Super Ninja

Working on a pig farm was far from what I envisioned as an ideal job. The constant smells and sounds of livestock filled me with discomfort, knowing that these animals would soon end up on someone's plate. While meat is essential for nourishment, the process of obtaining it weighed heavily on me. The assistant, introduced to me by the shift supervisor, was a true expert in his field. His skilled hands effortlessly transformed the meat into neat pieces, ready to become fragrant steaks and delicious sausages. He not only shared his knowledge but also demonstrated a mastery of the tools, making our work efficient and precise, with minimal waste. For a gourmet, this part of the process might seem almost like art.

We wrapped up our work with the meat around six. It was clear we were exhausted and eager to leave, but the captain decided we needed to return to the training grounds. None of us could really refuse. The only silver lining was the rather generous sum of money we each received for our efforts.

At the training grounds, we didn't start training immediately, which was somewhat unexpected.

"So, what do you have to say?" the captain asked again, settling into his unusual chair, which he had carved from local stone with his own hands. The technique he used was as unique as the chair itself. "How did you like your first mission outside the village?" he repeated, looking at us expectantly.

"It could have been worse," I finally spoke up when I noticed my companions were too shy to respond. I had hoped someone would break the silence, but when they didn't, I felt it was my duty to speak up so the sensei wouldn't have to wait any longer. "We could have faced worse situations, like being sent to swim in a swamp."

"Yeah, it wasn't exactly roses out there," Yamanaka added, her voice tinged with irritation as she barely suppressed a grimace at the memory. "I'll probably spend days trying to get that awful smell out of my hair."

"Hahaha," sensei laughed, his deep chuckle echoing off the walls of the training hall, giving the moment a certain gravity. "Well, get used to it. In a shinobi's life, such tasks and missions are quite common, and you won't always have the luxury of choosing what you like or what you'd rather avoid. As for me, I can say that your results impressed me, but not completely. I'm curious... why do you think I might be dissatisfied? Ayamane, what do you think?"

"U-um," she hesitated. It seemed the answer hadn't come to her mind, which was a bit strange. She is a Nara... she should have thought it through and come up with the right answer. Analysis should be her strong suit.

"Don't be afraid, go on," the captain encouraged her with gentleness but also a note of mentorship. He always tried to push his students out of their comfort zone to develop their ability to think under pressure.

"We should have completed the task faster, using our specific shinobi skills?" she finally asked, her voice trembling with nervousness and uncertainty.

"Wrong answer," the captain said, shaking his head. "I'll have to focus more on your training today. Yes. Who else?"

I calmly stayed silent. I won't stick my neck out for now. Let him say it himself.

"What I liked was that Suzuki went to ask for help," he began. "That was the right decision because, as shinobi, your missions can take place in completely unfamiliar environments. You need to be able to adapt quickly by any means. But... the first mistake was that the initiative wasn't gathered within the team itself. Only one person suggested it and executed it. The second mistake is addressed to you, Suzuki. You were too kind to your assistant... though this isn't a mistake, more of a piece of advice. I don't think I can find a second mistake."

I could only nod and accept everything he wanted to say. I see no problem with sensei analyzing everything we did wrong or what we should have done differently. I'm sure this will be incredibly useful for our future.

"And the last thing I want to say to you before we start training," he continued. "For the next three weeks, it so happens that I have a personal mission from the village. I won't be around for these three weeks. You'll have to train on your own and complete missions. Suzuki, I'm leaving you in charge of the group."

"Hai," I accepted his words.

"Every day you'll receive missions with the address of where you need to go," the captain continued. "Most of them will be within the village, so it won't be difficult for you to get to the location. If the mission is outside... well, you'll figure it out. You're already legally adults."

"Hai, captain," we chorused in response.

"And now we can begin training."

Our response was heavy but silent sighs from the girls, who weren't too keen on training after such exhausting days. I only shrugged. I see no problem with training. I never tire of repeating that this is what the future and future opportunities are built on.

As promised, the captain personally focused on Ayamane's training, reminding me of how he tossed Shiko into the dirt yesterday. Nara absorbed knowledge from him with full commitment, and any attempts she made to resist were immediately suppressed, showing that any resistance was futile. But as soon as she tried to relax, the captain would cause her pain. If earlier it was unpleasant and painful, as soon as she gave up, it instantly transitioned into "very painful."

With Shika and me, a clone worked on our training, not in such a painful mode, although there was little pleasure in it either. The clone, just like the original, would throw us to the ground with such ease as if it was no trouble at all. And I can't say that there was no point in it. We were getting better and better each time.

When the moon was already high in the sky, Captain Kiochi gathered us together again.

"Training is over for today," he said. "Tomorrow morning, you must go to the administration on your own and receive the mission. Got it? I don't want to hear complaints that you can't complete the simplest task."

"Yes, captain," we responded in unison.

"Excellent," he allowed a smile to appear on his face. "Then I'll see you in about three weeks."

After that, he once again disappeared in his usual manner, leaving us. We, of course, hadn't noticed anything yet, but I think that will soon be corrected.

"So, what do you say, girls?" I turned to Shiko and Ayamane. "Ready to do some work?"

"Tss," Shiko just rolled her eyes.

"Alright," I chuckled at that. "Then let's meet tomorrow morning. Good night, girls."

"Good night, Suzuki," Shiko replied.

"Good night," Ayamane said.

I returned home, quickly freshened up, and went to rest. If the captain won't be joining us on missions, it means we'll be able to earn more money as a reward. That's a nice bonus, which I plan to invest in my personal development. Although the captain oversees our training, I'd prefer if the challenges went beyond just physical development. I understand its importance, but I'd like us to focus more on refining our techniques.

The next morning, I quickly ate the leftovers from yesterday's meal, said goodbye to my parents, and hurried to the administration building. I arrived first and waited for the girls, who showed up a bit later than usual. Without the captain around, it seems like we can relax the rules a bit and take our time getting here.

"Let's go get the mission," I said to them. "What do you think we'll be doing today?"

"Anything but digging and cutting pigs," Shiko grumbled. "I'd rather deal with dusty papers than endure this heat."

"I'm also hoping for something calmer," Ayamane shrugged. "But whatever it is, we'll see what the Hokage assigns us."

We entered the administration building, feeling a certain tension and unease. Without our jonin captain to present or vouch for us, the atmosphere was different. When we reached the mission assignment office, we quickly realized that the Hokage wasn't there. It made sense; he wouldn't be handing out missions to genins every day. A few times is enough—he has plenty of other responsibilities.

Instead, a shinobi with a completely ordinary, unremarkable face handed us our mission. He didn't say a word, just passed us an envelope with the assignment papers. Since the captain had appointed me as the leader, I took them.

The mission we received was quite simple. We needed to go to the library and help the librarians sort books that had recently come into their possession. It didn't seem problematic... even quite useful since we could see what books were there and find something that interests us.

We were greeted by a rather friendly woman from the Hyuga clan, who immediately described the scope of our work and exactly how she wanted us to sort all the books.

"It seems that this mission won't be particularly difficult," I remarked as we began to arrange the books into different categories.

"Wouldn't it be nice if most missions were like this," Shiko said. "Peaceful, no one breathing down our necks, no dangers."

"Ha," I just responded to that. "But what's the fun in it if there are no dangers and no overcoming oneself?"

"Many people live like that," the girl shrugged. "So I don't see any problem with it."

"By the way, what are these books we're sorting?" I said, opening the first one I came across. The information described here wasn't very clear to me, but the note that this book belonged to the seventh division of the ANBU library hinted that it was something interesting. All the other books were also from this strange seventh division of the ANBU. "How interesting."

"I don't think we should focus too much on these books," Ayamane said. "It's better just to sort them and be done with it."

"Agreed," Shiko nodded.

I just shrugged and then returned to the task. We finished the sorting around five in the evening, which was somewhat unexpected. After that, we went to get paid. This time, we received quite a large sum each because we divided the share that the captain used to take. Being in charge, the girls decided to give me an extra ten ryo in addition to what I received. It was something like a 'thank you' for taking responsibility.

"And now to training?" I asked the girls.

"Sorry, Suzuki," Shiko immediately said. "I already made plans for this evening."

"I have plans too," Ayamane shrugged. "So... sorry."

"Well, alright," there was nothing left to do but wave it off. "What kind of plans, if it's not a secret?"

"I'm going with my mom for a massage," Shiko answered calmly.

"And I'll be helping with cleaning," Ayamane answered, not very enthusiastically. "We have a small clan celebration. So... the work isn't over for me."

"Got it, then we'll train tomorrow," I told them.

"Well... I don't know," Shiko drawled and turned away, embarrassed. "I might have other things to do."

Well, if they don't want to train, that's not my problem for now. I hope that in the future, their lack of skills won't affect my survival because that would be unpleasant, as it would be my fault. After all, I didn't force them to train and practice certain techniques. The main thing is not to regret it later.

"Alright, then let's meet tomorrow at the Administration."

After saying goodbye, I headed to the training grounds, where I engaged in fairly intense training that required me to expend chakra. Of course, I had some ideas for experimenting with elemental techniques, but since I don't fully understand or know them yet, it's not worth taking the risk.

In general, I trained in everything I had learned and at least somewhat practiced before. In the skills I've already learned, there's always room for improvement. I returned home quite late, a bit tired, but that didn't bother or strain me much anymore. Coming home in such a state had become something of a norm, a habit, if you can call it that.

"How did it go?" my father asked when I joined them at the table.

"Fine," I shrugged. "Our captain, Kiochi, went on some mission and appointed me as the leader of our team."

"Oh, it seems the captain trusts you," he was surprised. "That's excellent."

"It is," I shrugged. "But with my teammates... I have no authority."

"Young girls," my mother said, "they're always like that, keeping to themselves. But don't worry, when it matters, they'll work hard and chase after you to train."

"I'm not worried," I waved it off. "It's just kind of strange. Look, I thought we'd go train today, but they had other things to do. One has a massage, and the other is cleaning the house... And for us, this age is the best for rapid and continuous development."

"Just ignore it," my father advised. "And focus on your own thing. If you need to train, train... As for them... maybe they have other plans for life."

"Maybe."

Mom didn't say anything. And after that, the conversation shifted to a completely different topic, where they told me the latest news about our neighbors. My mother especially tried, as it seemed to me, to stick her nose into almost everyone's business. For example, why do I need to know that some neighbor lady is bringing relatively young boys home for the night... I'm not interested in that, but I listened attentively.

After that, I went to rest, and before going to bed, I finally managed to read a bit of the textbook on creating seals. For the past few weeks, I hadn't had the time or energy to even touch it. But now, the opportunity arose.

In general, it was a very interesting topic that I'd like to delve into more. I'm sure there's a lot here that could be very interesting. For now, I can't train or practice even basic techniques in any way, but I realized that to create functional seals, you need to have not only excellent chakra control but also knowledge of chakra composition.

The morning began for me with a light warm-up, which in the past could have been considered a serious workout. But not now. Now it was just a warm-up. Then I headed toward the Hokage Administration, where I met the girls again. We received another mission, which also turned out to be not particularly difficult. We needed to help a small restaurant prepare food. The mission was simple because we mostly listened rather than did anything. Although we did some work too. We were put on the most basic tasks, such as cutting salads and making sauces. The pay for this mission wasn't particularly high, but if divided among the three of us, it's still more than each of us got for the first mission.

After we finished, the girls hurried off to do their own things, and I headed to the training grounds. To be honest, for a moment, I even felt a sense of loneliness, which immediately tried to bring on melancholy, but I quickly and decisively pushed it away. I can't afford to relax and start feeling sorry for myself right now.

Slowly practicing my kata, I occasionally unleashed energy in a flurry of strikes and then jumped onto a branch, simultaneously trying to hit a target with kunai. Most of the time, I succeeded, but not always. The main technique I wanted to perfect was the quick throw of kunai, with which to start a fight.

On the way home, I noticed a short boy with yellow hair who was quickly running away from a small group of children. They chased him for a while and then just gave up. I wonder who this blond boy is. I think I could guess who he is... but still.

Jumping into a small alley where he hid, I froze. Curious blue eyes looked at me. There was no hatred or anger in them, only a certain interest. Smiling at him, I waved my hand.

"You got away, don't worry," I chuckled.

After that, I jumped onto the roof and disappeared into the darkness. Well, at least that's how it should have looked to him. I'm sure any more or less experienced shinobi would have easily tracked my movements with their eyes.