Hokage Tower.
The crystal ball technique—Clairvoyance—used by Sarutobi Hiruzen could generally only observe ordinary civilian areas. Places like clan districts were usually protected by sensory ninja; such surveillance would be noticed immediately. Under normal circumstances, blatant "peeping" was impossible.
But there were exceptions.
For example—when the head of the Uchiha clan gave permission.
A middle-aged man with short black spiky hair, dressed in a black kimono-style robe, watched the scenes inside the crystal ball and nodded slightly.
"Third Hokage, this genin… is anything but simple."
"I've always seen his talent and effort," Hiruzen replied calmly. "It's just… a pity."
"Oh?"
The middle-aged man, who bore a striking resemblance to Uchiha Fugaku, shifted his gaze from the crystal ball and looked at Hiruzen. "What's pitiful about it?"
Hiruzen's eyes were deep.
"This child's talent is never used on the 'proper' path, and his ambitions are… rather narrow."
He let out a long breath of stale smoke and continued,
"If an ordinary genin possessed such talent and professional discipline, he would've become an outstanding jōnin long ago."
"I don't necessarily agree," the Uchiha clan head said thoughtfully.
"Perhaps it's precisely because of that fearless mentality that he could rely on sheer perseverance to independently complete over a thousand D-rank missions."
"Clan Head Yueye," Hiruzen said, "today's matter was rather embarrassing. But personally, I believe Baixing handled it correctly. So… what do you think?"
"Two months."
Uchiha Yueye raised two fingers.
"I'll only allow Mikoto to perform D-rank missions under him for two months. After she's promoted to chūnin, I'll have her return to the Uchiha to reinforce the Police Force."
Hiruzen had no objections. From the start, Mikoto was only ever a temporary placement. With her status and talent, no matter who led her, she would inevitably return to the Police Force.
"After all," Yueye added, "having a genin command a chūnin wouldn't be appropriate either."
After the Uchiha clan head left, a trace of melancholy surfaced in Hiruzen's heart.
Day One.
D-rank mission: Cleaning trash at a waterfall area outside the village.
Completed.
Baixing thoroughly enjoyed the outsourced-labor, laid-back experience of "lying flat and earning money." Two of them were elite graduates, and one had been a genin for many years—naturally, the work went smoothly.
"You still can't walk on water?"
On the way back to the Mission Office to submit the task, Baixing asked Might Duy, who had tried and promptly fallen into the river.
If not for Uchiha Mikoto throwing a kunai in time and pinning it to the riverbank wall—allowing Duy to grab it—he might've been swept downstream.
"Uh… no. Actually, I'm not very good at tree climbing either," Duy admitted awkwardly.
"Teammates from previous squads told me the trick, but I just never quite got it."
"Tree climbing is that basic, and you still can't do it?"
Uchiha Mikoto, who had flawlessly walked on water, lifted her delicate chin proudly.
"I'll teach you tonight! The price is—letting me stay at your place!"
She had completely fallen out with her grandfather and couldn't go home right now.
"My place is really small…" Duy said softly. "And it's not inside the village."
"..."
Mikoto's red lips parted in shock as she asked a completely unnecessary question,
"There are ninja who don't live inside the village?"
"There are," Baixing and Yakushi Nono answered in unison.
They exchanged a glance, and Baixing continued,
"I once lived in a tiny storage room by the outer village wall. It had nothing. Even so, it cost two thousand ryō a month. If you need space for two people and basic amenities, rent inside the village isn't cheap."
"...That's outrageous," Yakushi Nono muttered.
She had always thought her family was poor—just a modest two-bedroom apartment in the central district, bought outright, plus a few hundred thousand ryō left behind by her parents.
"Hehehe. That's why I'm really happy to team up with you guys and do missions together!"
Might Duy gave a thumbs-up, secretly planning to buy some lamb meat for his wife that night to help with her nutrition.
"Then… um, Teacher Baixing," Mikoto's face flushed slightly, revealing her true motive,
"Are you still living in that storage room?"
Before Baixing could answer, Yakushi Nono raised her hand.
"My place—my place has an empty room. You can stay with me."
"Uh… that's not very appropriate, is it?"
The moment Nono spoke, Mikoto's expression instantly turned into that of a dead fish.
"It's fine!" Yakushi Nono nodded seriously.
"Alright, we'll go with that for now," Baixing said.
"We'll do a few more D-rank missions. I'll observe the issues you show during missions and then give targeted guidance."
"Huh? You can actually tell what problems we have?" Yakushi Nono asked in surprise.
"Tch."
Although tempted by Baixing's looks, Mikoto truly didn't believe he could teach her much in terms of strength.
Baixing calmly analyzed what he had observed during the mission.
"Duy. Your chakra control is terrible. You graduated over ten years ago, yet you still can't even climb trees."
"The word basic hit Duy a little hard, and he muttered under his breath."
"Nono, your chakra control is quite good, but still slightly worse than Mikoto's. You're not proficient with water-walking yet. Go back and practice more—this stuff is fundamental."
Then Baixing looked straight at Mikoto, who was at that age of arrogant self-confidence.
"When Duy fell into the water, why did you throw a kunai? Can you guarantee he would catch it perfectly? Not everyone is a genius like you."
Duy specialized in taijutsu and had some mission experience. His body reacted instinctively—he grabbed the kunai handle and used the momentum to pull himself ashore.
A normal genin might've panicked, been swept away by the current, or even injured their neck or body by colliding with the kunai.
Baixing explained everything calmly. Mikoto, clearly unconvinced at first, found herself unable to argue back.
At the Mission Office, Baixing submitted the scroll. The chūnin clerk noticed that he had successfully led three students, and that the atmosphere seemed fairly harmonious—aside from the Uchiha girl whose eyes were a bit red, as if she'd cried.
"No issues."
After a few minutes of verification, the inspecting chūnin reported back.
"Well done. Reward: ten thousand ryō… here's six thousand. Count it."
"No need."
Baixing could tell at a glance—six thousand.
He took out three bills and handed one to each of them.
"This is today's pay. Good work."
Might Duy wiped sweat from his forehead and accepted it happily. Mikoto accepted with a pout, clearly displeased—this amount wasn't even enough for a proper meal in her eyes. Yakushi Nono, however, was overjoyed. Holding her first-ever mission pay, she silently prayed to her parents in heaven.
Dad, Mom—I've grown up. I can earn my own money now.
All three carried a faint stench of garbage pit. Baixing pinched his nose. Though he was clean and wanted to treat them to a simple meal, he decided to put it off until tomorrow.
"Rest tomorrow. You worked hard today."
"And if you're free tomorrow, I can treat you all to a simple meal—"
"Going!"
Mikoto bared her teeth, fully intending to eat this rich bastard—who took the biggest cut and freeloaded—their fill.
"Mm! I'll go too!" Yakushi Nono nodded enthusiastically.
Might Duy scratched his head, a little embarrassed as he put away the thousand ryō.
"Then… I'll trouble you as well, Baixing."
"No problem."
After escorting the three away from the Hokage Tower to a nearby street, Baixing said he had something to take care of and parted ways. He then returned to the Hokage Tower and knocked on the door of the Third Hokage's office.
"Come in."
Regarding Uchiha Mikoto, Hiruzen initially pretended ignorance. But after Baixing reported everything truthfully, the Hokage explained that he had already received the Uchiha clan head's consent—Mikoto could remain with the team for roughly two months of D-rank missions.
Hiruzen also subtly hinted once more that Baixing was fully qualified to exchange permission for one-time C-rank ninjutsu scrolls at the Mission Office—and even certain B-rank scrolls could be opened to him.
Baixing, however, said his money was earmarked for buying a house in the village. He already had his eye on a particular location.
This left Hiruzen feeling somewhat regretful.
After all, a subordinate who could get things done, handle problems independently, and clean up after himself—yet still held only the rank of genin—
was simply far too great a waste.