"I'll help introduce my old classmate," Shinnosuke Sarutobi stepped forward, standing beside Folken. Folken kept a neutral expression, saying nothing, quietly listening to Shinnosuke's introduction.
It was great to have someone introduce him. As the saying goes, the more you talk, the more mistakes you make. If anything slipped out, six years of careful history could be ruined.
"Raised in an orphanage, his name is Folken. He's eighteen, just had his birthday, eats anything without fuss, and has completed one thousand eight hundred and three D-rank missions…"
"…." Folken remained silent for a moment, mentally adding, Now it's one thousand eight hundred and four D-rank missions.
Of course! There were always people with some skill and influence who secretly kept tabs on him.
Shinnosuke, once a secret admirer, had long treated Folken as a lifelong rival. With his father being the Hokage and himself a Jonin, digging through files was effortless.
But years had passed. The old crush had become a Chunin years ago, and Shinnosuke had nearly forgotten about Folken. Today, hearing Folken's name during team assignments reignited his buried resentment. He stayed up all night memorizing Folken's records to seize the chance for a little humiliation.
When Shinnosuke finished, the three students on the steps were shocked and bewildered. Is this guy some kind of pervert who likes men? How does he know so much about Folken?!
"Alright," Folken interrupted their thoughts, "Thanks for the introduction, Shinnosuke. You may leave now."
He turned to the three students. "Now it's your turn to introduce yourselves."
Shinnosuke nodded, preparing to step over the railing and leave the rooftop in classic ninja fashion. Finally, I get to blow off some school frustration…
Wait a minute!
"I haven't introduced myself yet," Uchiha Mikoto said, just as she was about to speak, only to be interrupted by Shinnosuke, who ruined the carefully rehearsed speech in her mind. She glared at his seemingly honest yet slightly handsome face, wishing she could punch him.
Folken glanced at Shinnosuke. "You're not in my Class 11. What's the point of your introduction?"
"Of course… it's… useful…" Shinnosuke grabbed his hair, stretching the word 'of course' awkwardly, "Well, we're old classmates, right? Maybe we'll be on the same mission someday, better to know each other in advance."
Folken frowned, sighed, and adjusted his forehead protector. "Shinnosuke Jonin, I'm just a Genin. I cannot take C-rank missions or above. So…"
He shot Shinnosuke a knowing look.
Shinnosuke wanted to protest, but three pairs of eyes stared at him. One belonged to a Uchiha, said to be a genius granddaughter of a clan elder. If word got out that he, a Jonin, was belittling a Genin, his reputation would suffer.
Reluctantly, Shinnosuke forced a polite smile, patting Folken's taller shoulder. "It's fine. I believe one day you'll become a Chunin and break the curse of failing the exam six times."
He emphasized six times. Folken, far from pleased, felt a shiver run down his spine. "Thanks for your 'blessing'. I'll see that it comes true."
Shinnosuke finally felt satisfied and, in front of Folken and the three Genins, demonstrated the Jonin-only Instant Movement Technique, showing off.
In a blink, he had vanished to a rooftop outside the school, thinking to himself, Haha, a long-lost classmate, and I still got the last word. My power wins again!
The brief squabble between old classmates concluded, and now it was time for the three students' introductions.
"My name is Uchiha Mikoto. I'm eleven. I love training with shuriken, my favorite food is the roasted chicken meatballs from our clan's local vendor, and my dream is to become a powerful Uchiha ninja! Maybe even surpass the previous generation's strongest Uchiha, Madara Uchiha!"
Her youthful confidence was apparent.
Folken nodded slightly, acknowledging her confidence but remaining skeptical. In a world that prized bloodlines, even with the Surgical Fruit, his chakra limit was obvious, and he only had fire-element chakra.
"Next."
"My name is Noroi Nono. I'm ten. I enjoy making handcrafted bouquets and want to become a medical ninja to help others. My dream is to open an orphanage, giving children without families a warm home."
Noroi Nono's gentle nature shone through. Even Uchiha Mikoto, confident and proud, could not help but recall the tragedy of her parents' deaths during missions.
"That's a wonderful goal! This is youth!" Mite Dai, unable to contain his rare independent streak what modern psychology might call Asperger's traits exclaimed.
Folken noticed Mite Dai was restraining his excitement. Unlike his peer, Mite Dai now had a wife, and so was more subdued.
"You're kind of strange," Noroi Nono said, showing she did not mind Mite Dai's quirks. "Your turn. Share with us, sir."
"Eh! I'm only twenty-three. How am I an 'uncle'?"
"I'm ten, she's eleven. You decide, uncle."
Mite Dai shrugged, disappointed, but Folken could see he was secretly happy. His new teammates did not reject him.
"My name is Mite Dai! I'm twenty-three, married, and my wife is expecting a child. When the baby's born, I'll invite you all to see it!"
"Cough. Talk about your future goals. We can discuss family stuff later," Folken interrupted. Mite Dai was clearly excited, but Folken knew Mite Kai, when a child, had no mother, so he needed to stay focused.
"Oh! Sorry, Folken," Mite Dai scratched his head, continuing. He explained he was a taijutsu-type ninja, skilled in physical combat, and hoped to develop a system allowing even purely physical fighters to become powerful ninjas.
"Good. Introductions complete."
"Tomorrow, we begin official D-rank missions. Meet at 9 a.m. in front of the Hokage building."
"That's all."
Folken vaulted over the railing, landing perfectly on the schoolyard below, hands in pockets. Perfect chakra control as he descended several floors. Today, his 3,000 ryō still hadn't been deposited.
On the rooftop, Uchiha Mikoto was stunned. "Huh?! The survival exercise is gone?!"
"A Genin teacher is hopeless," Noroi Nono muttered, nearly ready to give up.
Mite Dai, understanding Folken's skill, scratched his head. "Actually, Folken's ability is comparable to mine. He probably can't handle our attacks perfectly in a survival exercise, so he's teaching you what he's best at instead."
"One thousand-plus D-rank missions' experience," Uchiha Mikoto said, pinching her face. "How difficult can these low-level missions be?"
Mite Dai smiled awkwardly, glancing at the Uchiha clan emblem on her clothing, envious. If only I were a genius ninja too… my wife wouldn't have to suffer so much.
The next morning, Folken arrived almost half an hour early at the Hokage building entrance. After twenty minutes, he checked his watch.
"Few more minutes. If she's late, as Class 11's leader, I should be entitled to a larger share."
Individually, a D-rank mission gives 40% of the reward. With a team, the village policy, emphasizing training, increases it to 60%. But the teacher must share some reward with students.
The teacher earns less than the student, and new Genins are slow. Failure could cost money.
The job requires supervising, observing, and guiding students. In short, being a team-leading teacher was far less desirable than a salaried Chunin instructor at the ninja academy.
Minutes later, Noroi Nono and Mite Dai arrived, backpacks in tow. Folken noticed Mite Dai had risen early, sweat on his forehead and uniform, likely training.
At 9:01 a.m., Uchiha Mikoto still hadn't arrived. Folken's expression darkened. Given her attitude yesterday, he doubted she would disrespect her teacher on the first day. "Let's go check the Uchiha estate," he thought.
As the team leader, he needed to understand his students before reporting to the higher-ups.