The novelty of being official Genin wore off with the speed of a poorly thrown kunai hitting solid earth. Any lingering excitement Ren, Akari, or Kenji might have felt about embarking on their shinobi careers was swiftly and brutally extinguished by the relentless tide of D-Rank missions assigned over the following week. Team 12 became intimately familiar with the less glamorous side of Konoha – the perpetually overgrown gardens of demanding civilians, the endlessly long fences needing repair on the village outskirts, the bafflingly complex shopping lists of wealthy merchants' wives.
Their mornings began not with high-intensity spars or chakra drills, but by reporting to the Mission Assignment Desk, receiving a scroll detailing some form of manual labor, and heading out under Genma Shiranui's perpetually observant, utterly unimpressed gaze.
"Today," Genma announced on the first morning after the Tora debacle, his tone flat as he read from the mission scroll, "You will be weeding and tending the gardens of the Civilian Council Archive. Precision is required; do not disturb the archive's perimeter security seals," (his eyes flicked briefly towards Ren at the mention of seals), "or the designated medicinal herb patches. Failure results in..." he consulted the scroll again, "...a formal reprimand and forfeiture of mission pay. Dismissed."
The Archive gardens were vast, meticulously kept in some areas (the herbs) and wildly overgrown in others (the general decorative sections). It was back-breaking work under the hot sun. Kenji initially tried to speed things up by ripping out handfuls of weeds, only to earn a sharp rebuke from Genma (who appeared silently beside him) for disturbing the soil near a sensitive herb bed. "Brute force solves nothing here, Ito. Precision. Identify the weed, remove it by the root, disturb nothing else." Akari, meticulous by nature, worked slowly but accurately, carefully distinguishing weeds from valuable plants. Ren, applying System logic, used Observe ([Weed - Common Bindweed], [Medicinal Herb - Blood Settle Root], [Soil Condition: Dry - Requires Water]) and Environmental Awareness Lv. 1 to identify patterns and efficient clearing paths, working at a steady, optimized pace.
Genma rarely interfered directly after the initial corrections. Instead, he would perch silently in a nearby tree, or lean against a wall, seemingly dozing, yet Ren's Observe confirmed his Jonin-sensei was constantly monitoring their progress, efficiency, communication (or lack thereof), and individual work ethics. Observe: Genma Shiranui. Status: Monitoring Team 12 - D-Rank Performance. Focus: Work distribution, problem-solving (mundane), adherence to instruction, Ren's methodology. He wasn't testing their combat skills, but their diligence, patience, and ability to follow orders even when the task was boring – foundational traits for any reliable shinobi.
Days blurred into a monotonous cycle. One day involved painting an absurdly long fence separating a training ground from a residential area. Kenji's strength was useful for carrying the heavy paint buckets, but his broad strokes were sloppy. Akari painted with neat precision but lacked speed. Ren found himself subtly coordinating – assigning sections, ensuring consistent color application, using a brief Surface Walking burst when Genma wasn't looking directly to reach a high spot quickly (Proficiency +0.1%), immediately reverting to normal climbing before his sensei's gaze returned. Genma's silence during these tasks felt more unnerving than his direct critiques during combat drills.
[New Skill Seed Detected: [Manual Labor Efficiency] - Improves speed and reduces stamina cost for repetitive physical tasks.] (A somewhat insulting skill seed, Ren thought, but potentially useful).
Another mission involved helping an elderly shopkeeper reorganize her incredibly cluttered storeroom. Dust, heavy lifting, tedious categorization. Kenji handled the heavy boxes. Akari's knack for organization proved invaluable. Ren used Observe to quickly identify item types and Basic Team Tactics to direct the workflow, turning the chaos into a semi-organized process. Genma simply watched from the doorway, offering no assistance, his presence a constant pressure ensuring they didn't slack off or complain excessively.
Through it all, Ren maintained his secret training regime. Evenings at the orphanage, after the physically draining D-Ranks, were dedicated to the Fuinjutsu scroll (Basic Fuinjutsu Theory Proficiency slowly climbing towards 40%), practicing Seal Script Calligraphy until his fingers cramped (Calligraphy Lv. 2 -> 3 achieved after excruciating effort), meditating to enhance Chakra Flow Efficiency (Level 1 -> 2 achieved, reducing costs by 2% now), and reviewing his Chakra Pulse technique mentally, trying to theorize ways to reduce its high CP cost. The System was his anchor, proof that even amidst soul-crushing drudgery, progress was possible.
The team dynamic shifted subtly. Shared misery fostered a grudging camaraderie. Kenji complained loudly about the pointless tasks but never shirked the physical labor. Akari remained anxious but grew more assertive in pointing out details they might miss. Ren fell into a natural leadership role during the tasks, not through overt command, but through quiet suggestions, efficient planning, and his knack for finding the optimal approach, which Kenji and Akari increasingly, if sometimes reluctantly, followed (Leadership (Basic) Lv. 2 proficiency grew steadily). They still weren't friends, not really, but they were becoming a functional unit, bonded by Genma's oppressive supervision and the sheer tedium of their assigned lot.
One late afternoon, after successfully (and painstakingly) cataloging hundreds of scrolls for the Civilian Archive library annex (a task that tested Akari's organizational skills and Ren's patience with Observe), Genma gathered them. They were all covered in dust, mentally fatigued, expecting dismissal.
Instead, Genma said, "Report to Training Ground 3. Now."
The sudden shift was jarring. They exchanged weary but slightly energized glances. Were the D-Ranks finally over? Had they passed some unspoken test of endurance?
They arrived at the familiar clearing as twilight began to settle. Genma stood waiting, his usual lazy posture replaced by something more alert.
"You've spent a week demonstrating you can follow orders and complete mundane tasks without disintegrating into complete incompetence," Genma stated, his voice flat. "A low bar, but met. You've also started, barely, to anticipate each other's movements and communicate rudimentary information during tasks." He paused. "Don't mistake this for praise. It merely means you're minimally qualified to progress beyond weeding gardens."
He tossed three small, sealed pouches onto the ground. "Team funds, accrued from your mission payments, minus standard village upkeep tax. Inside, you'll find vouchers for basic equipment upgrades at the Shinobi Mart – better quality kunai, shuriken, wire, perhaps." Observe: Genma. Intent: Provide minimal resources. Assess resource allocation decisions.
He then produced three identical, featureless scrolls. "Your next assignment. Not from the Mission Desk." He handed one to each of them. "This is a standard Konoha field intelligence test scroll. It contains coordinates leading to three separate hidden caches within Training Ground 3 and the immediate surrounding woods. Each cache contains a piece of a cipher. Your objective, as a team, is to retrieve all three cipher pieces, decode the message using the provided key matrix within the scroll, and report the decoded message back to me."
Ren examined the scroll. Observe: [Field Intelligence Test Scroll (Genin Level)]. Contains: Encrypted Coordinates (3 Sets), Cipher Key Matrix (Basic Substitution). Objective: Retrieval & Decoding. Trap Potential: Low (Likely Environmental/Observation Based).
"Standard shinobi skills will be required," Genma continued. "Navigation, stealth to approach caches potentially under 'observation' (he smirked slightly), environmental awareness, teamwork to retrieve potentially difficult-to-reach pieces, and basic cryptography." He gestured vaguely towards the woods. "The caches could be anywhere – hidden underground, high in trees, concealed by basic Genjutsu illusions I may or may not have placed."
His eyes swept over them. "You have until midnight tonight to complete this. Unlike the D-Ranks, this requires actual thought and application of your shinobi training. Failure means… more fence painting." A distinct threat underlaid the casual tone. "Begin when ready."
He stepped back, melting into the shadows near the edge of the clearing, becoming an observer once more. Ren looked at Akari and Kenji. The exhaustion from the week's D-Ranks was still there, but now it was overlaid with a spark of genuine challenge, a flicker of nervous excitement. This felt like a real ninja test. The tedious forging was over; now, it was time to see if the metal could hold an edge.