...
When one speaks of breaking through a bottleneck, there are always two routes one can take.
First…Break through naturally.
Second… Force the breakthrough
Murakami didn't see anything wrong with the first route.
That would've been the optimal route if he had been born in a slightly better time.
Even presently, he was confident that in an all out battle, with his mastery of Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu and Fuinjutsu, he could walk left, right and center anywhere on the battlefield.
But that was on a battlefield with no Jonin present.
Jonin were people who have mastered a lot afterall. There's a reason they're the deciding factor to a village's strength.
Their mastered techniques aside, they had chakra reserves greater than him and he was under no illusion about that.
He was no Uzumaki or Senju afterall.
Even the Uchiha he graduated with had noticeably more chakra than he did which spoke volumes on how paramount it was for him to not lag behind.
One never knows which freak they would meet on the battlefield.
So speaking of breakthrough, Murakami was all for forcing it.
And forcing it entailed one of two things…
Find a better body technique or improve his created technique.
That was the first.
The second was breaking through in a life and death battle.
Murakami felt a chill run down his spine as the thought settled.
Murakami wasn't against the idea, but the idea itself meant that there was someone capable of making him engage in a life and death battle.
And that in itself would mean that he would consciously go look for an enemy that will attack him with the intent to kill
His ideology was to run away as soon as he is met with a shinobi he can't handle.
And that could only happen during a mission.
Now Murakami wasn't one to cower from a fight as shown during the mission against the bandits, but that didn't mean he was willing to lay down his life for a cause he wasn't in for.
"Heh…" Murakami chuckled as he traced the stars in the otherwise dark night. 'I still want to enjoy this life to my old age.' he thought before standing up.
His next steps of action are already made.
Gather as much experience as possible and pick on Kaito-sensei experience on the side.
"The perfect plan." Murakami chuckled to himself before walking back into the house.
Whether it was the first or second way to force a breakthrough, the fact remained that he was going to force it.
…
Murakami's eyes shot open routinely and went through his morning exercises almost immediately.
There was no lingering drowsiness or reluctance in his movement.
The moment consciousness returned, his body moved automatically through the schedule he had maintained for years.
A few stretches followed by popping of his joints.
Meditation, chakra circulation, controlled breathing exercise, and physical conditioning.
Every action flowed into the next with mechanical precision.
By the time the first rays of sunlight touched the rooftops of Konoha, Murakami had already completed several sets of weighted body exercises and internal chakra circulation.
A thin layer of sweat covered his skin.
Exhaling slowly, he rolled his shoulders once before heading toward the shower. As expected, there was still no progress.
Murakami could only lament internally at this.
Several minutes later, he emerged fully dressed in his usual dark attire with a loose green haori draped over it.
After checking his equipment one final time, he stepped out of the house.
The village had already begun waking up fully with shopkeepers opening their storefronts.
Civilians moving through the streets while Shinobi flickered across rooftops overhead.
Murakami moved quietly through the morning activity, his pace neither hurried nor slow.
Eventually, the Hokage Building came into view.
Standing near the designated meeting point, Murakami leaned lightly against a railing nearby and waited.
Several minutes passed before Sora arrived.
The bespectacled boy adjusted his glasses slightly upon noticing Murakami already there.
"…You're early."
He had expected to be the first one to arrive, but as expected, Murakami was no slouch.
"I usually am."
Murakami didn't bother to open his eyes and replied. He doubted there was any kid his age who woke up as early and regular as he did.
Sora sighed softly as though he expected that answer.
For a brief moment, silence settled between them before Sora spoke again.
"How's your body?"
Murakami glanced at him.
"You make it sound like we fought a war."
Sora deadpanned immediately.
"I felt like I did."
A faint trace of amusement flickered through Murakami's eyes.
Not long after that, hurried footsteps approached from the street below.
Hideki appeared moments later.
"I'm not late, right?!" His gaze bounced between the two before he visibly relaxed. "Oh, good."
"You're loud this early in the morning," Sora muttered.
"And you are already complaining this early in the morning."
"You—"
Before the argument could properly begin, a faint rustling sound passed behind them.
The two Genin stiffened instinctively while Murakami's eyes narrowed briefly before they relaxed.
Then, "Keen senses."
Kaito's lazy voice drifted out casually.
The Jonin stood there with both hands in his pockets as though he had been present the entire time.
"When did you get there?!" Hideki asked, genuinely perplexed.
Kaito smirked.
"Before you started yelling."
Hideki's expression immediately twisted.
"I wasn't yelling!" he muttered to himself. It was one thing when Sora said it and another when Kaito-sensei said it.
"Hm." Came Kaito's response as his gaze swept across the trio briefly.
Then he nodded once.
"Good. You're all ready."
Reaching into his flak jacket, Kaito pulled out a thick bundle of ryo before separating it casually into several portions.
"This," he said while waving the money lightly, "is your payment for the successful completion of yesterday's mission."
Hideki's eyes immediately locked onto the cash.
"Seriously?!"
Kaito ignored him and continued. "The mission reward totaled 70,000 ryo."
He handed the largest portion toward Murakami first.
"30,000 for Murakami."
Murakami accepted it calmly.
Then Kaito split the remainder.
"20,000 each for Sora and Hideki."
Neither of them complained.
After all, even they understood who had contributed the most during the mission.
Hideki practically grinned while stuffing the money away immediately. "I've never held this much money before…"
Sora adjusted his glasses, though even he looked visibly satisfied as he pocketed his share. "…A shinobi's work really is dangerous."
"That's why it pays well," Kaito replied lazily.
Then his tone shifted.
"Now then," he continued, "I picked up several D-rank missions for you three."
There was a moment of silence. Then…
"Huh?!" Hideki nearly choked.
"Several?" Sora repeated. "Sensei…isn't that too much for one day?"
Kaito shook his head lightly. "Not even close."
His gaze sharpened slightly as he looked at them.
"You three need experience. More importantly, you need a proper mission record."
The trio listened quietly.
"A shinobi's growth isn't measured only by strength," Kaito continued. "Merit matters too. Completed missions. Reliability. Performance evaluations. Those things determine how quickly you move through the ranks."
Hideki blinked. "So we're grinding missions now?"
"…Did you really just call it grinding?" Sora shot him a glance and muttered.
Kaito ignored both of them.
"There isn't time to move slowly anymore," he said calmly. "Not during wartime."
That caused the atmosphere to shift slightly.
"Even D-rank and C-rank missions right now involve village support, patrols, escort duties, supply management or eliminating threats to public safety."
"Like the bandits," Sora murmured.
Kaito nodded once. "Exactly."
Murakami, who had been quiet until now, finally spoke. "Isn't slow and steady also acceptable?"
Kaito looked at him briefly before shaking his head. "Normally? Maybe." Then his gaze turned toward the village beyond the Hokage Building. "But war changes things."
His voice remained calm, yet serious.
"The village needs shinobi who are battle ready as quickly as possible. And the only way a Genin can earn enough merit and experience right now… is through missions."
Silence followed briefly.
Then Kaito reached into his pouch again and pulled out three scrolls.
Without another word, he tossed one toward each of them.
"Today's assignments."
Murakami caught his scroll smoothly and opened it immediately.
[D-Rank Mission: Pest Elimination.
Location: Eastern storage district.
Objective: Eliminate abnormally aggressive rodents damaging supply warehouses.
Additional Note: Reports indicate unusual intelligence among the infestation.]
Murakami blinked once.
"…Interesting."
Beside him, Hideki had already opened his own.
"Aw come on! Mine's cleaning drainage canals?!" he groaned loudly.
Sora adjusted his glasses while reading his own scroll.
"Library archive organization and document transport…" He paused. "…This honestly sounds peaceful."
Kaito folded his arms.
"Well?"
Hideki immediately pointed at his scroll in disbelief. "Sensei, why am I fighting sewer monsters while he gets library duty?!"
"They're rats," Sora corrected.
"Yeah. Big difference." Hideki rolled his eyes.
Sora sighed before looking toward Kaito. "At least these are manageable. D-rank missions are mostly for discipline and village support anyway."
"Exactly," Kaito replied.
Murakami closed his scroll calmly before speaking. "There's strength in numbers."
The other three looked at him.
Murakami continued. "If we complete the missions together one after another, the reports will show coordinated team participation."
Sora's eyes widened slightly behind his glasses.
Hideki blinked once. "…Oh."
Murakami glanced toward them both.
"That would improve all our profiles simultaneously instead of individually."
For a brief moment, Kaito said nothing. Then a small smile appeared on his face. Barely noticeable but it was there.
"…Good thinking," he said, then nodded once toward the village. "Fine. Handle them however you want."
He turned around casually.
"Return here once you're done for the day."
Hideki scratched his cheek. "…And if we finish early?"
Kaito vanished in a swirl of leaves before his voice echoed faintly afterward.
"Then you have the day to yourselves."
Silence.
Hideki stared at the empty space where their sensei had been moments ago.
"…I think he actually enjoys overworking us."
Sora sighed tiredly already. "…We haven't even started yet."
Murakami simply folded his mission scroll calmly before turning toward the village streets.
"Let's begin with the rats," he said.
Hideki's face immediately twisted.
"…Why the rats first?!"
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
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