"Let me help introduce this old classmate of mine," Sarutobi Shinnosuke stepped forward, stopping beside Baixing.
Baixing kept his face cold and said nothing, quietly listening to Shinnosuke speak.
Having someone else introduce him—this was perfect.
After all, the more one talked, the more mistakes one made. If he accidentally let something slip, then six years of effort would go straight down the drain.
"An orphan who grew up in an orphanage, named Baixing. Eighteen years old this year—just had his birthday. Not picky with food, eats pretty much anything. Has completed one thousand eight hundred and three D-rank missions..."
"..."
Baixing paused internally, then added silently, It's one thousand eight hundred and four now.
As expected! There were always people with decent strength and status who, out of sheer boredom, secretly kept tabs on him.
Back in the day, Shinnosuke had once had a crush on someone who later fell madly for Baixing. From then on, he had regarded Baixing as a lifelong enemy. With a Hokage for a father and himself already a jōnin, digging up someone's file was laughably easy.
Over the years, that former crush had become a chūnin—and died a few years back—so Shinnosuke had mostly forgotten about Baixing. But when team assignments came up and he heard his old man mention Baixing's name, long-buried resentment resurfaced. He spent an entire night memorizing Baixing's file, seizing this chance to humiliate him in one go.
By the time Shinnosuke finished, the three kids sitting on the steps wore expressions of shock and confusion.
This guy isn't some pervert who likes men, is he? Why does he know Baixing so well?!
"Alright," Baixing said, cutting off their wild thoughts once Shinnosuke was clearly tired. "Thanks, Shinnosuke. You can go now."
Then he turned to the three genin. "Your turn. Introduce yourselves."
Shinnosuke nodded, ready to vault the railing and leave the rooftop in classic ninja fashion, thinking how his all-night effort had finally paid off—he'd gotten a little revenge for his school days.
Wait!
"Uh… I haven't introduced myself yet."
Just as Uchiha Mikoto was about to speak, Shinnosuke suddenly interrupted her prepared lines. She stared at that honest-looking yet somewhat handsome face, itching to punch it a few times.
Baixing glanced at Shinnosuke. "But you're not part of Team Eleven. What's the point of you introducing yourself?"
"Well… there is a point…" Shinnosuke scratched his head. After saying "well," his tone dragged out awkwardly.
"Y'know, we're old classmates. Maybe someday we'll do missions together—might as well get to know each other in advance."
If I don't show off and slap you in the face, how can I repay my youthful 'wife-stealing grudge'?!
Baixing frowned slightly, sighed, took off his forehead protector to wipe it, then put it back on.
"Jōnin Shinnosuke. I'm just a genin. I can't take C-rank or higher missions. So…"
He looked at Shinnosuke with a very clear you know what I mean expression.
Shinnosuke desperately wanted to say I don't know. But three pairs of eyes were fixed on him—one of them belonging to an Uchiha girl rumored to be the gifted granddaughter of an elder. If word got out that he, a jōnin, was bullying a genin classmate, his reputation would be ruined.
In an instant, Shinnosuke forced an apologetic, awkward smile. Despite all his inner resentment, he still patted Baixing's shoulder—Baixing being a head taller—and said comfortingly,
"It's fine. I believe that one day you'll definitely become a chūnin and break the curse of failing the exam 'six times.'"
He deliberately stressed the words six times.
Hearing that, Baixing didn't feel pleased at all. Instead, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
"Then… thank you for your 'blessing.' I hope it comes true, just as you wish."
"Mm."
At last, Shinnosuke felt he'd regained a bit of face. In front of Baixing and the three genin, he used the Body Flicker Technique, something only jōnin could perform, to show off.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared on a rooftop outside the academy. As he admired his own flair for showing off, a sudden doubt surfaced.
"Huh?! As I wish? Maybe he misspoke after not seeing me for so long. Hahaha—looks like I crushed the last straw in his heart with sheer strength!"
Chuckling inwardly, Shinnosuke left without looking back.
...
The small grudges between old classmates ended quickly. Next came the three introductions.
"My name is Uchiha Mikoto. I'm eleven years old. I like training with shuriken, and my favorite food is Uncle Tuchao's grilled chicken meatballs from the clan stalls. My dream is to become a powerful Uchiha ninja—one day even surpassing the strongest Uchiha of the past, our ancestor, Uchiha Madara!"
It was clear that Mikoto was still brimming with youthful confidence.
Baixing nodded slightly, acknowledging her confidence—but didn't think too highly of it. This was a world ruled by bloodlines. Even with the Op-Op Fruit, his chakra reserves were limited, and he only had a single Fire Release affinity.
"Next."
"My name is Yakushi Nono. I'm ten years old. I like making small handmade flower arrangements. I want to become a medical ninja to help others. My dream is to open an orphanage, so more children without families can feel the warmth of a home while they're still young."
At this moment, Yakushi Nono revealed the gentle nature she was meant to have. Even Uchiha Mikoto, usually so proud and domineering, couldn't help but recall what her grandfather had once told her—about parents who died on missions.
"That's a great dream! This is youth!"
Might Duy couldn't help but burst out again with his rare display of individuality—something modern times would call Asperger's syndrome.
Baixing knew Duy had been holding that passion in for a long time. Compared to Might Guy, that future "invincible man," Duy was far more restrained now, especially since he had a wife.
"You're a bit… strange," Yakushi Nono said, not actually repulsed by his odd personality. Her dream had been acknowledged, after all.
"Your turn. Say something, Uncle."
"Hey! I'm only twenty-three—how am I an uncle?!"
"I'm ten, she's eleven. What do you think, Uncle?"
"How could this be…"
Might Duy drooped dejectedly, but Baixing could tell he was actually happy—his new teammates didn't reject him.
"My name is Might Duy! This year—oh, right, I already said it—twenty-three. I'm married, and my wife is pregnant too~ When she gives birth, I'll definitely invite you all to come see the baby!"
"Cough." Baixing cut in. "Talk about your future dream. That stuff can wait."
He could see how excited Duy was about becoming a father—but best not to get carried away. As far as Baixing remembered, Might Guy didn't have a mother growing up. There was a strong chance that Guy's mother died not long after giving birth.
"O-oh! Sorry, I got too excited, Baixing."
Duy scratched his head and continued. He explained that he was a taijutsu-type ninja, specializing in hand-to-hand combat. His dream was to develop a power that would allow someone who only knew taijutsu to still become a powerful ninja.
"Very good. Introductions complete."
"Starting tomorrow, we'll officially take on D-rank missions. Assemble at the front of the Hokage Building at nine in the morning."
"That's all."
With that, Baixing vaulted over the railing and landed on the academy field below in a clean, elegant motion. Perfect chakra control—jumping down several stories without a scratch. Hands in his pockets, money on him, he headed toward the village bank.
He still hadn't deposited today's three thousand ryō.
On the rooftop, Uchiha Mikoto was completely dumbfounded.
"Huh?! What happened to the survival exercise?!"
"As expected… a genin teacher really is despair itself," Yakushi Nono muttered, her eyes dull. She finally couldn't take it anymore and felt the urge to just close her eyes and jump off the rooftop.
Might Duy, who understood Baixing's strength, scratched his head.
"Well, um… Baixing's strength is actually about the same as mine. A survival exercise—he probably couldn't perfectly handle our combined attacks, so he decided to teach you what he's best at instead."
"You mean those thousand-plus D-rank missions?"
Uchiha Mikoto pressed a hand to her face, tugging at her pretty cheeks. "How hard can such low-level missions be?"
Might Duy laughed awkwardly, his gaze drifting to the Uchiha clan crest on Mikoto's clothing, envy welling up inside.
If only I were a genius ninja too… then my wife wouldn't have to suffer with me.
The Next Morning
Baixing didn't arrive late—on the contrary, he showed up nearly half an hour early at the front of the Hokage Building. After waiting twenty minutes, he glanced at his watch.
"Just a few minutes left. If someone's late, as the captain of Team Eleven, I should have the right to reduce their cut, right?"
When executing D-rank missions solo, an individual could only take 40%.
With a team, under the village policy of "training students through experience," that could rise to 60%—but in practice, the instructor had to split part of the reward with the students.
The instructor actually earned less than when working alone. On top of that, rookie genin were slow and could even fail missions—and failure sometimes meant compensation.
During the mission, the instructor had to accompany, observe, and guide the students…
All in all, compared to academy instructors—chūnin with fixed salaries and peaceful lives—being a team leader was not a popular job at all.
A few minutes later, Yakushi Nono and Might Duy arrived one after another with their packs. Baixing could tell Duy had woken up very early—there was sweat on his forehead and his green jumpsuit. He'd clearly squeezed in some training.
When it was one minute past nine and Uchiha Mikoto still hadn't shown up, Baixing's face darkened.
Judging by her state yesterday, she shouldn't be brazen enough to give her teacher the cold shoulder on the very first day.
"Let's go," Baixing said. "We'll head to the Uchiha clan district and take a look."
As the team leader, he needed to fully understand his student's situation—so he could report it properly to the higher-ups.