The First Mission

Early morning was the best time of day.

People in Yueshu's previous life often said that.

He didn't know if it was true, but either way, Yueshu disagreed.

The reason was simple.

Why get out of bed when you could sleep?

Wasn't that letting down such a warm, cozy blanket?

So when his seven o'clock alarm rang, Yueshu hesitated for half a second, then decisively slapped it off and went back to sleep.

What? You're asking why Yueshu had set a seven o'clock alarm?

Wasn't it obvious? He'd passed his exam yesterday, and Konoha's first four-person squad was officially starting work.

Their first mission was to meet at seven in the morning before setting out.

And as far as Yueshu was concerned,

a mission?

Was it more important than sleep?

If it were a system mission, that would be one thing. But this was just an ordinary ninja mission. Why sacrifice what little time he had to sleep?

So Yueshu strongly protested having to meet at seven in the morning, and he put that protest into action.

Speaking of missions—

Yueshu suddenly opened his tightly shut eyes.

I think I get a draw when I complete a mission!

Only then did Yueshu finally remember what all that training lately had been for.

Wasn't it to complete the system mission and get that chance to draw?

His excitement flashed past, and Yueshu closed his eyes again.

He could draw whenever he wanted. Getting up and doing it later wouldn't hurt. Besides, he needed to bathe, change clothes, and wash his hands first. For now, he should just sleep.

Thinking that, Yueshu settled in for a peaceful nap.

"Good morning."

"Good morning."

Someone greeted him, and Yueshu replied on instinct before he even realized what he was doing.

A few seconds later—

"Wait!"

Yueshu's eyes flew open again.

Just as he'd expected, a wry smile appeared on his face.

Standing before him was the white-haired Jiraiya, with Minato Namikaze, Kushina, and Mikoto behind him.

He hadn't expected all of them to show up at his house at once.

"Good morning."

After a second of silence, Yueshu spoke. He repeated the same greeting he'd just given.

"What time do you call this? You're still sleeping!"

Sure enough, Jiraiya blew up just as Yueshu had expected, and it felt like the whole house was trembling.

Then—

"Jiraiya, you woke me up this early, and you're dead! I'm warning you!"

There was always someone even more fearsome. The moment Jiraiya started yelling, the tigress in Yueshu's house roared back.

Tsunade's shout rang out. Jiraiya shuddered from head to toe, and his face went pale.

It seemed his fear of Tsunade had sunk deep into his bones.

"Move!"

His ears twitched. Jiraiya panicked, grabbed Yueshu, who was still in bed, and took off running.

"Sensei."

Minato Namikaze, Kushina, and Mikoto were stunned, too. Jiraiya had made his escape in a flash.

Footsteps sounded right beside them. Before the three could even move, Yueshu's bedroom door swung open.

A tall, beautiful woman stood there, looking thoroughly displeased, with what seemed to be a vein throbbing on her forehead.

The dark aura radiating from her made all three children shrink back in fear.

People said you shouldn't cross a woman. Tsunade, woken from her beauty sleep, was even more terrifying.

"Jiraiya, don't let me catch you!"

Looking at the open window, Tsunade shouted after him, then left.

Minato Namikaze and Kushina, who had been huddled to one side, finally understood why Jiraiya was so afraid of Tsunade.

That presence alone was terrifying.

After Tsunade left, the five members of Jiraiya Squad finally gathered.

By the time Minato Namikaze and Kushina arrived, Yueshu was already standing beside Jiraiya with two bumps on his head and an utterly helpless expression.

Yueshu had to admit there was nothing he could do. He wasn't as strong as Jiraiya, nor as tough. His sword wasn't on him, either; it was still in his room. How could he possibly be a match for Jiraiya?

"Hahaha, what's with that look? Nice. It suits you."

Yueshu was still in his pajamas, with two bumps on his head and a bitter, helpless expression. A trace of sleepiness lingered in his eyes.

Kushina saw him and immediately started teasing him.

"Sometimes you just have no choice but to go with the flow."

Yueshu sighed.

Mikoto and Minato Namikaze chuckled softly beside them.

Jiraiya, however, was speechless.

This kid was barely grown, yet he acted as if he'd been through so much. He looked so world-weary.

"Ahem."

Jiraiya coughed, drawing everyone's attention to himself.

"All right, our squad is officially formed, so it's time to start our first mission."

Yueshu and the others looked at Jiraiya.

"That's right. Our squad's first mission is to clean the streets."

"—"

"Huh?"

Kushina and Mikoto were dumbfounded, while Yueshu sighed.

He'd already guessed it would be something like this.

It had been much the same in the original story. After becoming Genin, they wouldn't immediately be sent on any dangerous missions. Most of their work would be odd jobs around the village. During wartime, they'd be sent to the battlefield, but the Second Ninja War had just ended, and more than a decade of peace lay ahead. Naturally, Yueshu and the others wouldn't have any dangerous missions to do. They'd be stuck with this kind of menial work. That was one of the main reasons Yueshu hadn't wanted to get out of bed.

Sacrificing sleep just to do some odd jobs wasn't worth it.

"Everything starts small and grows from there. It's the same for ninjas. Cleaning the streets is a way to serve the village, and we get paid for it, too."

Minato Namikaze had already spent a month doing this kind of work and was used to it. Given his personality, he was probably happy to do it anyway.

"Minato's right. Even the Third Hokage started out this way. So did we."

Jiraiya nodded, agreeing with Minato Namikaze.

"All right, then."

Kushina answered with some disappointment, while Mikoto hadn't been too disappointed to begin with. There was nothing wrong with cleaning the streets.

As for Yueshu, he shot Jiraiya a disdainful glance.

He was definitely lying. The Ninja World had been in turmoil before then. The First and Second Ninja Wars had come one after the other, and both had been incredibly fierce. Even the First and the Second Hokage had died. The founders and second-generation leaders of the various ninja villages had all been powerful figures, and even they had died in the wars. That showed just how brutal the First and Second Ninja Wars had been—though they still couldn't compare to the Fourth Shinobi World War.

"All right, no complaining. Even a tall building starts with its foundation."

Jiraiya smiled.

Jiraiya Squad's first mission—cleaning the streets—was about to begin.

Jiraiya led the way, with a slightly disgruntled Kushina following him. Mikoto walked beside her, gently consoling her, while Minato Namikaze and Yueshu trailed along quietly.

Come to think of it, I still have a draw I haven't used.

Yueshu suddenly remembered.

There was nothing else to do right now. He might as well use it.

He couldn't be bothered with bathing, changing clothes, or washing his hands.

"System, draw."

"Congratulations, host. You obtained the Shadow Clone Technique (B-rank) and the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique (A-rank)."

Mm—

Yueshu could barely keep the corners of his mouth from turning up.

Looks like

I've got a way to slack off now.

In the end, Yueshu couldn't keep the grin off his face.

Oh, yeah! This was awesome!