"Whoa, now this is rare! The well-off, never-has-to-worry-about-money Tenten is actually taking on a mission voluntarily?"
"Hmph~ Are you calling me lazy? For your information, I'm not doing missions for money. I'm doing it to grow stronger through experience!"
"Sure, sure. But come on, it's just a C-rank mission. There's barely any room for growth in one of those."
The three voices belonged to Konoha's up-and-coming Genin Team 5: Tenten, Rock Lee, and Hyuga Neji. The trio was heading straight toward the weapon shop where Kirito now worked and lived.
"Yoohoo~ Kirito-kun~!" Tenten called out cheerfully.
"Oh? Tenten? That's rare." Kirito gave a relaxed wave.
The two were on good terms, familiar acquaintances, at the very least. In fact, Kirito had been able to stay and work at this weapons shop for so long largely thanks to Tenten pulling a few strings.
"Oh? So this is one of your friends, Tenten? Nice to meet you! I'm Rock Lee, Tenten's teammate!" Lee stepped forward, friendly as ever.
"..."
Neji, on the other hand, simply frowned as he looked in their direction. As fellow members of the Hyuga clan, he naturally recognized the infamous failure known as Hyuga Kirito. Neji had always looked down on those without talent. So even though he knew who Kirito was, he didn't acknowledge him.
"Hyuga Kirito, a friend of Tenten's. Nice to meet you," Kirito responded politely to Lee.
"Wait, Hyuga? So you're from the same clan as Neji?" Lee looked back and forth between the two with surprise. Of course, he didn't notice the most glaring detail: how a Hyuga could possibly have pitch-black eyes.
Kirito gave a calm nod, then looked over at Neji with a casual greeting. "Long time no see, Neji."
"Hmph!" Neji snorted, turning his head away with disdain. Clearly, he had no intention of talking.
Kirito didn't mind. The greeting had been more out of courtesy than anything. He hadn't particularly wanted to chat with Neji either.
"Okay, okay, break it up, you two~" Tenten jumped in quickly to smooth things over when she sensed the awkward atmosphere. "Let's not forget we have business to take care of today!"
Lee chimed in, "We're supposed to escort a batch of decorative custom-made katana for some noble family. So the goods came from your shop, huh?"
"Yup, exactly," Tenten confirmed. "The trip's not far. The delivery is going to the Fire Daimyō's residence. Since it's within our territory and there's minimal risk of running into enemy ninja, we're mostly expecting maybe some bandits or highway robbers at worst. That's why it's only ranked as a C-class mission."
As she spoke, she glanced toward Kirito.
"So~ Kirito-kun, want to come along on this delivery mission? I mean, I wouldn't say no~"
Kirito blinked, clearly intrigued. Then, with total honesty, he asked, "What's the pay?"
"You… seriously?" Tenten was exasperated. The first thing he asked about was money?
But she also knew this was just how Kirito was, he'd always had to support himself. It was only natural for him to care about pay.
Lee, who had also grown up poor, immediately nodded in agreement. "Compensation for missions is extremely important!"
However, just then-
"No."
The flat rejection came from Neji.
"Huh? Why not?" Tenten turned to him, puzzled. It wasn't like Neji to voice opinions over minor things.
Neji glanced coldly at Kirito and said sharply, "That guy's not even a Genin. How could he possibly be allowed on a mission?"
"Wait, Kirito-kun isn't a ninja yet?" Lee blinked in surprise.
Neji sneered. "He couldn't even pass the graduation exam at the Academy. He's a failure."
"Hey!" Even Tenten, who usually respected Neji's opinions, looked visibly irritated. "He might be terrible at ninjutsu and genjutsu, and his taijutsu isn't anything special either, but Kirito-kun is absolutely not a failure!"
Lee tilted his head. "Not good at ninjutsu or genjutsu…? Sounds kinda like me, actually."
Tenten nodded, frowning slightly. "Let me tell you, Kirito-kun's weapon skills are incredible. When it comes to shuriken techniques, he's even better than me."
"Whoa! You're saying he's better than you at shuriken?!" Lee looked stunned.
He had always thought Tenten's dazzling shuriken skills were second to none among their peers. To hear that someone who wasn't even a proper ninja had surpassed her in that area, it was hard to believe.
"..."
Even Neji cast a slightly surprised glance at Kirito.
This so-called failure is good at shuriken techniques? he thought, skeptical. Neji had always held Tenten's skill in high regard, and she was someone who took great pride in her specialty. For her to admit someone surpassed her was no small thing.
He'd never heard any such rumors. In fact, the Hyuga clan certainly didn't know Kirito had any hidden talents. That made Neji frown. If he really did show talent in at least one area… would the clan have truly cast him out?
Kirito, however, wasn't bothered by any of this.
He understood Tenten's intention, if he joined the transport team, once the mission succeeded, he'd receive a share of the reward. For someone like him, who was currently short on money, that offer was practically a blessing.
There was no reason to refuse.
"I see. So I'll be part of the delivery convoy then?"
"Smart boy," Tenten grinned and nodded. That way, even without a ninja license, Kirito could still join the mission without breaking protocol.