers were dancing, and several playing cards darted back and forth between her hands like living butterflies, creating a dazzling display.

Beside her, Jiraiya was staring with wide eyes, his mouth slightly agape in disbelief, his Adam's apple bobbing involuntarily.

In his impression, this young lady was usually boisterous and a violent girl who could send him flying with a single punch; he never expected her to have such a dexterous side.

"Orochimaru, you're here?"

Tsunade caught a glimpse of Orochimaru from the corner of her eye. Instead of stopping, her movements became even more dazzling, and she finally snapped all the cards together with a flourish, gripping them firmly in her palm.

After finishing this move, she lifted her chin, looking at Orochimaru with a sense of pride.

Those bright amber eyes seemed to be saying silently: "How about that? Impressive, right? Hurry up and praise me!"

Orochimaru watched her treasure-showing expression, his mouth twitching as he pressed a hand to his forehead.

These flashy techniques could never be mastered without years of grueling practice.

Even though ninjas in this world had chakra to assist them and could strengthen their physical functions, this kind of pure finger dexterity still required a massive investment of time.

He was only able to do it because the Reed Hayrick he had transmigrated from in the Assassin's Creed world had been a magician by trade before being captured as a test subject.

"You haven't... been spending seven or eight hours a day on this, have you?"

Orochimaru said with a helpless tone. He had only taught these things to Tsunade to return a favor, never imagining she would become so obsessed with them.

Hearing this, Tsunade's expectant little face instantly flushed red, clearly struck right on the mark by Orochimaru.

"None of your business! This lady is naturally gifted! I only need to practice for three... thirty minutes a day!"

Tsunade shoved the cards into her ninja pouch in a fit of embarrassment, turned her head away, and spoke with an unnatural, forced toughness.

"Eh?!"

Jiraiya looked at the blushing Tsunade, then at Orochimaru, who wore an "I knew it" expression, feeling that something was very, very wrong.

How had the relationship between his two teammates become so good after just a few days of not seeing them?

Just then.

"Everyone is here, then.

Tsunade, what were you doing just now? It looked quite interesting."

Hiruzen Sarutobi walked over slowly with his pipe in his mouth, his gaze falling on the cards Tsunade had just hurriedly tucked away, asking with a hint of curiosity.

"Uh..."

Tsunade was suddenly flustered, her eyes darting around as she stuttered, unable to speak.

She didn't want her teacher to know she was wasting time on techniques related to gambling; if he found out, a lecture would be inevitable.

"Teacher, this is a method I recently devised for training finger dexterity.

The more flexible the fingers, the faster the hand seals can be formed, and naturally, the faster a ninjutsu can be activated.

Tsunade is very gifted in this area and has made rapid progress."

Orochimaru stepped forward, his expression calm and his tone perfectly serious as he explained.

To increase his persuasiveness, Orochimaru pulled a few spare blank cards from his ninja pouch and, with a casual flick of his wrist, performed a few simple yet highly skillful flourishes.

The fluid movements truly demonstrated astonishing finger control.

"..."

Jiraiya stood to the side with a strange expression, silently screaming in his heart: Who are you trying to fool!

What kind of ninja uses playing cards to form hand seals? Training seal speed? I think it's training speed for cheating at cards!

"Hmm, that's an interesting idea. However, Orochimaru, you must remember that a ninja's battle is a battle of chakra.

Hand seals are ultimately just a means to guide and assist the flow of chakra; what truly determines the power and effect of a ninjutsu is the quality and quantity of one's chakra, as well as the precise control over it.

Do not put the cart before the horse and become overly obsessed with these trivialities."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag of his pipe, slowly exhaling a smoke ring, his gaze sweeping between Orochimaru and Tsunade before he spoke earnestly.

These were all minor paths; hand seals were merely a method to assist chakra flow, not a necessity.

Just like the First Hokage, who didn't need hand seals to activate ninjutsu—he would just clap his hands together, and whatever he called for would appear.

He certainly didn't want these children wasting their time on such things...

"Yes, sensei, I understand."

Orochimaru bowed slightly, his attitude respectful.

He certainly wasn't practicing these to increase his hand seal speed; he was doing it to secure more research funding.

"Alright, let's talk business.

I have a mission for you three."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, then spoke.

"Huh? It's not another D-rank mission to find a cat, is it?"

Hearing this, Jiraiya said with a look of disdain.

Tsunade nodded to herself as well; she was getting tired of doing D-rank missions too.

"No. After these two months of adjustment and basic training, I believe you have initially acquired the ability to execute missions independently.

Therefore, the mission I am assigning you this time is a C-rank mission..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a helpless expression; it was only because of the peaceful times that there were so many D-rank missions. These children really didn't know how lucky they were.

"A C-rank mission?! That's great! Finally, no more boring D-rank missions like finding cats or weeding! I was about to die of boredom!"

Jiraiya's eyes lit up instantly, and he was so excited he nearly jumped up.

However, in stark contrast to Jiraiya's excitement, Orochimaru's gaze turned suddenly grave the moment he heard "C-rank mission."

According to the information in the Ninja Handbook, D-rank missions were just chores done inside or around the village, involving almost no danger.

But C-rank missions were completely different; the scope of the mission would expand to the borders of the Land of Fire, and the content could involve escorting, intelligence gathering, or even confronting bandits and rogue ninjas.

This meant that they would truly step outside the protective circle of Konoha and face this cruel ninja world for real.

To face conflict, bloodshed, and even... death...

"Alright, go and prepare!

Gather at the village gate in twenty minutes..."