After the meal, joyful moments eventually came to an end.
These days filled with laughter and conversation would one day become precious memories.
Bai Xing glanced at the game system interface.
Now only one main quest remained.
—Survive until the end of Shippuden.
While washing the last few white plates, Bai Xing claimed the reward from the beginner mission.
[Random reward obtained]
[Saiyan Physique] (Claimed)
[All beginner benefits have been distributed. Player may now proceed freely.]
The moment he received the reward, Bai Xing felt his body undergo a mutation.
His calm blood suddenly grew hot and restless, even carrying a faint stabbing sensation.
Crack.
While holding a white cloth and wiping a plate, he accidentally applied too much force—
—and crushed the plate in his hands.
Bai Xing inhaled sharply.
Luckily he hadn't triggered the reward while reading… certain adult items. Otherwise—
Well.
Fortunately, nothing terrible happened.
He didn't dare walk too forcefully or lie down on the sofa.
Instead, at around eight or nine in the evening, he went outside to "take a walk" and "digest" the reward.
Training Ground
After leaving the village and arriving at a public training ground, Bai Xing did a simple push-up—
—and accidentally pressed several handprints into the ground.
Afraid someone might notice, he quickly added a bit of chakra to mask the marks and prevent leaving obvious "fingerprints."
After two hours of intense exercise, Bai Xing not only didn't feel tired—
He felt completely refreshed.
So this is the body of a Saiyan?!
Bai Xing finally managed to adapt to the sudden surge of physical strength.
Just as he was about to return home to rest, he thought of something.
He immediately walked to a large tree and attached chakra to the soles of his feet.
Crack… crack…
The ground beneath him fractured slightly.
His chakra was now far stronger and harder to control, causing small cracks to spread across the surface.
Just as he suspected.
After gaining the Saiyan physique, the amount of chakra he could refine had increased, and the quality of it had also improved.
His previous level of control was no longer sufficient.
He had to adapt to this new power.
Otherwise, when using chakra during tomorrow's mission—
He might expose himself.
The Next Morning
Early the next morning.
At the Hokage Tower, Uchiha Mikoto and Yakushi Nono greeted the arriving Might Dai.
"Uncle Dai, you're wearing that outfit again. After seeing it so many days in a row, I'm starting to get tired of it," Mikoto laughed.
For a proud Uchiha, that was practically a friendly joke.
"Haha!"
"This is the equipment of youth! I will never take it off!"
Dai gave a thumbs-up and flashed his bright white teeth.
"But Teacher Bai Xing is late for the first time," Nono said.
"Did he forget to set his alarm after moving to the new house?"
A mischievous look flashed in her eyes. Her hands were already itching to prank him.
Just as the three of them were discussing whether to go to his house and find him—
Bai Xing appeared at the entrance of the Hokage Tower, dragging a tired body.
"Good morning, everyone."
"Teacher Bai Xing, you're really late today," Mikoto teased.
"We almost went to your house to check your room—maybe to see if you bought some suspicious adult items."
Bai Xing rolled his eyes.
Are you my mom?!
I'm eighteen now! In my previous life I was twenty-eight! Combined together I'm basically a fifty-year-old old man!
He ignored Mikoto's comment.
His eyes looked tired, with faint dark circles beneath them.
Nono noticed this detail carefully but didn't mention it.
She simply followed behind Bai Xing and Mikoto as they walked into the Hokage Tower, while the carefree Dai followed along without noticing anything.
One Month Later
Nearly a month had passed since the team formed.
After completing many D-rank missions, Mikoto and Nono felt like they could practically memorize which household's cat or dog lived where in the village.
Meanwhile, Might Dai remained energetic and passionate as ever.
"Teacher, can we skip missions tomorrow?"
Mikoto said impatiently.
"Even if we don't do C-rank missions, shouldn't you at least start teaching us training methods?"
Although she acknowledged Bai Xing's experience as a veteran of D-rank missions, endlessly doing them was becoming unbearable.
But Bai Xing didn't even hear her.
He was calculating his savings.
Previously he had 4.91 million ryō.
Now he only had about 500,000 ryō left.
Retiring peacefully is still difficult…
"Teacher! Are you even listening to us?" Nono tugged on his sleeve, snapping him back to reality.
Only then did Bai Xing notice that he had already walked past their homes while escorting them back.
"The team coordination is about good enough now."
"Tomorrow we'll conduct a practical survival exercise."
"I'll inform Dai. Time: 10 a.m., Public Training Ground No.118."
"That's all."
He waved casually and walked toward Dai's house.
Behind him, Mikoto and Nono stared with expressions as if they had just seen a monster.
Is this really the same lazy teacher who made us grind D-rank missions every day?!
Outside Dai's Building
Bai Xing paced back and forth below Dai's apartment building, deep in thought.
He really didn't want to be promoted to chūnin.
But he needed a convincing excuse.
Otherwise, he would eventually be promoted—and become a proper village combat ninja, fighting wherever the Hokage pointed.
On the second floor, Dai's wife Rin had already noticed him.
She tapped Dai on the shoulder and suggested that Bai Xing seemed troubled.
As his student, teammate, and friend, Dai couldn't just ignore that.
After thinking for a long time, Dai made a decision.
He gathered half of his savings—including his secret stash.
In total, it was about 30,000 ryō in scattered bills.
He stuffed it into an envelope and ran downstairs.
"Bai Xing!"
Dai hurried down the stairs, breathing heavily and holding the envelope.
"Dai, I actually came to tell you something," Bai Xing said.
"Tomorrow—"
"Say no more! I understand!"
Dai slapped Bai Xing on the shoulder enthusiastically and shoved the envelope into his arms.
"You're getting married tomorrow, right?! That was fast!"
"When did you secretly get a girlfriend?!"
"This money isn't much, but please accept it as my wedding gift!"
Behind Bai Xing, Mikoto and Nono froze in horror.
They spent every day doing missions with him.
Since Bai Xing couldn't even use Shadow Clones, how could he possibly have time to secretly date someone?!
Bai Xing sighed.
He grabbed Dai's hand and removed it from his shoulder.
Dai froze slightly.
Before, Bai Xing hadn't seemed this strong.
Now it felt like he had casually pushed his hand away with overwhelming strength.
"I'm not getting married."
"I'm single."
"I came to inform you."
"Tomorrow at 10 a.m., go to Public Training Ground No.118."
"We're conducting Team Eleven's practical survival exercise."