socalfunplaces Chapter 66 Praise and the Real World
Chapter 66 Praise and the Real World
Chapter 66 Praise and the Real World (Seeking first subscription, follow-up reading, and monthly votes)
Ninjas are indeed beyond the reach of ordinary people. Whether it is their superior physical abilities or their diverse ninjutsu, the destructive power of ordinary people is no different from that of pigs and sheep in front of ninjas.
At this moment, Taiichi and Saori were like tigers among sheep, falling over with every move they made.
Moreover, Taiyi is a skilled swordsman, often killing with a single blow. His enemies' wounds are either on the neck or the heart.
Although it seems cruel, it is quite merciful compared to how these villagers treat merchants.
The chase lasted for more than two hours, and Yangping, who had finished resting, also joined in. After all, even if the enemies were all weaklings, there were still more than a hundred of them.
Although a large number of them were wiped out by Yang Ping's powerful fire at the beginning, the remaining people scattered and fled. The three of them spent a lot of effort just to find the people who were hiding.
When Taiyi and the other two reunited, everyone's mood was clearly very heavy.
After all, Taichi, Yohei, and Saori were all fresh graduates of the Ninja Academy, and this was their first time undertaking such a mission of indiscriminate killing. Their situation was inevitably somewhat unstable.
Fortunately, none of the three were ordinary people, and they could all adapt after a little adjustment.
At that moment, a figure slowly emerged from the dark night; it was Captain Yamaguchi, who had not appeared since the mission began.
"Captain, why are you so late?" Yangping excitedly boasted upon seeing Captain Yamaguchi, "You didn't see my amazing display of 'Great Fire Annihilation'! Its power was absolutely incredible!"
Captain Yamaguchi was both amused and annoyed by Yohei's expression. "Do you want me to see you collapse on the ground after unleashing a ninjutsu?"
"The worst part of this mission was the ninjutsu you used," Captain Yamaguchi reprimanded.
"You've scared the enemy away, making the pursuit more difficult, and you've also put yourself in a helpless situation. If the enemy were any stronger, you would be dead here today."
Hearing Captain Yamaguchi's reprimand, Yohei was so embarrassed he wanted to disappear. He had only been bragging habitually, but he hadn't expected that the captain had seen everything.
"I'm sorry, Captain, I promise I won't do it again." Yangping apologized quickly, afraid that he would be scolded by Captain Yamaguchi if he was too slow.
"You should apologize not to me, but to your teammates. You were lucky this time, but next time your recklessness could put your teammates in danger." Captain Yamaguchi spoke earnestly, offering invaluable advice.
Yangping dared not joke around anymore and solemnly bowed to Taichi and Saori in apology: "I'm sorry, Taichi and Saori, I've caused you trouble."
"Yes, it's good that you realize your mistake. Your actions just now were indeed too dangerous," Taiichi said affirmatively.
Saori nodded in agreement.
"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. I followed the entire mission, and you all performed quite well," Captain Yamaguchi praised the group.
"From searching for clues, intelligence analysis, infiltration and reconnaissance, assassination, and the final kill, you all did it perfectly."
"This mission is also a test, and every team needs to complete it. Your performance in this test is excellent, and I will give you feedback in the mission report."
Hearing Captain Yamaguchi's words, Taichi and Saori were very happy, as this kind of challenging mission would be of great help to their future promotion.
The only one who was somewhat sullen was Yangping, after all, he had just made a mistake, and his mission record would inevitably be tainted.
Seeing Yangping's low spirits, Taiyi stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder: "Don't worry too much. This kind of mission won't only happen once. Just be more careful next time."
"Yes, Yohei, I believe in you," Saori comforted him from the side.
"Alright, the mission is over now. Let's find a place to rest for the night. We need to head to the nearest city, Scarlet Stream, early tomorrow morning to hand over the mission and have them send people here to clean up the scene as soon as possible," Yamaguchi said, giving his final instructions.
Next, the group left the hellish scene and set up camp to rest by the river nearby.
In the distance, the houses that had been extinguished by the fire were still crackling and burning, while here, everyone had already gone to rest.
Sitting by the campfire keeping watch, Taiichi observed the stark contrast between the two sides and deeply felt the fractured social reality of the ninja world.
The poor and the rich, commoners and nobles, ordinary people and ninjas.
The ninja world clearly has ninjas capable of changing mountains and rivers with a wave of their hand, but this power is only used for killing each other, what a waste.
But Taiichi can't change anything now; his power isn't strong enough. Perhaps he'll be able to make a difference when he reaches the level of Hashirama Senju.
Before dawn the next day, the members of Class 8 had already packed up their camp and headed to Scarlet Stream City. As a border city, Scarlet Stream City served as a transit point for trade between the two countries, making it exceptionally prosperous.
Upon arriving at the city lord's mansion, the group immediately handed over their mission to the city lord.
The presence of this band of bandits has severely impacted the trade of merchants coming and going in Scarlet Stream City, and the city lord has been having a headache over this matter recently.
He hadn't expected that Konoha would complete the task so quickly after he handed it over, which saved him a lot of losses.
Upon reading the mission report, which stated that the bandits were actually villagers, the city lord suddenly realized why the previous two raids had failed; it turned out that the bandits had become ordinary people after descending the mountain.
After handing over the mission, the city lord sincerely invited the members of Class 8 to his luncheon to express his gratitude.
Captain Yamaguchi readily agreed.
"Yamaguchi Jonin, Konoha truly lives up to its reputation as the most powerful ninja village. From the moment you arrived until you completed the mission, if you exclude travel time, it only took you one day to finish," the lord said with admiration.
"I would like to suggest to Ming that if there are similar tasks in the future, Ye will definitely be the first choice."
Hearing the lord's words, Yamaguchi Masasuke smiled sincerely. This was exactly what he wanted to hear, and it was also the reason he stayed to attend the luncheon.
"You flatter me, Lord. It is under your rule that Hiryu Castle is flourishing! I will report this to the Hokage when I return." Captain Yamaguchi was also generous with his praise.
"Besides, Konoha is a ninja village in the Land of Fire. Naturally, they would take the daimyo's request more seriously and send out more capable ninjas to complete the daimyo and the lord's mission." Yamaguchi Jonin was also a veteran Jonin, and he handled the situation with ease.
The luncheon ended amidst toasts and mutual flattery, with both the host and guests quite satisfied and having achieved their desired outcome.
On the way back, Captain Yamaguchi also explained to his team members the fierce fighting that had taken place at the luncheon.
"Ninjas survive by completing missions, and a large portion of these missions are controlled by the daimyo and various castle lords, so it is essential to maintain good relationships with them."
"If you complete the task well, these people will naturally continue to issue tasks to the village next time."
"Besides these hard skills, how a Jonin manages to maintain good relationships with these people and maximize the benefits of completing the mission depends on each Jonin's own negotiation skills."
"The matter of the bandits that appeared in Hiryu Castle has already reached the Daimyo's ears. If we put a good word for him in the report, he can also suggest that the Daimyo give Konoha more missions. This is a win-win situation."
As Taichi and his two companions walked, they listened to Captain Yamaguchi's instructions. This was something that genin (lower-ranking ninja) generally wouldn't have access to.
They were able to understand this largely because their performance in the mission led Yamaguchi Seisuke to believe that they had the potential to stand alone.
As Taiichi and the other two listened, they were surprised. They never expected that Captain Yamaguchi, who was usually so serious, would have so many complicated thoughts in his mind.
They hadn't thought of any of this at the luncheon; they truly are worthy of being Konoha's Jonin.
Taiyi was also reminding himself: This is a real world. Just because you understand the plot doesn't mean you have everything. The world is far more complex than you imagine. For example, this scene was never shown in the original work.
In the distance, the gates of Konoha were already in sight.