Konoha: The Absolute Justice of the Uchiha.

Chapter 487 A D-Rank Mission Can Leave the Village?!

"So cute—" Huimei's eyes sparkled, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up. "Fine, for the sake of the babies, I won't pursue your theft charge."

Lu leaned closer, watching the comical scene, and couldn't help but sigh, "So, after all this time, this wasn't a case of a pervert stealing, but rather an emergency safety measure taken by a single mother to ensure her cubs survive the winter."

"Pfft." Huimei finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Even the usually expressionless Black Crow, looking at the docile mother cat on the ground, had a faint hint of tenderness in its dark eyes.

In the world of the shadows, there is only killing, missions, and cold scrolls. The reproduction of such tiny and fragile life is a sight he has never had the chance to stop and observe before.

"Teacher, what should we do with these kittens?" Black Crow asked in a low voice. "If we leave them here, what if it rains or they encounter wild animals—"

Chi Quan stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes: "The innkeeper's wife keeps complaining about rats in the back warehouse."

"Take them back to the hotel; the landlady should be happy to provide them with a sheltered nest in the woodshed, and plenty of dried fish as well."

"Great idea!" Lu immediately jumped up and volunteered, carefully taking off his dark blue yukata and spreading it out on the ground like a soft bundle. "Come on, little ones, get on the advanced tactical transfer stretcher!"

Huimei carefully placed the three kittens into Riku's yukata, while the mother cat followed closely at Huimei's feet, purring affectionately as she walked.

On the way back, the tense atmosphere vanished completely.

Sunlight streamed through the bamboo forest, casting dappled golden shadows onto the group.

The mountain breeze blew through the loose yukatas, and although the muscles still ached from yesterday, everyone's steps seemed exceptionally light at this moment.

When I returned to Bailutang Inn, the guests and staff in the lobby were still anxiously waiting for news.

When the hotel lobby fell into a deathly silence as Chi Quan strolled back with three students, Lu carefully cradling three meowing kittens with their eyes closed in his yukata, and Hui Mei followed at her feet with a large tabby cat standing proudly at the same time.

"This—this is?" The proprietress stared blankly at the package in Lu's arms.

Lu puffed out his chest and announced with an air of righteous indignation, "Reporting to the boss! After a challenging half-hour search in the mountains by Squadron Chi Quan, the vile pervert codenamed 'Hot Spring Thief' has been successfully apprehended! Since the ringleader's offense was minor and he was breastfeeding, we've decided to be lenient and sentence him to a lifetime of rat-catching in your restaurant's kitchen warehouse as atonement!"

After a brief silence, the lobby erupted in uproarious laughter that seemed to lift the roof off.

The two young female tourists who were originally crying couldn't help but smile after seeing the adorable kittens. They even ran over to watch and gently stroked the kittens' soft fur.

The proprietress laughed until tears almost streamed down her face, bowing repeatedly to Chi Quan: "Oh dear, what a joke! It turns out to be that stray cat mother from the back hill! It's our fault for not being more vigilant and disturbing all our guests! Dr. Chi Quan, thank you so much!"

The proprietress immediately instructed the kitchen to bring out the best fresh salmon to feed the mother cat, and laid out thick straw and old quilts in the dry and warm woodshed, providing the cat family with a comfortable new home.

As compensation and gratitude, the proprietress specially prepared a top-notch waterfront tea room and an incredibly sumptuous hot spring-themed lunch for the pool and spring class.

In the afternoon tea room, a gentle breeze wafted through the room.

Outside the carved wooden window, the red maple leaves blaze like fire, and clear spring water flows gently below the stone steps, where several plump koi carp leisurely sway their tails.

The coffee table was filled with exquisite ceramic plates.

The aroma of grilled silver cod, the warm and tender onsen egg, the white rice sprinkled with seaweed flakes, and a large pot of steaming...

Steaming hot, fragrant Japanese sencha.

Lu sprawled out on the tatami mat, completely unconcerned about his image, holding a bottle of chilled condensed milk straight from the ice bucket. He chugdled down more than half the bottle, letting out an extremely satisfied sigh: "Ha! Soaking in the hot spring and drinking ice-cold milk, life is perfect! I feel like I could eat three grilled fish in one go right now!"

"You didn't say that when you fell in the bamboo forest and got covered in mud." Huimei held her teacup, taking small sips of the fragrant hot tea. She had changed into a brand new, clean yukata, and her whole being exuded a kind of languidness and freshness after a bath.

Black Crow sat by the coffee table, his eating still displaying the swiftness and quietness of a ninja, but a hint of relaxation appeared in his eyes.

He picked up a piece of crispy, roasted fish and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly and deliberately, occasionally glancing at the schools of fish swimming leisurely outside the window.

Chi Quan sat in the main seat, holding a cup of warm herbal tea, watching the three students wolfing down their food, his eyes filled with the peace characteristic of an elder.

"Although today's pursuit was ultimately an accident, your tactical coordination was very swift," Chi Quan said slowly, putting down his teacup.

With his mouth full of rice, Lu chuckled indistinctly, "That's right! The main reason is that my feint attack drew the enemy's attention, creating an opportunity for Huimei and Black Crow to flank them! That's what I call tactical containment!"

"You were making such a racket that you scared all the birds off the mountain," Huimei retorted mercilessly, but a smile she couldn't hide played on her lips.

"In any case," Chi Quan pushed up his glasses, "when faced with unknown emergencies, your ability to quickly overcome physical fatigue and pain and independently establish offensive and defensive formations has already met the standards of a qualified genin."

Upon hearing Chi Quan's affirmation, proud smiles appeared on the faces of the three of them.

"However," Chi Quan changed the subject, his gaze falling on Lu's face, "after returning this afternoon, the full-body hot compresses and stretching will still be necessary."

Tomorrow's training will focus on precise chakra release and water balance.

If anyone falls into the water tomorrow because of muscle soreness—

Lu's smile froze instantly on his face, and the milk bottle in his hand stopped in mid-air.

Hui Mei couldn't help but shrink her neck.

Only Black Crow put down his chopsticks, sat up straight, and replied earnestly, "Yes, Teacher Chi Quan."

"I guarantee the task will be completed."

Lu turned his head, looked at the solemn-looking Black Crow, and couldn't help but roll his eyes dramatically, burying his face in the tatami mat in anguish: "Black Crow—you Scroll King—you must have been an indestructible kunai in your past life—"

Hui Mei's clear laughter rang out again in the tea room, and even the usually serious Ikezumi had a gentle smile in his eyes.

As early winter approaches, a thin layer of frost covers the morning air in Konoha Village.

In the mission assignment hall on the second floor of the Hokage Building, the steam from hot tea slowly dissipated in the slightly chilly air.

Outside the window, the rustling sound of sweeping fallen leaves could be heard on the street. Inside the hall, several genin squads, having just completed their night patrols, stood scattered in front of a few windows, their weariness mingled with yawns and the crisp sound of exchanging bronze tokens.

"Hey Lu, your shoelaces are untied."

Hui Mei leaned against the vermilion pillar on the east side of the hall, her hands in the pockets of her dark blue windproof cloak, and turned her head slightly to give a reminder.

Compared to her naivety when she graduated from the Ninja Academy a month ago, Emi's posture is now noticeably more composed.

Her shoulders were no longer tense as usual, and her center of gravity was steadily lowered between her feet. Two modified small ninja tool bags were neatly fastened on the right side of her waist, while a flat, hard medical first aid kit hung on the left side.

Suzuki Riku was lying on the long wooden bench next to him, with half a soy sauce-grilled meatball in his mouth. Hearing the sound, he mumbled indistinctly, "So what if it's loose? — I walked all the way from the Seventh Training Ground here, and my ankles felt like they were made of lead. I even found it difficult to bend over."

Despite complaining like this, Lu swallowed the meatball in his mouth, bent down and skillfully tied his shoelaces into a double slipknot.

His movements were incredibly fast, his fingers moving with the dexterity of someone threading a needle—for the past month, he had been forced by Chi Quan to perform various extreme...

He can complete single-handed bandaging and unraveling of fine threads within the demanding time limit; his finger dexterity is now far beyond what it used to be.

Black Crow stood silently in the shadows three steps away from the two men.

He wore the standard dark gray stand-up collar long-sleeved shirt of Konoha, with a light black sleeveless jacket over it. The Konoha headband on his forehead was wiped clean, and the ribbon was neatly hidden in his black hair.

His hands hung naturally at his sides, a seemingly casual stance, but his toes were always subtly pointed toward the two main entrances of the hall.

A kunai bag was strapped to the outside of his right thigh, and a sheathed short sword was tucked horizontally behind his left waist.

His left arm has fully recovered its normal function.

Although there is still a slight soreness deep in the joints from time to time, the reaction speed of that arm has completely caught up with his dominant right hand thanks to the high-intensity basic physical fitness and nerve reflex training every day.

"Black Crow, were you practicing in the back hills again last night?" Lu tied his shoelaces, stood up, dusted off his pants, and looked at Black Crow's slightly darkened eyes. "I passed by Building 3 last night and saw the light in your window on almost 1 a.m.

Black Crow turned his head and said calmly, "I'm just reviewing the 'Common Animal and Plant Toxin Neutralization Table' that Teacher Chi Quan gave me."

The book lists the sap components of over seventy kinds of desert plants, but I missed three of them.

"You're a monster." Lu rolled his eyes and sighed. "It took so much effort to understand the human skeleton and major arteries..."

We've memorized the locations, and now we have to memorize botany—is Professor Izumi planning to train us into ninjas, or is he planning to have us set up a herbal medicine stall outside Konoha Hospital?

"If you are stung by a scorpion in the wild and the nearest medical facility is 30 kilometers away, you will be grateful for the knowledge of those herbal medicine shops."

The steady, unhurried footsteps, accompanied by the soft tapping of a wooden cane, came smoothly from the top of the stairs.

The three of them straightened up immediately, their expressions turning serious.

Chi Quan walked into the hall.

Today he was wearing a dark gray casual suit with a large black overcoat over it, the collar turned up to block the chill of the early winter morning.

The gold-rimmed glasses on his nose gleamed gently under the indoor lights. He held a smooth, warm wooden cane in his right hand and a dark red scroll that had just been approved in the Hokage's office on the third floor in his left.

For a whole month, apart from daily training in physiology, ninja tool mechanics, and basic taijutsu at the training ground, the Chiquan team rarely took on even the most basic genin chores like catching cats and pulling weeds.

While other classes in the same cohort had already accumulated a thick stack of task records from various village chores, the file of Chiquan's class was still blank.

"Teacher Chi Quan!" the three of them said in unison, bowing.

Chi Quan stopped in front of the three, his gaze sweeping briefly over Lu's shoelaces, Hui Mei's first aid kit, and the hilt of Black Crow's knife before he nodded: "Body surface preparation is satisfactory."

The level of neural excitability remains within a stable range.

Lu's eyes lit up as he stared at the dark red scroll in Chi Quan's hand: "Teacher! That's—a mission sheet?! Are we finally going to have a serious mission?!"

Hui Mei couldn't help but take a half-step closer, her eyes full of anticipation: "Teacher, what level of mission is it? Patrolling the South Gate? Or escorting a caravan belonging to the Fire Country's daimyo?"

"Neither."

Chi Quan raised the scroll in his hand, gently tapped Lu Tanlai's forehead, and handed the scroll to Hui Mei.

"Mission level, D-rank," Chi Quan said calmly.

"Huh? D-rank?" Lu's shoulders slumped instantly, his face full of disappointment. "It's been a month, teacher! We've been dismantled and reassembled every day on the training ground. We even managed to block Locke Lee's flying kick with three of us working together, and the first mission is a D-rank? Is it going to be another old lady helping someone retrieve a lost duck from the river?"

"Read the mission details yourself, Lu." Huimei had already untied the scroll's seal, quickly scanning the official document stamp on it, her brows furrowing slightly. "Wait—the mission location is—the border of the Land of Wind?!"

Lu was stunned for a moment: "Huh? The Land of Wind? On the way to Sunagakure? A D-rank mission allows you to leave the village?!"

Black Crow also stepped forward, his gaze falling on the Hokage seal and the Konoha Hospital's official stamp at the bottom of the scroll.

"It's a cross-border document pickup," Chi Quan explained calmly and clearly. "Based on the peace medical assistance agreement signed between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind in the first half of the year, the Sunagakure Medical Department has compiled a batch of joint research data on respiratory mucosal lesions under sandstorm climates and the ratio of sand filter components."

Because the matter involved non-classified academic findings related to the border defense zone of the two villages, and given the ongoing ceasefire and peace period, both sides decided that a low-ranking ninja squad would conduct a written handover at the Shiraishi outpost on the border, using unarmed, routine escort.

Hui Mei looked up, seemingly lost in thought: "So, all we need to do is follow the regular patrol route to the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, sign for the document box at the White Stone Outpost, and then bring it back to the pathology department of Konoha Hospital intact?"