Chapter 30: Accepting the First Mission

In an instant it was afternoon, and Kakashi, after returning, immediately found Qimu Chao, asking about the matters after becoming a formal ninja and who his Jonin team leader was.

After telling Kakashi the matter, Kakashi opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.

The two are clearly the same age, yet why is the gap in their lives so large?

It always feels like the older brother is like an adult; clearly, matters like romance should be far from them.

In the evening, Jiu Xin Nai arrived again.

"Eh? Shui Men? He seems to be my classmate; I remember he used to be quite effeminate and even said he wanted to become Hokage."

The two walked along the main street of Konoha Village, and after hearing Qimu Chao recount the morning events, Jiu Xin Nai recalled them.

"He's almost a full Jonin now, and you're still just a Chunin."

Qimu Chao smiled, teasing Jiu Xin Nai.

Hearing Qimu Chao's words, Jiu Xin Nai pursed her lips; her puffed round face together with her red long hair now looked less like a little pepper and more like a tomato.

After the teasing, Qimu Chao said seriously, "You know? He used to like you."

"Ha, just as I thought, this lady is still very popular; if he confessed to me at school and I accepted, you wouldn't have any business now."

At this point, Jiu Xin Nai crossed her arms, her face showing an expression as if saying, "Come praise me."

During their interaction, the older Jiu Xin Nai seemed more like a child, while the younger Qimu Chao seemed like an adult.

Qimu Chao's star-like black eyes looked at the Jiu Xin Nai beside him, his face bearing an inexplicable smile.

This girl is really…

"I'm also very popular at school; if you hadn't confessed before them, I wouldn't have any business with you now either."

Those words reached her ears and made Jiu Xin Nai angry again.

"This person is truly wicked, must they always be so confrontational?"

"Just kidding, I like how you, being a step ahead of them, can express your feelings earlier and more genuinely."

While speaking, Qimu Chao stroked the fiery red long hair at the back of Jiu Xin Nai's head, instantly soothing her previously angry heart.

This person seems to have his personality tightly controlled.

For a moment, Jiu Xin Nai's face flushed again.

…………………

Early the next morning, Qimu Chao went to the place arranged with Shui Men, and the two headed to the Ninja Mission Commission, a department directly overseen by the Hokage, though the Hokage rarely visits it.

After all, most missions are taken up by ninjas themselves; missions directly assigned by the Hokage are few.

"Ah, Shui Men has arrived."

high‑ranking ninja Qian Yuanchi Ye, who assigns missions, smiled at Bofeng Shuimen and greeted him: "What mission are you planning to take on today? Huh, who is this?"

"Hello, I'm Qimu Chao, and since yesterday I've been paired with Shui Men as a partner."

Qimu Chao also smiled and gave a greeting.

Partners, huh…

Shui Men didn't mind; given Qimu Chao's strength, calling the two partners was no problem at all.

"Qimu… white hair again… are you Mr. Shuo Mao's son?"

Looking at Qimu Chao, Qian Yuanchi Ye thought for a moment, then showed a surprised expression.

"Yes."

"Ah, being able to partner with Shui Men, truly worthy of being Mr. Shuo Mao's son, must be an outstanding prodigy. I am Qian Yuanchi Ye, head of the Ninja Mission Commission."

Qian Yuanchi Ye nodded at Qimu Chao, then said to the two, "Recently, due to the conflict between Iwa Shinobi and Cloud Ninja, the village has received a large batch of commissions; you two arrived just in time to take on some high-level missions."

After saying that, Qian Yuanchi Ye went to greet other ninjas.

Meanwhile, Shui Men looked at the mission scrolls, pondering.

Although he and Qimu Chao treated each other as equals, that didn't mean he forgot Qimu Chao's current ninja rank.

He is just a Genin who just graduated from the Ninja Academy, having never taken on a mission; even if Qimu Chao is strong, he has never completed a mission.

Most of the time, mission completion isn't closely tied to a ninja's own strength.

In other words, one must be careful in choosing missions to complete.

"Hm?"

After noticing a mission scroll, Shui Men's eyes lit up; he found a mission that could maximize both of their abilities.

"This is the mission then."

After handing the mission scroll to the processing ninja for confirmation, Shui Men turned and gave the scroll to Qimu Chao, and the two left the building together.

"Genin… Genin?!"

While reviewing the data, the processing ninja widened his eyes and called his superior Qian Yuanchi Ye: "Hey, boss, come take a look…"

"What's up?"

Seeing the subordinate drenched in sweat, Qian Yuanchi Ye frowned slightly and walked over.

"It's a B‑rank protection mission, with Bofeng Shuimen and Qimu Chao as the assigned ninjas, no problem."

After seeing the record, Qian Yuanchi Ye still frowned, puzzled: "Where's the problem?"

"But Qimu Chao is just a Genin, only seven years old, and only graduated from the Ninja Academy yesterday!"

The processing ninja wiped sweat from his forehead and loudly explained to his superior.

"What?!"

Hearing that, Qian Yuanchi Ye's eyes widened, and he pulled out the data to examine it carefully: "I said how could Mr. Shuo Mao have such a big son, only seven years old? I thought I had misremembered…"

"Now the issue is that this B‑rank mission has Jonin Shui Men and Genin Chao completing it; could there be problems? Shouldn't a ninja fresh out of school start with D‑rank missions?" the processing ninja asked quietly.

"Actually, this is already an extraordinary period; even letting a Genin take on a B‑rank mission isn't a problem, as long as they're led by a Jonin."

Qian Yuanchi Ye shook his head: "I know Shui Men's strength; a mere B‑rank mission can't trouble him, and just now Qimu Chao said he's Shui Men's partner, not subordinate, and Shui Men didn't object."

That means Shui Men highly acknowledges him in some respects, and he is the son of Konoha's Bai Ya; a genius's worldview is beyond what ordinary people can imagine.

Although he says that with his mouth, Qian Yuanchi still decides to quickly write a report to hand to the Third Hokage, for the Hokage to decide whether to let the two return and choose a new mission.

However, at the speed of Shui Men and Qimu Chao, they have already left the village and are rapidly advancing toward the target country.