"Finally, I can get my first reward."
Asuma Sarutobi's enthusiasm, lost to boredom, returned.
"Mm."
Kurenai nodded lightly.
The mission rewards were to be distributed among the team members.
She glanced at Seiji walking alongside the lead Jonin.
She thought that now Seiji probably wouldn't be so short on money.
Honestly, when Seiji had asked her to advance him three months' worth of tutoring fees, it had almost emptied her small savings.
The group said goodbye to the shop owner and headed to the mission office to hand in their work.
"Here's your reward."
The staff inside quickly counted the money and distributed it.
Missions were essentially paid daily—complete it, and you got your money that same day. No delays.
"A little over 1,000 ryo…"
Seiji put the money into his pocket.
Today's task was simple—just overseeing the shop—but the pay was decent. Unfortunately, missions like this weren't available every day.
There would likely be several days without work.
A typical D-rank mission paid between 5,000 and 50,000 ryo.
Overseeing a shop yielded roughly 5,000 ryo, which had to be split among the team.
Otherwise, one person would get 5,000 ryo, and with three Genin plus the supervising Jonin, the total would reach 20,000 ryo.
This didn't even account for village deductions and platform fees.
D-rank tasks usually involved finding lost pets, babysitting, or helping farmers in the fields—who would spend so much for such simple work?
Even 5,000 ryo was considered a high cost.
"Red, want to go for yakiniku? My treat."
Asuma ran up to Kurenai, wanting to celebrate their first completed mission.
"What about you, Seiji?"
Kurenai turned to him.
"I won't go."
Seiji shook his head.
A yakiniku meal could cost 200–300 ryo. That was just one meal.
A hardworking Genin, like Rock Lee, was recorded in the mission logs—20 D-rank and 11 C-rank missions in his first year, earning roughly 110,000 ryo.
And from that, he had to cover living expenses and daily ninja costs.
Seiji naturally wanted to save wherever possible; he still had some financial gaps.
His ninja pouch contained only two kunai, three shuriken, and the ninja sword in the sealing scroll—no rations, smoke bombs, or other tools.
"Then I won't go either."
Kurenai shook her head.
"Why not?"
Asuma scratched his head.
Seiji not going is one thing, but Kurenai? Was it because it was too cold today?
…
Over the next several days, Seiji completed another D-rank mission.
Other times he stayed home to train.
"Finally, I've mastered it."
Seiji condensed chakra in his chest, converting it to fire-natured chakra, then expelled it through his throat.
Boom!
A roughly two-meter-long elliptical fireball surged from Seiji's mouth, radiating intense heat.
"Now I can go take the Chunin Exams."
Seiji thought to himself.
[Entry: Apprentice Fire-Release Ninja (White)]
[Requirement: Successfully use a Fire Release jutsu once]
[Progress: Complete]
[Effect: Your innate affinity for Fire Release increases by 10%]
[Note: Can be further upgraded]
[Upgrade Path 1: Merge with 'Chakra Flow: Fire Release (White)' and 'Enhanced Physique (White)' to become 'Fire Release Genin (Green)']
This entry had appeared shortly after he first practiced the Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu.
At that time, progress was at just 1%. Through training over these days, Seiji had completed it.
Skill entries appeared somewhat randomly—sometimes granting a new entry immediately, other times requiring persistent effort.
Seiji deduced that abstract accomplishments were easier to trigger entries, whereas training required a progress bar.
For elemental jutsus, once you learned the basics, the entry boost was guaranteed.
Completion of certain entries often revealed upgrade paths once most conditions were met.
The criteria seemed strange—based on overall completion rather than a single condition.
For example, completing basic reading and memory did not require an "early graduation" entry to unlock a genius-type upgrade.
However, the Apprentice Lightning-Release Ninja entry had a clear subsequent path—merging with Enhanced Physique.
"Upgrade path one met. Proceed with upgrade?"
A mechanical female voice asked, devoid of emotion.
"Upgrade."
Seiji immediately chose to upgrade.
Apprentice-level entries were no longer enough.
White entries offered minimal boosts; green entries were much more useful.
Upon upgrading, the white entry turned gray, appearing locked—but its effect persisted.
Almost instantly, the upgrade completed.
"You have learned a new skill entry: [Fire Release Genin (Green)]."
[Entry: Fire Release Genin (Green)]
[Requirement: Achieve Genin-level Fire Release chakra control]
[Progress: Complete]
[Effect: Your meridian system adapts to fire more efficiently, increasing effectiveness by 20%]
[Note: Can be further upgraded]
[Upgrade Path 1: Merge with 'Lightning Release Genin (Green)', 'Genjutsu Genin (Green)', and 'Medical Genin (Green)' to become 'Chakra Nature Master (Blue)']
"The first blue skill entry…"
Seiji's eyes gleamed.
The two green entries were straightforward—just upgrade the existing white entries.
The conditions for progression likely related to Yin and Yang.
"Medical ninjutsu shouldn't be an issue… but Genjutsu…"
Seiji frowned slightly.
Since Nonoha Yakuza accepted him as a student, she would have prepared a full teaching curriculum.
The Sharingan's Genjutsu required study—basic ones could be instinctive, but advanced techniques like Kagenui, Mirror Heaven & Earth Change, Izanagi, and Izanami still needed instruction.
These were legacies. Self-study would take uncertain time.
From Sasuke's basic Sharingan abilities, one could see how difficult it was without a teacher—limited to only fundamental Genjutsu.
Even mastering one advanced technique beforehand could have changed the outcome at the Valley of the End against Naruto.
(End of Chapter)