Leaving the Village

Watching Minato's Team leave on their mission.

Uchiha Yufeng stood where he was, a thoughtful glint flashing through his eyes.

"The Chunin Exams? They're coming up soon. Will the surrounding ninja villages try to stir up some trouble?"

Judging by the timeline, the Third Great Ninja War was imminent. The situation outside was bound to be tense. This Chunin Exams would include ninja from many smaller surrounding villages, as well as ninja from allied Sunagakure. With so many people gathered, trouble was inevitable.

For all he knew, among the ninja from those nearby villages might be spies planted by other hidden villages, taking the chance to probe Konoha's strength before starting a war.

That would be a huge headache.

Besides, he was a member of the Uchiha Clan, one of Konoha's great clans.

He would definitely be targeted by people from other villages.

And if he stood out too much during the Chunin Exams and awakened his Sharingan...

That old bastard Danzo would set his sights on him too.

That man was nearly insane when it came to the Uchiha Clan's Kekkei Genkai.

He had stolen Shisui's eyes, and he had also sent people to steal the eye Obito gave Kakashi...

The Sharingan wrapped around his arm had all been stolen in one way or another.

That guy... was a lunatic~!

Even if he passed the Chunin Exams without using the Sharingan, that old bastard Danzo would probably still try to recruit him into Root.

Then he would have people monitor him, waiting to use every possible method to provoke him into awakening his eyes! So he could dig them out!

That old bastard understood the Sharingan better than most members of the Uchiha Clan.

Just as Uchiha Yufeng was agonizing over the Chunin Exams.

Half an hour passed.

Yuhi Kurenai and Uzuki Yugao finished their mission and arrived as well.

"Yufeng!"

Yuhi Kurenai hurried over. Seeing that Uchiha Yufeng was spotless and didn't look like he had been on a mission, she frowned.

"You haven't finished your mission yet? Come on, I'll help you!"

Seeing the seriousness on Yuhi Kurenai's face, Uchiha Yufeng raised a hand and pinched her tender cheek, smiling.

"Don't worry. I turned in the mission a while ago!"

Yuhi Kurenai slapped his hand away and scolded him coquettishly.

"Don't pinch my cheek!"

Uchiha Yufeng raised his hand again and placed it atop her head.

Like petting a cat, he gently stroked her hair.

Yuhi Kurenai really was adorable!

"Cough, cough!"

Yuhi Shinku had appeared at some point, glaring darkly at Uchiha Yufeng.

Startled by her father's voice, Yuhi Kurenai hurriedly slapped Uchiha Yufeng's hand away.

She cautiously looked toward where Yuhi Shinku was speaking from.

Her pretty face was already completely red.

"Earlier, I went to inspect the places where the missions were assigned. All the missions you accepted have been completed!"

Hearing Yuhi Shinku's words, smiles appeared on Yuhi Kurenai and Uzuki Yugao's faces.

"Don't celebrate yet. What you've completed so far are only D-rank Missions.

"When I went to inspect your completed missions just now, I heard something. The team led by Uchiha Homura, who graduated with you this year, completed a B-rank Mission this morning!"

"A B-rank Mission?!"

Yuhi Kurenai's eyes widened.

Yuhi Shinku had previously explained the ninja mission rankings to the three of them.

Even a B-rank Mission required, at minimum, the strength of an outstanding Chunin team to complete.

After all, encounters and battles with ninja were unavoidable during such missions.

Had Uchiha Homura's team really reached that level already?

"Yes, a B-rank Mission. But you don't need to belittle yourselves. Your potential is no less than that team's. You'll carry out such missions in the future as well."

For a moment, everyone fell silent.

Uchiha Yufeng looked at Uzuki Yugao.

"What are you looking at?"

Uzuki Yugao suddenly noticed Uchiha Yufeng's gaze and froze slightly.

"Why didn't you say we were taking a B-rank Mission?"

Thinking about Uzuki Yugao's behavior earlier, this should have been the kind of situation that stirred her competitive spirit.

Uzuki Yugao rolled her eyes at Uchiha Yufeng.

"I may be competitive, but I'm not stupid! Besides, if I remember correctly, we don't have the authority to accept B-rank Missions either..."

Hearing their conversation, Yuhi Shinku explained.

"B-rank Missions can only be carried out by teams composed entirely of Chunin or above. You're all Genin, so you can't accept such commissions."

"Although I don't know how they completed a B-rank Mission, I do know that their team must have accepted a different mission first. After completing it, they received an upgraded assessment, raising its difficulty to B-rank level."

"Alright, you should go take a C-rank Mission and get some practice first! Don't aim too high! If you can't even complete C-rank Missions, then don't even think about B-rank Missions."

Yuhi Kurenai took Uzuki Yugao's hand and comforted her softly.

"Yugao, once we become Chunin, we'll have our chance!"

Knowing that Yuhi Kurenai was comforting her, Uzuki Yugao gratefully squeezed her hand back and nodded firmly.

Uchiha Yufeng felt slightly speechless standing beside them.

Yesterday, the two of them had looked ready to compete at every turn, each thinking the other beneath her. Yet today, they were acting like best friends.

Fickle girls!

Feeling the atmosphere within the team, Uzuki Yugao smiled.

She knew that the difficulty of a B-rank Mission was far beyond what a team that had only just graduated could handle.

Still, hearing that people who had also graduated from the Ninja Academy had completed a B-rank Mission had undoubtedly been a shot in the arm for someone as competitive as Uzuki Yugao, making her eager to try.

Fortunately, reason ultimately prevailed.

Because she knew she was no longer alone—she was part of an entire team.

"Haah..."

Uchiha Yufeng yawned.

He pulled out a bottle of eye drops from his pocket and put some in his eyes.

Uchiha Yufeng's thinking was simple. After all, he was now a man who had awakened the Mangekyo. He had to take good care of his eyes—who knew, maybe he would be able to use a few more Mangekyo Dojutsu in the future.

"Yufeng, what's wrong with your eyes?"

Seeing Uchiha Yufeng's strange behavior, Yuhi Kurenai hurried over and asked with concern.

"Nothing!"

"If it's nothing, why are you using eye drops? Are your eyes having problems?"

Yuhi Kurenai clearly did not believe him. Seeing how determined she was to get to the bottom of it, Uchiha Yufeng helplessly made up an excuse.

"I heard that putting more eye drops in your eyes gives you a chance to awaken the Sharingan, my clan's Kekkei Genkai!"

Yuhi Kurenai clearly believed that explanation.

"There's such a method? Yufeng, then you should... use more! Or maybe I can help you..."

"Cough, cough!"

Seeing his daughter practically ready to cling to Uchiha Yufeng, Yuhi Shinku's mouth twitched.

There was a distinct note of disappointment in his cough.

Yuhi Kurenai came back to her senses.

Oh no, she had forgotten her father was still right beside her...

She silently lowered her head, her face reddening.

"Let's go!"

Unable to bring himself to reprimand his daughter, Yuhi Shinku could only glare fiercely at Uchiha Yufeng before leading the way.

The three followed close behind.

They headed toward the mission commission office.

After the team arrived, they waited at the mission commission office for nearly half an hour before Yuhi Shinku finally emerged with a small booklet.

"I got us a C-rank Mission, but the target is rather far away this time. We'll need to leave the village. If we set out now, we should arrive this afternoon!"

The three agreed.

"Shinku Sensei, what kind of mission is it?"

Yuhi Shinku opened the booklet and read through it.

"A group of bandits robbed villagers of their food and money at the Border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire, and they're wanted for it.

"According to the latest information, those bandits have now reached the area along the Border between the Land of Early and the Land of Rain. Their fighting style is ruthless, and the ordinary soldiers can't handle them."

"Alright, we'll discuss the details on the road. We leave now!"

"Yes!"

Team Shinku headed straight out of the village.