Chapter 76 – C-Rank Mission: Defeating a Wild Boar
He is not afraid that you have a weakness.
He is afraid that you have no desires at all.
Want to borrow money? Did you even ask me first?
Uchiha Fugaku immediately summoned an Anbu and ordered him to notify all of Tsunade's acquaintances in the village—especially her old classmates—that they were forbidden to lend her money.
Though puzzled, the Anbu obeyed without question.
The team carefully mapped out Tsunade's social circle in Konoha, split into groups, and went door-to-door. Each household was informed of the Hokage-sama's order.
It was not a suggestion, nor a request. It was a command.
---
At that very moment, Tsunade was blissfully unaware that Fugaku had already cut off her escape route.
She had walked across half the village and finally arrived at a gambling house, cheerfully sitting down at the table with five hundred thousand ryō in hand.
The gambling hall had the same air as in her childhood memories. She recalled how her grandfather once let her sit on his shoulders while he played here.
That was the day gambling had first imprinted itself on her soul.
---
While Tsunade sat at the tables, Shizune had just completed her paperwork at the Hokage Building. She touched the freshly issued Konoha forehead protector with relief. Thankfully, she'd had just enough left over to pay the re-registration fee.
If she hadn't… she would have been helpless.
Fastening the headband proudly to her forehead, she hurried toward the mission desk in the main hall, hoping to find a simple job she could finish quickly.
The mission department was a large wooden wall covered in requests, updated every morning. As she scanned the postings, she recalled the two ninja in the restaurant earlier mentioning their C-Rank mission.
On the wall, most were D-Rank, fewer were C-Rank, and only a handful of B-Rank.
D-Rank: The lowest level, no combat, no real danger. Five to fifty thousand ryō. Finding pets, harvesting crops, babysitting. Easy, safe, trivial.
C-Rank: Some risk of injury, but manageable. Ten to fifty thousand ryō. Escort duty, subjugating dangerous animals, hunting bandits. Mild danger.
B-Rank: Expected combat, often with foreign ninja. Eighty to two hundred thousand ryō. Escorting important figures, espionage, assassinations. Always dangerous, requiring teams and experience.
Shizune skimmed past the B-Rank listings. She needed money quickly, not long-term danger.
After carefully reviewing the wall, she narrowed her choices to three missions:
1 × C-Rank
2 × D-Rank
The C-Rank caught her eye:
> A wild boar had been terrorizing farmers in a village fifteen li outside Konoha, destroying crops. The villagers begged for help. Reward: 20,000 ryō.
She confirmed the distance with a clerk—only about fifteen li. At shinobi speed, it was a ten-minute run. A quick trip out and back, plus time to handle the boar.
The D-Rank options were both pet rescues, each worth around six thousand ryō.
Shizune thought for a moment. "I'll take the C-Rank first."
It was more than both D-Ranks combined, and for someone of her ability, driving off a boar was nothing. If she finished quickly, she could always come back for the pet jobs before sunset.
She tore the C-Rank slip from the wall, carried it to the desk, and registered.
"Alright, deadline is two days. Please complete it within the time limit," the clerk reminded her.
Shizune nodded, took her papers, and left.
Walking out of the Hokage Building, she felt a strange sense of nostalgia. It had been so long since her last mission. The familiar rhythm almost made her smile.
She set her resolve and headed toward the village gates.
---
From the third-floor Hokage Office, Uchiha Fugaku looked up from his paperwork and happened to see Shizune leaving.
"What is she doing here?"
Curious, he sent someone to investigate. Moments later, the report arrived:
Shizune had re-registered her shinobi status and taken a C-Rank mission to subjugate a wild boar.
Fugaku smirked. So, she's that short on money? Earning it through missions, are you?
But he dismissed the matter. Twenty thousand ryō was pocket change. Tsunade would burn through it in a single day. With her extravagant habits, she wouldn't leave the village without at least several hundred thousand in hand.
Leave the village now? And live on what—fresh air?
He chuckled and returned to his writing.
---
Meanwhile, at the Evergreen Gambling House…
Tsunade sat stiffly, clutching her last 100,000 ryō bill. Her golden eyes glared at the dealer with deadly intensity.
She had already lost four straight rounds, burning through 400,000 ryō.
The dealer sweated under her gaze but wasn't too worried. This house had stood in Konoha for fifty years. Its backing was powerful. No one dared cause trouble here.
And yet, Tsunade's glare was not bluster—she truly believed the dealer was cheating.
How else could she lose four hands in a row? Didn't gambling houses usually let you win a few small rounds first?
Her legs bounced beneath the table. Her chest felt tight. She had bragged to Shizune about winning a fortune, and now she was almost cleaned out.
She gripped the last bill tightly. One final chance.
But doubt gnawed at her. Perhaps today wasn't her day for cards.
Standing abruptly, she left the table and moved toward the dice game instead.
Maybe my luck lies in high-and-low bets today…
---
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you like the story please give it some power stones and reviews. And if you want to read 40+ advance chapters or just want to support me please join my patreon at [email protected]/Translatingfanfics