The next morning, Karma stood in front of the mission office staring at the D-rank board.
He had been hoping Hashirama would change his mind.
He hadn't.
D-rank.
Again.
Karma picked up the mission scroll and read it.
"Assist with repairing the roof of a storage building."
He stared at it.
Then at the clerk.
"You're serious?"
The clerk smiled.
"Very."
Karma sighed.
'I could be learning forbidden techniques.'
'Instead, I'm becoming a professional handyman.'
He took the scroll and left.
The storage building was on the western side of Konoha.
The owner explained what needed to be done.
Several tiles had been damaged during a storm, and the roof needed repairs before the next rain.
Karma looked at the building.
Then at the roof.
Then at his hands.
He created four Shadow Clones.
"Let's finish this quickly."
The clones jumped onto the roof.
Karma followed.
The work was simple.
One clone carried the tiles.
Another removed the broken pieces.
A third repaired the wooden supports.
The fourth kept watch.
Karma handled the difficult parts.
Within an hour, the roof was repaired.
The owner stared at the result.
"That would have taken me two days."
Karma smiled.
"You're welcome."
He returned to the mission office and submitted the report.
Another mission completed.
Then another.
Over the following days, Karma handled whatever D-rank work came his way.
Helping move supplies.
Assisting construction workers.
Searching for a lost necklace.
Helping clean a public building.
Finding another missing cat.
Karma was beginning to suspect that Konoha had an endless supply of cats.
Every mission was easy.
But Karma had stopped thinking of them as completely useless.
He was learning the village.
He knew which streets were busiest.
Which shops opened early.
Which roads became crowded at midday.
Which areas were still under construction.
Which villagers needed help most often.
He was learning how people reacted under stress.
How they communicated.
How they lied.
How they panicked.
How they trusted.
It wasn't shinobi training.
But it was still experience.
One afternoon, Karma returned from a mission and found Hashirama waiting outside the house.
"How was it?"
"Easy."
"Good."
"Still boring."
Hashirama smiled.
"You've complained about that every day."
"Because it's true."
Hashirama crossed his arms.
"You wanted experience."
"I want combat experience."
"You'll get it."
"When?"
"When you're ready."
Karma narrowed his eyes.
"I think I'm ready."
Hashirama smiled.
"I know you think that."
Karma sighed.
"You enjoy saying that."
"A little."
Karma walked past him.
"I'm going to train."
"Good."
At the training ground, Hashirama began working with him.
Today wasn't about learning another technique.
It was about movement.
"Show me how you'd approach an opponent."
Karma drew his sword.
He moved forward.
Hashirama blocked.
Karma shifted.
Another strike.
Blocked.
Karma changed direction.
Hashirama stepped away.
Karma accelerated.
Lightning surged through his legs.
He closed the distance instantly.
Hashirama blocked the strike.
Karma didn't stop.
His body twisted.
The blade changed direction.
Hashirama caught it with his wooden sword.
"Better."
Karma stepped back.
"I still can't get through."
"You're not supposed to."
"That's annoying."
Hashirama laughed.
"You keep trying to defeat me."
"That's usually the goal of swordsmanship."
"The goal is to defeat your opponent."
"Exactly."
Hashirama shook his head.
"You're trying to force the fight instead of controlling it."
Karma paused.
"Explain."
Hashirama pointed toward his feet.
"You keep attacking from where you are."
Karma looked down.
"Move first."
Karma's eyes sharpened.
"Make them react to me."
"Exactly."
Karma thought about it.
Then smiled.
He understood.
The sword wasn't just the weapon.
His entire body was part of the attack.
His position.
His movement.
His speed.
His chakra.
Everything could force a reaction.
Karma raised his sword.
"Again."
Hashirama smiled.
They continued.
By the end of the session, Karma was covered in sweat.
He sat on the ground.
"I hate training with you."
Hashirama laughed.
"You say that every time."
"Because you keep winning."
"I'm your teacher."
"Excuses."
Hashirama shook his head.
Later that afternoon, Karma found Madara at the training grounds.
Madara glanced at him.
"You're late."
"I was training with Hashirama sensei."
"Then you're late."
Karma frowned.
"How does that make sense?"
"It doesn't need to."
Madara tossed him a wooden sword.
"Attack."
Karma caught it.
He moved.
This time, he remembered Hashirama's lesson.
He didn't rush directly forward.
He shifted sideways.
Madara followed.
Karma changed direction.
Madara adjusted.
Karma accelerated with Lightning Release.
Madara blocked.
Karma stepped away.
Then returned from another angle.
Madara's eyes narrowed.
"Better."
Karma grinned.
"I'm improving."
"Don't become arrogant."
"Too late."
Madara attacked.
Karma barely blocked.
The force sent him sliding backward.
He recovered immediately.
Madara attacked again.
Karma ducked.
His sword came upward.
Madara avoided it.
Karma followed with a Lightning-enhanced step.
Madara's wooden sword stopped against Karma's throat.
"Dead."
Karma froze.
Madara lowered the sword.
"You were too focused on attacking."
Karma frowned.
"I thought I was controlling the distance."
"You were."
"Then?"
"You forgot that your opponent is doing the same thing."
Karma stared at him.
Then laughed.
"That's actually annoying."
Madara's expression softened slightly.
"Good."
"Good?"
"If it annoys you, you'll remember it."
Karma smiled.
"Again?"
Madara nodded.
"Again."
The next exchange lasted longer.
Karma didn't win.
But he lasted longer.
That was enough.
As evening approached, Karma returned home.
Mito was preparing dinner.
"You look exhausted."
"I've been abused by my teachers."
Mito raised an eyebrow.
"By Hashirama and Madara?"
"Yes."
"Then you probably deserved it."
Karma looked betrayed.
"Mito nee-san."
She laughed.
Dinner was peaceful.
Karma talked about his missions.
He complained about the endless D-ranks.
He talked about his training.
He even admitted that Hashirama had taught him something useful.
Mito smiled.
"You've been learning a lot."
"Yes."
"Not just techniques."
Karma looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
"You're learning how people live."
Karma thought about it.
The old woman.
The farmer.
The shopkeepers.
The workers.
The merchants.
All the people he had met during his missions.
He nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
Mito smiled.
"That's important."
After dinner, Karma went outside.
He sat on the roof and looked over Konoha.
The village was quiet.
Lights glowed through windows.
People walked through the streets.
Children laughed somewhere below.
Karma rested his arms behind his head.
'I'm getting stronger.'
But that wasn't all.
He was getting to know the village.
And the village was beginning to know him.
That mattered.
If he wanted to become Hokage one day, people couldn't simply know him as Hashirama's prodigy.
They needed to know Karma.
Not just the shinobi.
The person.
A voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Karma."
He looked down.
Hashirama stood below.
"What?"
"You have a mission tomorrow."
Karma sat up immediately.
"What kind?"
Hashirama smiled.
"D-rank."
Karma fell backward.
"Of course."
Hashirama laughed.
"But this one is a little different."
Karma looked over the edge.
"How?"
"You'll be working with another shinobi."
Karma blinked.
"Another shinobi?"
"Yes."
Karma sat up again.
"Who?"
Hashirama smiled.
"You'll find out tomorrow."
Karma narrowed his eyes.
'Finally.'
Maybe it wasn't a C-rank.
Maybe it wasn't a dangerous mission.
But for the first time, Karma wasn't going alone.
And that meant he was about to learn something new.