Year 33 of Konoha, May.
The borders of the Land of Fire were in utter chaos. A three-nation conflict had plunged the Land of Rain into devastation. Countless ordinary families had been destroyed simply because ninjas from other countries appeared on their land.
Unable to ignore the worsening situation, Hanzo, leader of Amegakure (Hidden Rain Village), officially declared war at the beginning of the year against the Land of Fire, Land of Earth, and Land of Wind—the three nations responsible for Rain Country's turmoil.
At the Ninja Academy, Nawaki, now eleven years old and in his fifth year, learned that students in the third year and above—meaning fourth and fifth graders—were allowed to graduate early.
The young boy's face filled with excitement.
However, he completely failed to notice the worried expressions on the faces of the three people waiting for him—his sister Tsunade, his soon-to-be teacher Orochimaru, and Tsunade's teammate Jiraiya.
In times of war, early graduation was not a good thing.
"You can't just throw students directly onto the battlefield! That goes against the Second Hokage's original intentions!"
"This is for Konoha! In wartime, we cannot afford hesitation, Hiruzen!"
"Shut up! I am the Hokage!"
"You'll regret this!"
Inside the Hokage Office, the familiar scene unfolded.
Shimura Danzo slammed the door shut in anger as he stormed out. The ANBU guards standing on either side of the doorway exchanged awkward glances.
"Close the door."
"Yes, sir!" ×2
The door shut.
Sitting behind his desk, Sarutobi Hiruzen took a slow puff from his pipe.
He knew the frontline situation was urgent. But as the Hokage, how could he watch children with zero combat experience be sent to die on the battlefield?
"White Fang."
"Hokage-sama."
A tall man appeared in the center of the office. His hair was snow-white, and he wore Konoha's ANBU uniform with a mask marked by red patterns.
"Many students are graduating this year. According to this list, deliver the assignments to the academy teachers and announce where each student will be placed."
"Yes!"
Hatake Sakumo nodded and accepted the documents.
His gaze briefly scanned the list—then paused.
One of the teams had a Genin assigned as their instructor.
That was absurd.
At this time, Sakumo was not yet known as the legendary Konoha's White Fang. He was merely an ANBU captain. Still, he couldn't help but ask:
"Hokage-sama, I have a question."
Hiruzen exhaled a cloud of smoke.
Sakumo instinctively held his breath, almost childishly trying to avoid being hit by the secondhand smoke from his superior.
Then Hiruzen spoke.
"White Fang, did you notice something?"
"Yes."
Sakumo looked like a diligent subordinate as he pointed to the "error" in the document.
"Hokage-sama, this Genin named Bai Xing—I don't recall hearing about him. Judging by his age, he's eighteen and still a Genin. He's probably not a genius. So why assign someone like him as a team instructor?"
Hearing this, Hiruzen suddenly thought of something rather interesting.
He stood up and walked to the window, gazing down at the village from the third floor of the Hokage Building.
"White Fang, if I remember correctly… you've never failed a mission, have you?"
"That's correct, Hokage-sama."
Sakumo still looked puzzled.
"But what does that have to do with this Genin Bai Xing?"
Hiruzen turned back toward him. In the prime of his life, confidence filled his face.
"Because Bai Xing is the same as you."
"He has a 100% mission completion rate."
Konoha — Hokage Building, Second Floor
Mission Assignment Office
A black-haired young man with slightly messy bangs and a cool, handsome appearance approached the desk of several Chunin clerks.
In his hands, he held a snow-white kitten—clearly the kind kept by noble families.
"I see you completed another D-rank mission by yourself again, Bai Xing. Impressive."
A Chunin wearing the standard flak jacket gave the young man a thumbs-up.
"Mm."
Bai Xing nodded calmly without speaking. He simply waited for the mission officer to bring over the aristocratic lady who owned the kitten.
After two or three minutes, a richly dressed noblewoman arrived and hugged her pet cat.
"Thank you so much."
As she spoke, her eyes drifted across Bai Xing's face and figure.
He was an exceptionally handsome ninja—rare to see.
Before leaving, she even quietly asked whether he would consider changing careers and becoming her personal bodyguard.
"Sorry," Bai Xing replied. "I'm a Konoha ninja."
"What a pity."
Though disappointed, the noblewoman didn't insist. Ordinary people were always a little afraid of ninjas.
After she left, Bai Xing asked the Chunin clerk for the reward of his D-rank mission.
Five thousand ryo.
However, since Bai Xing accepted the mission alone without a team, he could only receive two thousand ryo.
Cat-finding missions were the lowest tier tasks in the village. Normally, two or three Genin would complete them together.
But Bai Xing didn't need help.
Just as the clerk handed him the payment, another Chunin entered the room carrying a document.
Seeing Bai Xing about to leave, he quickly called out:
"Bai Xing, you're pretty lucky. The Hokage assigned you as a team instructor. If you perform well, even if your strength isn't outstanding, you might still have a chance to be promoted to Chunin."
Bai Xing frowned.
The two thousand-ryo notes in his hand suddenly felt far less appealing.
To avoid becoming a Chunin, he had worked extremely hard.
Every time he participated in the Chunin Exams, he deliberately acted useless—so weak that even newly graduated Genin could defeat him.
That was how he had managed to remain a Genin all this time.
In terms of reputation, he was almost the same as Might Dai. The only difference was that Bai Xing worked diligently, taking D-rank missions whenever he had time.
Over the past six years, he had completed more than a thousand D-rank missions.
And now…
He was suddenly being assigned as some kind of team leader.
It sounded suspiciously like a move meant to push him toward the chaotic border battlefield.
"Can I refuse?"
The moment those words came out, the office fell silent.
The Chunin clerk froze.
The other clerks stopped passing documents.
Even a Jonin team that had come to submit a mission report stared at him in shock.
Seeing everyone's eyes on him, Bai Xing immediately took the document from the clerk.
"I was joking."
Then he turned around and left the mission office without looking back.
After Bai Xing left, laughter erupted throughout the room.
"Hahaha! I didn't know Genin Bai Xing could joke around."
"Exactly. A mission maniac like him would never pass up a challenge like that."
"That's right! I remember when he failed the Chunin Exam for the sixth time, he swore that if he couldn't become a Chunin through his own strength, he would remain a Genin for the rest of his life. How could he possibly be afraid of becoming a teacher?"
Inside the mission office, everyone tried to lighten the mood with daily anecdotes, momentarily pushing aside the depressing war reports that kept arriving.
Meanwhile…
Bai Xing quietly left the Hokage Building.
Keeping a low profile, he quickly returned to his home.
Holding the documents in his hand, he fell into deep thought.