Outrageous New Mission

"( '-ωก̀ ) Ugh, this is the life!"

The sun was high in the sky when Genye lazily rose from his bed and stretched comfortably.

After returning to Konoha yesterday to submit their mission report, Shimura Hofu had waved his hand and granted them a day of leave.

Genye had no intention of going anywhere today; he planned to spend the entire time in bed.

However, things did not go as planned. Near noon, his flimsy door—which was designed to keep out honest men but not scoundrels—was pounded with a rhythmic thudding.

"Who is it?"

Genye climbed out of bed reluctantly and opened the door to see Mei's bright, smiling face.

"Oh, Mei, why are you here?" Genye scratched his head.

"What do you mean 'why am I here'? Did you forget what you promised me, Brother Genye?"

The smile on Mei's face vanished instantly, as if she were performing a face-changing act, and she began to radiate a chill from the inside out.

Genye shivered involuntarily and stammered, "Ah, I remember now. I promised you... I promised you... what was it again?"

"So you really did forget, Brother Genye! We clearly agreed that after you finished your mission, you'd treat me to a feast!"

With that, Mei clenched her small fist and punched Genye in the stomach.

Σ_(꒪ཀ꒪"∠)

Genye winced in pain, his features contorting as he forced a smile. "How could I forget? I was just joking with you, Mei."

"Hmph, you'd better be!" Mei rolled her eyes at Genye, her cheeks puffed up in anger.

It was prime lunchtime, and the bustling snack street was crowded with people.

Mei led Genye through several turns until they arrived at the entrance of a yakiniku restaurant.

Glancing at the luxurious decor of the shop, Genye clicked his tongue. "Mei, are you trying to eat me into poverty with one meal?"

Of course, he was only joking. He had just earned a bit of money, and it was only right to reward his beloved "tool person."

Mei pouted. "Hmph, you're the one who made me angry last time. How could I let you off without paying a price!"

"Alright, alright, it's my fault. Order whatever you want; I'll make sure you're full today," Genye said, waving his hands with a conciliatory smile.

Although he didn't actually know what he had done wrong, he knew better than to try and reason with a girl. All he had to do was apologize and pick up the tab.

The restaurant was doing good business, and the outdoor tables were already full.

Genye led Mei inside, only to run into some familiar faces.

"What a coincidence, Obito. Haven't seen you in a while. Are you eating alone?"

Obito, carrying two plates of meat, shook his head and said with a smug look:

"No, no, we just finished a mission, and I brought Rin-chan here to celebrate. It's just the two of us, you know~"

"Oh, is that so?"

Genye pointed toward Kakashi, who was sitting in a corner not far away, and asked expressionlessly, "Then what's up with him?"

Even though Obito and the others were sitting in a secluded spot, he had the Byakugan, after all!

"He, he..."

Obito's voice dropped. "He's just an accident. Rin and I are the true love (muttered under his breath)."

Unable to find a table, Genye simply took Mei and joined his old classmates.

It was a good chance to build rapport and boost their favorability!

Whether it was Obito or Kakashi, both were characters who left a significant mark on the ninja world.

There was definitely good loot to be had from these two!

If I could copy the Chidori in the future, that would be awesome, Genye thought to himself.

When the enemy saw he was from the Hyuga Clan, they would focus entirely on defending against his Gentle Fist, and then he would hit them with a backhanded Chidori, blowing their minds—literally.

"...Tsk, does that count as fraud?"

Of course, it would be even more interesting if he could use Mangekyo ocular techniques while keeping his Byakugan active, haha!

"..."

"Genye-kun, you guys are truly amazing to have defeated a Special Jonin together!" Rin exclaimed in admiration.

"Tch, it's just a Special Jonin, what's the big deal?" Obito said with a look of disdain.

He draped an arm around Kakashi beside him and added, not wanting to be outdone, "Kakashi and I could do it too, right, Kakashi?"

Kakashi pushed Obito away with a blank expression. "I could certainly do it, but I'm not so sure if I had to bring you along."

Obito's face turned green with rage. "Hey, Kakashi! At least give me some face in front of Genye!"

"Hahahaha." Genye laughed mercilessly, only to receive a punch from Obito for his trouble.

Wherever Obito was, there was always joy.

"If I have the ability when the time comes, I will definitely help you all escape your original cruel fates."

Watching Obito gesticulating wildly beside him, Genye thought to himself.

"If I don't, then so be it; at least my heart was in the right place."

After bidding farewell to Obito and the others, Genye left the barbecue restaurant with Mei.

In a dim alleyway, Genye, full of food and drink, couldn't help himself and went for another round with Mei.

"This is the last time... System, copy it for me!"

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the skill "Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm"!]

"Eh?"

The newly acquired skill caught Genye off guard.

Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm was a long-range taijutsu derived from the Gentle Fist.

It involved placing an opponent within the Eight Trigrams field, using the Byakugan to pinpoint their location, and firing condensed spheres of chakra from a distance to strike the target.

But the key issue was that "Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm" was extremely difficult to master; this wasn't a technique someone of Mei's age should know.

Is it reasonable for an elementary school student to solve advanced calculus problems?

So, was this little girl actually a genius?

Then why does she pretend to be a deadbeat like me every day? Is that fun? Genye couldn't figure it out.

"What's wrong, Brother Genye?" Seeing Genye staring at her in a daze, Mei asked with a blushing face.

"It's nothing." Genye shook his head and began thinking about his training again.

"Oh." Mei pouted in disappointment, but Genye, immersed in his own world, naturally didn't notice.

"Now that all five copy opportunities are used up, if I want to improve my strength, I have to rely on myself." Genye fell into deep thought.

"Since 'Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm' is an extension of 'Gentle Fist,' can I apply the power-generating techniques of 'Gentle Fist: Double' to it?"

"Perhaps I can try starting from that angle in my upcoming training."

Time spent slacking off was always short-lived, and soon, Genye threw himself back into grueling training.

Every day, he had to complete terrifying physical exercises while finding time to develop new skills; Genye only hated that he didn't know the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique!

"Sigh, Naruto hasn't even been born yet, so there's no way to copy it!"

Genye often sighed, lamenting that he had transmigrated a dozen years too early and missed out on the... bah, the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique.

However, under such high-intensity training, he could clearly feel his own improvement, which could be considered painful yet rewarding.

A month passed in the blink of an eye, and Team 8 received a new mission.

"This is a C-rank commission. The content is to escort the great writer Jiraiya to the Land of Hot Water for inspiration."

A C-rank commission?

Escort?

Jiraiya?

Three question marks immediately appeared over Genye's head.