Chapter 19: C-Rank Mission
The next day.
9 a.m.
Seimei arrived on time in front of the Hokage Building.
Before he could get close, Ryoji 's voice rang out from a distance.
"Seimei, over here!"
Seimei looked in the direction of the voice and immediately spotted Ryoji waving his arms, with Mizutani Shizuko standing quietly beside him.
He quickened his pace and walked over.
"Seimei-kun."
Seeing him approach, Mizutani Shizuko greeted softly.
"Mm, Shizuko."
Seimei nodded in response.
"Seimei, why do you always arrive just on time? Can't you show up a little earlier?"
Ryoji looked at the unhurried Seimei and complained.
Seimei knew he meant no harm, so he casually replied, "You're just too early. The teacher said to meet at nine, and it's not even nine yet."
"Ugh."
Hearing this, Ryoji sighed helplessly and muttered, "Always so secretive. As soon as the mission ends, you leave. No one knows what you're even doing."
'What am I doing? Obviously cultivating.'
But that was something only he needed to know—there was no reason to explain.
So Seimei pretended not to hear and simply waited quietly for Furukawa to arrive.
Meanwhile, he subtly gathered a trace of chakra under his feet to increase his "Chakra Control" proficiency.
Though this method wasn't as efficient as tree climbing or water walking, it had the advantage of being usable anytime, anywhere, so the progress wasn't bad.
Seimei estimated that in another four or five days, he would reach lv3.
At that point, he'd be able to save 15% of his chakra.
However, going beyond that would be significantly more difficult.
Seimei had already vaguely sensed the limits of this proficiency-grinding method.
Once he reached lv3, simply gathering chakra at his soles might no longer yield proficiency gains—or even if it did, the efficiency would drop sharply.
After that, he'd likely need to find new training methods.
As for the target—
Seimei already had one in mind: the chakra threads used by the puppet masters of Sunagakure.
To condense chakra into threads that fine and control them with such dexterity was no easy feat. The chakra control required was definitely high.
If he could acquire the corresponding training method, it would surely boost his "Chakra Control" skill level.
But that was for the future.
For now, his primary focus remained on awakening the Sharingan.
······
At exactly nine o'clock.
A figure silently appeared.
It was none other than Furukawa.
"Sensei!" ×3
Upon seeing him, the trio immediately greeted in unison.
"Mm."
Furukawa nodded, his gaze briefly sweeping over Seimei's feet before he said, "Since everyone's here, let's head in."
With that, he led the way toward the Hokage Building.
Seimei and the others hurried to follow.
Passing through the doors, they entered a spacious hall.
The hall was lined with wooden counters, behind which sat various chūnin—staff responsible for reviewing and distributing missions.
Seimei's group approached one of the counters.
On the way, Ryoji asked listlessly, "Furukawa-sensei, what kind of mission do we have this time? Picking up trash? Babysitting?"
"No."
Furukawa didn't even look back. "This time, we're taking a C-rank mission."
"What?!"
Not only was Ryoji stunned, but even Seimei showed clear surprise.
In Konoha, newly graduated genin were normally required to complete at least eight D-rank missions before being allowed to take on a C-rank mission.
This was also the bare minimum to qualify for the chūnin exams.
Generally, D-rank missions involved no combat and were used to help rookie genin build experience—mostly trivial tasks.
But C-rank missions involved potential combat.
While they didn't usually require fighting enemy ninja, there was still a significant chance of encountering bandits, brigands, thugs, or organized crime.
So they were by no means safe.
Over the past half-month, they had only completed four missions, all of them D-rank—nowhere near the requirement for taking on a C-rank task.
'Looks like Konoha intends to accelerate the growth of our batch.'
Seimei came to this conclusion almost instantly.
And with that, the calm he had worked so hard to maintain was once again tinged with urgency.
Konoha hadn't sent them to the battlefield yet, but it also had no intention of raising them step by step.
If his guess was correct, it wouldn't be long before their group would be deployed to the frontlines.
"This is great. We can finally leave the village."
Seeing Ryoji still cheering beside him, Seimei said nothing.
He merely followed behind Furukawa in silence.
Though Ryoji was his teammate, there was no need to remind him of everything—he too needed to grow.
At the counter.
After a brief conversation with the staff, Furukawa received a scroll.
Unfurling it, the mission details were revealed:
Mission: Bandit Suppression
Details: A group of bandits has taken over Mt. Kuro and is seriously affecting the trade routes below. They must be eliminated swiftly.
Rank: C-Rank
Objective: Eliminate all bandits.
Reward: 75,000 ryō
'A direct combat mission... so it really is about honing actual combat ability.'
Reading the scroll, Seimei glanced at Furukawa, silently pondering.
From the nature of the survival test, it was already clear—unlike teachers who valued character and moral lessons, Furukawa clearly prioritized real strength.
Among C-rank missions, direct combat ones were far more dangerous than escort missions.
The former almost guaranteed a fight, whereas the latter could be completed peacefully if the enemy backed down after seeing shinobi escorts.
Bandits and thugs were still human—they feared death. When faced with trained shinobi, they might back off without confrontation.
In such cases, rookie genin would only endure psychological stress rather than physical combat.
Combat missions, on the other hand, were real battles. Blood would be shed.
Logically, even C-rank missions should start with the easier ones. But Furukawa had no such plan—he went straight for the hardest.
This naturally placed immense pressure on the genin.
Sure enough, after reading the mission, the once-excited Ryoji fell silent. Mizutani Shizuko's face turned pale.
After all, they were still just ten-year-old children.
Even after learning all sorts of lethal techniques at the academy, when it came to actually killing someone, hesitation was inevitable.
Even Seimei, an adult, couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion at what lay ahead.
Raised in a peaceful era, Seimei instinctively respected life.
Even though he had inherited his predecessor's memories, his deeply ingrained values couldn't be easily erased.
Still, he knew one thing—this world didn't allow weakness.
In the shinobi world, where life was as cheap as grass, failing to break through that psychological wall meant only death awaited.
To survive, others would have to die in his place.
Besides, these were bandits—not innocents. Killing them was a form of justice. There was no need to bear unnecessary guilt.
With that thought, Seimei took a deep breath and slowly calmed himself.
Seeing the three of them silent, Furukawa didn't offer any comforting words. He only instructed, "Go back and prepare your gear. Meet at the village gate at ten tomorrow. Don't be late."
With that, he vanished from the hall in a blur.
Staring at the spot where Furukawa disappeared, Seimei turned toward his bewildered teammates.
Without offering any words of comfort, he simply said, "I'm heading off," then turned and walked away.
Watching Seimei's retreating back, Ryoji lifted his hand slightly, wanting to say something—but in the end, the words never left his lips.
(End of Chapter)
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