57 Team Ten

After Asuma announced we passed our genin test, we were taken to another restaurant to celebrate. Once we got settled in, I took the opportunity to tell Team Ten why I chose to hide my true abilities in the academy. They were mostly the same reasons as I had shared with the Sandaime; not wanting to be treated differently and wishing to stay and graduate with my friends.

Hinata seemed touched that I would go to such lengths in order to not part with the Rookie 9, while Shino expressed confusion over such an 'illogical' choice. Although the Aburame also conceded that he too would have been hard pressed to make a decision in my shoes.

Regardless, the both of them forgave my discretion, though I didn't really feel like there was anything to forgive in the first place. I honestly felt that my actions were reasonable for someone in my position. I wasn't someone who sought fame or glory by mimicking the actions of vaunted prodigies by displaying my 'genius' for the whole word to see.

But what did I want then? It was a question that I had contemplated for some time now. These past four years passed by in a blur – training, academy and train even more. This was a routine that had dictated nearly every waking moment of my life. But what was the point of all that? Was it to become a hero along side Naruto and Sasuke and save the world? And then what?

I had chosen to reincarnate to the Naruverse in a fugue state thinking it was all just a dream; and ever since then The Gamer's Mind might just have been the only thing preventing the collapse of my sanity. I knew that I had to become strong to survive in this world of monsters and demons, human or otherwise. Thus, I trained. I exhausted myself grinding skills and stats, sparring and learning. All to become strong enough so I would never be threatened by said villains.

With the Gamer System, there was a possibility that my growth would be limitless as long as I continued accumulating EXP. What happens when I reach level 100? Or 500? Level 999? Would I become a demigod and remain as some sort of mythical overlord of this continent, or be content acting out the part of a mere human? I had chosen to reincarnate in this world thinking it would be fun… should I just continue following this mindset and just enjoy myself?

It was an existential crisis that would always be erased by The Gamer's Mind whenever I started spiralling downwards mentally – almost as if the system was telling me not to bother with thinking too hard about my situation. I was tempted to take its advice.

Rain started pouring just as we finished eating and Asuma began briefing us on our responsibilities and weekly schedule. From tomorrow onwards, we would begin taking missions assigned to us by the village. Specifically, D-ranked missions.

Asuma then took the time to explain the significance and importance behind D-ranked missions. What was the point of making shinobi, even if we were just genins, perform glorified chores for a wage that far surpassed market rate hiring regular workers? Shinobi who had been trained by the village for four years or more to be killers and spies at that.

Simply put, the reason for all these was to cultivate patriotism and loyalty within the genins. Before sending them out on dangerous missions that could potentially lead them to their deaths, the village leaders wanted the genins to remember exactly what they were doing it all for. They weren't killing for the old men and women on the council leading the village. They were especially not doing it for the decrepit daimyo sitting on his throne in his palace miles away in the Capital city.

No. Whether it was assassinations, espionage, seduction or even committing slaughter – all was done for the safety and prosperity of the common folk living within Konoha. And for the village leaders, they believed there to be no better way to instil this devotion to the village than having the newly graduated shinobi work for said common folk.

To put it nicely, we were being mentally prepared to work hard for our village. But if you thought about it cynically, it was a form of indoctrination. The process of inculcating the village's trained killers with ideas and attitudes that framed our cognitive mindsets. How we understood and saw the world around us would revolve around the idea that the village and its prosperity was our greatest priority, even more so than our selfish desires or lives.

It also had to be made known that this was not a practice shared by every hidden village. In fact, Konoha was the only shinobi village that actively pushed for their genins to take part in D-ranked missions. Perhaps it had something to do with the various S-ranked shinobi that eventually went rogue throughout our history or just a side-effect of Konoha's immense wealth and military might.

Which other village could heavily subsidize D-ranked missions, those being a lot more expensive than just hiring regular day-laborers instead of shinobi, or spare precious manpower and soldiers to paint civilians' fences instead of sending them out on more profitable missions?

D-ranked missions awarded 1000 ryo to every participating shinobi at least. That was the wages for an entire day of hard labour for most folk but only took at most an hour or two of the genins' time doing relatively easy work. Dog-walking, baby-sitting, fence painting; all of these tasks would pay something along the lines of 100 ryo an hour for regular workers, but ten times that for shinobi.

So why would mission requesters pay that much more just to hire genins? Because they don't. The mission requesters are not required to fork out the entire fee for D-ranked missions. They pay twenty percent of that at most. The rest of it is subsidized by Konoha's extensive treasury. If one added up all the subsidies and expenses provided by the village for things like D-ranked missions, veteran pensions or shinobi healthcare, it totalled a staggering amount annually.

While Asuma had not touched upon how exactly Konoha could afford to invest that much in their annual budget, I could speculate the source of the village's finances. If one asked why exactly does the Hokage answer to the Land of Fire's daimyo, the answer would be: money. The billions of ryo funded by the Land of Fire's treasury took up roughly 60 percent of Konoha's gross domestic product. Without this financial support, Konoha would be relegated to the status of a second-rate hidden village like Takigakure or Kusagakure.

Of course, it was not a one-sided relationship. In exchange for this funding, Konoha provided formidable soldiers, serving at the beck and call of the Daimyo and his ministers. Not only to fight in their wars, but also for the purposes of espionage, sabotage or assassinations. Yet, Konoha weren't directly servants of the Daimyo. The relationship was slightly more complicated than one between an emperor and his subjects. It was closer to something akin to a partially owned subsidiary company and the major corporation backing it. The Daimyo held 'board seats' and had voting rights, but day-to-day operations were still under the control of the CEO, the Hokage.

The subsidiary company's employees, meaning us, still answered to our CEO. Whereas the CEO had to submit quarterly 'financial' reports to our primary investor – the Daimyo, to show that his investments were not being put to waste. It was a symbiotic relationship, even though the power dynamics was complicated to pin down.

So then came the question behind why Kages of hidden villages did not simply charge into their respective sponsor nations' capitals and take the throne by force? First of all, even if you disregarded the hidden masters under the employ of the daimyos who were possibly at kage-level strength themselves, never has there been a country that prospered under military dictatorship. Just look at the world history in my previous life; governments that took control using military force were never able to maintain their political legitimacy or executive power.

Furthermore, the people of this continent were superstitious, and they believed in the right to rule by mandate of heaven. Meaning, the common folk living in the nations who paid their taxes and were essentially the lifeblood of any state power, believed that the Heavens decided who would rule. It was not up to the mortals to decide who were to be their king. Rather, the political legitimacy possessed by the daimyos were a result of a divine mandate.

Thus, the Daimyos of this continent and their royal lineage were the only ones perceived by the common folk to have the divine right to rule over them. Anyone else, even if they were Kage-level shinobi who could take over a nation like Orochimaru and his self-titled Land of Sound, were sure to face backlash and insurgencies within their territory.

Sometimes, overwhelming might and military violence was not the answer to every problem. Especially so for Kage-level individuals; because to a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Wise leaders like Senju Hashirama and the founders of other hidden villages understood such a concept and were able to adapt, eventually leading to the creation of hidden villages and their partnership with their respective Daimyos.

Other than the missions, we would also begin training under Asuma; working on our individual skillsets as well as teamwork drills to improve our coordination. The jounin began by praising our strengths before pointing out our weaknesses.

For Hinata, while she was skilled in taijutsu based on the Gentle Fist, she relied too heavily on close combat and getting close to the enemy. This wouldn't be an issue if she were the incarnation of the Yondaime Hokage, the fastest shinobi in the world to have lived. But she wasn't. Which made it a problem in cases where she could not physically be in range for her Gentle Fist. Against an opponent who specialized in mid to long-range ninjutsu, Hinata would be helpless.

For Shino, his Aburame clan techniques were extremely versatile tools that could serve many purposes. However, this also made him a jack of all trades but master of none. Asuma admitted that due to Shino's unique Aburame biology, the genin would be greatly limited when it came to non-Aburame techniques.

Since Asuma was not privy to their clan secrets, there was little he could do to teach Shino on that front. However, what the jounin could do for the genin was to reinforce his fundamentals, refine his close combat skills and work on advanced chakra control techniques like Chakra Enhancement - skills that were the essentials for breaking through to chuunin level.

As for me, Asuma talked about honing my combat sense and getting rid of the bad habit I developed through over reliance on the Sharingan. As well as starting to work on Nature Transformation; the moulding and changing of one's chakra by altering its properties and characteristics according to their elemental affinity. Mastery over their chakra natures was an unofficial requirement for promotion to jounin rank and jounin level strength which I sensed was a goal Asuma was setting for me.

I had wondered about how effective such a training would be for me who already had [Natural Fire Affinity] and [Natural Wind Affinity] perks. I also mused about Asuma's reaction when he found out about my chakra affinities, both of which were elements he had mastered as well.

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The light shower in the evening had turned into a heavy shower by the time I got home after Team Ten's celebratory dinner. We had stayed longer than we initially planned because Asuma had started drinking and talked for way too long about this or that. Mostly they were stories about his time in the Capital; the who's who and what's what of the Imperial court. Interesting, but I doubted the relevancy of such information to our careers.

Shino and Hinata were too polite to interject even as they repeatedly glanced at the clock in the restaurant, subtly signalling to our jounin squad leader of how late it was getting and their desire to return home. Whereas I was paying courtesy to the unspoken social dynamics of socializing between the subordinate and his superior.

It took the Aburame to finally speak out about the time and need to rest for our early day tomorrow for Asuma to realize how long he had been talking for and dismissing us for the night. The man looked to have been overly excited about his new genin team, a rekindled passion of sorts.

When I reached the apartment complex I had been staying at the past four years, I noticed someone sitting at my doorstep. Since it was already late at night, the only light source being the streetlamp some distance away and add on the reduced visibility due to the heavy rain, I could hardly make out who exactly it was and why they were seemingly waiting for me.

I cautiously approached the figure, ready to either [Flash Step] away or fling a shuriken at the unknown person. Upon hearing my footsteps, the figure, who had previously been looking down and hugging their knees, looked up towards me. I relaxed my body when I recognized the brown hair and plain face of my childhood friend.

"Kaori, what are you doing here?" I asked, watching her shivering from the cold and rain.

As I stood a few feet away from her, both of us drenched from the rain, she started tearing up. Kaori launched herself at me, clutching tightly in a hug.

"Shinji-kun… I-I failed… *hic*" She sobbed into my shoulder.

I sighed deeply, awkwardly patting her back while returning the hug. To be frank, her team failing the jounin test wasn't unexpected. They were, to put it bluntly, nobodies, and certainly not deserving of personal grooming by the village under an elite jounin – strategic assets too precious to spare as glorified babysitters for genins without talent.

Rubbing her back soothingly while she continued sobbing and speaking incoherently into my shoulder, I waited for her to cry it out. I had been looking forward to checking out my newly acquired [Natural Wind Affinity] tonight, but it looks like that wasn't happening anytime soon. It would be too cruel to turn her away, and I wasn't heartless enough to leave a girl crying out in the rain.

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'What in the-' Hinata venomously cursed in as she watched Kaori hug Shinji from a distance with her Byakuugan, 'How dare she!?'

She was tempted to come out of her hiding spot and break that bitch's arms for daring to put those filthy hands on her dear Shinji-kun.

'You're just taking advantage of his kindness. You don't know him like I do!' Hinata's hand trembled, as a faint glow of chakra was layered around her fingertips. 'Even I haven't hugged Shinji, and yet… and yet she dares to do so before me!?'

What was initially just her thoughts soon came out of her mouth as the Hyuuga heiress began muttering under her breath repeatedly. "Unforgiveable, unforgiveable, unforgiveable, unforgiveable, unforgiveable…"

The veins around her eyes bulged as she strained her Byakuugan to the limits, glaring daggers into the other girl. If looks could kill, Kaori would have died a horrible, brutal death.

Just as she was about to lose control of her emotions and explode in a fury, a voice nearby shook her from the indescribable wrath within.

"Hinata-sama. Hiashi-sama requests for your return to the compound. It is getting late."

Hinata turned and saw the familiar sight of her Hyuuga attendant, Kou, standing attentively next to her.

"Ah, of course! Silly me, I must have lost track of time. Let's return, Kou-san." She replied cheerily, though aware that the seething anger still remained. 'Well, I'm still in the same team as Shinji-kun. We'll see who laughs last, bitch.'

As Hinata walked off in the direction of the Hyuuga clan compound, Kou watched her back furtively. 'What a frightening mistress... Hiashi-sama really did a number on her.'

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Shino entered the clan compound without much fanfare from the guards. Theirs was a quiet clan; a reserved family that preferred the unostentatious. Silently dutiful was their unofficial motto. So even when the clan's heir who was to be the next leader of the Aburame walked by the clan members, even a nod of acknowledgement might be considered much too expressive.

He could feel the kikaichuu within his body moving more sluggishly than usual because of the rain. They were busy replenishing their numbers after the battle in the day that cost their hive thousands of their members. But with time, their numbers will burgeon once more, and he too would return to full strength. The Aburame were not suited for a battle of attrition or any such drawn out conflicts. It took time to re-establish their population, and they would be vulnerable in times like this.

Shino was still fixated on the image of the fight between Asuma and Shinji. Memories of blades clashing and blurry figures going faster than he could even comprehend plagued his mind. Shino could hardly believe one of them was his own age, someone who he had mistakenly thought of as being roughly the same level.

Shinji was an orphan, someone who lacked the tutelage and resources afforded to himself and the scions of other clans. Yet he was able to overcome such a disadvantage, displaying a talent and genius he had thought reserved for legendary characters of myths and hushed whispers. What did that say about Shinji, or rather, what did that say about they who thought so highly of themselves. They who believed, consciously or unconsciously, of their innate superiority over those who were clanless.

Shino thought he had been a hardworker. Someone who put their head down, silently and dutifully training, without being conspicuous, as is the attribute of the Aburame. What a joke. Could the time and effort had been putting in since the moment he could walk all just a joke in front of a monstrous prodigy like Shinji, or might it just be a reflection of his own arrogance? Not even logic nor rational thinking could discern the answer.

Thus, reason would dictate that since he could confirm neither, there was only one option left to the Aburame. There was nothing he could do if Shinji was truly the most talented of his generation other than to maintain his current plan of growth and be content forever remaining under Shinji. But, if it was the latter, then the answer was clear. Shino would just have to double, triple, no, quadruple his efforts.

He would erase the arrogance he never knew existed within him, return to the fundamentals and actively seek strength like he never did before.

It was with this resolve swimming in his heart when Shino entered his home and went to find his father in his study.

Shibi Aburame could sense his son was troubled the moment he entered his study. Though others outside the clan may find it difficult or next to impossible to read their emotions, between Aburame members it was as clear as day. Their kikaichuu could pick up the pheromones exuded by each other's hives, which were influenced by their owner's emotions. Furthermore, every Aburame member had tons of practice identifying what another was feeling just through micro-expressions being made unconsciously.

"Father. I have returned." Shino greeted.

His father could not continue sitting upon hearing the slight waver in Shino's voice. The last time he had showed this much emotion was when Torune went off to join Root. Whatever had happened, Shibi theorized, must have had a huge impact on the boy. To be honest, parenting wasn't his forte. His wife was the one who usually dealt with Shino's more emotional side where as he handled the instructional side of things.

However, given that Shino had come to find him instead of his mother, meant it required instruction rather than emotional comfort.

"Mm." Shibi succinctly responded, as per his usual concise conduct, but he hesitantly continued, assuming his fatherly duties as a pillar of support for his troubled son, "How was your day?"

Shino raised an eyebrow at his father's overt, out of character attempt at familial intimacy. It was rare for them to exchange even a few words throughout the entire day and even rarer for him to ask about something as monotonous as his day. But seeing that it was his first day as a genin, Shino guessed his father might be feeling some sort of paternal pride.

"It was… fine." He answered but talking about his day wasn't the objective of his visit. Though admittedly he found it difficult to broach the topic he wanted to bring up.

"Father, I…" Shino started, but incongruous to his usual behavior, had difficulty speaking his mind.

"What is troubling you son?" Shibi asked, placing a comforting hand on Shino's shoulder.

Shino was startled by the intimacy his father was displaying, unused to such physical contact which was rare and far between amongst the Aburame, though he managed to collect himself.

"…I want to become stronger."

The nearly imperceptible heightened buzzing of Shino's hive told Shibi everything he needed to know without the need for further elaboration. This was the first time his son had made such a bold declaration with that much conviction in his voice. It was the equivalent of a non-Aburame screaming at the top of their lungs.

It surprised Shibi to witness what would be perceived as a frantic plea to the stoic Aburame from his son. How could he deny his son when Shino was making such a sincere request while being this agitated?

"Very well. I will help."

Shino looked through his shades with barely disguised gratitude at Shibi. The father and son shared a moment of familial warmth, practically an outburst of emotion akin to hugging in tears for anyone else outside the Aburame. Although to an outside observer, all they would see would be the two of them standing in silence, staring at each other oddly.