Reports Are Such a Pain

The lights at the Konoha Gate were dazzlingly bright. Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane spotted the group from a distance-Minato in front, followed by a panting Obito, Rin, and Shuo, whose feet dragged along the ground and whose eyes could barely stay open.

"Jonin Minato!"

Izumo Kamizuki came forward, his gaze sweeping over the ANBU, Hayama, and Furukawa, who was shaking like a leaf. "Who are these people?"

"The mission changed. I'll submit the report later."

Minato kept it brief. "They need to see Lord Hokage immediately."

Inside Konoha, the streets were still bustling, the lights of the taverns, the smells from the food stalls, and the footsteps of patrolling ninja all mingling together.

Obito took a breath. "Finally back!" Rin smiled and nodded, and even Kakashi's brow relaxed.

Only Shuo trailed behind, his eyes half closed as his perception swept back and forth-the light in Konoha was a jumble of streetlights, windows, and ninjutsu flashes from the training grounds, so noisy it made his head hurt.

"Tch, even noisier than out in the wild."

He muttered under his breath, his steps slowing another beat.

In the Hokage's office, the Third was smoking his pipe. Surprisingly, Danzo stood beside him, the bandages covering half his face gleaming coldly under the light.

The atmosphere instantly stiffened.

"You're back, Minato. Thanks for your hard work."

The Third spoke with a smile, his gaze falling on the ANBU and Hayama.

Crow dropped to one knee and reported quickly. "ANBU Crow. We encountered an attack by Root while retrieving Furukawa. Fortunately, Jonin Minato's squad came to our aid."

Hayama hurried to add what had happened with the nobles, and Furukawa handed over the small bag with trembling hands.

The Third's smile slowly faded as he looked at Danzo. "Root even dares to attack and kill ANBU dispatched by the Hokage?"

"Suspicious individuals must naturally be dealt with."

Danzo's gaze suddenly locked onto Shuo. The boy was leaning against the doorframe, his head bobbing as he nearly fell asleep, utterly at odds with the room's solemn atmosphere. "Minato Namikaze, your student used unregistered Light Release ninjutsu, didn't he? It was quite powerful. It needs to be reported and investigated."

Minato frowned. "Shuo's ability awakened naturally during the mission. He broke no rules."

"A natural awakening could destroy three formula nodes in one strike?"

Danzo sneered. "Ninjutsu by feel? Absurd!"

Everyone looked at Shuo. Only then did he slowly raise his head, his eyes bleary. "Huh? You want an explanation... What a pain."

"Let's hear it," the Third said patiently.

"Those black spears were all dark and annoying to look at, so I wanted to get rid of them."

Shuo scratched his head, his tone matter-of-fact. "They were afraid of light, so I thought I'd make the light turn a corner and travel underground. I tried it, and it worked."

He said it as casually as, "I had a bowl of ramen today."

Danzo's face darkened. "The formula structure! The chakra pathways!"

"I didn't think that much about it."

Shuo yawned. "Isn't it enough that it worked? Why get hung up on that? So noisy."

A smile hid in the Third's eyes as he smoothed things over. "Enough. The ability hasn't caused any negative effects. There's no need to dig deeper. But Shuo, go to the medical team tomorrow for a checkup and have the data recorded."

"Oh."

Shuo nodded, grumbling inwardly. A checkup is a pain too. It'll cut into my sleep.

Danzo wanted to say more, but the Third gave him a look, and only then did he shut his mouth.

When it came time for the mission report, Minato finished his account, and Kakashi and Obito filled in the details.

The Third looked at Shuo. "Anything to add?"

"Yeah."

Shuo blinked. "Mr. Furuya was unbearably noisy the whole way, and there were lots of bugs in the forest. Next time, I need to find a reflector that's less trouble for that hole-digging, light-reflecting move."

The corner of Furukawa's mouth twitched.

"Oh, right."

As though something had suddenly occurred to him, Shuo spoke very casually. "The tattoos on those two Root guys weren't right. Everyone else had them on their necks, but those two had them above their collarbones. They absorbed light differently when it hit them, like they'd been added later. Maybe they were fake."

At those words, Crow and Hayama were both stunned-they hadn't noticed that at all!

Danzo's gaze sharpened, and he stared fixedly at Shuo. "Did you see them clearly?"

"What else?"

Shuo shrugged. "Light doesn't lie. But maybe I saw wrong. Just a random guess."

His dismissive tone had nonetheless struck a crucial point.

The Third rubbed his pipe thoughtfully.

The report dragged on for half an hour before finally ending: Furukawa was placed in ANBU custody, Hayama was to cooperate with the investigation, the evidence was sealed away, and the squad was dismissed to rest.

It was almost midnight when they left the Hokage Building.

Obito stretched and wailed, "I'm going to sleep for a whole day!"

"You still have to hand in your mission report tomorrow."

Rin smiled as she rubbed it in.

"Huh?! No!"

Kakashi looked at Shuo. "Was the tattoo thing true?"

"Yeah. New pigment absorbs light differently from old pigment. I could tell at a glance."

Shuo dragged his feet along the ground. "But I couldn't be bothered to explain it in that much detail. Too much trouble."

Minato patted his shoulder. "You did very well. You saw it very clearly."

"What's the use of seeing clearly? I still have to write a report."

Shuo curled his lip. "Writing reports is the worst."

Minato smiled and asked no more questions.

They parted at the crossroads. Obito and the other two each headed home, Minato went to hand in the paperwork, and Shuo was left trudging toward the dormitory.

The night breeze was a little cool. He slipped his hands into his pockets and mentally browsed the system interface: mission complete, imitation points at 43.3%, and Underground Light Track unlocked. Somehow, "fobbing them off" had earned him another 0.5%.

"Even that earns points?"

Shuo raised an eyebrow and muttered, "If I'd known, I'd have given them a couple more halfhearted answers."

When he reached the dormitory, he took off his jacket and collapsed onto the bed, staring at the ceiling with a sigh. "Still have to visit the medical team, still have to write a report. It never ends."

The Third's parting words flashed through his mind again. "Shuo, your ability is very special. You'll have more important missions in the future."

Shuo pulled the blanket over his head. "More important equals more trouble. No thanks."

Whatever. Tomorrow's problems can wait until tomorrow.

Moonlight spilled through the window onto his golden hair, giving it a faint glow.

The light that had dealt with countless troubles out in the wild was quiet now, with only the sound of steady breathing remaining-at last, he could rest a while without having to deal with all those troublesome things.