Welcome back to the Smoke and Mirrors AU.

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Hattori, at this point, was numb and accustomed to what seemed to be the once-a-year popup of blue panels only he could see. This, however, was more odd than even the last – and that had summoned ten new humans into the world.

Hello, Clan Head Hattori!

Now that all of your Clan Members have reached the

Strength Level of Genin or Above, you’ve unlocked a few features.

[Clan Rankings]

[Clan Missions]

You have permanent access to the Clan Rankings function.

You have semi-permanent access to the Clan Missions function.

To access either, please think of the title of the function you want to access.

The young Clan Head, only sixteen, was stumped by the incorporeal blue box yet again. What the hell is a ‘Genin?’ The boy could only shake his head, thinking of the Clan Rankings function. This time, another blue panel popped up that didn’t disappear the second he had finished reading it.

[Yanmaru Clan Rankings]

* 1Hattori Yanmaru (High-Chunin)

* Yuki Yanmaru (Low-Chunin)

* Yuta Yanmaru (Low-Chunin)

* Mei Yanmaru (Low-Chunin)

* Sasori Yanmaru (High-Genin)

* Asahiro Yanmaru (High-Genin)

* Izumi Yanmaru (High-Genin)

* Seigo Yanmaru (Genin)

* Amanai Yanmaru (Genin)

* Mitaro Yanmaru (Genin)

* Hanae Yanmaru (Low-Genin)

And what the hell is a ‘Chunin..?’ I thought this Founder’s System thing ranked people by letter… Shaking his head, Hattori swiped the Clan Rankings away. It basically said what he already knew. He was the strongest, followed by Yuki, Yuta, and Mei. Those three were pretty evenly tied for second place. The system ranked Yuki ahead of both, though, which was interesting.

With that out of the way, Hattori tentatively opened the Clan Missions function. When the blue screen popped into existence, he jumped slightly. He wasn’t used to being able to just call the menu’s up by himself. They… sort of just appeared, before, without warning or prompt. It was a little freaky.

[Clan Missions]

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

S-Rank Missions

A-Rank Missions

B-Rank Missions

C-Rank Missions

D-Rank Missions

And now it’s back to the letter-rankings. Great. Hattori grumbled something under his breath, deciding to look at that later. He dashed back to the Yanmaru compound, which was really just two shoddy wooden cabins and some training posts with some fairly beat-up trees surrounding it. There were a few paths leading to other areas, one to the gravesite, one in the general direction of Bukai, and a few used by the children.

“It’s safe to come out. The intruder wasn’t hostile, and I’ve made him leave our territory.” With that, the children came running out of the large cabin. They peppered Hattori with questions, which he answered to the best of his abilities, before sitting by the steps to his own, smaller wooden cabin.

“Return to training. I’ll keep watch for a while, before getting back to it as well.” His voice carried an aura of command, one he hadn’t possessed when the children first appeared. Their faces turned stoic, some looking a bit sad, some looking happy. Most began physical training, while others began Kenjutsu or Bukijutsu practice.

The compound was lively. Hattori felt a smile bloom on his face, before he turned back to the Clan Missions function. Hesitantly, he clicked on D-Rank Missions. It was the lowest, with the highest two being scratched off, so it should be the safest. What does it even mean by mission-?

Finding Mission . . .

. . .

Head to the village Bukai, and assist shopkeeper Katakuri. He has a cold and can’t keep watch at the front desk at the moment, and is losing profit by being closed!

[Rewards: 1x Chakra Nature Slip, 5 Ryo]

[Time Until Mission Expires: 3 days]

[Time Until Mission Completion: 0/16hrs]

[Person Assigned: Nil]

Hattori frowned. Katakuri has a cold? Did the System… do that? Or does it just know about it? How much does the System know? At top-speed, Hattori could reach Bukai in just under two hours.

Whoever went to do this would have to spend 16 hours total as a shopkeep for Katakuri. That’s about two days. But there’s 3 days to accept the mission? Hmm…

Hattori tapped the person assigned, seeing a dropdown menu. He could assign anyone to this Mission. He looked around; if he was escorting someone to Bukai, then he couldn’t give this quest to anyone strong. He needed all the muscle here he could get.

He could, of course, give everyone a Mission. Can I do that?

Sure enough Hattori clicked the D-Rank Missions button ten more times, receiving ten more quests. All of them were in Bukai, or around it. One in particular was for gathering herbs around the village, and not in Bukai proper. He would likely do that one, keeping the rest of his Clan in the village, which was much safer. All of them had expiry dates of 3 days.

With a shout, Hattori gathered the attention of the Yanmaru Clan. “Tomorrow, we head to Bukai. I have some chores for all of you.” Yuta looked interested, Mei looked at him in confusion, and Yuki just shrugged. The rest seemed to groan, but agree.

Hattori stood, and got to training. The day ended with him collapsed on his bed, exhausted, with dozens of heavy, steel rods tucked into weight bands sitting on the floor. Next to it lay a filled box of Kunai and Shuriken, and his tanto wrapped in a leather scabbard.

Hattori Yanmaru, who stood around 5’5, was curled up into a ball with a small smile on his face. The world, it seemed, was a little brighter than it had been. He really had family now.

He was growing stronger. And, they too were growing with him. The world didn’t seem as scary as it had when he was their age. He hoped they would never have to experience what he did. For now, a simple life of training, and missions, seemed like the best thing the world could offer.

It was quiet. It was peaceful. It was lovely.