Chapter 20: "Do They Take Me for a Rookie?"

Tsunade took the documents, glanced at them briefly, and then tossed them onto the desk with a casual flick, grumbling, "Old man, next time something like this comes up, don't drag me in so suddenly. I've got a surgery scheduled soon."

"But Takuya Yagami is someone you've taken an interest in," the Third Hokage said, watching her closely.

Tsunade couldn't help but laugh, more out of frustration than humor. "Yes, I'm the one who saw potential in him, but it's you who wants him to become the next Uchiha Kagami, isn't it, sensei?"

The Third Hokage didn't like the sound of that. What did she mean by saying it was his idea to mold Takuya into another Uchiha Kagami?

"Fine, let them form their two-person squad if that's what they want. Honestly, how many graduates get assigned to ideal teams every year anyway?" Tsunade continued, walking toward the door without bothering to look back. She waved her hand dismissively, adding, "Most of them end up having to find a team on their own."

This was something only the higher-ups would allow to happen, and no one else dared to question it. But Tsunade wasn't one to hold back. If something bothered her, she was going to say it.

Striding out of the room, Tsunade threw out a final piece of advice over her shoulder, "Old man, that kid Takuya isn't going to be the next Uchiha Kagami. You'd be better off letting him grow at his own pace since he doesn't seem keen on following your plans."

"Oh, and don't try to saddle me with any more students. I've got plenty to do at the hospital. There's a whole line of people waiting for surgeries."

Tsunade's medical ninjutsu was renowned not just in Konoha but throughout the entire shinobi world. As long as she was in the village, there were always plenty of people seeking her help.

Even though she had gambled away much of her clan's fortune, if Tsunade just worked a bit more and cut back on her gambling, she'd still be well off.

But unfortunately, Tsunade couldn't keep her hands off the gambling tables.

Since she hadn't taken Takuya under her wing, Tsunade decided to completely give up on the idea of taking on any students. Teaching brats was a hassle.

She'd rather spend her time at the hospital, where she could at least make some money.

What a pain! she thought, running a hand through her hair as she walked away.

The thought of the massive gambling debt she still owed made her head ache. And skipping out on it wasn't an option—if her creditors came knocking on the Hokage's door, she'd be utterly humiliated.

While their peers were still waiting for the village to assign them a jonin-sensei, Takuya and Mikoto were already on their first mission as genin.

Without a jonin to guide them and being just a two-person team, the missions available to Takuya and Mikoto were mostly D-rank tasks.

Catching stray cats, picking up trash, cleaning public restrooms…

Just looking at the list of missions made Takuya dizzy.

Some of the tasks were tolerable, but cleaning public restrooms? Seriously?

Who came up with these missions? The Hokage's office? Well, in that case, Takuya decided to leave that task for the other teams.

For their first mission, Takuya chose to help a farmer drive away some wild animals.

Even though it was a D-rank mission, this type of task usually offered higher rewards and more contribution points compared to the average D-rank missions.

Plus, it would be a good chance for Mikoto to gain some combat experience, so Takuya quickly accepted the mission.

Since the objective was only to drive the animals away and not eliminate them, the mission was ranked as D-rank. Had they been required to kill the animals, the mission would have been bumped up to C-rank.

"Let's go," Takuya said, checking his gear as he and Mikoto registered at the village gate before heading out toward the farm.

It was Mikoto's first mission, and she seemed both excited and nervous.

After gathering information from the farmer, the two of them entered the nearby forest, where the wild animals had been causing trouble.

The mission was simple: drive the animals out of the farm's territory, and the job would be done.

If they managed to eliminate the threat entirely, the mission would automatically be upgraded to C-rank, earning them the corresponding rewards and contribution points.

But Takuya and Mikoto weren't too concerned about the money.

As for the contribution points… well, some people valued them like gold, while others didn't see much use in them.

For example, Minato's contribution points were sufficient to earn him the Flying Thunder God Technique, thanks to Jiraiya's support and the Third Hokage's approval.

But if you gave the same amount of points to an Uchiha, you'd be lucky to get an A-rank jutsu in exchange.

Don't think the village is just being biased or targeting you.

Be confident, because they absolutely are.

"Let's split up. You go that way, and I'll take this side," Takuya instructed, creating two shadow clones to widen their search area.

In the world of shinobi, thanks to chakra and natural energy, many creatures grew to enormous sizes with formidable strength.

The giant toads, snakes, and slugs from the three great sage regions were prime examples.

Aside from these powerful summoning beasts, some of the other creatures were so strong that even jonin would have a hard time dealing with them.

"Snowy, check for any strong chakra signatures in the forest."

"Master, there's a significant chakra presence to the southeast," Snowy reported.

Following Snowy's guidance, Takuya quickly located a tiger nearly the size of a small house.

The enormous orange cat seemed completely unaware of Takuya's presence, lounging lazily on the ground in the middle of its meal.

"Such strong chakra… This should fetch a nice price," Takuya thought, eyeing the giant cat.

This was a lucrative opportunity. A beast like this could easily be sold as a summoning creature, something many shinobi would pay handsomely for, especially those who preferred aggressive types.

ROAR!!

Takuya's quiet musings woke the giant cat, which rolled over and, spotting him, let out a deafening roar.

The trees around them shook as leaves fluttered down from the branches.

With another roar, the massive tiger lunged at Takuya.

"Do they really think I'm just some rookie?" Takuya muttered, easily dodging the tiger's powerful claws and delivering a swift kick to its jaw.

CRASH!!

The giant cat's massive body was sent flying, crashing through several trees and tearing up the ground beneath it.

"Hmm?"

Takuya approached cautiously, expecting the beast to make another move, but what he found was rather unexpected.

The once ferocious tiger was now curled up on the ground, clutching its head in pain, letting out low, pitiful whimpers as blood dripped from its mouth.

It seemed that in the process of Takuya's kick, the tiger had bitten down on its own tongue, causing itself a significant amount of pain.

P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 30 at patreon.com/Emik01.

P/S: Check out my other fanfiction translation "Ninja World: I Have a Life Simulator." It's a great and fun read.