At the Hokage Tower.
The crystal ball technique used by Sarutobi Hiruzen, known as the Telescope Technique, could normally only observe ordinary places. In clan territories, sensory-type ninjas within the clan would notice such surveillance, so under normal circumstances, voyeuristic observation was impossible.
But there were exceptions.
For example—when the Uchiha clan leader gave permission.
A middle-aged man with spiky black hair and a black kimono robe watched the scene inside the crystal ball and nodded slightly.
"Third Hokage, that genin… is not simple."
"I've always watched his talent and effort," Hiruzen replied slowly. "It's just… a bit of a pity."
"Oh?"
The middle-aged man—whose appearance somewhat resembled Uchiha Fugaku—shifted his gaze away from the crystal ball and looked at Hiruzen.
"What's the pity?"
Hiruzen's eyes grew deep.
"This child's talent… is never used on the proper path. And the ideals in his heart are somewhat narrow."
He exhaled a cloud of smoke.
"If an ordinary genin possessed this level of talent and professional discipline, he would have already become an excellent jōnin."
"I'm not so sure," the man replied.
"Perhaps it's precisely because of his fearless mentality that he could rely on his perseverance to independently complete over a thousand D-rank missions."
"Clan Leader Yueye, today's matter has made you see an unsightly scene," Hiruzen said.
"But personally, I believe Bai Xing handled it correctly. So… what do you think?"
"Two months."
Uchiha Yueye raised two fingers.
"I'll only allow Mikoto to perform D-rank missions with him for two months. After she becomes a chūnin, I'll have her return to the Uchiha clan to reinforce the Police Force."
Hiruzen had no objections.
Mikoto herself was essentially a young lady temporarily gaining experience. No matter who she was assigned to, given her status and talent, she would inevitably return to work in the police force.
"Besides," Yueye added, "it's not appropriate for a genin to manage a chūnin, is it?"
After Yueye left, Hiruzen felt a faint sense of melancholy.
The Next Day
Day One — D-rank mission: picking up trash in a waterfall area outside the village.
Mission complete.
Bai Xing experienced the relaxed joy of outsourcing the work and earning money while lying flat. After all, two of his teammates were excellent graduates, and one had been a genin for many years—so the work was handled easily.
On the way back to the Hokage Tower to report the mission, Bai Xing asked the man who had just fallen into the river while attempting water-walking.
"You still can't perform water-walking?"
That man was Might Dai.
If Uchiha Mikoto hadn't thrown a kunai in time—embedding it into the riverbank wall for Dai to grab—he might have been swept downstream.
"Uh… no," Dai said awkwardly.
"Actually… I'm not very good at tree climbing either. A teammate once told me the trick before, but I never managed to grasp it."
"You can't even climb trees? That's such a simple thing."
Walking across the water perfectly, Mikoto lifted her pretty chin proudly.
"Tonight this young lady will teach you! The price is—let me stay at your house!"
After all, she had quarreled with her grandfather and couldn't exactly go back now.
"My house is very small…" Dai said quietly.
"And it's not inside the village."
"…What?"
Mikoto's red lips parted in shock.
"There are ninjas who don't live inside the village?"
"Yes," Bai Xing and Yakushi Nono answered at the same time.
They exchanged glances.
"I used to live in a small warehouse near the outer wall of the village," Bai Xing continued.
"There was nothing inside, and it still cost two thousand ryō per month. If two people want to live in the village while taking care of everything they need, the rent isn't cheap."
"…That's exaggerated."
Nono had always thought her family was already poor.
They only had a two-bedroom house located in the middle of the village—fully paid off—and several hundred thousand ryō left behind by her parents.
"Hehehe!"
Dai gave a thumbs-up.
"So being able to team up with you all and earn money doing missions makes me very happy!"
He thought to himself that tonight he could finally buy some mutton for his wife to improve her nutrition.
"Then… um… Teacher Bai Xing," Mikoto said, blushing slightly.
"Are you still living in that warehouse?"
That had been her real intention all along.
Before Bai Xing could answer, Nono suddenly raised her hand.
"My house! My house has a spare room. You can stay with me."
"Uh… that might not be appropriate."
Mikoto's expression instantly turned into a deadpan stare.
"It's fine!" Nono nodded earnestly.
"For now, let's do that," Bai Xing said.
"After a few more D-rank missions, I'll observe the problems you have during missions and then provide some guidance."
"Oh? You can really see what problems we have?" Nono asked in surprise.
"Hmph."
Although Mikoto appreciated Bai Xing's good looks, she didn't believe he could teach her anything about strength.
Bai Xing calmly analyzed what he had observed during the mission.
"Dai. Your chakra control is terrible. You've been a genin for more than ten years and still can't climb trees."
"…"
The word 'basic' felt especially painful to Dai.
"Nono, your chakra control is good, but it's slightly worse than Mikoto's. You're also not very skilled at water-walking yet. Practice more when you get back. These things are basic."
Then Bai Xing looked at Mikoto.
The proud girl who was currently at the age of overconfidence.
"When Dai fell into the water, why did you throw a kunai?"
"Can you guarantee he would catch it properly?! Not everyone is a genius like you!"
Dai specialized in taijutsu and had some mission experience, so his body reacted instinctively—grabbing the kunai handle and climbing up the riverbank.
But if it had been an ordinary genin, they might have panicked and been swept away by the current.
Or worse—they might have collided with the kunai and been injured.
After hearing Bai Xing explain everything in detail, Mikoto was left speechless.
Mission Office
At the mission desk, Bai Xing handed over the mission scroll.
The chūnin working in the office saw that Bai Xing had successfully led three students. They seemed to get along well enough—aside from one little Uchiha girl whose eyes looked slightly red, as if she had cried.
"No problems."
After verifying the report for several minutes, the reviewing chūnin confirmed it.
"Well done. The reward is 10,000 ryō."
"Here's 6,000. Count it."
"No need."
Bai Xing could tell the amount with a single glance.
He took three of the thousand-ryō notes and handed one to each of them.
"This is your pay for today. Good work."
Dai wiped the sweat from his forehead and happily accepted it.
Mikoto reluctantly took hers, thinking the money wasn't even enough for a single meal.
Nono accepted hers happily and prayed silently to her parents in heaven.
Mom, Dad… I've grown up. I can earn money on my own now.
All three of them still smelled faintly like garbage from the trash-cleaning mission.
Bai Xing pinched his nose.
Originally he wanted to treat them to a simple meal, but after thinking about it, he decided to wait until tomorrow.
"You can rest tomorrow. You all worked hard today."
"And if you're free tomorrow, I can treat you to a simple meal."
"I'm going!" Mikoto said through clenched teeth.
She was determined to eat her fill and drain the wallet of this rich guy who took the largest share.
"Me too!" Nono nodded eagerly.
Dai scratched his head shyly while putting away his thousand ryō.
"Then… I'll trouble you, Bai Xing."
"No problem."
After escorting the three of them out of the Hokage Tower and into the street, Bai Xing said he had something to do and parted ways with them.
Then he returned to the Hokage Tower and knocked on the door of the Third Floor Hokage Office.
"Come in."
Inside the Hokage Office
At first, Hiruzen pretended to know nothing about Mikoto's situation.
But after Bai Xing truthfully explained everything, Hiruzen admitted that he had already received the Uchiha clan leader's decision.
Mikoto would be allowed to perform D-rank missions with the team for about two months.
In addition, Hiruzen hinted once again that Bai Xing could now exchange his mission credits for a C-rank ninjutsu learning scroll at the mission office.
He could even grant Bai Xing access to some B-rank ninjutsu scrolls.
But Bai Xing declined.
He planned to use his money to buy a house in the village, and he had already chosen a location.
That response left Hiruzen slightly disappointed.
After all, a subordinate who was capable, reliable, and able to solve problems on his own—
Yet held nothing more than the rank of genin.
What a pity.