Mamoru stood where he was, listening to Miki's long-winded explanation, his brow furrowing involuntarily. He listened carefully for a long time but still hadn't figured out what they, the Genin, were actually supposed to do.
"Daichi."
Miki beckoned to a burly man in the team. "You will be responsible for leading these three Genin."
"Yes." Daichi was clearly stunned for a moment, then respectfully complied.
A round of whispers immediately broke out around them.
"It's actually Daichi. Luckily it's not me. I don't want to be a babysitter."
"Tell me about it. Why must we bring along a few burdens for such an important mission?"
...
These discussions clearly reached Mamoru's ears, and he clicked his tongue in annoyance.
At this time, the burly man named Daichi walked over with an ordinary-looking girl and stopped in front of Mamoru and Teruhito.
His voice was thick and powerful. "My name is Sano Daichi. In the upcoming operation, all three of you Genin must follow my commands."
"Yes!" Teruhito immediately straightened his back and responded loudly.
Mamoru, however, nonchalantly pulled a chestnut pancake from the paper bag and took a bite, asking unclearly, "What exactly are we Genin here for?"
The muscles on Daichi's face twitched. Looking at the lazy boy before him, he thought to himself that this was clearly a troublemaker. He only hoped that no trouble would occur during the mission. Otherwise, he would surely be the one scolded in the end.
Daichi explained patiently, "Your main task as Genin is to keep up with the team and be on standby at all times. Wherever manpower is needed, you will go to help."
"Huh!?" Mamoru's brow furrowed even deeper, his face full of impatience.
"So we're just errand boys? If I'd known it was like this, I'd have been better off digging sweet potatoes in the fields."
He grumbled inwardly, 'The old man actually sent him here to do chores for these Chunin, was he joking?'
"It's actually not as bad as you imagine." The ordinary-looking girl took the initiative to approach Mamoru, a friendly smile on her face.
"Hey, what's your name? My name is Miyamaru Yoko."
"My name is Mashima Teruhito."
The chubby Teruhito beat Mamoru to the introduction, his face piled with what he thought was a brilliant smile, warmly extending his hand to Yoko.
"You can just call me Teruhito. It's nice to meet you, please look after me."
Yoko was startled by Teruhito suddenly approaching her. She froze for a moment before reacting, nodding flatly. "Oh, um, I see."
She then immediately turned her curious gaze back to Mamoru, her eyes flashing with intense interest.
Mamoru glanced at the dejected Teruhito, who was downcast after being ignored, and thought to himself, 'He is trying so hard, could he have taken a liking to her?'
He turned his gaze back to the girl, his tone flat. "I'm Uchiha Mamoru . What did you mean by 'not so bad'?"
"You're from the Uchiha clan?" Daichi stared at Mamoru, his voice carrying unmistakable surprise.
"That's right." Mamoru responded flatly, not even lifting an eyelid.
The Genin's names hadn't been mentioned at all during the roll call just now, they were clearly being treated as expendable errand boys.
Daichi kept sizing him up, his gaze much like he was viewing some rare animal.
Teruhito on the side nodded, his face written with the same curiosity.
Mamoru felt uncomfortable being watched and frowned slightly. "Have you seen enough?"
"Sorry, I'm just a bit excited."
Only then did Daichi realize his lapse in manners, scratching his head sheepishly.
It wasn't entirely their fault for overreacting. The Uchiha clan was once the greatest clan in Konoha. When the news of their tragic overnight massacre spread, it caused a massive uproar in the Ninja World.
For a long time, it was the most popular topic for villagers to discuss after dinner, and even now, it was occasionally mentioned.
Now that they could see a survivor of the Uchiha with their own eyes, how could they not be surprised?
"Is he very famous?" Yoko asked, blinking, not understanding.
"So, the answer?" Mamoru looked at Yoko, changing the subject, not wanting to continue dwelling on this question.
Hearing Mamoru's question, Yoko quickly explained, "Oh... actually, this mission still has great benefits for us Genin..."
She paused there, stole a glance at Daichi standing nearby, and continued in a lowered voice, "Although we don't need to participate in combat and can't help much, once the mission is completed, we Genin will have it recorded in our ninja files according to the mission's difficulty level."
Mamoru nodded silently, accepting her explanation.
To put it bluntly, they were here to pad their resumes. After the mission, they could add a high-difficulty mission record to their history.
This indeed had many benefits. Not only would they be looked upon more highly, but they would also be given priority for higher-paying missions in the future.
But the problem was, Mamoru didn't need any of that. He currently had zero interest in advancing his ninja rank.
To put it bluntly, if it weren't for the few people in Konoha he cared about, he would have left this place long ago to fly free.
His strength would naturally increase with his mastery of the Six Eyes and the growth of his Chakra, becoming stronger was only a matter of time.
But to achieve a qualitative leap, he had to solve the problem of Cursed Technique Reversal. Otherwise, he would likely stop at Kage level.
"Alright, everyone execute the upcoming operation according to the current assignments. If there are any questions, ask your respective squad captains later."
A voice from not far away interrupted Mamoru's thoughts.
He looked up and saw that the previously messy crowd had already formed two neat rows.
At the very front of the team, the two leaders stood with their backs to the village entrance, Miki of Squad One and Yuya of Squad Two.
"Starting now, check your luggage. We depart in ten minutes." Miki stood before the team with his arms crossed, his tone steady and composed.
"Yes!" The team responded in unison.
Everyone opened their backpacks and began to check.
Watching their methodical movements, Mamoru thought to himself, 'They look quite professional.'
Yoko moved closer to Mamoru, asking with concern, "Mamoru, are you going on the mission dressed like that? And where are your ninja tools?"
"If you forgot to bring them, I have spares I can lend you."