After the meal, no matter how joyful the gathering, it eventually had to end. These days of laughter and chatter would, in the future, all become precious fragments of memory.
Baixing swept his gaze over the game system interface. At this point, only a single main quest remained—
Survive until the finale of Shippuden.
As he washed the few remaining white plates, Baixing claimed the reward for this beginner quest.
[Random Reward Draw Complete]
[Saiyan Physique] (Received)
[All Beginner Benefits Have Been Distributed. Player May Act Freely.]
The instant the reward was claimed, Baixing felt a mutation ripple through his body. The blood that had once flowed calmly suddenly grew hot—searing, restless, even carrying a faint prickling pain.
Crack.
The hands holding the white dishcloth tightened unconsciously, and the ceramic plate in his grip shattered with a dull snap.
Baixing sucked in a sharp breath. Thank goodness he hadn't activated this while handling any adult entertainment items—otherwise…
A near miss.
He didn't dare walk with force, nor did he dare lie down on the sofa. Since it was already eight or nine in the evening, he decided to go outside for a "walk," to properly "digest" this reward.
Outside the village, at a public training ground—
Even doing push-ups in place left handprints pressed into the ground. Afraid someone might notice, Baixing deliberately added a bit of chakra reinforcement so as not to leave obvious "fingerprints."
After two full hours of training, not only did Baixing feel no fatigue—his entire body felt refreshed and clear.
So this is a Saiyan body?!
He finally adapted to the sudden surge in physical strength. Just as he was about to head home and rest, another thought struck him. He immediately walked up to a large tree and infused chakra into the soles of his feet.
Crack—crack.
The ground fractured under the uncontrollably strong chakra.
Just as he suspected!
After gaining the Saiyan physique, both the quantity and quality of chakra he could refine had increased. Compared to before, everything was now out of balance—he had to relearn control.
Otherwise, the moment he used chakra on tomorrow's mission, he'd give himself away.
...
Early the next morning.
Uchiha Mikoto and Yakushi Nono arrived first at the Hokage Tower and greeted Might Duy as he came in.
"Uncle Duy, you're wearing this outfit again," Mikoto laughed. "I've seen it for so many days already, I'm getting bored."
For a proud Uchiha, this was practically a friendly remark.
"Haha! This is the equipment of youth—I'll never take it off!"
Might Duy flashed a thumbs-up, teeth gleaming white.
"But this is the first time Teacher Baixing's been late," Yakushi Nono said thoughtfully. "Could it be that he moved into his new house and forgot to set his alarm?"
A mischievous glint flashed in her eyes, her hands itching to act.
Just as the three were discussing whether to go to Baixing's place to look for him, Baixing dragged his tired body over, arriving right on the dot at the Hokage Tower entrance.
"Good morning, everyone."
"Teacher Baixing, you're really late~" Mikoto teased.
"We almost went to your house to check if you'd bought something… indecent."
Baixing rolled his eyes hard.
Are you my mom?
Not to mention I'm eighteen now—my real self is already twenty-eight. Add that together and I'm practically a fifty-year-old geezer!
He ignored Mikoto's comment. His eyes were heavy with fatigue, faint dark circles beneath them. Yakushi Nono noticed, but said nothing. She watched Baixing and Mikoto walk into the Hokage Tower, then followed along with the oblivious Might Duy.
...
Nearly a month passed after the team's formation, filled with D-rank missions.
Uchiha Mikoto and Yakushi Nono felt like they could recite by heart which family's cat lived where, and which dog belonged to whom in the village.
Might Duy, however, remained as passionate as ever, tackling every mission with overflowing energy.
"Teacher, how about we don't do missions tomorrow?" Mikoto finally said.
"Even if it's not a C-rank mission, shouldn't you at least teach us some proper training by now?"
She had acknowledged Baixing's qualifications as a D-rank mission veteran—but endlessly doing D-ranks couldn't be the whole plan.
Walking ahead, Baixing didn't hear her at all. He was busy calculating his savings—from over 4.91 million ryō, now down to just around 500,000.
Retirement funds are still a long way off…
"Teacher, are you even listening to us?!"
Yakushi Nono grabbed the hem of Baixing's clothes, snapping him back to reality.
He glanced around, only then realizing he'd walked past the turn while escorting Mikoto and Nono home.
"The team's coordination is basically there now," Baixing said calmly.
"Tomorrow, I'll make it up to you with a practical survival exercise. I'll notify Duy. Time—10 a.m. Training Ground No. 118. That's all."
He waved his hand carelessly and headed toward Might Duy's place, completely missing the stunned expressions on Mikoto's and Nono's faces behind him.
Is this really the same teacher who made us grind D-rank missions every day?!
As Baixing walked, he mulled things over for a long time. He paced back and forth downstairs at Duy's place, visibly troubled. From a second-floor window, Duy's wife, Rin, noticed him early on. She patted Duy's shoulder, signaling that Baixing was clearly in trouble—and as his student, teammate, and friend, Duy couldn't just ignore it.
After a long moment of thought, Might Duy made a decision. He gathered his recent "little stash" plus his own savings, took out half of it—a full 30,000 ryō in assorted bills—stuffed it into a document envelope, and hurried downstairs.
Baixing was still wrestling with the problem. He didn't want to be promoted to chūnin—but he needed a solid excuse. Otherwise, he'd be upgraded whether he liked it or not, becoming a proper village enforcer, sent wherever the Hokage pointed.
"Baixing!"
Might Duy came running down, panting, a thick envelope in hand.
"Duy, I was just about to talk to you about something," Baixing said, remembering he still needed to notify him about tomorrow's drill. "Tomorrow—"
"Say no more, I know already!"
Duy slapped a hand on Baixing's shoulder, shoving the envelope into his arms.
"You're getting married tomorrow?! Isn't that way too fast?! When did you secretly get a girlfriend?! Take this—think of it as my wedding gift! It's not much, but it's from the heart—"
Behind Baixing, the two girls froze in horror.
They were with Baixing every single day on missions. He couldn't use Shadow Clones—so how was he pulling off a double life?!
Baixing sighed, raised a hand, and pried Duy's grip off his shoulder. Duy blinked in surprise—Baixing's strength hadn't been this great before. That casual motion felt almost effortless.
"I'm not getting married. Single. A certified lone dog."
Then he continued calmly,
"I'm here to notify you: tomorrow at 10 a.m., Training Ground No. 118. Team Eleven will be conducting a practical survival exercise trial."