Mutual Exchange, Reciprocity

Compared to the average protagonist who follows a sentimental route and is eager to pour their heart out to everyone, Soji has a very clear classification for the various figures in his social circle.

Director Inoue belongs to the typical "fair-weather friend" category.

For allies who have temporarily joined forces purely due to shared interests, the young man never allows any subjective emotional factors to interfere with his daily conduct.

This conjugate relationship of "using each other as tools" may appear cold, cruel, and heartless on the surface, but in reality, it is the most efficient mode of cooperation with the clearest division of authority.

After all, their respective backgrounds and statuses strictly limit the future prospects of both parties...

A roughly aligned community of interests simply cannot withstand the deep, messy entanglements that arise when the parties involved try to force a genuine life together!

Rather than "telling everything one knows" and causing both sides to waste massive effort on trivial disagreements, it is better to "shelve disputes and seek joint development," keeping their mutual reputation at a level above "friendly" but below "intimate."

In this way, the categories available for transaction are expanded, and the cooperative model of equivalent exchange leaves room for credit upgrades. The daily exchange of goods and services between the two actually provides more room for practical operation than so-called "unreserved" or "candid" communication.

Of course, from another perspective, this plug-and-play cooperative model is also better suited for backstabbing at any moment, allowing both sides to sever ties and strike the moment the phased goal is achieved!

It is just that the cooperation between Soji and Director Inoue is currently in its honeymoon phase; such calculations certainly won't be needed for another three or four years, so we shall leave that aside for now.

Beyond these fair-weather friends, in order to build an official image that conforms to the mainstream values of Konoha's Will of Fire, Soji naturally needs "partisans" who can be presented to the public.

Thus, utilizing the resources obtained from Director Inoue, the penniless young man provided convenience to Erina, Todo, and Teacher Motonari.

For friends of this type, who require the establishment of long-term, stable relationships, the young man naturally could not keep petty accounts as he did with Inoue Hisahide...

So, he chose the path of emotional debt.

--Having lived two lives, he truly understood the little tricks of granting favors in exchange for loyalty!

Through what channels should he bestow these favors?

How should the magnitude of the grace be controlled?

How does one provide the target with a graceful way to step down?

How can psychological expectations be reasonably planned?

These unspoken, intuitive methods of manipulation are not only vast and traceless, but in actual application, there is not a single universal theorem to follow.

Who is close and who is distant, what is deep and what is shallow—it is all controlled by Soji's intent.

Of course, limited by his current chips and strength, the young man is not like those "pond owners" or "sea kings" who cast wide nets without genuine investment.

If one had to say, he is more like an eight-legged arthropod silently weaving a spiderweb, adjusting his strategy according to every subtle vibration to ensure the prey is wrapped tighter and tighter in sweet dreams, eventually falling into his palm.

Therefore, his manipulation mode is more of a passive-receptive type: it requires not only meticulously designed scenarios but also the target's own willingness to cooperate for it to unfold smoothly.

Thus, to ensure the user experience, when Soji sensed that Nara Motonari still had more to say, he decisively paused the meaningless small talk and refocused the spotlight on the teacher, whose presence had been growing increasingly thin.

The latter took the cue and continued to explain the situation.

"Alright, since the preparations before the operation have come to an end, we must now discuss the specifics of the mission itself."

Nara Motonari clapped his hands to grab the attention of Team Five, then added more details: "This mission is of a guard nature. We may encounter obstruction from enemy ninjas during the operation, so the mission difficulty is designated as B-rank.

Although this is somewhat dangerous for newly graduated Genin, given that all three of you are excellent students from the Ninja Academy, I will not grant any special treatment just because this is your first operation."

"Teacher Motonari." Soji raised his hand to ask, actively playing the straight man.

"Speak, what is your question?"

"Since it is a guard mission, I would like to know exactly how many bodyguards are participating in the operation."

"Good question, student Soji—since the intensity of the border conflict has not yet escalated to a state of war, the forces Konoha can mobilize are relatively limited. This operation, including Team Five, is expected to dispatch three squads to serve as guards."

Teacher Motonari understood that as one of the hospital's frontline doctors, Soji likely already had an idea of the guard force's scale. This feigned ignorance was intended to help his two classmates quickly get to the point.

Therefore, when replying, Teacher Motonari held up three fingers, mainly facing the other two students.

"Do the other two squads have Jonin leading them?" Erina immediately followed up with a question.

"In your dreams~ The construction mission of the Jingu Forest Field Hospital is taking place entirely within our borders. If you were the Hokage, you wouldn't arrange for so many veteran ninjas to participate, would you?"

"So that means Teacher Motonari is the overall commander of this operation?"

The chubby Akimichi Todo seemed a beat slow to react, but there was a clear sense of joy and admiration in his words... Soji did not overlook this detail.

Judging by this, the relationship between the Ino-Shika-Cho families is indeed unusually close; even the connections between different generations are far tighter and more harmonious than those of ordinary ninjas.

"Once a conflict breaks out, I am indeed responsible for combat-related arrangements, but as for the administrative work involved in the transportation process, Director Chosokabe has the final say."

"Oh!! That director from Konoha Hospital is coming with us too?" Erina turned her head, the question clearly directed at Soji.

The young man smiled and nodded, confirming her statement: "Yes, the old director has always been one to lead by example."

"That's great! If any accidents happen, there will be an expert on hand to handle them immediately!"

"As for that... I think it would be best if we don't encounter any situations that require his presence."

"That's true..." Erina tapped her head with one hand, intentionally making an exaggerated grimace.

However, before she could crack more jokes to liven up the atmosphere, Soji had already steered the topic back to Teacher Motonari—with the intelligence provided by Director Inoue as a foundation, the young man's previous feigned ignorance was, just as Teacher Motonari had expected, all about throwing out a brick to attract jade.

But in truth, he did have other unresolved mysteries that he urgently needed the teacher to answer.

"Since the scale of the guard force and the mission objectives have been determined, all that remains is the planning of the route... Teacher Motonari, would it be convenient to disclose the relevant intelligence before the operation begins?"

"Oh? It is rare for you to take an interest in such matters."

"It is merely a student's personal curiosity." Soji lifted the corners of his mouth with a hint of bashfulness and continued, "Manpower is limited, and the transport of medical supplies has already been delayed for too long. I thought that, at the very least, I should have a clear understanding of our marching route."

"Very well. Since the operation is about to begin, there is no harm in revealing a little to you now... Considering the total cargo volume, safety factors, and various other aspects, this transport team will depart from the west of Ota Castle and take the route along the Amber River directly to Jingu Forest."

"I see. It seems we must be prepared for naval combat if necessary... Thank you for your guidance, Teacher!"

Although this mission was not yet in a state of wartime emergency, there were naturally still reservations about discussing confidential topics like operation routes in casual conversation.

As the commander-in-chief of the escort personnel, Nara Motonari bore the heavy responsibility of route planning; theoretically, for the sake of security, it should not be revealed to outsiders until the very last moment.

However, first, the arrow was already on the string, and the deadline for assembly and departure was imminent;

Second, the three students before him each possessed special identities and could not be categorized as ordinary people;

Third, the series of carefully designed maneuvers Soji had executed previously had allowed the four of them to establish a basic foundation of mutual trust;

Thus, after a brief weighing of the situation, Motonari decided to disclose this important information—which would not normally be shared—to the three youngsters before him in advance.

--In this way, Soji's previous act of using Director Inoue's channels to squeeze in extra luggage also found a logical explanation.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to arrange the transport of equipment, the youth had openly made contact with the people on that side. While finalizing the issue of the four of them carrying ninja tools, he had also engaged in a reciprocal exchange, sharing the freshly minted mission details with the calculating Director Inoue.

With both sides exchanging what they needed and observing the courtesies of trade, the transaction was finally considered a pleasant one.