Chapter 11: Laziness is Contagious
Hokage Building, mission submission counter.
"Tora, I've missed you so much!"
"Meow—"
In the arms of the Daimyo's wife, the cat named Tora was struggling desperately.
'I had a feeling when I heard the name Tora, it really is that cat. The reward should be substantial... Honestly, with that way of petting, it's no wonder it ran away."
On the other side, Mino Ichi and Makire were dejected, looking just like two defeated roosters.
Anko accepted the reward with a smile and submitted the mission report.
In the team member performance section, she wrote for Haruko's evaluation: "Unique approach to Ninjutsu application, exceptional Chakra control." After a moment of thought, she added, "However, work attitude needs improvement."
Of course, for a D-Rank Mission report like this, even the clerk in charge of filing wouldn't spare it a second glance.
...
In the following days, Team Anko was like a group of busy little bees, taking on various D-Rank Missions.
Weeding, painting, cleaning up trash...
And the division of labor within the team gradually became strange.
"This mission is to weed a medicinal herb field, so everyone get your act together!" Anko said, hands on her hips, announcing the start of the mission.
"Oh!" Ichi, fired up, rolled up his sleeves and charged in. "Behold my Multi-Weed Decapitation Jutsu!"
He rushed into the field like a spinning top, creating a flurry of chaos. Half an hour later, half the weeds... and nearly half the herbs had been pulled out by him.
The owner of the herb garden was almost in tears.
Makire displayed his true nature as a top student, pulling out a reference book and carefully analyzing the plants.
But his speed was like a snail's; by the time he finished weeding, the next harvest of herbs would probably be ready.
As for Haruko, he had long finished his assigned area and had been lounging on a simple rocking chair made with Earth Release for quite some time.
"Haruko!" Anko's voice carried a hint of menace.
Under Anko's murderous gaze, Haruko had no choice but to reluctantly get up and clean up their mess.
"Earth Release: Soil Turn!" The ground vibrated slightly, and the soil beneath all the weeds churned, forcing them out roots and all.
"Wind Release: Hair Dryer!" A gust of wind swept across the ground, as if it had eyes, precisely whisking away all the weeds.
In less than five minutes, the weeds in half the herb garden were completely cleared.
The garden owner was stunned, and both Ichi and Makire were dumbfounded.
Is this weeding? This is art!
"There, I've finished the most troublesome part. You two can at least finish up the cleanup work, right?"
Haruko clapped his hands and was about to lie back on his rocking chair, only to find that Anko had already occupied it.
"Anko-sensei..."
"Hey, you have to admit, this thing is actually quite comfortable." Anko showed no intention of getting up.
Haruko had no choice but to make a new one; after all, she was his mentor (and superior).
...
The next day, the mission was to help paint a wall.
This time, Haruko made two rocking chairs right away. As soon as Anko announced the start of the mission, she lay down.
Haruko also completed his assigned portion within a few minutes and began to lounge, watching the other two perform.
Ichi wielded his brush with wild abandon, splashing paint everywhere—even getting a few drops on Anko's hair.
Makire rigorously calculated the surface area of the wall and the ratio of the paint. By the time he finished calculating, Ichi had already turned half the wall into a mess.
"Haruko!" Anko's roar of exasperation rang out again.
"Alright, alright."
Haruko sighed, formed hand signs, and controlled the paint with Water Release, causing it to fly from the bucket onto the wall.
In less than ten minutes, the wall was painted evenly and smoothly; not even a single bubble could be found.
The two of them, covered in dust and paint once again, exchanged glances.
"Makire, what do you think?"
"I think, next time, we should see what Haruko thinks first."
"Makes sense!"
...
Gradually, Team Anko developed a strange operational pattern:
Mission starts, Haruko finishes his part and starts slacking off → Ichi and Makire encounter difficulties and make a mess of things → Anko, unable to bear it, drags Haruko out by his ear → The all-capable Haruko uses some unheard-of Ninjutsu to solve the problem in a few minutes.
Ichi and Makire went from initial shock and defiance to later numbness, and now they had completely given up.
Whenever they encountered a difficult problem, the two would exchange a tacit look, then simultaneously turn to look at their teammate who was slacking off on the side.
""Haruko, it's your turn to perform.""
"Are you kidding me, guys? At least try it first! Are we skipping the whole process now?"
Anko lay on the rocking chair, watching these three clowns, her temples throbbing.
Ichi had strength but no brains; Makire had brains but no strength. Haruko had both, but absolutely no motivation.
Leading this team was exhausting.
'If this continues, Ichi and Makire will definitely be ruined by Haruko. Come to think of it, does Haruko even need me to lead him?"
Although she had never seen Haruko fight with full power, Anko's intuition told her that Haruko might be on par with her—since the first time they met, Haruko had never shown any respect, admiration, or fear of her due to her strength.
Therefore, Anko made a decision: take on a slightly more difficult C-Rank Mission to see how Haruko handles it, and also to spur Ichi and Makire on.
If there were no problems, she would let Haruko end his mentorship status, officially enter the Genin talent pool, and accept mission assignments.
...
Mission assignment counter.
"C-Rank Mission?!" Ichi's voice rose an octave, his expression one of disbelief.
Although Makire tried hard to remain calm, his slightly upturned mouth and clenched fists betrayed his inner excitement.
"Well, don't get too happy yet."
Anko clapped her hands.
"This time it's an escort mission, from Konoha to Green Leaf Town in the Land of Rice Fields, lasting about a week. We might encounter some unsavory types along the way."
'Sounds like such a hassle... And the Land of Rice Fields? I wonder if Hidden Sound Village has been established yet; I really don't want to run into Uncle Snake."
Haruko leaned against the corner of the wall, kicking at a piece of peeling wall plaster with his toe.
Walking all day with a merchant caravan and camping at night—just thinking about repeating this life for a week made his scalp tingle.
"Haruko! Did you hear that? This isn't weeding or painting walls anymore! It's a C-Rank Mission!" Seeing Haruko's unperturbed appearance, Ichi couldn't help but slap him.
"Oh." Haruko responded casually, "And then?"
"And then?" Ichi was choked up by his reaction. "Then we have to perform well! This is our first C-Rank Mission!"
'A full-day job with a take-home pay of less than 20k, a daily wage of under 3k, and combat risks. A total slave-labor mission; I don't know what this kid is so excited about."
"Oh, good luck." Haruko said perfunctorily, then went back to kicking that piece of wall debris.
Anko looked at the three of them, especially Haruko's "I-don't-care" attitude of lying flat, and a vein throbbed on her forehead.
"Alright, tomorrow morning at eight o'clock, meet at the North Gate of Konoha. The caravan will be waiting for us there. Dismissed!"
Ichi and Makire responded excitedly and hurried off to prepare.
Haruko strolled slowly over to Anko: "Anko-sensei, isn't this mission a bit too early for them? This isn't like the previous Ninja games. Is it really okay?"
Anko flicked his forehead: "You're the only one who can talk! Do you think I'm just here for show? Go back and prepare! Don't you dare drop the ball on me!"
"Oh." Haruko shrugged and slowly left the Hokage Building.