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Inside the Hokage Tower
Uchiha Tōshirō, Satoshi, and Flame followed behind Shige Masaharu.
They were here to submit their mission completion report at the Hokage Office.
At that moment, Uchiha Satoshi was holding a plump orange cat in his arms, his face showing clear disdain.
It wasn't his fault; the fat cat was just too mischievous. The process of catching it had given Uchiha Satoshi quite a bit of trouble.
Cats are among the most agile of small animals. Their lazy nature during the day made them even harder to track.
Even when they found it, the cat's agile movements and small size allowed it to navigate through places that were difficult for humans to reach.
It even managed to resist when Uchiha Satoshi finally caught it, scratching four deep claw marks on his face.
This made Tōshirō and Flame laugh out loud, taunting him and making him lose face.
The one handling the handover with Teacher Shige was not the Third Hokage, but a civilian staff member from the Sarutobi Clan within the Hokage Office.
"It seems not everyone who completes such low-level missions gets to meet the Hokage and hand over their report!"
It made sense. With so many registered ninjas in Konoha Village, the village issued a large number of low-level missions every year to train these young ninjas.
However, not everyone deserved the Hokage's personal attention. It was only natural for these civilian staff members to handle the related low-level tasks.
Speaking of these low-level missions, Tōshirō couldn't help but complain about how varied they were.
They completely shattered his imagination of ninja missions as being filled with sword fights and thrilling adventures.
These D-Rank missions included finding lost cats and dogs, babysitting, repairing roofs for the elderly, and even plowing fields, cutting wood, and gathering herbs, among other things.
And the compensation for each mission was pitifully low, ranging from 3,000 to 20,000 ryō. The village took a third of the payment, and Teacher Shige, as the team leader, took another third. The remaining amount was split among the three of them.
By the time it reached their hands, it was even less, and Tōshirō sometimes couldn't help but think that it was better to work on a platform where you could just lie down and earn money!
These monotonous and low-difficulty missions had made Tōshirō, Flame, and Satoshi extremely bored in just a short month.
"Teacher Shige, when can we take on some higher-level missions?" Satoshi handed the fat cat to a middle-aged woman waiting on the side.
Seeing her cuddle and play with the cat, Uchiha Satoshi looked pained. He turned to his teacher and asked.
"Satoshi, you want to do higher-level missions, but first, you should deal with those claw marks on your face!"
With the turn of his head, the four clear claw marks on his cheek looked even more comical, causing Uchiha Flame to laugh even harder.
Teasing and mocking her childhood friend was something she always enjoyed.
At that moment, she was covering her mouth with both hands, her eyes squinted into slits, and her chubby little face full of joy.
"Flame, these are just accidents! Do you understand? By tomorrow morning, the wounds will be healed!" Seeing his teammates laughing so happily, Uchiha Satoshi couldn't hold back his anger. The veins on his forehead bulged as he loudly defended himself to Flame.
However, the effect was less than satisfactory. The angrier he looked, the happier Flame laughed.
"These two are truly a match made in heaven. One is a bit naive and silly, while the other is mischievous and enjoys teasing him!"
Watching the little love drama in front of him, Tōshirō couldn't help but sigh. Indeed, only in the purest years of youth are feelings the purest and most beautiful.
As people grow older and mature, these beautiful childhood memories become increasingly distant, eventually turning into the mundane and trivialities of daily life.
"But, stupid Satoshi, what you said makes sense! Teacher Shige, when can we take on some higher-level missions?"
'"Stupid Satoshi"' was Uchiha Flame's pet name for Satoshi. She turned to Teacher Shige with hopeful eyes, clearly losing interest in these low-level missions as well.
"Yes, Teacher Shige! Always taking on these low-level missions, I can hardly support myself!"
Tōshirō, who had been waiting on the side, couldn't hold back his words. He had no choice but to speak up.
Since graduating from the ninja academy, his monthly allowance from Konoha had stopped. Even the 1,000 ryō monthly subsidy from his clan had been cut off, and the monthly allowance he imagined from the Security Force was nowhere to be found.
As Teacher Shige put it, as a newly graduated ninja, he was lucky to even have his name on the Uchiha Security Force's roster.
Not participating in patrols and expecting a salary and a position, where in this world did such good things exist? He should just be a diligent new Genin.
Upon hearing this, Tōshirō felt as if he had lost something precious. These days, his income from daily missions barely covered his basic needs.
If this continued, he would have to dip into his savings. That couldn't be allowed. He should take on some higher-paying missions instead.
"Maintaining three Shadow Clones for training every day is really draining!"
With the recent progress in Yin-Yang Release training, his daily food consumption had steadily increased.
Tōshirō couldn't help but sigh. Every time he went to the grocery store, he felt like his wallet was being drained.
Life in a new world is hard; cherish every moment.
Seeing his three complaining students, Uchiha Shige was not surprised. He had been through the same thing.
Thinking back, he had once spoken to his teacher in the same way, alongside his teammates. Now, he was a teacher himself, while his own teachers...
For a moment, Uchiha Shige was lost in his memories. His expression turned somber, but he didn't notice.
"Taking on higher-level missions is not impossible, but I will need to give you several weeks of special training. Only after passing my special training will I take you on C-Rank missions and above!"
The memories didn't last long. Looking at his students, Uchiha Shige answered. He silently vowed to protect these three students with his life.
(End of Chapter)