"This mission really paid off… next up is Anko."
After leaving the Hyūga compound, the ninja pouch at Uzumaki Renka's waist felt a little heavier.
He walked down the street, scanning left and right. Not seeing Anko anywhere, he immediately guessed where she'd be.
"She just got back from a mission. If she's on break, she's probably there."
He checked shop after shop along the road, and sure enough—he found Anko at a dango stand.
"You're really here! Keep eating like that and you'll be a chubby old lady the moment you hit middle age."
Inside the shop, Anko wore a blissed-out expression as she devoured skewer after skewer. Then Renka's poisonous mouth reached her ears. She lifted a bowl of sweet red-bean soup and drained it in one go—wildly heroic.
She wiped her lips with a napkin, eyes turning icy. The man who'd dared ruin her perfect meal instantly became her target.
Smiling sweetly, she said, "Renka… if you can't give me a satisfying reason, you can go say hi to your favorite nurse again. Right now."
Renka felt a chill crawl over his skin—goosebumps rising.
He forced a laugh. "J-just kidding! Just kidding! You're no fun at all—can't you take a joke?"
Anko didn't budge, so he hurriedly got to the point.
"It's like this—I recently became a genin, right? So I was thinking I should find a jonin-sensei. But none of the jonin still in the village were willing to take me, so Third Hokage-sama said I could join your team."
Sorry, Third… the organization has decided you're taking the blame for this one.
"The Third Hokage's order?" Anko squinted at him suspiciously. "And why haven't I heard anything? You're not lying to me, are you?"
Renka immediately protested. "No way! Even if you gave me ten times the guts, I wouldn't dare forge the Hokage's command. Do I look like I have that kind of courage?"
"You definitely don't," Anko said, looking him up and down.
Renka's fist clenched.
Damn it… I really want to punch her.
Endure. Endure. She's the only one I can't offend right now.
He slapped on a bright smile. "So when do I join the team? How long is your rest period this time?"
"You've got a thick face," Anko said flatly. "I haven't agreed yet."
"But Hokage-sama—"
Anko cut him off. "Yeah, I can't disobey Hokage-sama. But joining my team isn't that simple. We have four people total. Besides me, the other three are all chunin. If a genin like you joins, you'll only increase the team's burden."
By then, Renka already understood what she meant.
"So what's the test?" he said without hesitation. "Lay down the line. I accept everything."
Anko's lips curved upward. "Only one requirement. Pass the Chunin Exams in a month. Only a chunin is qualified to join my team."
"Of course, if you think you can't do it… you can give up—"
Renka cut her off with a confident grin. "Fine. It's a deal."
"Confidence is good," Anko said, standing up. "But tests have a way of showing up when you least expect them. Work hard."
With a casual wave, she left—cool as ever.
"I won't slack off. I'm going back to train right now!"
Renka turned to leave—
Only to be stopped by the clerk.
"Sir, wait! You haven't paid!"
Renka blinked, completely stunned, then pointed at himself. "You're talking to me? I didn't order anything!"
"You didn't," the clerk replied, "but your friend did. The woman who just left said to put it on your tab. I didn't believe it at first—but you clearly know each other, laughing and chatting. Don't tell me you're trying to skip out?"
A test that comes out of nowhere…?
Anko, you absolute demon. Not letting me into your team is one thing, but you even scammed me into paying for your meal?!
Your scheme really is flawless!
Cursing under his breath, Renka pulled out his wallet and paid—nearly grinding his teeth to dust.
---
Hokage's Office
"Hokage-sama, why are you letting Renka join my team?"
Anko asked, confused.
So that little brat told her that…? He's really dumping the blame on me.
Third Hokage Hiruzen puffed on his pipe, looking mildly exasperated.
"None of the jonin still in the village are a good fit to lead him. And you… you're also a victim of Orochimaru's experiments. Having him join your squad makes sense."
"But he's only just become a genin," Anko argued. "Joining my team would be too dangerous for him."
Hiruzen tapped his pipe against the desk.
"You know about the incident where Mist ninja kidnapped Hyūga Hinata, right? Three perpetrators—one jonin, two chunin."
Anko nodded. "I heard about it, but not the details."
Hiruzen said calmly, "Then you probably don't know why it ended so quickly."
He looked up.
"Renka was the one who acted."
Anko's eyes widened in disbelief. "What can a genin possibly do?"
Hiruzen exhaled a slow ribbon of smoke.
"At first, I didn't believe it either. But the truth is—Renka rescued Hinata alone, and he took down two chunin."
"If that Mist jonin hadn't shown up at the end… I suspect he could've returned to the village without a scratch."
He continued, voice steady.
"So don't worry about his strength. Based on what he's shown, he's not inferior to any chunin."
"But battlefields don't care about rank. Combat changes in an instant. His power is fine—his experience is what needs tempering. Joining your team is the perfect way to sharpen him… and it'll also lighten your load."
Anko finally understood the Hokage's intentions. She stopped arguing, bowed, and left the office.
After she was gone, Hiruzen muttered to himself:
"Good. At least I convinced Anko. Otherwise that brat would've come back to pester me again… and I'd really rather not deal with him for the next few days."
---
At the Forest Training Grounds...
After leaving the dango shop, Renka—as always—headed for the woodland training field.
When he saw the place hadn't gained any fresh marks, he immediately thought of Guy.
"This mission must be tough. For someone as impatient as Guy to be gone this many days… did he run into someone nasty?"
He shook his head.
"Whatever. With my current strength, worrying won't help. Let's check today's haul first."
He unbuckled the pouch at his waist, sat on a rock, and took out the new scrolls one by one, opening them to read.
"First: Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb. Hand seals: Ram—Horse—Snake—Dragon—Rat—Ox—Tiger. The Third's signature Fire Style. Taken to the limit, it's terrifying—and great for wide-area attacks…"
"Next: Earth Style: Great Mud River. Also area control. If I remember right, when they fought Orochimaru, it was used together with Earth Dragon Bomb as a combo… Looks like I'll need to find a scroll for Earth Dragon Bomb later…"
"But I didn't expect the old man to be this generous—he actually gave me the scroll for Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique. That's an A-rank, high-level jutsu. If I master it… maybe I can recreate the Fourth Hokage's 'shuriken gatling' style. This mission was a massive win!"
"Maybe the old man doesn't think I can learn any of it, so he just handed them over," Renka snickered. "Heh. If so, he's going to be disappointed."
"Last: the Hyūga pressure point and Gentle Fist basics… so that's how it works. Draw chakra outward, circulate it through the chakra pathway system, then condense and maintain it in the palm…"
An hour later, Renka put the scrolls away and lay on the grass, arms and legs spread out like a starfish.
"Now that the principles are in front of me, the Ninjutsu Codex should've recorded them already. Sometimes that thing really is convenient."
He stared up through the leaves.
"That fight… I paid for my lack of experience. They were using Water Style the whole time, and I didn't even think to use Lightning Style once. I wasted stamina, got caught in an opening…"
"If I hadn't been so arrogant from the start—if I'd gone all out immediately—maybe it would've ended differently."
"This lesson was written in blood. I have to remember it. Otherwise, one day… I'll throw myself into a dead end again."
He paused, expression turning strange.
"But… I killed two shinobi with my own hands. Why don't I feel sick at all? Am I just… naturally cold?"
"Is this really me—the one who couldn't even bear to kill an animal?"
Sunlight slipped through the canopy and fell through the gaps between his fingers, making him squint.
"This is probably what the shinobi world is like," he murmured. "If I don't kill them, they'll kill me. Loyalty to your village—each side with their own 'righteous cause.' There's no pure right or wrong…"
"Only life and death."
He closed his eyes, then suddenly slapped both cheeks hard.
Smack.
"Instead of wasting time being sentimental, I should spend more time training. I've already lost too many days."
"It's time to get serious."
"And perfect timing… I should check what's changed in the Ninjutsu Codex."
He shut his eyes fully.
In his mind, a transparent scroll appeared—unfurling to reveal a dense list of jutsu, lines upon lines of text flooding his vision.