Naruto: As a genin, I just want to live a normal life.

Page 44

"Two of them are Jonin."

"But we found nothing at the nearest outpost, No. 2. I suspect there was an undercover agent there."

"But unfortunately, during the investigation, we encountered ninjas from Uzushiogakure."

"Then, didn't you get an answer from them?" Bai Xing asked, puzzled.

Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a breath of turbid air and shook his head slightly: "It's a pity. The report stated that there were ninjas in the squad who had a good relationship with the No. 2 outpost."

"so......"

"You've made your move, haven't you?" Bai Xing's eyes flickered.

"Hmm." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded helplessly, glancing at the vortex in Shirahoshi's headband, seemingly reminiscing, but quickly regaining his composure, he said softly:

"I cannot blame them."

"Like you, Shirahoshi, they are all victims of war."

"Although you failed this mission, it will not be recorded in your B-level mission file. Instead, it will be recorded as S-level, so that it will not affect your mission record."

Each rank has a corresponding success rate. For example, if the success rate of rank B is 0%, other ninjas will be short of people for rank B missions, or the next Hokage will be appointed, and ninjas with high success rates will be prioritized to do the missions.

—Shirahoshi's inner monologue: No way!

"Hokage-sama."

Bai Xing took a deep breath and decided to self-destruct, thus losing her priority for B-rank missions:

"actually."

"During the mission, I was the one who suggested that the first shift retreat, so I feel I'm not suitable..."

"Cough cough cough—" Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly waved his hand, thinking to himself, "I hope that taking a break will extinguish your ninja spirit." "Shirahoshi. I know about this."

"Your strategy at the time was actually correct. Even if I were a genin on the scene, given the unclear situation and unknown enemy intelligence, I would have considered retreating first and then making a decision."

Shirahoshi was slightly taken aback. Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Shirahoshi and continued in a serious tone:

"The village still needs you."

“You did nothing wrong in this matter.”

"Moreover, choosing between a mission and companions has always been a very complex decision."

"As the Hokage, from the Hokage's perspective, I cannot give you a definitive answer."

"but."

"You just need to follow your heart and do it."

"On the condition that you do not betray the village."

Bai Xing was slightly taken aback, feeling as if the clouds had parted to reveal the clear sky.

Also, it seems like the old Hokage thinks he doesn't want to be a ninja anymore.

"I understand, Hokage-sama."

"Okay. If there's nothing else, you can go now. If you haven't rested enough, go to the office on the second floor and get another report to continue the application."

"No need. Thank you, Hokage-sama!"

Leaving the office, Shirahoshi felt a pang of shame. He shook his head, thinking to himself that he had almost been swayed by the 'Will of Fire'.

You should know that whether he can 'really' survive depends entirely on his own ability to endure it; don't impulsively send him to his death.

Early the next morning.

In the hilly area behind the village, there is a small house with a field full of medicinal herbs in the courtyard, and a neat wooden fence surrounding the house.

"Shirahoshi, you've finally recovered."

"It's alright. How about you? What did your grandma say?"

"Don't even mention it, Grandma definitely won't believe it when she hears this news. But it seems that an ANBU ninja sent Grandma some information, and she's been so angry that she hasn't left the house for a while now."

The brown-haired boy shook his head and sighed, his feet covered in mud. Under the sunlight, sweat poured from his head as he held bundles of green weeds growing around the medicinal herbs.

“I don’t believe it either. How could a Uzumaki clan ninja suddenly betray Konoha? It must be a conspiracy by Kirigakure!” Might Guy said from the side.

"But we're just genin, so we probably won't be able to participate in related missions anymore," Nawaki sighed again.

"Related, mission?"

“Yes.” Nawaki looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping and the house owner hadn’t returned yet. He gestured for the two to come closer and whispered in their ears, “Grandma said the village is sending an ANBU to the Land of Whirlpools to investigate, and it seems an elder is leading the team.”

Shirahoshi: "......"

"Alright! This way, we can confirm the information's authenticity." Might Guy's eyes blazed with fury as he clutched a wad of wild grass. "We must teach the Hidden Mist ninja a lesson for our fallen Konoha comrades!"

"..." Shirahoshi fell silent again, then looked at the hot-blooded Dai after a moment: "You're not even at the level of a Chunin, are you planning to go to the battlefield and die, Dai?"

"..."

"Youth never gives up!"

"Eight Gates Formation... First Gate Opens..."

"open!"

Let's do one more D-rank mission today!

"oh!!"

Bai Xing covered her face, wondering what the two of them were so angry about. She thought to herself, "You need to open the Eight Gates to do a D-rank mission? What kind of battlefield are you going to be on?"

but.

"Dai, how far have you progressed in developing your Eight Gates?"

As Might Guy reached out to pull out the weeds, he paused for a moment, then turned to look at Shirahoshi: "I can open up to the fifth gate now. I believe that soon I will be able to open the sixth gate, or even the seventh gate!"

"How long do you mean by 'five gates'?" Bai Xing smirked.

After a moment of contemplation, Dai said blankly, "I don't know. But I confirmed that I could hold out for a few seconds when opening four doors before, after three minutes of smooth operation with three doors."

"..."

"Are you Ultraman Tiga?!"

Nawaki frowned and said, "Tiga? What is that?"

"It's nothing, just a guy who plays with light."

"Impressive! So there's a race that can control the bloodline of light?!"

Bai Xing sensed a significant generation gap between himself and the two natives, so he stopped talking and silently began to carry out his D-level mission for the day.

Chapter 55 Sorry, Nono, this is the last one~

A month has quietly passed since I resumed earning money through tasks.

Thick, dark clouds blocked the sun's rays, and the air suddenly became stuffy and hot, making it slightly uncomfortable to breathe.

Before long, a torrential downpour began. Large raindrops hit pedestrians and umbrellas, instantly bursting into countless water droplets.

At this moment, the voices from the fiery battlefield also received a response today.

"Newspaper! Newspaper! Victory reported from the front! Orochimaru led the Konoha forces in an attack on the Land of Rain and successfully killed the Rain Village commander at the front."

"Have some."

"Alright. Five hundred taels for one."

"So expensive?" Bai Xing held the umbrella, his lips twitching. "I remember the Ninja World Daily only sold it for three hundred ryo a while ago."

The raindrops pattered against their umbrellas.

The newspaper vendor pulled out a newspaper and said with a smile, "Making money is tough today because of the rain. Only someone like you, Ninja, can afford a newspaper."

The implication is that if the higher-ups raise prices, he has to raise prices too.

"for you."

Shirahoshi happened to have some spare cash on her, which she used to buy the Ninja World Daily, which was only published about once every two weeks.

Bai Xing handed the money to the newspaper vendor and listened as his calls faded into the distance. She silently looked at the newspaper in her hand.

"The newspaper indeed contained almost nothing."

"The daimyo really is afraid of ninjas and commoners getting rich."

Shirahoshi only glanced at it a few times before realizing that much of the content in this Ninja World Daily, marked with the Land of Fire's symbol, was mindless hype about the front lines. It primarily promoted the beauty of the Land of Fire's environment, misleading readers into believing that the Land of Fire's environment was a gift from heaven...

In reality, with the development of technology, ninjas with chakra can create environments comparable to the Land of Fire in desolate areas such as deserts, rocks, wilderness, rainy places, and snowy places.

However, the people here seem to have been brainwashed for so long that they've become stupid. Perhaps this is similar to the 'setting effect' in the Conan world where people can never perceive the flow of time.

"Ok?"

Halfway there, Bai Xing suddenly noticed a small piece of text in the corner of the newspaper:

The Fire Country's leadership has decided to abandon its alliance with the Whirlpool Country...

"I see."

"It's finally come to this."

Bai Xing closed the newspaper, casually rolled up the five-hundred-tael newspaper, and put it in his pocket: the actual information on it was pitifully scarce.

-

Konoha Hospital.

Nono is resting today and has started learning about palm magic and medical knowledge.

It was Tsunade who discovered Nono's talent for medical ninjutsu. In just over six months, Nono had completely mastered the techniques of hemostasis and the use of chakra scalpels. She was ready to learn more advanced medical ninjutsu.

"Hey. Nonou, you're taking so many days off today."

On the third floor of the medical department, in a room specifically for training medical ninjas and storing professional books, Shirahoshi pushed open the door, holding a few skewers of takoyaki in her hand, eating as she leaned against the door.

"teacher!"

When Nono saw Shirahoshi, she immediately put down her notebook, ran over excitedly, and hugged her tightly. Shirahoshi held up the plastic bag containing hot dumplings, revealing a deadpan expression: