It took four days to verify the intelligence.
Dan personally signed the mission report, and the rating was raised from C+ to B-Rank.
When the bearded Jonin handed over the reward, he placed the money pouch in the middle of the desk.
Last time, it had been flung onto the corner of the desk.
"Two hundred thousand. The mission reward and commendation bonus, all together."
Kitahara Kaede picked up the pouch.
"Thank you, sir."
Two hundred thousand. He was still four million eight hundred thousand short of five million.
The road ahead was long.
The second mission came quickly.
Gather intelligence on a small Sunagakure supply line to cut off—mark its route and guard detail for the follow-up assault team.
He completed it in three days, with zero contact and zero combat throughout.
The intelligence was once again verified as high quality.
The reward was two hundred and fifty thousand.
The third mission.
Conduct continuous surveillance for five days along the perimeter of a Sunagakure infiltration route.
Kitahara Kaede brought back a complete map marking three of the enemy's concealed assembly points.
Using the intelligence, a frontline assault team carried out a clean ambush, wiping out a Sunagakure infiltration squad at the cost of only four minor injuries.
The assault team leader made a point of mentioning it in the post-battle briefing: "The map was extremely accurate and greatly reduced the risk of encountering the enemy."
The reward was three hundred thousand, plus a special commendation.
The fourth mission wasn't reconnaissance.
A B-Rank combat unit, four-man squad, tasked with eliminating a Sunagakure guerrilla team that had infiltrated the rear.
When the roster came out, the other three looked a little tense.
No one said anything to his face, but their expressions plainly said, *Heaven help us. Let nothing