The Third Hokage would never let the village's future leaders risk their lives. If anything happened, Konoha would suffer a huge loss. But the words had already left his mouth, and as the leader of a village, he couldn't very well take them back immediately. So he subtly signaled to Torifu Akimichi.
As an old friend, Torifu immediately understood and spoke up to help the Third Hokage out. "Nawaki, don't be so impulsive. Your strength is impressive, but none of you have any experience with high-rank missions. Taking on a B-Rank Mission so rashly could easily lead to trouble! Besides, this position as your Jonin instructor isn't so easy to fill! I think we should have Might Dai join our team. It'll be hard for him to find suitable teammates anytime soon, anyway. What do you think, Lord Hokage?"
The Third Hokage immediately took the opportunity to nod. "Since that's what Jonin Torifu recommends, and everyone agrees, let's have Might Dai join your team!"
"What? I thought we'd finally become Chunin this time! Why's the old man suddenly being so reasonable?" Shinnosuke complained, looking disappointed.
Hikari smiled. "No matter what, it's a good thing to have a new teammate. And now that we can take B-Rank missions, I'm sure we'll become Chunin soon!"
"Lord Hokage really is understanding! From today on, I'm your teammate, Dai! And, of course, your student too." Nawaki smiled at Might Dai.
"Welcome aboard, Dai!"
"Welcome, welcome! Does that make me your uncle now?"
Hikari and Shinnosuke welcomed Dai to the team. They both admired how hard he worked.
"Don't get ahead of yourself! I may be Dai's teacher, but that doesn't mean he's a generation below you. He became a Genin before you did, so he's your senior. Let's each stick to our own titles," Nawaki teased Shinnosuke.
"Th-thank you for trusting me, everyone! And thank you, Teacher Nawaki! I'll unleash my youth and work twice as hard!" Might Dai declared, tears of excitement streaming down his face.
"I believe in you!" Nawaki shrugged.
"Why do you cry at the drop of a hat? And why do you say such embarrassing things?"
"This is youth! Youth is always full of tears and shyness!"
"What kind of youth is that supposed to be? And what's with those clothes?"
"These? I designed this skin-tight outfit myself. It's breathable and sweat-absorbent, and it's stretchy enough to let me move any way I want. I even dyed it green, the color of Konoha and youth! Do you like it too? I can get you a set!"
"No way! It's hideous!"
Watching Shinnosuke and Dai interact, everyone smiled. They seemed like they would get along well.
"All right, now that our team has been reformed, we should take a mission." Nawaki turned to the Third Hokage. "Lord Hokage, since we're short on manpower, there should be some B-Rank missions available in the village, right?"
"Of course there are. Otherwise, with your personality, you'd find some way to take on an A-Rank or even an S-Rank mission, wouldn't you?" the Third Hokage said sourly.
Nawaki just smiled, neither confirming nor denying it.
The Third Hokage had no choice but to take out a stack of B-Rank mission slips. "B-Rank missions are requested by individuals, but you're certain to encounter enemy shinobi. Be careful. Here, these are all the available ones. Pick one yourselves."
Nawaki took the slips and flipped through them. Most were escort missions posted by wealthy merchants, with long durations, and most required traveling abroad. But as he reached the end, a dozen or so unusual mission slips caught his eye. "Why are there so many domestic missions to hunt down bandits and rescue people? And why are the enemies all listed as bandits and brigands? Aren't these supposed to be the responsibility of the Daimyo's samurai army? Even if the village's shinobi need to step in, shouldn't these be A-Rank missions issued by the country? Why are they B-Rank missions requested by individuals? The people are being robbed by bandits, yet they have to pay out of pocket to hire shinobi to save them? How did the Land of Fire become such a mess?"
The Third Hokage sighed and gave Nawaki a long look. "As it happens, the village is partly responsible for this."
Nawaki raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Are these bandits actually rogue shinobi from our village? If so, the Anbu should have wiped them out long ago."
The Third Hokage shook his head. "There are indeed many rogue shinobi from various countries among these bandits and brigands, but that's not what I meant. Ever since the various clans in the village formed the Konoha Consortium and began trading with other countries, the major consortiums and merchants in those countries have been affected. The Land of Fire sits at the center of the Shinobi World's trade routes, so these bandits and brigands are connected to the major merchants and consortiums."
Nawaki nodded thoughtfully. "I see! These bandits were originally hired muscle kept by the major trading companies and wealthy merchants. They protected their own trade while robbing other caravans and suppressing small merchants to keep them from growing and reduce competition!" It was easy to understand: only a monopoly could bring in huge profit margins.
"Exactly. This had become an unspoken rule. Small caravans without private armed forces could only pay shinobi from the villages to escort them. But since they couldn't know in advance whether their enemies would include shinobi, all such missions were classified as B-Rank. That drove up their costs, leaving them with little profit and making it hard to grow. Many small merchants chose to take their chances without hiring shinobi escorts. Aside from a lucky few, most were robbed and killed. But two years ago, after the Senju Clan began conducting international trade, these bandits and brigands feared the Senju's reputation and didn't dare interfere, so the major consortiums lost some of their profits. Then, a year ago, the village's clans formed the Konoha Consortium and brought many small merchants into the fold. The bandits and brigands became even more reluctant to act, causing the consortiums and major merchants in other countries to suffer even greater losses. But now the shinobi villages in those countries are all trading directly with Konoha, and they won't accept contracts to attack Konoha's caravans either, so..."
With an amused look, Nawaki finished for him. "So now these bandits and brigands in the Land of Fire have no small caravans left to rob, and they can't drive up costs for small merchants to crush their competitors. Konoha has classified escorting caravans from our own village as C-Rank missions, so small merchants from everywhere have joined Konoha and registered as villagers.
"That means these bandits, brigands, and rogue shinobi have become completely useless, while still costing a lot of money to maintain.
"So the major merchants who stood behind them abandoned them? And that's why they've started preying on the civilians of the Land of Fire?
"Still, that doesn't explain it. Once they lost the support of the major merchants and consortiums and started endangering civilians, the Daimyo should have sent the samurai corps to wipe them out. Even if the samurai couldn't defeat the rogue shinobi, the Daimyo should have issued an A-Rank mission to the village on behalf of the country! Why is the Daimyo ignoring the problem, leaving the victims to pool their money and post B-Rank missions as individuals?"
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