At the mission office, the Chunin in charge of administrative work was busy as ever. When Folken inquired, the Chunin placed a thick stack of mission scrolls on the desk. The other administrative Chunin wore expressions of helplessness. Finally, the main Chunin spoke:
"Folken, these missions are not ordinary tasks. The village is short-staffed, so we're relying on experienced instructors like you to train capable students quickly, so they can handle these missions."
"I see. Then, Chunin Yosuke, could you take a moment to explain this to me?"
"No problem." Yosuke Nara returned to his seat. He was the head of the mission office and an old acquaintance of Folken's a D-rank mission fanatic. He accepted almost every D-rank mission at a glance and completed them flawlessly.
Now, he had three followers with him.
"Sensei, there's a total of 7,000 ryo. How should we divide it?" Nonou asked, taking seven 1,000-ryo bills from a Chunin in the corner responsible for mission payouts. Behind her, Dai panted from exertion, while Mikoto yawned, finding D-rank missions trivial.
"Hm. Let's do this: I take 4,000, and the three of you share 3,000."
"?" "?"
"Why!" Mikoto clenched her fists. Normally, you might take 3,000 when there's 6,000 total, but now 7,000 and you want 4,000?!
She wasn't short on money, but this was their hard-earned reward.
"You'll understand when you become an instructor," Folken said, taking the four bills from Nonou.
At that moment, Yosuke Nara, about to start on a mission scroll, remembered something. "Folken, the Chunin exam registration has begun. Are you planning to sign up?"
"Yes." Folken ignored the glare from the two girls and slipped the 4,000 ryo into his waistband. "It's still free this year, right?"
Yosuke smirked slightly. "Yes, no fee."
After nodding, Folken turned to the three students. "Do you all want to sign up?"
"Yes!" the three chorused.
Dai didn't care about money. The Chunin exam, however, he was determined to pass this time.
At the Hokage's office:
"Father, I believe my team is ready for Chunin level. They just need a simple C-rank mission to gain experience."
A black-haired boy stood in front of the desk. The middle-aged man sitting behind it, wearing a Hokage hat, glanced at him, then rifled through mission files. "A mission to eliminate mountain bandits. That's yours."
"Thank you, Father!"
Knock, knock, knock.
"Come in."
Shinnosuke Sarutobi received the mission file from Hiruzen Sarutobi and went to the mission office to collect it. As he turned to leave, he saw Folken arrive.
"You? You're here to pick up a C-rank mission too?"
Folken frowned. When did picking up a C-rank mission require the Hokage's permission? "I'm here to register for the Chunin exam, along with my Class Eleven."
Shinnosuke snorted, glancing at his father. Hiruzen subtly nodded, signaling him to leave. Shinnosuke stormed out, brushing past Folken and huffing a mocking snort.
Is this kid acting up again? Folken thought.
Once the door closed, Hiruzen turned to Folken and pulled out recent intelligence on his class. In just over a month, Folken's Class Eleven had completed thirty-seven D-rank missions almost one per day.
Meanwhile, Shinnosuke's Class Two completed only sixteen D-rank missions in the same period.
"Folken, do you know why you've always been allowed to take the Chunin exam?"
"Why?" Folken asked, puzzled. Is he trying to brainwash me?
"Your class once executed a C-rank mission, but later you had a conflict with Jonin Yazaki and wanted to separate from your class. Jonin Yazaki, a special Jonin, told me that if I didn't remove you from the roster, he would resign. That's why I cleared all mission records of your connection to Class Six to resolve the conflict."
"I understand that part, but…"
"Young people are always impatient," Hiruzen interrupted, handing him a mission scroll. "This is a C-rank mission. Normally, to qualify for the Chunin exam, you must complete at least two C-rank missions."
"And your students clearly haven't met that requirement yet."
"They need to see blood at least once to be proper ninjas."
"Go ahead. Don't worry. It's just a standard escort mission. There may be an assassin targeting the merchant, but intelligence indicates it's an ordinary person, not a ninja. I trust you can handle it."
Hiruzen didn't want to pressure Folken too much now. If anything went wrong during the exam, it could ruin the promotion process. He didn't want to elevate Folken to provisional Chunin just to create cannon fodder.
Folken inhaled deeply. Outwardly calm, he felt fear creeping inside. On paper, it was a C-rank mission but in reality, it could escalate into B, A, or even S-rank difficulty.
"Can I refuse?"
"Yes, but the other two members of your team won't be able to take the exam. The Uchiha are a special case. Mikoto must complete a 'ninja mission' before the exam." Hiruzen studied Folken carefully. Only Folken would dare to refuse a mission; other Genin wouldn't have the nerve.
"Understood."
Two weeks remained until the first round of the Chunin exam. Completing a C-rank mission wasn't difficult if it truly was C-rank.
"The merchant is from the Land of Hot Springs, named Shoto Mizutani, 34 years old. He plans to open a hot spring inn in Konoha. On his way, he offended a local gang. The gang posted a bounty of only 30,000 ryo on the black market. No ninja has accepted it yet…"
This feels like a trap, Folken thought.
If someone else accepts it halfway through, and thugs show up, it could turn into a B, A, or S-rank mission!
At home, Folken collapsed on the sofa, examining the official mission scroll he had retrieved. Every detail indicated this was not a normal C-rank mission.
But once accepted, a mission couldn't be returned. That's just how it worked: once you see the contents, you have to take it.
Tonight, I should notify the other two. Maybe I need to learn Shadow Clone Technique to send daily messages it's exhausting. But if I ask the Hokage, maybe just using a ninjutsu standard will be enough for promotion.
Genin had semi-freedom they could refuse missions or promotions. Chunin could not.
On the commercial street, two girls exited a cake shop, chatting happily. The owner smiled, thinking it was remarkable that customers still came despite the ongoing war. Today's sales were a modest gain.
As the girls carried their small cakes toward a narrow stairwell, a black-haired boy appeared behind them, placing his hands on their shoulders.
"Ahhh!"
"Don't be afraid. It's me."