First Mission

For the next stretch of time, Yue settled down in District 77.

Of course, "settling down" meant that chaotic fights could break out at any moment.

Just as he had learned, those who came and went through lawless territory were all "bastards" unable to make a living in other parts of the Soul Society Outskirts.

They were people abandoned by the Soul Society Outskirts.

There were naturally all sorts of reasons for that, but the majority were... scum, thugs, and people who hated being bound by rules in the eyes of the world.

Yue considered himself one of those bastards too.

So under such circumstances, it was almost impossible for him to establish his authority through killing and gain even a moment of peace.

Someone was always stepping forward to cause trouble—whether because they had heard rumors or simply judged him by his appearance... before a fight even began, they believed victory belonged to them.

Instead, this created an excellent training ground for Yue.

For nearly half a month, he had constantly honed himself through frequent real combat.

Again and again, he pushed himself to the brink, using those limits to temper his body and will.

Until... he had completely adapted to that rhythm.

And... his opponents gradually disappeared.

Although his initial attempts to establish authority had not gone well, after he killed enough people, his notoriety naturally spread... More and more people became convinced after witnessing his strength firsthand, and no longer dared question this boy. Even if one was going to die, there had to be some reason or obsession behind it.

No one wanted to become a ghost beneath his blade for no reason.

Therefore, one day more than half a month later, when Yue stared at the sparsely populated streets and waited a long time without another familiar "challenger" appearing, he knew it was time to leave.

He would head for the next district and venture deeper into more dangerous territory.

After more than ten days of training, Yue's transformation was astonishing.

The most obvious change was in his eyes... Hidden beneath their depth was a sharp edge. Even a simple glance seemed to carry the vicious intent that he might pounce and kill at any moment. His clothes had long since become tattered, hanging off him in strips, but they were still wearable. Harukana and her mother had patched them countless times, barely making them decent enough to cover his body.

However, he was noticeably thinner than before, and his cheeks had sunken slightly.

He looked a little like a child from a poor family...

Yet the limbs and muscles beneath his seemingly slender frame had become even more solid.

The small palms of his hands were covered in calluses from gripping a sword hilt for too long.

They were the marks left after the flesh of his palms split open and scabbed over again and again.

Ever since obtaining this sword, he had never let it go.

It was hard to imagine Yue changing so much in such a short time... One could only imagine what he had gone through.

The people on the streets secretly called him the Blood Blade Child, and that was how his infamous reputation had arisen.

Mainly because... aside from telling his name to the leader and others he had slain at the beginning, Yue had never revealed it to anyone else, making him seem extremely mysterious.

Even now, no one knew his origins or background.

Judging only from how he had looked and dressed when he first appeared in the district, his living conditions before then seemed to have been fairly decent.

Without any attachment, Yue prepared to leave.

This place... was no longer suitable for him.

"Wait."

Just as he was about to leave, Harukana gently tugged at a corner of his clothes.

At present, she was the only person on the entire street who could safely approach Yue.

"Are you leaving?"

Harukana's eyes were full of reluctance.

Yue glanced at her, then looked away and said flatly, "For a while, the people on this street won't cause trouble for you and your mother again... They should understand what I'm doing."

"I ate one of your taros. Consider us even."

As he spoke, Yue took another step, but the girl grabbed his hand and did not let go.

Yue frowned slightly.

"Can... can you take me with you?"

"I won't cause you any trouble..."

Harukana bit her lip. "I can take care of you."

"You take care of me? Or I take care of you?"

Yue sneered.

"..."

The girl fell silent.

"Stop clinging to me. I don't like burdens."

With a smack, Yue knocked her arm away and walked forward.

However, after thinking about it, he still slowed slightly. With his back to Harukana, he said coldly, "The protection I brought you will only last so long. This place is a mixed bag. Soon, new desperate fugitives or forces will appear, and then you'll return to your old lives."

"Your mother can't protect you for much longer. She herself does not have long left... You have some talent. If you don't want to die, leave this place quickly."

"Find some safe district and barely survive there."

"Didn't you want to become stronger? Then do everything you can to stay alive, no matter what happens... until you have the qualifications and ability to enter the True Cultivation Academy. With your potential, if you work hard enough, you should have a chance... provided you don't die."

After saying that, Yue strode away beneath Harukana's gaze.

"True Cultivation Academy?"

Harukana murmured to herself.

After coming back to her senses and realizing something, she shouted at Yue's retreating back, "Will you go there too?"

"..."

Yue did not answer.

After leaving the residential area, he did not immediately rush toward the next street.

In the Soul Society Outskirts, the closer one got to the center—where the Seireitei was located—the more orderly the streets and buildings became, and the more tightly connected the roads between districts were. But as the district numbers increased, obvious "buffer zones" appeared between territories. One could travel a great distance without finding a proper road; the construction was utterly makeshift. In many wilderness areas, small villages could be found where groups of people lived together.

These places were also vulnerable to Hollow attacks. They had no systematic defenses or sufficient manpower, could not react in time, and had no so-called administrators.

In fact, scattered populations lived not only within the Soul Society Outskirts, but also along its outermost edges.

Yue entered a dense forest, found a concealed tree trunk, leaped onto it, and lay down.

After observing the area, he found it largely devoid of human traces. It counted as a safe place.

A certain "nerve" in his mind had been twitching constantly, reminding him that his time was almost up and that he had to return to the world of Naruto.

This time, he had remained in the world of Bleach longer than the last time.

The last time, he had only just arrived in Bleach and mainly learned about the customs of the Soul Society, as well as the circumstances of this body's previous owner.

But this time, he had truly begun to improve.

"Looks like as my strength increases, the amount of time I can remain in both worlds will increase too." Yue slowly closed his eyes, coming to a realization. "In that case, I'll have to wait until next time to return."

"Still... I gained a lot."

"With my current abilities, I should be able to guard against some of those disgusting methods in the village."

"I absolutely cannot become meat on their chopping block, left for them to manipulate!"

"Otherwise, what awaits me next... could very well be death."

As he thought, his vision went dark, and everything in the world fell silent.

When he opened his eyes again, Yue was lying on the bedding in his home. He had returned to the world of Naruto.

It was exactly the time when he had been preparing to sleep before entering Bleach.

Only then did Yue, whose nerves had been taut all this time, finally relax completely and let out a long breath.

This was his home in Kusagakure. There were no enemies around. It was safe.

He pulled a hand from beneath the bedding, clenched it, felt the changes in his body, and smiled faintly.

Then he immediately turned over and fell asleep.

He... was exhausted.

Early the next morning, his body clock woke him right on schedule.

He had to admit that after going through so much in Bleach, a good night's sleep left him truly refreshed.

After tidying himself up, he changed into casual clothes and headed for a training ground in the village.

As he passed a breakfast shop on the way, he bought several rice balls to take with him.

Although Kusagakure was not as prosperous as Konoha, it had everything needed for daily life.

For instance, ramen shops.

The taste simply was not very good, so he did not enjoy eating there.

The training ground was on the edge of the village. Today was the promotion exam for team assignments, and Chunin Teacher Masada had informed him in advance to gather here on time.

When Yue arrived, he saw Masada sitting on a rock in the grass with two classmates, chatting and laughing.

Seeing him approach, Masada warmly waved. "Yue, over here."

Yue appeared to be the last to arrive.

The other two students wore eager expressions. They probably had not slept much the previous night.

Yue stepped forward and stood there with a blank, somewhat expressionless face. He ignored the two classmates and merely nodded at Masada.

However, the two classmates were clearly already used to this. They only curled their lips, somewhat displeased.

"Hm?"

"Yue... are you sick?"

With all four present, Masada clapped his hands. Just as he was about to explain the test he had prepared for the three students, he suddenly stared at Yue and cried out.

They had only been apart for one night, but for some reason, the boy before him seemed a little different.

Maybe it was his eyes, or perhaps his aura... And had he gotten thinner?

Masada was not sure.

If he looked closely, it was clearly still the same Yue.

"I'm feeling a little unwell."

Yue casually brushed it off.

"Take better care of yourself."

Masada said with concern.

He did not dwell on it and hurried to business.

"The three of you had the best grades in this class... so I believe the upcoming test will not be difficult for you."

"Then... I hereby announce that Team Five has officially been formed!"

Masada deliberately made the announcement sound impassioned, stirring their emotions.

Sure enough, the two boys named Yoshitaka and Ryuga could not contain their excitement, their faces flushing red.

Only Yue still wore that expressionless face.

"Teacher Masada, why are all three members of our team boys...? I thought there would be girls." Yoshitaka could not help complaining.

He even deliberately glanced at Yue.

"Haha... don't worry about it. You three are the best, and since you are outstanding ninjas, naturally you should grow together."

Masada reassured him.

"Teacher, let's begin."

Yue urged him at an inappropriate moment.

"Fine."

Masada froze for a moment, then nodded.

As a Chunin, the test he had prepared to assess their abilities was simple... He tied a sandbag to each of the three students, then had them hide within a designated area for a set amount of time. If he found them and destroyed their sandbag, causing the sand to spill out, they would fail.

The task sounded easy, but its purpose was obvious.

It tested the three students' ability to conceal themselves and sense and observe their target.

It leaned toward reconnaissance and stealth, fundamentals for a ninja, and also demanded a certain level of basic competence.

After the three tied on their sandbags, Masada blew a whistle, and they instantly darted away.

They vanished from sight.

Masada remained where he was for a while before beginning to put on a show of "searching."

Standing behind a tree trunk, Yue swept his eyes around and had already determined the hiding places of the other two students.

One hid in a bush, while the other had used his smaller build to squeeze into a gap between two massive rocks.

To Yue, the latter was simply laughable.

If this were a battlefield, it might look like a good hiding place, but it also restricted his freedom. Once an enemy approached, he would have nowhere to run. The exit could be blocked directly. Good concealment had to allow movement, relocation, and repeated disguises at any moment... One had to adapt to circumstances, because an enemy's position was always changing. They were not wooden dummies.

With that thought, Yue slowly crouched down. Just as he was about to cautiously peer around the tree trunk and use the edge of his vision to scout the surroundings—

Suddenly, a shadow and a gust of wind appeared above his head.

Masada descended from the tree like a ghost, reaching for Yue's sandbag.

Yue reacted just as quickly. He immediately sprang backward, and while airborne, exchanged several moves with Masada, his fist against Masada's arm.

"This guy..."

Yue narrowed his eyes.

Yoshitaka and Ryuga had left far more obvious traces of their positions, and their methods of erasing evidence were extremely crude. As a Chunin, Masada could clearly find them with ease... yet he deliberately ignored them.

Instead, he had actively come after Yue.

"So there really is a problem."

Yue's heart sank.

The instant his heel touched the ground, a kunai shot toward him, aimed directly at the sandbag on his waist.

Yue also flicked out a kunai with his backhand, accurately knocking the incoming weapon out of the air.

Then he leaped up and plunged into the tall grass beside him, which rose above his head.

With a faint rustle of grass blades, he vanished without a trace.

Masada did not continue pursuing him. If he had wanted to chase Yue, he certainly could have caught him... He had only intended to test Yue.

"Not bad."

Masada offered the loaded praise.

This was only a small task for a temporary assessment, yet Yue's vigilance made it seem as though he were on a battlefield.

At least mentally, he was far more mature than the other children in his cohort.

Twenty minutes later, Yue heard a loud whistle from afar, signaling that time was up.

He had passed the assessment.

Not just him—the other two had as well.

Yue looked down at the sandbag in his hand, his eyes lowered... Even a Genin like him had easily seen through it and had even thought Ryuga and Yoshitaka should have failed. Yet when it came to Masada, they had passed instead.

During that time, he had also heard the sounds of fighting.

Masada had probably deliberately pretended to find the two of them, gave them a little close-range "trouble," then stopped.

It had been an utterly perfunctory exam.

After a while, he returned to the assembly grounds.

"Congratulations, Yue."

As Masada watched him approach, he tossed him something he had prepared in advance.

A forehead protector.

Yoshitaka and Ryuga were already waving their arms excitedly, unable to wait to put on their forehead protectors.

Yue took his forehead protector but did not wear it on his head. Instead, he tied it around his upper left arm.

"You're not going to wear it?"

The white-haired Ryuga looked somewhat surprised.

"I don't like wearing things on my head. It's uncomfortable... Besides, there's no rule saying it has to be worn exactly that way. It's just something that proves your identity." Yue answered casually.

"True enough."

Masada laughed heartily and nodded. "Just as expected of Yue. You really do things your own way."

"Tch!"

Ryuga looked disdainful. "All you know is how to show off."

"..."

Yue could not be bothered to deal with such a brat.

He seemed to have forgotten that he himself was also still a "wet-behind-the-ears" little kid.

"Now that we have our forehead protectors, that means we can start taking on missions assigned by the village, right...?"

Yoshitaka clenched his fist, full of ambition.

Hadn't they worked so hard at the Ninja Academy for this very day... to formally begin growing into shinobi capable of standing on their own in the village?

"That's right."

Masada replied.

"However, you three are special. Normally, newly graduated shinobi start with the lowest-level missions, mainly helping villagers with everyday tasks to familiarize themselves with the entire process and system, while also gaining experience."

"But as the most outstanding students of this class, I have great confidence in you. So, I specially applied to the village... for you to skip those unnecessary stages and take on some proper missions, so that you can receive real training."

"And besides... with me as your teacher, I can ensure your safety as well."

Masada said cheerfully.

"Wow!"

The moment they heard that, Ryuga and Yoshitaka immediately shouted in delight and anticipation.

"...Are we leaving the village?"

Yue deliberately asked.

"Mm... Don't worry. We're only going to suppress a group of bandits within our territory, and it isn't far from the village. If we're quick, we can be back within a day."

Masada said.

"When?"

"Tomorrow morning. Gather at the village entrance."

"Don't we need to accept the mission first?" Yue's heart sank.

"It's fine. I've already arranged everything."

Yue did not ask any further questions.

Sure enough, Kusagakure could not compare to Konoha. Its administrative departments had been riddled with holes by the corruption of power. Even something as important as accepting missions could be altered at will. It was like a makeshift operation.

Village shinobi missions were not to be taken lightly. Every mission's contents, process, and so on would be thoroughly recorded and archived by the village... for later investigations or matters involving intelligence. They were extremely important.

At the very least, in the Five Great Shinobi Villages, let alone a Chunin, even a Jonin might not have the authority to do something like this.

Everyone had to follow the rules.

He had just received his forehead protector, and tomorrow he was already leaving the village... Yue had caught the scent of a conspiracy.

"Rather than doing their best to protect the village's fresh young blood, they can't wait to throw them onto the battlefield..."

Yue thought to himself, Looks like this mission... could be interesting.

As a member of Kusagakure, and merely a newly graduated, inexperienced Genin,

he naturally had no right to refuse.

He could only accept.