Strange B-Rank Mission

The Third Hokage would never allow the future of the village to risk their lives; the loss to Konoha should an accident occur would be far too great. However, having already spoken, he felt it would be unseemly for the leader of a village to immediately retract his words, so he cast a subtle, meaningful glance toward Torifu Akimichi.

As a long-time friend, Torifu immediately grasped the intent and spoke up to bail the Third Hokage out: "Nawaki, don't be willful. Although your strength is not bad, none of you have experience with high-level missions. Taking on a B-rank mission rashly is a recipe for disaster! Besides, the position of a jonin instructor is not so easily held! I think we should let Might Dai join our squad; he's going to have a hard time finding suitable teammates for a while anyway. What does the Hokage think?"

The Third Hokage immediately seized the opportunity to step down, nodding, "Since this is the opinion of Jonin Torifu, and everyone else agrees, then let Might Dai join your squad!"

"What is this? I thought we could become chunin this time! Why has the old man become so easy to talk to?" Shinnosuke complained with a look of disappointment.

Hikari, however, said with a smile, "Regardless, it's a good thing to have a new teammate. And now that we can take on B-rank missions, I believe we will become chunin very soon!"

"The Hokage is truly reasonable! From today on, we are comrades, Dai! Of course, you are also my student." Nawaki smiled at Might Dai.

"Welcome to the team, Dai!"

"Welcome, welcome! Does this make me your martial uncle?"

Hikari and Shinnosuke both welcomed Dai, as they deeply admired his dedication.

"In your dreams! Even though I am Dai's teacher, it doesn't mean he is a generation below you. He is a senior who became a genin before you did, so let's just address each other normally," Nawaki teased Shinnosuke.

"Tha... thank you all for your trust, and thank you, Teacher Nawaki! I will definitely unleash my youth and work twice as hard!" Might Dai announced, tears streaming down his face in excitement.

"I have high hopes for you," Nawaki said with a shrug.

"Why do you cry at the drop of a hat, and why is the way you speak so embarrassing?"

"This is youth! Youth is always filled with tears and shyness!"

"What kind of youth is that? And what is up with this outfit?"

"This? It's a bodysuit I designed myself. It's not only sweat-absorbent and breathable, but it's also very elastic, allowing for any movement. I even specifically dyed it green to represent Konoha and youth! Do you like it? How about I get you a set?"

"No way! It's too ugly!"

Watching the interaction between Shinnosuke and Dai, everyone couldn't help but smile. It seemed they were quite compatible?

"Alright, since the squad is re-established, we should pick up a mission." Nawaki turned to the Third Hokage and said, "Hokage-sama, since we are short-handed, I assume there are B-rank missions available in the village right now?"

"Could there not be? Otherwise, with your personality, you would surely find a way to take on an A-rank or even an S-rank mission, wouldn't you?" the Third Hokage said, sounding slightly annoyed.

Nawaki, however, just smiled, looking noncommittal.

Unable to do otherwise, the Third Hokage pulled out a stack of B-rank mission sheets and said, "Although B-rank missions are requested by individuals, you will inevitably encounter hostile ninja, so you must be careful. Here, they are all here; choose for yourselves."

Nawaki took the mission sheets and flipped through them one by one. He found that most were protection missions posted by merchants and wealthy individuals, with long durations and most requiring travel abroad. However, toward the back, a dozen special mission sheets caught his attention. "Why are there so many suppression and rescue missions within the country? And the hostile forces are all labeled as mountain bandits and outlaws? Shouldn't these be the responsibility of the Daimyo's samurai army? Even if the village's ninja need to intervene, shouldn't these be A-rank missions issued by the state? Why are they B-rank missions applied for by individuals? The people are being plundered by bandits, yet they have to pay out of their own pockets to hire ninja for rescue? How did the Land of Fire become such a mess?"

The Third Hokage sighed after hearing this, looked deeply at Nawaki, and said, "Come to think of it, this matter has a certain connection to the village!"

Nawaki raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Could it be that these bandits are rogue ninja from our village? If that were the case, they should have been wiped out by the Anbu long ago, right?"

The Third Hokage shook his head. "Although there are indeed a large number of rogue ninja from various countries among these bandits and outlaws, that is not what I am referring to. Ever since the clans in the village formed the Konoha Consortium to trade with other countries, the major consortiums and merchants of those countries have been affected to a certain extent. And since our Land of Fire is at the center of the Shinobi World's transportation network, these bandits and outlaws have connections to those major merchants and consortiums."

Nawaki nodded thoughtfully. "I understand! These bandits were originally hired thugs kept by major merchant groups and the wealthy. Besides ensuring the safety of their own trade, they would rob other caravans and strike at small merchants to prevent them from growing, thereby reducing competition!" This was easy to understand; only monopoly could bring about huge profit margins.

The Third Hokage nodded. "Correct. Originally, this had become an unspoken rule. Small merchant groups that hadn't formed their own private armed forces had to pay to hire ninja from various villages for escort. However, since they couldn't determine beforehand if there were ninja among the enemies, these were all classified as B-rank missions. This increased costs, leading to thin profits and making it difficult for them to grow. Many small merchants would choose to take the risk and not hire ninja escorts; except for a lucky few, most would be robbed and killed. But ever since the Senju Clan began cross-border trade two years ago, these bandits and outlaws, fearing the prestige of the Senju, dared not intervene, so the major consortiums lost a portion of their profits. A year ago, the various clans in the village formed the Konoha Consortium and integrated many small merchants, making these bandits and outlaws even more afraid to act. Consequently, the consortiums and major merchants of other countries suffered even greater losses. But now that the ninja villages of various countries are trading directly with Konoha, they won't accept commissions to attack Konoha caravans, so..."

Nawaki chimed in with a wry smile, "So now, these bandits and outlaws in the Land of Fire have no small merchant groups to rob, nor can they drive up costs for small merchants to suppress competitors. Because Konoha has now set the escort mission for its own caravans to C-rank, small merchants everywhere have flocked to join Konoha and register as villagers.

In this way, these outlaws and rogue ninja are not only useless, but they also require a lot of money to support.

In that case, these bandits and rogue ninja must have been abandoned by the major merchants behind them? Is that why they have started targeting the commoners of the Land of Fire?

But even so, it still doesn't make sense. Since they started harming commoners after losing the support of the major merchants and consortiums, the Daimyo should have sent the samurai army to suppress them. Even if they weren't a match for those rogue ninja, they should have issued an A-rank suppression mission to the village in the name of the state! Why is the Daimyo ignoring this, and why are the victimized commoners pooling their money to issue B-rank missions in their own names?"