26 Desert Wind Swan Operation
[Sunagakure Genin Corps Headquarters]
A day passed since the operation, and team 146 was soon summoned to the Sunagakure Genin Corps Headquarters, alongside team 142. Kohaku and Kaito had already submitted their reports to Taki, the kenjutsu specialist in charge of their platoon.
The middle-aged man was very intimidating, but unsurprisingly, he praised them: "I have looked at your reports. Congratulations, you completed the assignment with near perfect execution. Out of the 40 genin teams dispatched in the Desert Wind Swan Operation, you were the two teams with the most contribution"
Still, both Kohaku and Kaito did not expect to have accomplished so much in this day-long operation. Surely, they had managed to kill quite a number of enemy genins, but most of them were injured by the time they entered the delta region
"Your initiative to blow up their bridge was very good, forcing them to be tangled in your delta region trap. Kaito, I've looked at the reports, and it seems like your team has become much stronger at the land of earth frontier. Kohaku, I believe working with him made you learn invaluable lessons. You are dismissed"
Kohaku nodded. He had indeed learned a lot.
"Oh, I almost forgot, the Kazekage has already heard about your achievements, and he was very pleased to hear about rising genins like you. Continue to work hard", Taki said
[You have completed the [Desert Wind Swan Operation - C-rank] mission. You have earned 2000 EXP, 320 000 Ryô, +40 Reputation with the Sunagakure Village, +60 Reputation with Harumi, +80 Reputation with Kohaku Tatsumi, +30 Reputation with Eiji, +20 Reputation with Aki, +40 Reputation with Taki, + 20 Reputation with Rasa...]
[Sunagakure's economy score has risen by 1 point...]
[Missions will become slightly more rewarding...]
This mission was invaluable, not just because the rewards were unbelievably bountiful for the short period of time it lasted, or the reputation gains. It was because of the discovery of chained quests. Usually, most of the missions Kaito completed had no effect whatsoever on the grand scheme of thing. Or at least, this is what he thought.
However, the previous mission with the Golden Turtle Merchant Union that uncovered traces of the Tanigakure village's acts of spying most likely triggered the [Desert Wind Swan Operation], something that had not happened in the series. This meant that if he chose his missions carefully, he would not only gain influence on the future of Sunagakure, but he might achieve it more easily than he originally thought by targeting this kind of missions.
Of course, this mission was also unbelievably rewarding this time, since Kaito's team had finally become sufficiently strong to completely obliterate most of enemy genins with their formations. In the last genin operation, their role was to guard a tower and loot a village. The EXP he had earned in this last operation was incomparable to the 11 560 EXP he had earned this time around.
[You have levelled up...]
[You have gained 3 attribute points...]
[Your chakra rises by 3 points...]
[Recent events have challenged your body to improve...]
[You have earned 1 point of Strength...]
[You have earned 1 point of Agility...]
[You have earned 2 points of Vitality...]
[You have earned 1 point of Chakra...]
[Name - Kaito | Level 22 Sunagakure Shinobi [1 160 / 8 200 EXP] | HP - 270 / 270
Title - Sunagakure Genin (+30% EXP and reputation from Sunagakure missions), Tanigakure Enemy (+10% EXP from Tanigakure enemies)
Attributes:
Strength - 17→ 18 (+5) | Agility - 18→ 19 (+4) | Vitality - 21→ 23 (+4) | Chakra - 32 → 38 (+5)
Chakra control: [C-rank]
Perk - Puppeteer (Increased growth rate of puppet-related skills)
Skills: Puppet Creation Mastery (C), Puppet Control Mastery (C), Shuriken Mastery (E), Sunagakure Taijutsu (E), Kunai Mastery (E), Poison Manufacturing Mastery (E)
Jutsu: Mystic Palm Technique (C), Katonjutsu Fire Blast (C), Katonjutsu Fire Shuriken (E)
Puppets - Shuriken Thrower Puppet n°42 (C)
Equipment - Sunagakure Uniform (+4 all), Sunagakure headband (+1 Chakra), Bandit Ring (+1 Strength), Yellow-steel Blade (Increased sharpness)]
Investing his hard-earned EXP to level up, Kaito became closer to his goal of becoming a chunin.
[Genin Graduation - B-rank Class Mission
As a genin from Sunagakure, you need to become a chunin to apply for B-rank missions and earn more influence. Becoming a chunin would also allow you to look at the second floor's records in the Sungakure Shinobi Library.
Task requirements: Level 25 (22/25), 2000 Reputation with Sunagakure (2 180 / 2 000), 100 Reputation with Kazekage Rasa (83 / 100)
Rewards: 5000 EXP, Increased Reputation with the Sunagakure Village
Unique Reward: New perk]
In order to earn reputation with the Kazekage, there were two possible ways:
Make a contribution big enough to be noticed by the Kazekage, like being the strongest genin team involved in an operation. However, this kind of opportunity only came once in a while, as Sunagakure was cautious in its movements.
The second possibility that yielded reputation gains without much effort was to accumulate contributions in a regular way, in a short enough time window to be noticed by Taki, who makes regular reports to the Kazekage directly, which would allow him to be noticed through reports.
Other than that, it was very difficult to interact with him directly.
However, if he continued completing missions, Kaito was confident in closing the necessary gap. The last mission with the Golden Turtle Union had been like a switch. He and his teammates had become stronger, and the operation was proof of that.
As they left the room, Kaito saw both Eiji and Aki waiting for him. They were in their training gear.
'Seems like I am not the only one yearning for strength...'
