Another Mission

"Mission Triggered: Join a squad consisting entirely of plot-relevant characters. Reward: One lucky draw upon completion."

Yueshu lay in his room. He had long since grown accustomed to the Japanese-style tatami mats; while not as soft as a bed, they possessed a comfort all their own.

Ever since he had chanced upon the master-student duo of Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya a while back, something rare had occurred.

The Solo System, which had been idling all this time, had actually chimed.

A mission, something he hadn't seen in quite a while, had finally popped up.

To be in the same squad as plot-relevant characters, and for every member to be a plot-relevant character—truth be told, this could be considered difficult, or perhaps not.

According to the settings in Naruto, a squad—or a team—consisted of four people: one instructor and three students. This was the standard configuration, meaning Yueshu needed three other plot-relevant characters to complete this mission.

Regarding this, with Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya—who had returned to Konoha from Amegakure earlier than expected for some unknown reason—he already had two people. When it came down to it, Yueshu only needed one more plot-relevant character.

Yueshu pondered.

There were no particular plot-relevant characters in the Fourth Hokage's generation; the only ones he knew of were Kushina and Mikoto. As for the others, Yueshu had absolutely no impression of them.

Looking at it this way, it seemed simple, but the system's mission clearly had a deeper layer to it.

To complete the system's mission, he undoubtedly needed another plot-relevant character, and the only two he knew were barely over eight years old—a long way off from graduation.

In other words, Yueshu needed to pick either Kushina or Mikoto and help them graduate early so that he, Minato Namikaze, and that person could form a squad together.

If he waited until graduation, the academy would assign the teams themselves, and by then, Minato Namikaze would likely already be a Chunin or even a Jonin.

At that point, the system mission would be virtually impossible to complete. Furthermore, since the system was in a completely solo state, if one mission were left dragging on, would that mean the next mission would be held up by it as well?

If that were the case, Yueshu's greatest trump card and ace in the hole would effectively be rendered useless.

After weighing the pros and cons, Yueshu sighed helplessly.

It seemed he could no longer afford to be leisurely at the academy. He had to help Kushina graduate early, and preferably within the near future; he couldn't drag it out too long.

Minato Namikaze was hailed as the purest genius in the history of the Hokage; in the words of Tsunade and Jiraiya, any other genius would be eclipsed when compared to him.

It could be said that if given time—even just a little bit—Minato Namikaze would be enough to soar straight to the top.

By the time that happened, trying to form a Genin squad with Minato Namikaze? He'd have better luck daydreaming.

This meant Yueshu didn't have much time, and within this short window, he had to help Kushina graduate early. Although Yueshu didn't know her combat level, the difficulty was bound to be quite high.

After all, Konoha's Genin were the most terrifying rank in the entire ninja world (lol).

After all, the two pinnacles of combat power in the ninja world, Sasuke and Naruto, remained Genin even after the Fourth Great Ninja War.

Sighing, Yueshu rolled over, deciding to stop thinking about it for now.

Tomorrow at the academy, he would have to grab Kushina and put her through some serious training.

With that thought, Yueshu slowly closed his eyes, and the next day arrived quietly.

"Kushina, how about we go train after school?"

Yueshu put his plan from yesterday into action, speaking up the moment he saw Kushina.

Of course, he was met with a classic response.

"Huh?"

"Training? Why so sudden?"

Kushina was bewildered. Ever since Minato Namikaze had left, her only friends were Yueshu and Mikoto. Yueshu was usually in a state of total laziness, so his sudden invitation to train caught her off guard.

"It's nothing much."

"What is it, really?"

Seeing Yueshu being coy, Kushina grew curious.

"Fine."

Yueshu wasn't good at dealing with this.

"I want to train you and help you graduate early."

"Eh?"

Kushina was even more confused. Yueshu had basically thrown a bomb at her, leaving her completely stunned.

"Why do you suddenly want to do that?"

Kushina asked curiously.

"I want to graduate early with you and Minato Namikaze so we can be in the same squad."

Yueshu didn't hide anything; he wasn't good at making up reasons or excuses, and he preferred to speak his mind.

Kushina froze. She had been stunned ever since Yueshu finished speaking.

His words echoed in her mind, triggering some rather improper fantasies, which quickly turned her into the nickname she was known for—a tomato.

Her face was bright red, and paired with her red hair, it had to be said, she looked just like a tomato.

"Why so sudden?"

Kushina's voice was weak, not at all like the girl usually known as the Red Hot Habanero.

"Just a whim, I suppose. Well, it's not like staying at the academy is any different."

"What do you think?"

Yueshu looked at Kushina.

"But I—"

"It's fine, I'll help you."

Yueshu knew what Kushina was going to say; it was nothing more than concerns about her strength not being enough.

"But—"

Kushina glanced at Mikoto, and Yueshu followed her gaze.

Mikoto had just been about to approach Kushina, and she had overheard the conversation between the two of them.

Seeing Yueshu and Kushina look her way, Mikoto managed to force a smile.

A child's emotions are easy to read, completely unconcealed; the sadness in Mikoto's heart was fully exposed.

As a member of the Uchiha, Mikoto couldn't mingle with the commoners, and she was usually all alone. Kushina was her only friend. If Kushina really were to graduate early, Mikoto would have to spend the rest of her time at the academy by herself.

"It wouldn't be good if we didn't go together."

Yueshu's response was swift, and both girls looked at him.

"The three of us will train together and graduate early together."

"Is that... really possible?"

Kushina found it hard to believe, and Mikoto felt the same, though it was clear that a glimmer of longing had appeared in both their eyes.

It was no wonder they felt this way; there hadn't been many people in the entire history of Konoha who had graduated early at the age of eight, let alone girls—that made it even more impossible.

"It is possible."

Yueshu's answer was firm. Kushina and Mikoto exchanged a look.

Pfft.

Both girls burst into laughter at the same time, their silver-bell-like voices sounding delightful.

"Then."

Kushina and Mikoto spoke in unison, sounding incredulous.

"We'll trust you just this once."

"Mm, leave it to me!"

For some reason, looking into Kushina and Mikoto's eyes and feeling the weight of their gazes, Yueshu just wanted to make that firm promise, even though it was an incredibly difficult task.

Perhaps this was a form of expectation.

When the expectations of others fall upon you, you don't want to let them down; you don't want to betray that trust.

Yueshu looked at the smiling faces of the two girls, and his heart was set.

No matter what, he had to ensure that all three of them graduated early within this period!

And so, Yueshu's training plan was set and put into motion, with Yueshu, Kushina, and Mikoto as the participants.

The goal: early graduation!