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

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Fugaku patted Shirahoshi on the shoulder. He was a ninja who highly valued the word "talent." Shirahoshi's failure to become a Chunin and learn C-rank ninjutsu might have its reasons—or perhaps, the kid was hiding something.

How could a young ninja who can develop hand seal taijutsu with such a high level of chakra control not be able to master C-rank ninjutsu?

He was also well aware of what had happened recently: the Second Shinobi World War had broken out in full force, and the village and even the police force had very dangerous missions to leave the village.

"Being timid isn't necessarily a bad thing for a ninja." Before leaving, Fugaku Uchiha shook his head inwardly, his thoughts drifting back to his classmates from graduation. Now they were scattered across the land, some fighting valiantly, some having returned to the Pure Land, and some having lost their ninja identity...

He, with the help of his family, evaded the border patrol missions and trained for several years, achieving the rank of Jonin two years ago.

Halfway through his thought, Fugaku Uchiha heard a voice coming from Kenji Uchiha's courtyard, "If you dare to go with this brat, don't come back!"

"Hmph! Grandpa, I'm all grown up now, I have my own ideas!"

Turning around, I saw a girl with long, straight black hair, wearing a high-necked tribal uniform, emerging from the courtyard with three ninjas, her feet treading on chakra as she stood atop the wall.

"Uchiha...Mikoto...?" Fugaku felt a slight stirring in his heart.

Seeing that Fugaku hadn't gone far, Shirahoshi nodded in response, then turned to the angry Uchiha Kenji in the courtyard. "Grandpa Kenji, I roughly understand what you mean, but this is the Hokage's order. If you have any objections, you can discuss it with the Hokage before informing me, instead of drastically preventing Mikoto from leaving. This is not the right way to solve a problem."

Upon hearing this, the elderly Uchiha Kenji, whose hair was white, had bags under his eyes, and whose cheeks were somewhat sunken, immediately had a large "well" character appear on his forehead.

"I fought countless battles alongside my predecessor! It was only after that we achieved a draw with the Senju clan and together we established Konoha! What kind of attitude do you expect from me?!"

"Whose instructor was a genin?! Tell me! Was your instructor a genin?!"

Upon hearing this, Bai Xing's expression turned cold. "A genin might be more understanding of the hardships genin face. As for this, I am merely following orders."

"Retreat! Assemble at the Hokage Building!"

"Yes!" x3

Chapter 8: Class 11, with only two months to go

Hokage Building.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's crystal ball "Telescope Technique" can only observe places where ordinary people can be observed, such as clan territory. Clan ninjas with sensory abilities can detect such things, so it is impossible for him to be spying on people under normal circumstances.

However, there are exceptions to this: for example, the head of the Uchiha clan agrees.

The middle-aged man with spiky black hair and wearing a black kimono robe nodded slightly as he watched what was happening inside the crystal ball. "Third Hokage, this genin is not simple."

“I have always seen his talent and hard work, but I just feel it is a bit of a pity.”

"Oh?!" The middle-aged man, who looked remarkably like Fugaku Uchiha, looked up from the crystal ball at Hiruzen Sarutobi sitting in the chair and asked, "What's a pity?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze was deep. "This child's talent is never used for the right path, and his ideals are somewhat narrow. Hmph."

Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a breath of turbid air and continued, "If an ordinary genin possessed this kind of talent and professional qualities, he would have become an excellent jonin long ago."

"I don't think so. Perhaps it is precisely because of this fearless mentality that he was able to use this perseverance to achieve the accomplishment of completing more than a thousand D-level missions independently."

"Chief of the Konohara Clan, I apologize for what happened today," Hiruzen Sarutobi said. "But personally, I believe Shirahoshi handled this matter perfectly. So, what do you think?"

"Two months." Uchiha Koshino held up two fingers. "I'll only have Mikoto carry out two months of D-rank missions with him. After she's promoted to Chunin, I'll have Mikoto return to the Uchiha clan to supplement the security forces."

Hiruzen Sarutobi had no objections. Mikoto was just a young lady transitioning into a position, and no matter who was sent, given Mikoto's status and talent, she would inevitably return to work in the Security Department.

"Besides, it's not appropriate for a genin to manage a chunin."

After Uchiha Koshino left, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a pang of melancholy.

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Day 1, D-level mission: Pick up trash in a waterfall area outside the village. Completed.

Shirahoshi experienced the ease and pleasure of outsourcing and making money while lying down: after all, both of them were excellent graduates, and one of them had been a genin for so long, so it was natural for them to work with ease.

"You still can't walk on water?" On the way back to the Hokage Building mission office to settle accounts, Shirahoshi asked Might Guy, who had tried to walk on water but fell into the river.

If Mikoto Uchiha hadn't thrown her kunai in time, pinning it to the riverbank wall so that Might Guy could grab it and prevent it from plunging into the river.

"Uh... no. Actually, I'm not very good at climbing trees either... A teammate I was with before told me this secret, but I never quite got it," Matt Day said somewhat embarrassedly.

"You can't even do something as simple as climbing a tree?" Mikoto Uchiha, her beautiful chin held high with effortless grace, declared arrogantly, "I'll teach you tonight! The price is, I'll stay at your place!"

She had a huge fight with her grandfather, so it's not convenient for her to go back now.

Matt Day whispered, “My house is small... and it’s not in the village.”

"..." Uchiha Mikoto's red lips gaped open in shock as she asked a pointless question incredulously, "Are there still ninjas who don't live in the village?"

"Yes," Shirahoshi and Yakushi Nonou said in unison.

The two exchanged a glance, and Bai Xing continued, "I used to live in a small warehouse on the outer wall of the village. It had nothing there, but it cost two thousand taels a month. If two people need to live in the village and you have to take care of all aspects, the rent is not cheap."

"...That's outrageous." Yakushi Nono thought her family was already very poor, with only a two-bedroom house that they bought outright in the middle of the village, and several hundred thousand taels of savings left by her parents.

"Hehehe. So I'm really happy to be able to team up with you guys to do missions and earn money!" Might Guy gave a thumbs up, thinking to himself that he could buy some lamb for his wife tonight to help her get some nutrition.

"Well... emmm, Shirahoshi-sensei, is your house still in the warehouse?" Uchiha Mikoto blushed; this was her real purpose.

Before Shirahoshi could speak, Yakushi Nonou raised her hand and said, "My house, my house has a spare room, you can stay at my house."

"Uh... That's not a good idea." Upon hearing Yakushi Nonou's invitation, Uchiha Mikoto's expression instantly turned into a dead fish eye.

“It’s okay!” Yakushi Nonou nodded seriously.

"Okay, let's leave it at that for now. After you complete a few more D-level missions, I'll observe the problems you encounter and then provide some guidance."

"Eh, you can actually see what's wrong with us?" Yakushi Nonou asked in surprise.

"Tch." Although Mikoto Uchiha was attracted to Shirahoshi's looks, she really didn't think Shirahoshi could teach her anything in terms of strength.

Upon seeing this, Bai Xing calmly responded by analyzing the mission process he had witnessed that day.

"Dai. Your chakra control is really bad. You've been out of school for over ten years, and you still can't even climb a tree."

"Nonou, your chakra control is very good, but not as good as Mikoto's. You are not yet proficient in water walking. You can practice more when you get back. These things are the basics."

Matt Day found the word 'basic' a bit discouraging and muttered to himself.

Then, Shirahoshi's gaze fell on Uchiha Mikoto, the girl who was now at the age of arrogance and pride, "Why did you throw kunai when Dai fell into the water! Can you guarantee that your kunai will be caught safely by Dai?! Not everyone is a genius like you."

Having specialized in physical training and possessing considerable mission experience, Dai had a certain degree of instinctive reaction. With a simple gesture, he caught the handle of the kunai and used it to climb ashore.

If it were a normal genin, they might panic and be swept away by the force of the river waves, hitting their neck or other parts of their body with a kunai and getting injured.

When Shirahoshi saw that Mikoto was not convinced, she recounted all the events mentioned above, leaving the girl speechless.

Upon arriving at the mission office, Shirahoshi handed over the mission scroll. The Chunin in the mission office saw that Shirahoshi had successfully led three disciples, and they seemed to be getting along quite well. Apart from one Uchiha girl whose eyes were red as if she had been crying, there were no other major problems.

"no problem."

The chunin in charge of the inspection spent several minutes running back and forth, and after confirming that everything was correct, he reported to the office chunin of the mission department.

"Well done, the reward is ten thousand taels... Here is six thousand, please count it."

"no need."

Bai Xing immediately recognized the amount as six thousand taels of silver.

He took out three bills and handed one to each of the three men, saying, "This is your payment for today. Thank you for your hard work."

Might Guy wiped the sweat from his brow and happily accepted the money. Mikoto Uchiha pouted and reluctantly took it, thinking to herself that this amount wasn't even enough for a meal. Nono Yakushi, on the other hand, was overjoyed to receive her first payment for the mission, silently praying to her parents in heaven, "Mom and Dad, I'm all grown up now! I can earn my own money!"

At this moment, all three of them smelled a bit like they came from a garbage dump. Bai Xing pinched his nose. Although he was clean and really wanted to treat the three of them to a simple meal, he thought about it and decided to do it tomorrow.

"Take a rest tomorrow. You've all worked hard today."

"Also, if you're free tomorrow, I can treat you to a simple meal..."

"Go!" Uchiha Mikoto gritted her teeth, determined to devour this rich dog's stash of money—the guy who took the lion's share and freeloaded.

“Okay! I’ll go too!” Yakushi Nonou nodded. Might Guy, who was next to her, scratched his head, put away the thousand ryo with an embarrassed look, and said in a low voice, “Then I’ll have to bother you, Shirahoshi.”

"fine."

After seeing the three off from the Hokage Building to a street, Shirahoshi claimed that he had to leave and said goodbye to the three. He then returned to the Hokage Building and knocked on the door of the Hokage's office on the third floor.

"Please come in."

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Hiruzen Sarutobi initially pretended not to know anything about Mikoto Uchiha's situation, but after Shirahoshi truthfully explained, he revealed that he had received the opinion of the Uchiha clan head that Mikoto Uchiha could carry out D-rank missions with the team for about two months.

Furthermore, Hiruzen Sarutobi once again hinted to Shirahoshi that he could now go to the mission office to exchange for the permission to learn C-rank ninjutsu scrolls in one go, and he could even make some B-rank ninjutsu scrolls available to Shirahoshi.

However, Shirahoshi said that he planned to use the money to buy a house in the village and had already decided on a location, which made Hiruzen Sarutobi a little disappointed. After all, it was a pity that such a capable and efficient subordinate, who could find his own way to solve problems, only had the position of a genin.

Chapter 9 Moving

Near Konoha Village, on a riverbank on the west side of the village, is a cabin in the woods built by Might Guy using wood and planks.

By this time, night had fallen, and an old-fashioned wall lamp hung on the wall of the room, casting a dim orange-red candlelight.

Dai's wife was a young woman of average appearance and slender build. Her belly made her look somewhat unnatural and rounded, probably about three months pregnant.

Matt Day bought a lot of fresh vegetables from the village gate, and even a small piece of expensive mutton. "Honey, look what I bought!"

"You rascal, you're back covered in sweat again. Go take a bath in the river." Dai's wife pinched her nose. Her face didn't show any frustration with reality, but rather a heart full of anticipation, looking forward to seeing her child one day.

Might Guy awkwardly placed the vegetables and raw mutton he was holding on the table inside the house. His hands were clean; he had washed them on the way. He picked up a wooden bucket, went to a bank of the river, drew water, and immediately took off his clothes to start bathing. This was the life of ordinary people. Behind the glamorous scenery of Konoha Village, there were still genin and ordinary people who longed for the village's glamorous life, all doing their best to strive for it.

But sometimes, reality is cruel. Those with connections are one thing, but some people without connections can become ninja geniuses simply by cultivating their talents. Whether or not they make a name for themselves in history, you have to admit that they were once glorious.

"Reality always comes full circle."

"Some people stand at the forefront of opportunity because of temporary luck or talent, but fate will never favor only one person."

"Even the Second Hokage, who developed countless forbidden techniques through his own talent, still died in a conspiracy orchestrated by the rebel forces of Kumogakure."

Shirahoshi, who hadn't come here to relax for a long time, stood atop a tree trunk in the forest cabin. The cabin was surrounded by traps set up by Might Guy, effectively preventing wild animals and venomous snakes from approaching. However, these overly common and inexpensive traps were no match for a ninja who could scale walls and leap across rooftops.

"Whether you're a Jonin or a Kage, you can't escape the fate of death."

With his precise chakra control, Shirahoshi made almost no sound in the forest.

Dai's wife was cutting mutton when, as if by telepathy, she peeked out the window, but saw nothing.

"Strange, it seemed like someone was outside just now. It must have been my imagination. Dai checks the traps around the area every day, there shouldn't be any problems." The young woman in her early twenties, who was about to become a mother, still maintained the youthful vitality that young people should have. She hummed a little tune as she continued chopping vegetables, turned on the separate gas stove, and used the pressure cooker to cook a delicious mutton soup for her husband tonight.

In this era of cannibalism, chaotic technology, precious food, and frequent ninja wars, simply being alive is a blessing.

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