An Anxious Heart
Before receiving their first task, Inuzuka was visibly excited.
But after completing several missions, his enthusiasm quickly dwindled.
Dozens of D-rank assignments later, he had grown completely numb.
The main reason? New genin missions were mind-numbingly dull.
It was always the same: catching Tora the runaway cat, walking dogs for elderly villagers, pulling weeds in the fields, or delivering groceries to the corner of the village. Occasionally, they'd be sent to gather herbs on a cliffside or clean out sediment from the Naka River under the supervision of their jonin instructor. These chores were, in fact, a covert method of training chakra control—tree climbing, water walking, and the like.
Failing to master these basic skills quickly usually meant poor chakra control—a sign that your future as a ninja might be limited. Without talent, one would spend the next ten or twenty years accumulating merit, hoping to learn a few decent jutsu, and, if lucky, be eligible for the rank of Chūnin or even Jōnin—perhaps in their thirties or forties.
Assuming they survived that long.
Ming Jing's soul was a unique fusion of two consciousnesses. Now wielding the Uchiha clan's Sharingan, his spiritual energy had become abnormally powerful. This innate strength gave him a clear advantage: he mastered both tree-walking and water-walking techniques with ease.
Aburame Nami, who controlled dozens of kikaichū simultaneously, also had impressive mental discipline. Even Inuzuka Rui, with his heightened instincts and sensory coordination from years of training alongside his ninken, Kuromaru, learned these foundational ninja skills quickly.
---
"Next mission... let's see..." Kato Dan held a scroll and read aloud with an exaggerated tone. "Help Aunt Akita from East Desheng Street take care of her two-year-old son."
"Seriously?! I just helped Uncle Jiugang pull weeds from his fields! And now I'm babysitting?"
Inuzuka Rui collapsed onto the ground, groaning in protest.
This was far from the ninja life he had imagined.
Meanwhile, Aburame Nami and Ming Jing listened quietly.
For Nami, it was simply her nature—stoic and obedient. For Ming Jing, it was resignation. After all, this kind of dull task was a rite of passage for all rookie genin in Konohagakure.
"I figured you'd complain, so I accepted two more missions to split among you," Kato Dan added with a mischievous grin.
"Uncle Kadota sprained his ankle yesterday and needs help walking his dog—Rui, that's all yours. The Nara family's apothecary needs medicinal herbs gathered from the forest—Nami, your bugs will come in handy. And Ming Jing..." Kato Dan smirked, handing him a scroll. "You're on babysitting duty."
"Why is it always me with the worst assignments?! I've never even raised a pet, let alone a toddler!" Ming Jing groaned, facepalming in frustration.
Kato Dan chuckled as he watched Ming Jing's reaction.
Among his three genin, Ming Jing was by far the most gifted. With his extensive knowledge of the spirit and soul—thanks to Dan's own background in sensory and spiritual ninjutsu—he could sense the tremendous spiritual potential within Ming Jing. The Uchiha bloodline was one thing, but the depth of this boy's mental energy was rare.
Yet, beneath the calm exterior, Kato Dan could detect unease, impatience, even fear—a storm brewing within the boy's soul that Ming Jing himself hadn't noticed.
It made sense. For someone whose soul didn't originate from this world, adjusting to the harsh and unfamiliar shinobi lifestyle wasn't easy.
Kato Dan understood this all too well. That was why he used these low-level missions to temper Ming Jing's restless heart.
Because no matter how talented a shinobi was, stepping onto the battlefield with a reckless mindset was a guaranteed death sentence.
Besides… he also just found it fun to tease his students now and then.
Of course, he didn't say that out loud.
"Well," Kato Dan said with a straight face, "there's not much we can do. Honestly, I believe our team already has the ability to take on higher-ranking missions. But until we meet the quota of D-rank missions, the Hokage won't sign off on anything higher. I'm just speeding things up."
He gestured toward Rui and Nami. "Considering their natural talents, I picked tasks they could complete quickly."
His voice carried the perfect note of feigned innocence.
"Fine..." Ming Jing sighed, giving in.
---
Time passed slowly.
Two months flew by.
Under Kato Dan's management, their team completed D-rank missions at more than twice the average rate.
Despite dividing tasks individually, Kato Dan occasionally selected missions that required teamwork or light intelligence-gathering. Sometimes it meant capturing the daimyō's daughter's escaped cat. Other times, they were sent to local izakayas to collect data on sake prices for market research.
Though mundane, these exercises subtly honed their cooperation and observation skills.
During this repetitive routine, Ming Jing slowly found peace. Under Kato Dan's careful and deliberate guidance, the storm in his heart began to calm.
Maybe it was the team chemistry that had developed over these two months, or maybe the ongoing war effort had pulled most veteran shinobi to the front lines, creating a manpower shortage.
Whatever the reason, only two and a half months after the team was formed, Kato Dan managed to secure a C-rank mission—approved by Mitokado Koharu, acting on behalf of the Third Hokage.
---
"Is this our target?"
Ming Jing held a photo of a tall, grim-faced middle-aged man.
Kato Dan nodded gravely. "Four months ago, a covert Sunagakure team infiltrated the Land of Fire. They launched a rear-assault operation and attacked Ironstone Town in the western region, crippling its local defenses."
"In the aftermath, rogue miners staged a revolt. They raided the nobles' estates and stole vast amounts of supplies. The ringleader—Ichiro Okamoto—led these rebels into the mountains, where they became bandits and began harassing nearby villages."
"Our mission: eliminate the threat, recover the stolen supplies, and return them to the Ishihara family, who represent the daimyo's office in the region."
As he held out the mission scroll, the team felt the shift in gravity—this was no longer child's play.
This was a real mission.