Chapter 59: C-Rank Investigation Mission
A few days later, everyone returned to Konoha and was granted a one-week break.
However, after experiencing the battlefield firsthand, Genma cherished his time even more. His mornings were entirely dedicated to training with his master, Suteru, engaging in one-versus-many taijutsu sparring against a group of burly men—just like before.
In the afternoons, he split his training into two: his shadow clones focused on refining his swordsmanship, while his main body worked on earth-nature transformation training.
The applications of earth-nature chakra transformation were surprisingly numerous.
For instance, earth chakra could alter an object's hardness, composition, mass, and even gravity.
The concepts of "Morphing" and "Hardening", as explained by Yuji, were part of his personal theory.
To Yuji, the most practical applications of Earth Release were increasing the hardness of earth-based materials and manipulating the weight of objects.
Hardness was easy to understand—it referred to durability. This was a broad classification since altering an object's composition or density could also enhance its toughness. However, Yuji believed that hardness alone was useful enough to warrant specialization.
Meanwhile, "Morphing" primarily referred to adjusting weight. He ignored composition and density, focusing entirely on weight manipulation.
If he needed to escape, he could lighten his armor.
If he was engaging in combat, he could increase the weight of his fists.
Although Genma found Yuji's approach to Earth Release development a bit crude, there simply wasn't anyone better suited to teach him.
Had he attempted to develop Earth Release techniques on his own, it would have likely taken far more time—delaying his combat readiness even further.
But the current situation no longer allowed him to progress slowly. While his growth wasn't what one would call "slow but steady," he had to mature quickly.
Thus, his afternoons were dedicated to weight manipulation training. He equipped himself with weighted armor and ran laps while gradually altering its weight.
Of course, he first focused on increasing the armor's weight. Running with additional weight was a simple yet effective way to enhance physical endurance.
At night, he devoted his time to developing new jutsu.
After sealing himself in his room, plugging his ears with cotton, he trained with his spiral drill technique by grinding down stones.
Strictly speaking, he didn't necessarily need to develop such a jutsu.
However, Genma was well aware of his future potential.
If he failed to master swordsmanship, failed to learn Sage Mode, or failed to acquire the Flying Thunder God Technique, then this spiral drill would be his last resort.
Even if he couldn't match Kakashi's level as an elite Jonin, he could still reach Asuma's level at the very least.
Besides, thanks to his shadow clone's ability to accelerate training, he actually had enough time to train multiple skills.
As it stood, his shadow clones were tirelessly practicing sword swings, honing his blade techniques.
Had it not been for Suteru's insistence, he would have challenged an entire group of swordsmen for sparring to increase his familiarity with the sword.
Although he didn't understand why Suteru forbade him from doing so, he obediently followed his master's guidance.
Days passed in this manner, and before long, it was time for another mission.
—
Early that morning, the three of them arrived at the Mission Assignment Office, waiting quietly as Yuji selected their next task.
Returning here filled them with mixed emotions.
Looking back, none of their missions had ever gone smoothly.
Their first C-rank mission to exterminate bandits had unexpectedly escalated to A-rank within a few days.
The C-rank beast-hunting mission had been completely abandoned.
The recent B-rank war assistance mission had been an eye-opening experience for them.
Sure, their missions were exciting, but they were far too eventful—completely unfit for mere side characters!
Before Genma could finish reminiscing, Yuji's voice snapped him back to reality.
"Alright, this time we'll do something simple—Character Evaluation."
The moment they heard "Character Evaluation", Genma remained skeptical.
Given Yuji's money-hungry tendencies, this so-called "simple mission" was bound to be anything but ordinary.
Character Evaluation missions involved assessing the behavior of officials within the Land of Fire.
However, when ninja were assigned to these tasks, they were usually tasked with investigating high-ranking officials in critical positions.
This meant the Fire Daimyo needed urgent intelligence on certain officials.
After all, the Twelve Guardian Ninja under the Daimyo were perfectly capable of gathering this information themselves if time wasn't an issue.
Each of these twelve was at least Jonin-level, making reconnaissance trivial for them.
Since evaluating an official's character wasn't something that could be done in just a day or two, the fact that Konoha had been contracted for this mission meant something was pressing the Daimyo for time.
Raido, who also understood the nature of this mission, stuck out his tongue in disbelief.
He was one step away from saying, "Yeah, right. Who are you fooling?"
Meanwhile, Kurenai pouted in dissatisfaction.
Having seen Yuji's money-loving smirk so many times before, she immediately understood what was going on.
When Genma took the mission briefing, he carefully read through the details.
The mission was located in Hifish Town, a settlement near the Fire Country-Rain Country border.
The target of the investigation was none other than the town's mayor.
Although he was merely a town mayor, his position on the border made him exceptionally important.
Even more concerning was the duration of the mission—one whole month.
Upon seeing this, all three of them groaned in frustration.
While the mission seemed novel, spending an entire month monitoring a single person sounded painfully tedious.
They barely had enough time for training, never took breaks during their vacations, and were already on edge about the looming war.
Ever since Sakumo's downfall, they had been mentally preparing for the worst.
Now, instead of strengthening themselves for the inevitable conflict, they were sent on what felt like a reconnaissance job—it was frustrating.
Seeing his students standing motionless in protest, Yuji lined them up, smiling as he patted them on the shoulders.
"Alright, time to head out."
The three of them remained unwilling but had no choice but to follow.
After leaving the village, noticing that his students were still low-spirited, Yuji cleared his throat and said:
"Don't underestimate this mission. Many have undertaken it before, and according to those who returned, these assignments often turn into A-rank dangers. Very few who took them lightly made it back alive."
Genma didn't believe a word of it.
If these missions routinely escalated to A-rank, then they would have been classified as B-rank minimum.
Since the Fire Daimyo or his officials were issuing the mission, it was a state-level assignment.
The Land of Fire was wealthy—why would they lowball the mission's rank and payment?
And if this border town's mayor was so important, wasn't it safer to govern from within the Land of Fire rather than at a volatile border?
However, it was also possible that the mayor had dual allegiances—perhaps hedging his bets to avoid dying in a future invasion.
This realization made Genma more vigilant than ever.
With two days of full-speed travel, they reached Hifish Town by noon, blending in with a merchant caravan.
Little did they know, the town was hiding more secrets than they expected…
End of Chapter 59