Joint Mission

Konoha Year 37 arrived quietly.

With the advent of Medical Ninjutsu scrolls, Konoha's casualty rate declined noticeably, especially among the Jōnin.

When Tsunade and Jiraiya returned to the battlefield, Shiraha also rejoined Team 12 after half a year and continued carrying out missions with the team.

Mission Hall.

Oshima Shuichi went upstairs to collect a mission, while Shiraha, Uchiha Chiho, and Hyuga Hideto waited by the entrance on the first floor.

At that moment, a young man with a bowl cut and a green jumpsuit walked out of the Mission Hall, looking utterly dejected.

Seeing him, Shiraha greeted him.

"Mr. Duy."

Recognizing Shiraha, Might Duy forced a smile. "Shiraha, huh? Are you heading out on another mission with Shuichi?"

Shiraha nodded. "Mr. Duy, what's wrong?"

"Sigh." Might Duy let out a sigh. "There haven't been any missions like cleaning up trash lately, and no one wants to team up with me."

"Mr. Duy, now that you mention it, I remember something.

My yard has gotten overgrown with weeds lately, and I haven't had time to clear them.

I'll probably be away for quite a while this time, so no one will be around to clean the house. I was just about to post a mission!

If you don't mind treating those two jobs as a single mission, I'd like to entrust it to you."

Shiraha said.

"Of course I'm willing! But is that really okay?!" Might Duy's face filled with gratitude, though he still seemed hesitant.

Over the past few months, he had become fairly familiar with Shiraha. He knew Shiraha's parents had died in battle and that he probably was not well-off financially. Shiraha could easily handle such chores himself.

He was probably posting the mission just to lend him a hand.

"If you're willing, that'd be a huge help. I'll leave all the housework to you. As for the payment, I'll pay you when I get back. Is that alright?" Shiraha took out his house key and handed it to Might Duy.

The important things were all stored in the Storage Scroll he carried with him. As for the experimental equipment, it was all basic beginner-level stuff and nothing confidential.

"Of course! Thank you so much, Shiraha." Might Duy nodded repeatedly. "Then are you posting the mission now?"

"I'll post it after I get back. Go to my house first." Shiraha felt a little helpless as he looked at the single-minded Might Duy.

If he posted the mission and Might Duy accepted it afterward, the village would take a cut. A direct private commission would eliminate the middleman, and this was a low-level mission with very little reward to begin with.

"Alright." Might Duy naturally trusted Shiraha and turned to head toward Shiraha's house.

"Shiraha, you can help a ninja like that once, but you can't keep helping him forever." Hyuga Hideto, who had always been rather quiet in the team, spoke up.

Might Duy was somewhat famous, but only because he was already in his twenties and still a Genin. Apart from taijutsu, he knew nothing else, and his strength was pitifully weak.

It was said that he had held his teammates back several times during low-level missions, to the point that even newly graduated Genin were unwilling to team up with him.

He could not accept group C-rank Missions alone, so he usually competed with rookie Genin for D-rank Missions.

"We get along well enough. I'm just doing him a small favor." Shiraha smiled. It was rare for Hyuga Hideto to take the initiative to speak.

After spending some time working together, the atmosphere within the team was fairly good. It was just that both Hyuga Hideto and Uchiha Chiho were the quiet type.

It was not that Shiraha's kindness was overflowing. Rather, the first time he saw Might Duy, he was reminded of Might Guy from the original story.

The two could not exactly be called similar. They were simply identical.

Might Duy was obviously Might Guy's father. His signature outfit and habitual gestures were practically copied word for word.

At the beginning of the story, Might Guy, like Kakashi, was one of Konoha's Elite Jonin and among its foremost figures.

He had mastered a technique called the Eight Gates, which could remove the body's limitations and unleash terrifying Chakra.

It had much in common with the explosive power of the Knight Breathing Technique, and Shiraha was very interested in it.

This was Shiraha's early investment.

If things went well in Konoha, he would stay. If Konoha hindered his growth, he would leave. Building up connections in advance was very necessary.

Besides, the mission rewards Might Duy earned in a year probably did not even exceed the allowance Kushina gave Shiraha.

Soon, Oshima Shuichi walked out of the Mission Hall. He had accepted a mission to patrol the border.

Its main purpose was to prevent Iwagakure from suddenly invading while Konoha's main forces were fighting in the western region.

Two other teams would be carrying out the same mission with them.

One week later.

Within the Border Forest.

Team 1, Team 12, and Team 17 converged.

The moment Shiraha saw who had arrived, his heart skipped a beat.

He had never expected Team 1 to be joining them on the mission.

Team 1's members were Hyuga Toma, the former top student in Shiraha's class; Sarutobi Keita, who belonged to the same clan as the Third Hokage; and Uchiha Soujin, the top student from three graduating classes ago.

Their leader was Hatake Sakumo, known as the Konoha White Fang.

Hatake Sakumo was probably three or four years older than the Three Ninja.

Though the Three Ninja had gradually caught up to him in prestige, in terms of strength, he remained Konoha's publicly acknowledged pinnacle among Jōnin. Whenever the Third Hokage remained in the village, Hatake Sakumo was Konoha's trump card, ready to be deployed at any time.

In Shiraha's perception, Hatake Sakumo's Chakra strength was on the same level as Tsunade's, stronger than the impression Orochimaru and Jiraiya gave him.

As for the other Jōnin, Sakamoto Kouta, the three members he led seemed to be outstanding rookies from the neighboring class as well.

Among the nine rookies present, Shiraha was the only one not born into a Ninja Clan. The other eight were all elites from their respective clans.

Of course, among the Genin, the strongest-looking one was Uchiha Soujin from Team 1.

He should have been just fifteen this year, yet his Chakra strength did not lose out to that of a Jōnin. Shiraha had no idea why he was still a Genin.

After the three teams assembled, the Jōnin had the rookies briefly familiarize themselves with one another before beginning their deployment.

Then, they set up camp in an open area beside a stream.

In another three days, the patrol mission would be over, and they could return to the village.

After dinner, there was still some time before night fell completely, so the three Jōnin chatted off to the side.

The Genin gathered around the campfire for warmth. The January night was bitterly cold.

Sarutobi Keita had been talkative even during his time at the Ninja Academy. With him getting things started, and Shiraha—the recently prominent genius Medical Ninja—livening up the atmosphere, everyone gradually began talking more.

Only Uchiha Soujin sat some distance away from the other eight, his face arrogant. Although he maintained basic courtesy, it was obvious that he seemed to disdain associating with a group of Genin.

Still, Shiraha could understand. At such a young age, Uchiha Soujin possessed strength comparable to a Jōnin, and his team leader was the Konoha White Fang. He had every reason to be proud.

Among the nine Genin, he and Shiraha were the strongest in actual combat ability.

Just as the conversation was growing increasingly lively, Uchiha Soujin suddenly stood up and said with a stern expression:

"You! Come with me."

He was speaking to Uchiha Chiho.

Uchiha Chiho had been listening to everyone chat and occasionally joined in. She did not say much, but it was clear that she enjoyed the moment.

When Uchiha Soujin called for her, her expression tightened. She lowered her head, stood up, and followed him toward the nearby woods.

The moment the two entered the woods, Sarutobi Keita craned his neck to peek over there with a gossiping look. Then he whispered:

"Hey, did you know? Chiho-senpai wasn't originally named Uchiha. She only came to Konoha later. I heard she was always excluded by the Uchiha. Looks like it's true.

And this Uchiha Soujin is seriously full of himself. It seems his previous two teammates switched teams because they couldn't get along with him.

He's only a few years older than us. What's there to act so high and mighty about?"

"Aren't most Uchiha like that?" Hyuga Toma curled his lip. It seemed his relationship with Uchiha Soujin was not very good either.

Shiraha quietly listened to the gossip without joining in.

The siblings did not look particularly alike, but both were very attractive.

Considering that Uchiha Chiho had not originally been an Uchiha, it seemed some Uchiha had left behind a romantic debt outside the clan, only to have it come knocking later.