Target
"Are you going to participate in the Chunin Exams, or take on a C-Rank Mission?"
Nara Yan Shui asked.
Chunin Exams or a C-Rank Mission? Lin Ke paused, weighing the pros and cons in his mind.
Undoubtedly, both the Chunin Exams and a C-Rank Mission would give him the opportunity to advance to Chunin.
The Chunin Exams were more difficult, as they involved fighting other ninjas. A good performance might lead to direct promotion to Chunin. C-Rank Missions, on the other hand, generally didn't involve combat with ninjas, but would require him to slowly accumulate mission experience.
"So, our next mission is C-Rank?" He didn't ponder for too long before looking up with a smile.
There was no need to participate in the Chunin Exams. Intelligence was crucial for ninjas. Openly fighting in front of so many people would inevitably reveal his secrets. Accumulating mission experience wouldn't take too long anyway. As long as he was willing to grind, it didn't matter. Exposing his information in such a performance was unnecessary.
Nara Yan Shui understood his subordinate's meaning and was somewhat surprised. He had thought that his ambitious subordinate would choose to participate in the Chunin Exams—
But this was fine too.
"Then it's settled. I'll leave it to you to tell them?" he asked.
As a Jonin instructor, delegating authority to his subordinate was a clear indication that he was preparing to recommend his subordinate for Chunin and establish a future 'Lin Ke Squad'.
As long as there were no mistakes in the upcoming missions outside the village, even if the performance wasn't outstanding, becoming a Chunin wouldn't be a problem.
"Okay." Lin Ke nodded in agreement, watching the Jonin instructor turn to leave. He said, "Thank you, Yan Shui-sensei."
Nara Yan Shui didn't turn back, waving his hand. Chakra gathered at his feet, and he vanished from the spot with a whoosh.
Finally…
Lin Ke clenched his fist, his face overflowing with joy. The speed at which he was becoming a Chunin was faster than he had imagined.
On the way home, he almost couldn't help but hum.
Don't misunderstand, it was humming a song.
His constantly tense mood relaxed a lot. To celebrate his progress, he even made a detour to Amaguriama to buy a piece of Chestnut Yokan as a treat.
[Amaguriama: Located in Konoha Village's Tea Street, famous for its Chestnut Yokan, Chestnut Pancakes, and other sweets]
[Tea Street: Konoha Village's main street, filled with tea houses and sweet shops, offering close-up views of the Hokage Rock while enjoying tea and meals]
Yokan wasn't cheap to begin with, and being in the core commercial district, at the famous Amaguriama sweet shop, the price was quite high.
But it was really delicious.
Lin Ke, as a growing child who exercised a lot every day, had an almost instinctive love for sweets. Ever since Xia had brought him a box of Amaguriama sweets one day, he had been thinking about it ever since.
Now that he could do C-Rank Missions outside the village and had the opportunity to become a Chunin, he had to celebrate. Amaguriama was the first thing that came to his mind.
"So expensive, my wallet, so delicious…"
He had initially planned to go home, have dinner, and then slowly savor the expensive Yokan with some tea. On the way, he thought about his expenses and couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache. He was also curious about the taste of the Chestnut Yokan. Seeing that there was no one around, he secretly broke off a piece from the packaging and stuffed it into his mouth. (It was a whole piece of Yokan that needed to be cut.) Then he entered the phase of, 'I'll eat another piece, there's still a lot left, just one more piece'.
His little face kept moving, chewing, chewing, chewing, non-stop all the way. Before he even got home, Lin Ke's hand reached into the packaging again.
"?"
Where's my big piece of Chestnut Yokan?
He opened his small hand and felt around the box, then withdrew his hand, realizing something:
Did he finish such an expensive Yokan on the way?
Heartache, but he still wanted to eat.
Lin Ke carried the empty packaging box back home. Just as he was about to throw it away, he suddenly remembered that he had broken it by hand, so there should still be some crumbs inside. Unable to resist the temptation, he opened the box and poured it into his mouth.
Delicious.
He contentedly threw the box into the trash bag. As he sat cross-legged on the bed, thinking about what to have for dinner, he looked at his fingers, which were emitting a faint fragrance from breaking the Yokan.
"Cough~" Lin Ke coughed lightly, gradually approaching his fingers. He was the only one at home, so…—Anyway, back to the serious topic.
Initially, Lin Ke had wanted to become a Chunin before the Konoha Crush Plan, so that he would have three years before Shippuden started, and it wouldn't be a problem for him to climb to Jonin.
Now that he had the opportunity more than a year in advance, he would have more leeway. After becoming a Chunin, he would apply to the village to learn ninjutsu.
His goal was—
Earth Release: Earth Dragon Hiding Technique.
A C-Rank ninjutsu, not too difficult to learn, with very low Chakra consumption. Judging by the name, it might even mutate into an interesting ability.
Most importantly, the Earth Dragon Hiding Technique is similar to the Headhunter Technique, Earth Style: Hiding Like a Fish in the Earth Technique, and Earth Style: Subterranean Voyage Technique. They all involve infiltrating the earth in various ways to launch surprise attacks. He has already learned the Headhunter Technique, so with a little practice, he should be able to use this one as well.
As for things like the Lightning Blade or the Flying Thunder God Technique, well, it's good to think about them occasionally, but there's no need to pursue them right now.
Actually, under normal circumstances, one should be able to buy the Earth Dragon Hiding Technique, but—
Among a large number of ninjutsu that allow one to enter the earth, the Earth Dragon Hiding Technique is considered obsolete, so it's not available on the market at all.
Techniques like Earth Style: Subterranean Voyage Technique use Chakra to liquefy the soil, allowing free movement like swimming in the earth. Earth Style: Hiding Like a Fish in the Earth Technique is similar in principle, and the Headhunter Technique also uses a similar method.
As an obsolete earth-burrowing ninjutsu, the Earth Dragon Hiding Technique uses Chakra to turn the soil into fine sand, then digs forward like an earth dragon...
Everyone else moves freely in the earth, but you, with the Earth Dragon Hiding Technique, are just digging and drilling. You're not even qualified to attend this meeting.
Therefore, in Konoha Village, which isn't particularly known for its Earth Release, the Earth Dragon Hiding Technique isn't sold at all. It's estimated that only some ninjas who have experienced war and are proficient in ninjutsu would know this technique.
The Earth Dragon Hiding Technique isn't completely without its advantages. This ninjutsu can sense targets on the surface from underground and can also enter deeper underground (since it involves digging), which can effectively avoid detection by sensory ninjas, so its concealment ability is better. It's very useful for both surprise attacks and escapes.
In addition, the Chakra required to release it is extremely low (though it requires extra physical exertion since you have to dig yourself), making it a ninjutsu that definitely has a chance to be used in specific situations.
The reason it was taotai (eliminated) is also simple.
Among ordinary ninjas, the proportion of sensory ninjas isn't large, and the depth of underground infiltration is meaningless to ordinary ninjas.
If you really want to save Chakra, Earth Style: Hiding Like a Fish in the Earth Technique doesn't consume much Chakra either. If you want speed in the earth, Earth Style: Subterranean Voyage Technique is the fastest. For surprise attacks, the Headhunter Technique is the best...
Overall, it's naturally taotai (eliminated) by ordinary ninjas and the market.
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