When he first entered the game, the beginner gift pack he received randomly granted him the Surgery Devil Fruit, one that was not afraid of seawater. Now there was still one task remaining—the beginner mission: buy a house.
Requirement: At least 50 square meters, inside Konoha Village.
What kind of place was Konoha Village?
Across the entire Land of Fire, it was a place where land was worth its weight in gold. Its safety didn't even need to be mentioned. Over the years, even when Uchiha Madara attacked, the Hokage fought him outside the village rather than allowing the battle to reach the inside.
It could be said that land in Konoha was only slightly less valuable than land in the capital of the Land of Fire.
A house without land ownership—only permanent residence rights—even in the more remote parts of the village, cost 60,000 ryo per square meter.
Meanwhile, the apartment Bai Xing had his eye on, located closer to the middle of the village, cost around 80,000 ryo per square meter.
His savings of over four million ryo were just enough to buy a 50-square-meter single-person apartment.
As Bai Xing walked toward the Ninja Academy, he thought about housing prices while wondering whether selling the house later would cause the reward to be reclaimed.
But after thinking carefully, he decided against it.
If he sold the house and the reward disappeared without the mission resetting, that would be a huge loss.
—The so-called permanent residence rights did not include compensation for destruction caused by war or natural disasters. If a house was destroyed by such events, the village would not provide any compensation.
In other words, imagine working hard for half your life, finally buying a shop or house in Konoha, finishing repayment of the bank loan…
And then one day some giant "pet" came along and smashed the place to pieces.
The village wouldn't reimburse you for anything.
What the hell kind of system was that?
At last, Bai Xing arrived at the doorway of Grade Five Class A.
Bang.
The door opened.
Inside the classroom, Uchiha Mikoto had already begun dozing off. Yakushi Nono was still awake, but there was a dangerous look in her eyes, the kind of expression honest people developed right before snapping.
Meanwhile, Might Dai saw Bai Xing and immediately raised his hand to greet him.
"Bai Xing, you're here!"
"Mm, I'm here." Bai Xing nodded in response.
His voice woke Mikoto from her half-asleep state.
She wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and was just about to unleash her noble-lady temper—
Then justice in the form of good looks struck straight into her black eyes.
Ah—so dazzling… what is this radiant light…?!
His body, honed through long training, had nearly perfect muscle lines. Beneath the slightly sweat-damp shirt and shorts, one could glimpse exactly the kind of scenery women liked to see.
And the youthful face above it was even more delicate and refined.
Uchiha Mikoto's eyes sparkled dreamily.
If Yakushi Nono hadn't spoken up, Mikoto might already have imagined the entire sequence—
Holding hands as teacher and student…
Entering the Uchiha clan compound…
Her home…
Their wedding night…
Spending the night together.
"You're Bai Xing? You sure took your time," Yakushi Nono said sharply.
"Other teachers finished picking up their students hours ago, and you only just wandered over now. Just as expected of a Genin."
Yakushi Nono wasn't some lovestruck girl. As an orphan, she cared far more about survival and her future prospects. A good teacher could guarantee both.
Bai Xing's expression turned slightly serious, though his eyes carried a faint helpless smile—half a smile that didn't quite reach the eyes.
It didn't diminish his handsomeness at all.
"The teacher ran into a small matter and was delayed."
"I knew it. Bai Xing must have run into some trouble," Might Dai quickly spoke up in his defense.
He didn't want his newly formed team to fall apart immediately.
But the moment he turned his head, cold sweat formed on his back.
A darkened gaze from a certain girl was staring straight at him like an abyss.
"You seem… pretty familiar with this Bai Xing."
"Ahem… we've met a few times. Discussed training before."
"Alright," Bai Xing interrupted the conversation.
This wasn't a good place to talk.
He pointed upward at the ceiling.
"Let's go to the rooftop. We'll talk properly there."
Yakushi Nono still wore a sour expression and wanted to complain further.
But suddenly she realized something.
The person who should have been the most furious—Uchiha Mikoto—hadn't said a word.
Turning her head, she saw Mikoto staring blankly, the drool at the corner of her mouth almost dripping onto the desk.
Yakushi Nono covered her face.
The front line had collapsed.
Without Mikoto leading the protest, how could she—a mere orphan from a Chunin family—dare oppose the Hokage's arrangements?
Rooftop of the Teaching Building
Pushing open the rooftop stairway door, Bai Xing walked in front.
Behind him followed a strange group: one lovestruck girl, one sulking girl, and one awkward young man.
The rooftop environment was peaceful.
Flowers and green plants lined both sides of the walkway, while butterflies and insects fluttered cheerfully around them.
"Yo, Bai Xing. Long time no see."
At the rooftop railing, a handsome black-haired young man was halfway through an enthusiastic speech. Sitting on the steps listening were three people—the famous Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
"Shinnosuke. Long time no see," Bai Xing replied.
He hadn't expected to meet a former classmate here.
Six years had passed. That guy had entered the academy at four, graduated at ten, and was now already a Jonin.
Meanwhile, he…
"Well, I've pretty much finished explaining things to Team Two," Sarutobi Shinnosuke said. "I'll leave this spot to you."
"Everyone, although this is my first time being a team instructor, you can rest assured. Your teacher will guide you well."
"Tomorrow morning, meet me at Training Ground 76. We'll conduct a real combat survival exercise."
"Make sure to get some rest tonight."
"That's all."
"Yes!" ×3
Shinnosuke stopped bragging about the S-rank and A-rank missions he had completed and quickly wrapped up his speech.
Below him, Nara Yu with short black hair, Yamanaka Tai'er with short blond hair, and Akimichi Yumi with her dark red bun nodded in response.
Their eyes curiously examined the approaching instructor of Team Eleven—Bai Xing.
"Yu… he's so handsome…" Akimichi Yumi whispered into Nara Yu's ear.
Nara Yu sighed helplessly.
In the ninja world, being handsome didn't exactly fill your stomach.
Still…
He had to admit it.
Compared to their teacher Sarutobi Shinnosuke's handsome charm, Bai Xing looked like a face that the goddess Nuwa had spent three days and nights carefully sculpting.
"Alright, let's go," Nara Yu said.
"We should visit the ninja tool shop and prepare equipment for tomorrow's survival exercise."
Yamanaka Tai'er nodded and said he needed to stop by home to grab his money pouch first.
But halfway there, they noticed something.
Akimichi Yumi had been completely captivated by Bai Xing's beauty, standing there frozen.
Nara Yu covered his face while Tai'er hurriedly grabbed her and dragged her away, barely avoiding an embarrassing scene.
Watching the whole situation unfold, Sarutobi Shinnosuke maintained a friendly smile on the surface.
Inside, however, he was extremely annoyed.
Hey! I'm handsome too, you know!
Isn't it just a slightly better-looking face?!
Seeing that Shinnosuke hadn't left, Bai Xing remained silent.
He walked over to the empty space beside Shinnosuke and looked toward the three people sitting on the steps: Uchiha Mikoto, Yakushi Nono, and Might Dai.
"Alright," he said.
"Let's start with introductions."
"Everyone can talk about your dreams, what you want to do in the future, or even your favorite foods."
"Shouldn't the teacher introduce himself first?" Yakushi Nono asked with a polite smile.
Uchiha Mikoto nodded eagerly.
Might Dai scratched his cheek awkwardly.
Just as Bai Xing was about to speak—
Sarutobi Shinnosuke suddenly stepped forward and introduced him instead.