After the three of them finished their introductions, Kimoto Dōichi smiled faintly.
"Alright, that's enough for today. Gather here tomorrow morning. I'll take you to accept missions."
Before they could even respond, he vanished.
Shumu and Tada stared at the empty spot in a daze.
Yoru shook his head helplessly. "Looks like our teacher isn't exactly reliable either."
"Yamada, Motoya. See you tomorrow."
Since Dōichi had already left, Yoru had no intention of staying.
But just as he was about to leave, Shumu called out to him.
"Wait, Yoru! Today's our graduation day—and our first day as a team. Shouldn't we celebrate?"
Before Yoru could answer, Tada nodded enthusiastically. "Let's go eat yakiniku. I'll treat!"
"Yoru, we still haven't really gotten to know you."
Her beautiful eyes blinked at him, making it difficult to refuse.
"…Alright. I'll have to trouble you then."
Even though he had guessed Tada came from a wealthy family, it still felt awkward letting her pay.
After all, in Konoha, yakiniku wasn't cheap—not like ramen.
Shumu grinned. "Don't feel bad. Tada's father is one of Konoha's most famous businessmen. Her monthly allowance is equal to the reward of a B-rank mission."
"If you keep talking, I'll make you pay instead," Tada shot back, clearly disliking being labeled as rich.
Shumu laughed. "Alright, alright. I'll stop."
"So, Yoru? Coming?"
Yoru was honestly surprised.
He had known Tada's family was well-off, but not that well-off.
A B-rank mission paid anywhere from 80,000 to 200,000 ryo.
Even at the lowest estimate, 80,000 ryo a month could buy over a thousand bowls of regular Ichiraku ramen.
Yoru's own monthly living expenses were only 5,000 ryo—and that was already enough for him to live comfortably.
Tada's pocket money alone was at least sixteen times his living expenses.
Yoru's lips twitched.
The wealth gap is real…
But if someone was offering yakiniku, he certainly wouldn't refuse.
"Alright. Let's go."
They arrived at Konoha's most famous yakiniku restaurant, a common gathering place for ninja.
The moment they stepped inside, a voice called out—
"Yoru! Over here!"
He looked toward the sound.
It was Ino and the others.
Yoru glanced at Tada, silently asking for her opinion.
Tada smiled faintly. "Yoru and Ino seem pretty close."
"We just met today," Yoru replied calmly.
He wasn't sure what she meant by that.
But Shumu suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
Is Tada… jealous?
Yoru didn't understand her well yet.
But Shumu did.
Tada was gentle by nature—but she could be subtly sharp when she wanted to be.
Only after hearing Yoru's answer did Tada smile properly. "Then let's join them."
Yoru didn't notice anything unusual.
Shumu, however, had a bad feeling.
I hope this meal stays peaceful…
Though that's unlikely.
He could already imagine what might happen.
When they approached, sure enough—Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, and their instructor Asuma were already seated.
As Yoru moved toward Ino, Tada smoothly sat between the two of them.
Smiling, she said, "Ino, I didn't expect to see you here."
Ino glanced at Tada.
The two had always gotten along fairly well.
Back at the Academy, Tada had been one of the few girls who wasn't obsessed with Sasuke, so there was no rivalry between them.
And although she wasn't from a ninja clan, her family was wealthy and influential in Konoha.
Their relationship had been decent.
But today, Ino felt something different about her.
Shumu and Shikamaru both noticed it.
Yoru, meanwhile, sat beside Shumu.
Shikamaru gestured lazily. "Yoru, this is our instructor—Sarutobi Asuma."
Yoru, Shumu, and Tada immediately stood up.
"Asuma-sensei."
They all knew who he was.
Even setting aside the fact that he was the Third Hokage's son, his status as an elite jonin alone commanded respect.
An elite jonin was an extremely powerful figure within a ninja village.
In some smaller villages, someone of that level could even serve as Kage.
Even in Konoha, those with elite jonin strength were among the top tier.
Seeing them so formal, Asuma waved his hands hurriedly.
"No need, no need. Sit down."
After they sat, Asuma sighed and looked at Shikamaru's group.
"Look at these three—so well-mannered. You should learn from them."
Shikamaru and the others didn't take it to heart.
They came from major ninja clans.
Even though they respected Asuma, they wouldn't act overly polite.
After all, the Ino–Shika–Cho clans were in no way inferior to the Sarutobi clan.
Ino ignored Asuma entirely and fixed her gaze on Yoru.
"Yoru, why did you finish so quickly? Didn't your teacher test you?"
Leaning past Tada to speak to him made Tada slightly displeased.
Though she didn't show it.
Everyone looked toward Yoru.
Though they had graduated and officially become ninja, they still had to pass their jonin instructor's evaluation.
If they failed, the instructor had the authority to send them back to the Academy.
Yoru answered evenly, "Our teacher's test was relatively simple. So we finished quickly."
But before he could say more, Shumu blurted out—
"Simple? It was terrifying! Tada and I almost died!"
Just recalling Dōichi's killing intent made him shudder.
At that moment, he had truly felt like death would've been better.
His words piqued Shikamaru and the others' curiosity.
Asuma frowned. "Who's your instructor?"
Since Asuma had entered the classroom before Dōichi, the two had missed each other.
"It's Kimoto Dōichi-sensei," Shumu replied.
Asuma froze for a moment, then frowned deeply.
"Kimoto Dōichi? I don't remember any jonin in Konoha with that name…"