The M – Hokage Building

  “Haah~”

  Li out a yawn, looking both groggy and strangely energized. “Good m.”

  The previous afternoon and evening had been ed by his obsession with developing his Transformation Jutsu. He had goo bed at 1:30 a.m. but spent hours tossing and turning, his head full of ideas. Eventually, he got back up to experiment further, only falling asleep as daroached.

  Sometimes, the thrill of growing stronger, even just a little, was intoxig.

  “Good m,” came the replies from Iris and Ami.

  With a soft swish, Nara Ensui appeared out of nowhere, smiling as he said, “Looks like you three had a good rest.”

  …Iris and Ami exged gnces before discreetly looking at Link, who was stifling another yawn. They wisely chose not to ent.

  The group of four ehe mission assig office. Early m eak time fenin teams led by jonin to line up for new missions. Despite the bustling atmosphere, the ninja maintained orderly silence, with only a few exceptions.

  It wasn’t long before Team Five reached the front. Nara Ensui greeted the Third Hokage respectfully, saying, “Lord Third, may we have a D-rank mission, please?”

  The three genin g each other but said nothing, holding back their disappoi.

  “Very well,” the Third Hokage said with a kind smile. His gaze lingered on Link, and he gave the young ninja an especially warm look before seleg a mission slip. Handing it over, he said, “Here you go.”

  Nara Ensui accepted the slip aeam Five out of the office. The tallest of the group, Ami (surprising, isn’t it?), caught sight of the missioails: "Babysit a Mert's Child."

  While D-rank missions typically included muasks like pig up trash, finding lost pets, or helping with farming, this o especially ckluster. They had just successfully pleted a k mission, after all.

  And children? The worst.

  Ami grumbled internally, vely fetting that she herself was still a child.

  Outside the building, Nara Ensui briefed the team oask.

  “Huh?” Iris said, his disappoi evident. “Why, Sensei? We just did a great job on a k mission!”

  Good point, Iris! Ami silently cheered him on.

  Probably because you two made so many mistakes, Link thought to himself, immediately uanding the reason.

  The ninja mission ranking system wasn’t just about proteg the ninja themselves; it was also about maintaining the vilge's reputation. Assigning ill-prepared genin to higher-ranked missions could lead to failure, damaging Konoha's credibility.

  While having a jonin supervise lower-raeams provided a safety , relying on that safety could breed pcy. It was a form of coddling that could foster arrogand overfidely what seemed to be happening with Iris and Ami.

  Both teammates were clearly dismissive of D-rank missions and eager to prove themselves with more challenging k assigs.

  But a jonin couldn’t py babysitter forever. At some point, Team Five would disband, and when faced with real danger, regret would e too te.

  This suppression wasn’t punishment; it rote.

  Nara Ensui g Link, whose calm demeanht a small smile to the jonin’s face. Pulling out his notebook, Ensui tore off two pages and hahem to Iris and Ami.

  The pages detailed mistakes the three—no, two—had made during their ret mission in the Forest of Death. They included things Link had already covered in his lessons and issues even he hadn’t noticed.

  Small habits might seem trivial, but for ordinary ninja, even minor errors could prove fatal in close bat.

  Iris and Ami, who had initially dismissed their sensei’s s, grew silent as they read. Accepting the hey resighemselves to another D-rank mission and the additional training they clearly needed.

  No notes for me?

  Link looked up at his sensei, notig the amused smile on his face.

  Suddenly, it clicked.

  This wasn’t —it reparation. Ensui was grooming him to think and act like a in, pushing him to analyze their missions indepely and improve through self-refle.

  Nara Ensui gave him a slight nod before addressing the team. “All right, let’s get started, everyone.”

  For his less experienced subordinates, he uidand patience. For those with ambition, he provided opportuo grow.

  This is the wisdom of a true jonin.

  …

  Time Passed Quickly

  Two months flew by in the blink of an eye, during which Team Five pleted five more D-rank missions: babysitting a mert’s child, assisting with farming three times, and searg for a lost pet cat.

  Since spring pnting season began in April, the vilge received a flood of farmied requests. Team Five spent much of this time w in the fields, practically transf int oxen.

  Literal beasts of burden!

  At least all three had strength surpassing that of average adults, easily handling tasks requiring immense physical effort. If this were Link’s previous life, he might have been hailed as a "Farm Sage."

  Despite the monotony, the team also devoted a good amount of time to training. Slowly but surely, Iris and Ami became mrouheir initial arrogance, born from relying on Ensui’s safety and Link’s silence, dissipated. They focused on improving their fuals.

  Link, for his part, had no pints. He never expected to bee a in ht. With over a year left before the Konoha Crush, there was still plenty of time.

  Even if the Third Hokage and Ensui wao promote him, pleting seven D-rank and one k mission wouldn’t suffice. Without exceptional dispys of power, more experiend qualifications would be necessary.

  Meanwhile, Link’s development of the Transformation Jutsu progressed signifitly. He had even begun to formute a new battle strategy tailored to his evolving abilities.

  But just as things seemed to be heading in a positive dire, an afternoon in mid-June brought an ued development.

  Nara Ensui approached Link privately and posed a question: