Wiping out bandits. The client for this mission was a small border village located about three hundred kilometers from Konoha. It was inhabited exclusively by ordinary people. Since the village was situated within the territory of the Land of Fire, it faced little threat during normal times, let alone attacks from shinobi—unless some other nation decided to declare war on the Land of Fire and Konoha.
But for some unknown reason, a gang of bandits had suddenly set up camp in the nearby mountains. With frightening regularity, they descended, ruthlessly pillaging the surrounding settlements. It seemed they treated the locals like livestock that could be periodically "sheared."
The peasants endured this tyranny for a whole month until, finally, their patience ran out. They sent a young man to Konoha to hire ninja. And although Shiki hadn't seen this young man personally, he was certain the guy had gone through absolute hell to miraculously reach the hidden village.
Alas, such were the realities of the Land of Fire. The infrastructure in the hinterlands left much to be desired. While the Daimyo was nominally the ruler of the entire nation, his actual power extended only to the capital and a few major cities. Small settlements on the outskirts existed on their own for years, devoid of any protection or armed forces. In the event of an external threat, the only ones they could turn to for salvation were the shinobi of Konoha.
In Shiki's view, such a system of government was, to put it mildly, bizarre. But what did he care? He was just an unknown, rank-and-file Genin of the Hidden Leaf.
Jiraiya raised his hand, displaying a specific tactical hand sign. The entire team stopped in unison, fixing their eyes on their commander.
"We're making camp for today. We'll spend the night here."
"Yes, sir," the Genin chorused.
Quickly setting up camp, Minato strung a thin wire around the perimeter, attaching tiny bells to it. Thanks to this simple trap, any approaching enemy would immediately give themselves away.
Shiki took out a Food Pill, popped it into his mouth, and immediately grimaced.
"How disgusting... Compared to barbecue, this is like night and day."
"Be thankful there's anything to snack on at all, instead of whining about it," Kushina snorted. She sat cross-legged on the ground, calmly chewing her portion of pills to regain her strength.
Jiraiya checked the map and said thoughtfully, "If we maintain our current pace, we'll reach our destination before dawn."
Shiki glanced briefly at the map and finally voiced the question that bothered him the most.
"Hey, how much are we getting paid for this mission?"
Jiraiya merely rolled his eyes in silence. Usually, when rookies embark on their first mission, they fall into one of two extremes. Some turn pale with fear, terrified to death of getting injured or dying in battle. Others, like Kushina, tremble with impatience, passionately desiring to complete the mission as quickly as possible and prove to everyone that they have become true shinobi. After all, for the vast majority of the village's residents, bearing the title of ninja is a tremendous honor.
Only Shiki broke all the molds. On his first mission, he felt neither the thrill of his newfound status nor fear of the impending danger. The only thing he truly cared about was the money.
Fortunately, Jiraiya possessed an enviable flexibility of mind. In just a couple of days, he had managed to get used to his student's eccentric antics. Pulling out the scroll, he read out the terms.
"This is a C-Rank Mission. The total reward is sixty thousand ryo. Half of that amount goes into the village treasury. Of the remaining thirty thousand, the squad commander takes half, and the rest is divided equally among the three of you. In other words, Shiki, your share will be about five thousand ryo."
Hearing this, Shiki drew a sharp breath through his teeth. So that's who the real capitalist sharks were around here! Shinobi risk their lives, shed their blood, and the village brazenly bites off half their earnings! He picked his nose disdainfully and sent a booger flying with a flick.
"Konoha is just robbing us blind! And why on earth do you get to take half of what's left?!"
Jiraiya threw his hands up.
"Those are the village rules, I have nothing to do with it."
Truth be told, if Shiki hadn't brought the topic up, the Sannin wouldn't have even thought about the financial side of things.
Shiki was about to continue his indignant rant when he suddenly felt an icy chill run down his spine. He slowly turned his head and saw Kushina. Her crimson hair stood on end, blazing like tongues of flame, and a small black speck had somehow appeared on her flawlessly clean cheek.
"Um... Kushina, since when did you get a mole?" he asked innocently.
Kushina's knuckles cracked menacingly, and sparks seemed ready to shoot from her eyes.
"Hanao Shiki!" she roared. "I'm going to kill yooou!"
Her fist, heavy and hard as a cannonball, slammed mercilessly into the boy. In that very second, sensing her murderous aura, Shiki activated his elemental transformation. The monstrous force of Kushina's punch literally blew his head apart into a myriad of shining particles. The fist passed right through the glowing cloud and, with a deafening crack, snapped the thick tree Shiki had been leaning against in half.
"How terrifying... Where do you get all that crazy strength?" Shiki drawled, his body instantly reassembling on the branch of a nearby tree.
Still recovering from the scare, he instinctively reached his finger toward his nose again. Veins bulged on Kushina's forehead.
"Hanao Shiki! If you dare throw your boogers again, I'll tear you to pieces!" she snarled.
Shiki hastily jerked his hand away from his face.
"Girls are just an absolute nightmare..." he muttered under his breath.