C-Rank Mission

Besides these three blades, Ye Yuexin had also thought of a fourth: turning his body into a blade. But he only had a vague idea, with no logic to it at all, so he set it aside for now.

Aside from throwing knives.

What Ye Yuexin was most proud of was his footwork.

That was right. With his footwork and his understanding of the flow of wind chakra, his speed had nearly surpassed the Body Flicker Technique.

And speed wasn't even the footwork's greatest strength. Its real strength was the wind's intangibility and stealth. It felt like the Lingbo Weibu, those ethereal steps across the waves.

Even in midair, with nothing to push off from, Ye Yuexin could use wind chakra to perform all kinds of superhuman maneuvers.

Drawing on the Hozuki Clan's ability to liquefy their bodies, which he remembered from the Land of Water, Ye Yuexin had also thought about transforming into wind. That would make him even more powerful. But he still had no idea how to do it.

It was also thanks to this footwork that he could rank joint first with Itachi Uchiha at the Academy without using throwing knives.

Night deepened, and the temperature slowly dropped. It was time to rest.

Ye Yuexin flipped off the roof and went inside.

The house was fully furnished, with all kinds of appliances. The house his father had left him was quite nice, like a two-bedroom apartment with a living room back in his old world. It even had a kitchen and bathroom. Ye Yuexin had always loved the place he'd grown up in.

He took a carton of milk from the fridge, poured himself a glass, drank it, and went to bed. He showed no sign of having trouble sleeping.

The next morning, Ye Yuexin woke to the sound of his alarm.

His routine was already set, so he immediately started his morning exercises. Luckily, his house was close to the woods.

Every morning, Ye Yuexin ran a loop through the woods. It was good exercise, and it helped shake off his sleepiness.

By the time he finished the loop, he was lightly sweating. He'd gradually gone from jogging to sprinting, and the loop was three kilometers long. The woods were huge, after all, and he wasn't running in a straight line.

Once he'd fully woken up, Ye Yuexin remembered that he'd graduated the day before.

He couldn't keep following his old routine anymore.

He'd just been about to make a Shadow Clone to go to class out of habit.

After quickly eating two fried eggs, Ye Yuexin left the house.

He wasn't heading out to take a mission. He was going to make money—by setting up a street stall.

After hearing what Haino Fuji had told them the day before, Ye Yuexin felt that running a stall was a better option.

Anyone who'd watched Naruto knew what D-rank missions were like.

Farm work, cleaning up garbage, looking after children... How was that any different from being a nanny? Ye Yuexin didn't think he needed that kind of experience. And, of course, the biggest reason was that he didn't want to do it.

Ye Yuexin honestly couldn't think of a reason to take D-rank missions. He didn't need the experience, so all that was left was the pay.

But he could probably earn more in a day running his stall than he'd get from several D-rank missions. Why bother?

As for training, Ye Yuexin felt he needed to take a moment to clear his head.

His strength had improved quickly during his years at the Ninja Academy, but he felt he'd been rushing. He could do a lot of things without truly understanding them.

So Ye Yuexin planned to take a few days off and calm down.

He wanted to think about the direction he should take and plan for the future. After all, graduating was like finishing college in his previous life and entering the workforce.

He couldn't keep thinking only about how to get stronger like he had in school. That was especially true for someone like him, with no connections and little money.

The downtime at his stall would give him a chance to think.

Business was slow in the morning. Ye Yuexin even wondered whether he should come in the afternoon instead. After all, most people wanted something light to eat in the morning.

For some reason, a sudden chill swept through the air. Then a very detached voice said, "You're here?"

Ye Yuexin jumped. He hadn't been on his guard at all on Konoha's streets.

He turned around and saw Itachi Uchiha. "You..." He was about to say something, but Itachi's expression seemed off.

He looked particularly gloomy, almost as if he were scowling.

"Itachi, did you get dumped?" Ye Yuexin figured he should try to comfort him. In the original story, Itachi had had a girlfriend as a child. Could Ye Yuexin have changed the plot somehow?

But after hearing Ye Yuexin's question, Itachi's expression grew even darker. There seemed to be a hint of anger in his eyes.

Through gritted teeth, he said, "I've been looking for you for two hours. Why are you running a stall here?"

That left Ye Yuexin puzzled. Weren't clan heirs usually busy? They'd only graduated yesterday, so why was Itachi looking for him?

Still, Itachi must have thought he'd gone to train in the forest, which was probably why he'd spent two hours searching there. He'd likely looked everywhere.

But Itachi had just spoken as if he were interrogating him. Since he hadn't been dumped, Ye Yuexin didn't need to be polite.

"What are you looking for me for?"

"To take a mission together! Now that you're a ninja, are you going to slack off?" Itachi replied quickly.

"No." At that, Ye Yuexin flatly refused. He'd have to be crazy to take D-rank missions, especially as part of a team. Wasn't making more money here a much better deal?

"No, you have to come. Otherwise, I can't take a mission by myself," Itachi insisted. Ye Yuexin's blunt refusal made him a little anxious.

That sounded strange to Ye Yuexin. "Didn't our teacher say we could take D-rank missions on our own yesterday?" He wasn't foolish enough to think Itachi couldn't take a mission because he couldn't bear to be apart from him.

"The teacher did say that, but there aren't any D-rank missions at the ninja mission hall right now."

"No D-rank missions?" Ye Yuexin asked, puzzled.

Itachi continued, "They canceled D-rank missions a month ago because the war left them short-handed. C-rank missions are the lowest now."

He paused, then added, "For newly graduated ninjas like us, C-rank missions require a team." "We're the only two graduates left, so they've automatically put us together."

After hearing that, Ye Yuexin understood. He thought it over briefly and agreed.

He was quite interested in C-rank missions. That was the kind of experience a ninja ought to get.

Besides, since they were at war, Ye Yuexin suspected that the C-rank missions would be a little more demanding than the ones in the anime.

He'd find out how much more demanding soon enough.

So he said to Itachi, "All right, big brother's in. Give me a moment to pack up, and I'll go with you."

Itachi went straight over and pulled Ye Yuexin toward the mission hall.

"Hey, I haven't packed up yet!"

"You can do it when we get back."

"No, if I don't put it away, the noodles won't be any good later."

"I'll buy the remaining ingredients."

Ye Yuexin fell silent.

That was why he liked making friends with rich people.

They soon arrived at the mission hall. To Ye Yuexin, it looked like the lobby of a fancy hotel in his old world, except that it had four counters, marked A/S, B, C, and D.

Judging by that, the A-rank and S-rank missions shared a counter, probably because there weren't many S-rank missions.

There weren't many people in the hall. The war was one reason, but more importantly, people didn't linger there.

There were basically only two reasons to come here: to accept a mission or to turn one in. The clients who posted missions handled the details in rooms inside the hall.

Ye Yuexin took the chance to inspect the D-rank counter.

Just as he'd expected, nobody was working there. The counter had been cleared off, too, with none of the paperwork he'd seen at the others. It looked like it had been out of use for some time.

Itachi led Ye Yuexin straight to the C-rank counter.

Once they reached it, Itachi didn't say a word. He simply picked up the mission book and started looking through it.

He seemed so familiar with the place that Ye Yuexin guessed he'd been here before. It was good to be born into a clan.

"Let's do whichever mission you pick this time." After looking through it briefly, Itachi handed the book to Ye Yuexin.

The book consisted of individual cards with mission details, fastened together with something like a stapler. Ye Yuexin took it and skimmed through them.

There were plenty of missions, much as he remembered. Most C-rank missions involved clearing out bandits and brigands. At a time like this, especially during a war, they were like locusts—impossible to wipe out.

When people were driven to desperation, they'd do anything. Don't be fooled by how peaceful Konoha's residents seemed; that was because they lived in a ninja village. Outside it, at a time like this, they might not even have enough food or warm clothes. Their lives could be lost in an instant.