"This isn't what I thought I would be doing as a shinobi," said Ai, grumbling as she pulled out weeds in an old lady's garden.

This was precisely what Takuma thought he would be doing when he became a shinobi. And with hundreds of thousands of people capable of supernatural feats doing the same things across the lands, he didn't mind doing menial jobs.

"I want to drink something cold. Let's get a milkshake when we are done with this," said Takuma, working his hands to de-weed the garden. D-rank missions weren't always solo endeavors. Random genin would be teamed together as per the requirement of the task, such as the patron wanting to get the job done faster, which would need extra labor.

In the months he had been a genin, he had worked a mission with Masaaki and the current one being his first with Ai. With multiple years of genin doing D-rank missions, it was already a surprise that he was teamed up with two out of four teammates. Even today, he and Ai were accompanied by a third genin (an older one) that they didn't know.

"How's shinobi life suiting you?" asked Takuma.

"Hmm? Unexpectedly not difficult at all. When compared to basic training, I don't even notice doing the missions, you know. The pay is a little shit though."

The compensation for D-rank missions was shit, especially when the mission was a multiple-day affair or when there were multiple genin on the same mission as the pay was split between them. Moreover, the state took a commission for themselves before handing them what remained. If not for the permanent base pay they got outside of missions, working D-rank missions wouldn't have been worth it. And they never knew when they would be getting a good quality mission or they would be forced to work a mission with shit pay. The latter happened more than the former.

Takuma looked at Ai, "You shouldn't stop training. Who knows when we will get a C-rank mission," in which there was a chance to encounter bandits or highwaymen— it was better to be prepared than dead in a ditch, "and you can't be a chunin if you aren't stronger, we can't stop training."

"Isn't it still too early to think about that? We still have two and a half years before we can even apply, and then we will need recommendations for it," said Ai.

Two and a half years seemed enough to get some recommendations, thought Takuma. But at the same time, he hadn't been in contact with any chunin yet. His interactions had been with his fellow genin and the receptionist at the mission desk, who were also genin. He needed some way to get in touch with some chunin and work with them.

———

.

That same week, he got to talk to a chunin.

Just that it wasn't the chunin who he thought he would be talking to.

"Takuma, fancy meeting you here."

Takuma, who was walking down his usual route back home, stopped beside the café. Sitting on one of the outdoor tables was Shady Guy with tea and daifuku. If not for his shinobi uniform, he would've looked strange in his small blackout shades and the headcover bandanna. Maybe he still looked weird, but after seeing him for two months, Takuma had gotten used to that style aesthetic.

Shady Guy waved at Takuma as he said, "It's been a while, how about you join me for some tea. Come on here, let's catch up."

Takuma was baffled for a moment about how to respond. He and Shady Guy didn't know each other very well— shown by the fact that Takuma didn't know the man's name and addressed him as Shady Guy. However, Shady Guy did close his bleeding wounds and heal his broken bones on multiple occasions— which did warrant some form of familiarity and intimacy.

So, he decided, what the heck, why not, and went down to sit down with Shady Guy.

"How's genin life treating you?" asked the Shady Guy.

"… Fine, I guess," Takuma provided an uninspiring answer. "I mean, it's one job to another. It almost feels like a very short-term temp worker. I guess it does give you exposure to many jobs, which is good because it helps when you do them later. But you know, is this the kind of thing I want to gain exposure to? Like, I know I gotta pay my dues before I can do some real stuff, but right now, it feels like I'm wasting my time."

Before Takuma knew it he had gone and spoke a little too much of things he didn't want to speak about during a small talk. Much like answering 'how are you' with anything other than 'I'm fine, how about you?'

"Sorry about that," said Takuma, raising his teacup to hide the red on his cheeks.

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"It's totally alright; I know how it feels. D-rank missions aren't fun for anyone," Shady Guy smiled. "I mean, making shinobi do trivial chores when we are trained to do so much more is almost disrespectful. Do you know before the formation of villages, shinobi clans used to be locked in battle with each other, waging wars for survival and dominance. In those days, the civilians served the shinobi, and in return, they would get protection from getting pillaged, killed, and having their women raped by other clans… Now, civilians are patrons, and we do odd jobs for money.

"But I suppose some things have to be a certain way whether we like it or not."

Takuma didn't say anything in response to that. It was true; he knew the history from the history books. But the way Shady Guy had put it had some clear connotations to it. He didn't want to comment on anything that would give Shady Guy any ideas.

Shady took a sip of his tea before continuing, "Still, don't you think it's nonsensical that after years of shinobi academy and the grueling months of basic training you're made to do menial jobs. Look at the statistics— on average, it takes a year to a year and a half before a Genin Corp genin can do a C-rank mission. It makes no sense to train people and not have them do what they were trained to do."

Takuma didn't know that statistic. A year and a half of just D-rank missions?! That was a ridiculously long time! He didn't want to do a C-rank mission immediately and still wanted to get his skill up at Doton: Tsuchi Domu (Earth Release: Earth Dome) before he ventured onto an assignment with the possibility of meeting bandits. Even with his track record, he didn't think it would take him an entire year to learn a C-rank jutsu to a practically usable level. He could already perform it and believed it would only take a bit more time before he could reliably use it in the heat of battle.

"I see you agree with me. I always liked you, Takuma. You worked hard in the basic training, always giving it your best every day, and in the end, showing it to the clan kids, nay everybody, that you are the best of the bunch," said the Shady Guy. "Which is why I will share a little secret with you."

He uncrossed his legs and leaned his lanky frame forward. "What if I told you there was a way to utilize your skills? Doing something more up the shinobi alley and gaining much more value than what you would doing the pathetic D-rank missions."

Takuma would lie if he said he wasn't interested in what Shady Guy had to say. But he also felt caution about what it could be about. When he thought about shinobi skills, it could be anything from robbery to murder to overthrow the government. On the top of his head, he could think of ten bad things for one good thing Shady Guy could propose to him.

"… And what might that be?" he asked, prompted by his curiosity. He guessed listening to it won't do him any harm.

"I will tell you, but you must not tell anyone about it. Believe me, if you do, I will know about it," said Shady Guy, his smile deepening, but it held no humor.

Takuma silently swallowed before nodding.

"You see, many shinobi felt unsatisfied with the dull routine of D-rank tasks and wanted something more dignified of their station, something more exciting, an opportunity that allowed them to make use of their skills. And what skills suit a shinobi more than the art of combat?"

Hearing that from an Iryo-nin felt wrong in many ways.

Shady Guy's smile turned pleasant, "So many years ago, we don't know who started it, but a group of shinobi began fighting each other to make them feel more like something different than daily wage workers… to feel like what they actually were. Other shinobi caught wind of these shinobi and, feeling attracted, joined this group… and soon, something of a ring was formed. And that ring has continued on till date with shinobi from every generation, every batch participating in it…

"I think you were brilliant in the final tournament. You were not the favorite. You were not the underdog. You were not the dark horse. People didn't even consider you an option. Every round, they thought it would be your last. Every win, they thought it was luck. Till the very end, the odds remained high against you because they kept betting for your loss— and yet… and yet, in the end, you won it all.

"So, I'm offering you an invitation to join the Ring."

Out of all the things that Takuma thought Shady Guy would say, he didn't think it would be this one. From the sound of it, what Shady Guy described was an underground fighting scene with shinobi-grade fighters beating up each other… to feel more like shinobi?

He didn't think that last part stood true at all.

There was something that Shady Guy mentioned which told Takuma that there was something more.

"And how does this provide me more value?" asked Takuma.

"Excellent question," Shady Guy smiled. "The Ring has existed for a very long time, Takuma. Many of our members have risen through the shinobi ranks and understood how the ring contributed, and have since become very generous sponsors. If you participate, the ring will compensate you with money—"

So, it was a gladiator's ring, thought Takuma. He was sure the fights would have an audience who would be betting on the fights. There was money to be made for everyone, but as it happened for every gambling den, the house always won— the sponsors who invested would make more than they put in.

"— and with mission points."

All of Takuma's thoughts came to a halt. The incentive of participating in what seemed to become more and more like a modern combat sport league just jumped various levels.

And Shady Guy seemed to sense that as his smile turned into a grin.

"You know what the D-rank missions pay. There's something that offsets the shit ryo compensation, but there's nothing there to do the same with the mission point compensation."

If his time as a mission-completing genin had taught anything, it was that the D-rank mission's mission point compensation was miserably frustrating. They paid in a fraction of mission points! He had one mission in the five months of missions that had paid a full single mission point.

Only recently, he had collected enough to afford a D-rank jutsu. From what he had gathered from others, it took four months of hard work in terms of hours to gather enough for a D-rank jutsu. And the difference between D-rank and C-rank jutsu costs was staggering. It would take him a year and a quarter of hard work and savings to afford a C-rank jutsu.

It had him realize how generous the basic training had been with mission point rewards.

"We can pay you more," Shady Guy leaned back into his chair as he said,

"So… what do you say?"