Baixing really wanted to refuse, but if he wanted to become a qualified chunin and secure eligibility to participate in the Chunin Exams every year, he had to complete at least one mission per month—even if it was just a D-rank.
But lately, their days had been nothing but training, slacking off, lying around playing cards or board games, chatting, wandering the streets… plus a married man who occasionally ditched the two of them to go keep his wife and kid company.
As a result, halfway through June, they hadn't completed a single mission.
Konoha Mission Office
First Squad and Second Squad—three people each—fell quiet, standing in the middle of the long, curved wooden counter as they waited for Nara Yōsuke to assign missions.
"Actually,"
"There's a C-rank mission that I think would be perfect for you to complete together."
"Finally! No more D-rank chores while Shinnosuke-sensei's away!"
Akimichi Yumi kicked her heel back in excitement, striking a girlish pose as she raised her hand.
Hearing that, Nara Hanene nodded as well, folding his arms.
"I still can't take the Chunin Exams, and lately my dad keeps nagging me, comparing me to Cousin Shikaku. It's getting annoying."
"Doing some higher-level missions wouldn't be bad."
Yamanaka Taiji shot an irritated glance at Baixing's calm, dead-fish expression.
"Hmph."
"Ahem. Looks like Second Squad has no objections," Yōsuke said, then turned to First Squad.
"What about you three?"
Might Guy, Baixing: "..."
Guy's thoughts: Is it really a C-rank mission?
Baixing's thoughts: I'm scared—can those 'C-rank-on-the-surface-but-actually-high-risk' missions stay far away from me?!
Nawaki rubbed his chin.
"What's the content?"
Yōsuke checked the scroll.
"Well… it's related to setting up the Chunin Exam venue."
"You know how the village's ninja manpower is right now…"
"Sigh—" ×2
Nawaki's mouth twitched violently.
"That's it?"
"Mm. That's it," Yōsuke replied.
"Since most of the examinees this time are from the three clans newly integrated into Konoha—"
"So we're counting on you."
"The reward is thirty thousand ryō…"
All in all, after half a month of living under the label of unemployed drifters, First Squad finally managed to shake it off.
The Next Morning
First Squad and Second Squad arrived together at one of the exam locations: the Conference Building.
Standing before them was a young chunin Baixing had seen many times before—one of the regular proctors responsible for exam oversight each year.
The Konoha chunin held a box in his arms. Inside were large quantities of talismans covered in complex characters, along with an internal map of the conference building. He handed them to Baixing.
"These are the barrier tags needed to maintain the genjutsu for the first exam in a few days. Paste them according to the map."
"And don't forget to clean Room 404."
"That's your work for today. There'll be new arrangements tomorrow."
Baixing: "..."
This really was an easy task—so easy he would've believed it was a D-rank.
Though tomorrow's work would indeed have genuine C-rank difficulty.
After finishing the day's tasks, early the next morning both squads split into two teams and headed to the Forest of Death training grounds to conduct surveys—confirming the distribution of insects, plants, and wild animals inside.
On the third morning, they rechecked the remaining areas they hadn't finished surveying the day before, while also avoiding combat with insects and beasts.
If any combat occurred, it had to be recorded in the report.
After all, if they killed everything—what would the Chunin Exam candidates fight?
Baixing: "..."
Running into a real C-rank mission—it took some getting used to.
That evening, after organizing the intel and submitting it to Nara Yōsuke, he praised Baixing's squad and First Squad alike, then smoothly hinted that Baixing could absolutely go talk to the Hokage about promotion to chunin.
Baixing blinked—then vanished from the office with his share of the reward in hand, leaving behind stunned faces and the sound of the mission office door opening and closing.
Nara Yōsuke: "..."
Is becoming a chunin really that painful for you?!
After experiencing one proper C-rank mission, First Squad returned once again to their slacking trajectory—until the Chunin Exams officially began, when they finally returned to doing D-rank missions.
Meanwhile…
On the front lines of the Fire–Rain battlefield,
Atop a mountain peak in the Land of Rain known as Mist Valley—
This tower and camp, originally used by Konoha as a supply depot and midline observation post, had come under attack by Hanzo's Salamander summon.
Light-purple poisonous mist poured from the mouth of the salamander—its body as large as a modern giant salamander, towering higher than the camp walls.
"It's Hanzo of the Salamander, leader of Amegakure!! Watch out for the poison gas!!"
"Get your gas masks!!"
"Anyone with antidotes, use them now!!"
Inside the camp, sixty to seventy Konoha ninja scrambled for the storeroom—some putting on gas masks, others injecting antidotes in advance.
Ahead of the camp, besides Hanzo himself, stood Rain ninja forces. As far as the eye could see, corpses littered the ground.
Faced with this scene, Orochimaru—who had only recently tasted victory—could do nothing but abandon the position and order a retreat, while releasing large numbers of poisonous snakes to hide underground and wait for an opportunity.
On the other side, the Rain forces dared not pursue. Once the salamander finished releasing poison, it completely stopped.
Moments later—
Standing atop the salamander, Hanzo swept his gaze across the Konoha ninja who hadn't escaped in time.
"Kill them."
"This is war."
"So-called bonds, friendship, and the will to protect one's village—"
"In the face of death, they all become unexpectedly ugly."
"Yes!" ×N
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
In the valley forest and the open camp outside, the sounds of Rain ninja echoed.
One by one, Rain ninja wearing gas masks leapt down from the trees, beginning to clean up the battlefield.
Slash!
A man wearing a Rain forehead protector revealed a bloodthirsty expression beneath his mask as his kunai pierced the throat of a Konoha ninja still barely breathing, paralyzed by poison.
"Your companions…"
"Abandoned you."
The Konoha ninja seemed to want to say something—but swallowed his last breath instead.
The sky resumed the light rain that had only just stopped, drizzle pattering down.
As the Rain ninja methodically searched the camp, Orochimaru's rear-guard forces hidden in the forest received reinforcements—
The Uchiha clan.
"Orochimaru. You're really just going to abandon Konoha's ninja like that?"
Uchiha Kiyoma frowned.
Leading the reinforcements was none other than Uchiha Kiyoma himself, with over a dozen Uchiha ninja.
Among them were Uchiha Mikoto, currently a Special Jōnin, and Uchiha Kaede, recently promoted to chunin through battlefield merit.
The once-lively and gentle Mikoto was gone—only a cold expression remained.
Only by becoming like this could she truly bring herself to kill the enemy.
Kaede was the same.
Orochimaru glanced at the Uchiha squad, surprised they were willing to send two young prodigies as reinforcements, and let out a low, eerie chuckle.
"Battlefields change in an instant."
"I merely did what had to be done."
"The frontline collapsed too quickly. Neither my scouting team nor my surveillance measures sent back any warning before they reached us."
"As expected of Hanzo of the Salamander."
"And what does that have to do with abandoning your comrades?"
Kiyoma's face darkened as he lowered his voice.
"Don't change the subject, Orochimaru."
Orochimaru shot him a cold glance.
"Jōnin Kiyoma."
"My abilities are limited. I truly couldn't save a few comrades who failed to react in time while also preserving the main force."
As screams echoed intermittently from the camp, Orochimaru sighed inwardly—I can barely protect myself, let alone others.
"The moment one becomes a chunin—"
"They inherit the Will of Fire from those before them, and must be prepared to sacrifice themselves for the village and their comrades…"
"Utter nonsense!" Kiyoma snapped.
"If you can't even protect your family and comrades, then what kind of village is that?!"
Orochimaru looked at him with curiosity—Kiyoma seemed different than before.
"I simply did my best."
"Besides, the salamander's poison—at my current level, I can only suppress it, not cure it."
"Bringing them along would not have spared them from death."
With that, Orochimaru formed a seal with one hand.
"Ninpō: Earth Release – Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
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