Even the always-gentle Yakushi Naono couldn't stop her eyebrows from twitching.
"Then… teacher, could you tell me what rank this Kaito-sensei is?"
The chūnin instructor took a deep breath. His face turned solemn as he summoned every positive adjective he knew.
"He is… a very capable young man. Only eighteen, yet he has a 100% mission completion rate. That's a record comparable only to ANBU's White Fang."
"Oh—so he's a genius jōnin. That I can accept."
Uchiha Mikoto let out a breath of relief, her expression softening into a proud smile.
But suddenly—
If such a jōnin existed, why had her clan… and especially her grandfather… never mentioned him?
Her smile stiffened.
She was about to ask when the teacher delivered the execution blow.
"He's not a jōnin. In fact… he is still a genin."
The moment he said it, the breath stuck in his chest finally released.
When he first saw the assignment sheet, he almost stormed into ANBU headquarters demanding answers.
But the Hokage's signature and seal were on it.
There was no overturning it.
Instantly, stifled laughter bubbled up across the classroom.
Even Nara U—who hated unnecessary trouble—couldn't resist letting out a chuckle.
Only two girls kept dark, murderous expressions fixed on the teacher.
The poor man felt helpless. He wasn't some big shot—just a messenger.
Even if these two students were top talents—Mikoto ranked first, Naono mid-high—he had no choice.
"I will report this to the clan."
Mikoto's voice was icy.
To her, this was clearly the Hokage faction deliberately suppressing the Uchiha.
The teacher could only nod silently.
"Please wait in the classroom for your instructor to arrive."
Hokage's Office
A crystal ball reflected everything happening in the classroom below.
Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his forehead as he watched little Mikoto fuming.
"Sigh… If Kaito doesn't take this squad, no other jōnin would accept Might Duy in the team."
"And even a jōnin may not be able to handle Uchiha Mikoto—her strength is already nearing chūnin level."
"Logically, Kaito is the only viable choice."
Might Duy trained day and night. Even the Hokage respected his work ethic.
But becoming a qualified chūnin required more than just taijutsu.
To make matters worse, Duy's wife was pregnant.
As a genin, he couldn't take C-rank missions.
Money was tight.
He wasn't strong enough to clear all D-rank missions alone, and failing meant paying a penalty fee he couldn't afford.
On top of that, no squad wanted him—"a taijutsu-only genin" who people thought simply came along to take a cut of the mission reward.
So Hiruzen had spent far too much time crafting a squad just for Might Duy.
"Please, Kaito… use your face to calm those two girls down…"
The Hokage sighed.
His backup plan was literally:
Use Kaito's good looks to reduce Mikoto & Naono's hatred long enough to start the team smoothly.
Five-Year A-Class Classroom
Only Uchiha Mikoto and Yakushi Naono remained.
Everyone else had left already—after laughing, of course.
Mikoto would never forget today's humiliation.
She vowed to crush that genin teacher with overwhelming strength…
then report him to her clan head.
Let Grandpa Fugaku's father personally go to the Hokage Tower and "have a talk."
Naono, meanwhile, looked… resigned.
Her parents had died in village missions.
She wasn't a prodigy, but her chakra control and memory were good enough to place her in A-Class.
And now she had to be trained…
by a genin.
"My future is over," she thought bleakly.
Creak.
The classroom door opened.
Mikoto immediately clenched her fists, ready to explode.
Instead—
A young man in a green spandex suit with thick brows raised his hand shyly.
"Um—um—hello! I'm Might Duy. I'm here to report in."
Seeing Mikoto's murderous glare, Duy shrank back nervously.
"This is… Five-Year A-Class, right?"
"Hmph."
Realizing he wasn't that genin teacher but rather another "victim," Mikoto cooled down slightly and returned to her seat.
With a sarcastic tone, she said:
"You didn't go to the wrong place. But you don't know who our instructor is, do you?"
"It's a genin."
"Some say he's failed the chūnin exam six years in a row!"
Just thinking about it nearly made Mikoto explode.
Every other squad had at least a special jōnin.
And her squad got… this.
"This… Hokage-sama explained it to me," Duy said, rubbing his cheek awkwardly as he walked inside.
A nostalgic glint flashed in his eyes.
He remembered graduating alongside many prodigies.
Of course, they graduated early—
He graduated… right on schedule.
"You heard and still came?! Are you crazy?"
Mikoto blurted out.
Even Naono stared in horror.
What department of the Konoha Hospital handles this kind of mental illness?!
Duy only gave an embarrassed laugh.
He didn't explain.
Who would believe that a man who had trained only taijutsu for years…
was nearly losing his livelihood?
His silence told the girls more than words.
They exchanged glances and said nothing more.
They simply waited—
for that damned, useless, irresponsible genin instructor to finally show up.
11:30 AM — Near Lunchtime
Kaito had just finished another D-rank mission—helping an old lady plow her fields.
A normal genin with poor chakra control would have broken the tools.
But Kaito handled it perfectly.
Mission Desk — Hokage Tower, Second Floor
The chūnin at the desk accepted the mission report.
He was still in the somber mood of a war-torn day—teams missing, deaths recorded, solemn paperwork.
Then he looked up at Kaito.
"Ka—Kaito… genin…"
"Mm. The payment is correct. Three thousand ryō."
Kaito counted his money calmly.
"No, that's not—"
The chūnin waved his hands.
"I mean—aren't you supposed to be with your squad today?! Today is the graduation assignment ceremony!"
"Oh."
Kaito blinked as if he had genuinely forgotten.
"I forgot. It's fine. I'll go now."
THUD!
The chūnin nearly fell out of his chair anime-style.
Kaito quietly pocketed the three thousand ryō.
With over four million ryō saved, he was already thinking:
A small house in Konoha should be affordable…
There shouldn't be any building-destroying incidents in these years, right? No Pain… no Nine-Tails attack… right?
"Kaito! What are you still standing there for?! GO!"
"Oh, oh. I'm going."
The chūnin got up, rubbing a bruised forehead, shouting angrily.
Kaito nodded seriously—as if he had been thinking about exactly that the whole time.
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