Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha is not motivated.

Chapter 905 On Sheep-Hair-Shearing: This White Hair is Above Me

Konoha Mission Hall

Due to the recent political turmoil, many nobles and merchants who are worried about their safety have had to spend more money to hire ninjas. As a result, the rewards for missions have skyrocketed. The price of C-rank missions has almost doubled, and A-rank missions have broken through the ceiling and are approaching S-rank.

In front of the mission bulletin board, a middle-aged ninja with fangs painted on his face clenched his fists, carefully searching for missions that suited him.

Taro Inuzuka, a minor ninja who barely made it to Chunin at the age of forty, has experienced the harsh realities of life. His biggest dream now is to buy a three-bedroom apartment through his own efforts.

"After completing a few more C-level missions, I'll be able to save up enough for a down payment!"

Despite the increased rewards for missions and the soaring housing prices in Konoha, he dared not stop for a moment in order to realize his dream of owning a doghouse as soon as possible.

"Taro, have you heard? There's a mysterious event in the mission hall recently. You can exchange the rewards of ten C-level missions or three B-level missions for a super grand prize."

Just as he was intently watching the constantly refreshing task list, afraid of missing any worthwhile tasks, a middle-aged ninja wearing small black glasses approached him and whispered something mysteriously to him.

The grand prize?

Taro Inuzuka glanced at the slightly gloomy-looking middle-aged ninja beside him. The man was his former teammate from his days as a genin, Aburame Shitaka, who was also a leftover member of the clan.

Because they were both long-time bachelors, the two had always had a good relationship and sometimes even teamed up to do quests together.

"Zhilong, you're kidding me. With ten C-level missions, I can save up enough for next year's monthly payments, okay?"

He shook his head with little interest. For him, real money was the most important thing; any mysterious grand prize was just fluff.

"You still remember Demacia?"

"Hyuga Dema? I heard that guy was recently promoted to Jonin. Tsk tsk, big clans really have a strong foundation."

Speaking of the last member of the former genin squad, a hint of envy flashed in Taro Inuzuka's eyes.

Hyuga Dema was just as talented as them, only awakening his Byakugan in his twenties and becoming a Chunin in his thirties. However, he always maintained the airs of a noble family, and the group had lost touch with each other over the years.

"It has nothing to do with the clan. That guy is a disgrace to the Hyuga clan. It's a miracle the clan hasn't kicked him out yet. Where would they get any resources for him?"

"How did he become a Jonin?"

Now Inuzuka Taro became somewhat interested and shifted his gaze from the task bar to the mysterious Aburame Shitaka beside him. Could it be that Dema got the script of "Don't bully the poor in middle age"?

"Hey~ You don't know, that old bastard Demar exchanged the mission reward he risked his life for the super prize that was just launched not long ago."

"Holy crap, how could someone as stingy as him dare to gamble like that?"

Despite being from a prominent family, Hyuga Dema lives an incredibly frugal life. When the three of them go out for barbecue, he even uses a milligram scale to calculate the bill, afraid that he might eat too little and pay too much.

"That's right. Not long after he redeemed that super prize, he actually mastered the Gentle Fist technique that only the main family could master. His strength increased instantly, and he passed the special Jonin test in just a few days."

"Didn't you just say Jonin?"

"Special Jonin are still Jonin."

"alright."

Looking at the old teammate's unreasonable argument, Taro Inuzuka clicked his tongue. Even a special Jonin was not someone a middle-aged, useless Chunin like him could easily fool.

"What exactly is that super prize?"

In fact, the incident with Hyuga Dema had a big impact on him. Inuzuka Taro considered himself to be the top of the three-man team, but now he had been overtaken by Dema, whom he had defeated. Naturally, he felt a little bad.

“You’ve come to the right person. I asked Demar about this when I was having dinner with him yesterday.”

"What? You didn't invite me to dinner?"

Taro Inuzuka's face darkened upon hearing this. What happened to their promise of being best buddies forever?

"It's all because you said you wanted to save for a down payment. From now on, I don't want to invite you to any dinners where we split the bill."

Aburame Shitaka shrugged, explaining with an innocent look on his face.

"Good good."

Knowing he was in the wrong, Inuzuka Taro curled his lip and gestured for Aburame Shitaka to continue.

"According to Demar, the grand prize is an opportunity to enter a special training ground, where an extremely mysterious ninja tool is sealed, allowing those who enter to break through their long-standing limitations in strength."

"What?!"

Upon hearing this earth-shattering secret, Taro Inuzuka was jolted awake; the passion that had been dormant within him for many years suddenly began to resurface.

Is this really true?

"Who would I lie to, you?"

Aburame Shitaka patted his shoulder with a serious expression and said earnestly,

"I'm even preparing to exchange the mission rewards I've accumulated for a ticket to enter the training ground."

"You...you..."

Seeing the unusual solemnity on the veteran team member's face, Taro Inuzuka straightened up, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"That's right. If I can fully master the power of the detonating insects, becoming a Jonin, no, even a Jonin isn't impossible."

Aburame Shitaka nodded slightly, his black pupils, hidden behind small black glasses, filled with determination.

His talent wasn't actually bad among the Aburame clan, but unfortunately, the parasite inside him was an extremely rare type of explosive worm.

These insects are incredibly powerful; if handled improperly, they can indiscriminately harm everyone around them, including Shiro Aburame, who is a parasite.

Therefore, during his decades-long ninja career, he rarely used the parasitic worms in his body, resulting in his overall strength rating remaining low. He was known as one of the three useless Chunin, along with Taro Inuzuka and Tokuma Hyuga.

However, the elders of his clan once said that if he could skillfully use the exploding insects, not only would he be promoted to Jonin, but he would also be among the very top Jonin.

"Zhilong, you..."

Sensing the burning fighting spirit ignited in his old buddy, Taro Inuzuka clenched his fists secretly, his resentment growing stronger, his heart pounding as it swayed back and forth between the reality before him and his past dreams.

That's right. Unlike his current dream of scraping together a down payment for a house, his dream used to be to become an outstanding ninja admired by thousands.

"But we're already over forty!"

Struggling internally, he gritted his teeth and asked a cruel question.

"so what?"

An old horse in its stall may still aspire to gallop a thousand miles; a hero in his twilight years may still cherish lofty ambitions. Who says a man in his forties can't give it his all for himself?

Besides, is it shameful for a forty-year-old to dream of becoming a Jonin? There's an old man next door who dreams of becoming a Kamen Rider.

"Taro, please bless me."

Before revealing this to Taro Inuzuka, Shiro Aburame had already made up his mind. He said all this simply to say goodbye to his former best friend.

If he successfully masters the detonator and becomes a Jonin, the two of them will be from two different worlds.

"and many more."

Watching Aburame Shitaka turn and leave, Inuzuka Taro, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly raised his hand.

"Ok?"

"You two, don't even think about leaving 'Konoha Mad Dog' behind."

Taro Inuzuka licked his yellowed canine teeth, a carefree smile reminiscent of the one Shitaka Aburame remembered. This "mad dog," who once wreaked havoc in the genin world at the age of thirty, had finally revived after more than a decade of silence.

"Are you really sure? You're not going to buy the house?"

"Hmph! Once I become a Jonin, I'll just buy this apartment outright!"

No, you're overthinking it. Even Jonin have to pay in installments to buy a house. "Taimaru, let's go!"

Raising his hand to beckon to the old dog huddled in the corner of the mission hall, Inuzuka Taro walked to the mission reward exchange point, took out all the mission reward points he had accumulated over the years, exchanged them for the same training ground tickets as Aburame Shitaka, and turned to step into the door that would change the course of his life.

Coincidentally, similar scenes unfolded one after another in the mission hall, with one frustrated extra ninja after another, persuaded by word of mouth, risking their lives to become experience points that made Uchiha Gin smile.

"Experience points +1"

"Experience points +1"

"Experience Points+"

After temporarily ignoring the incessant notification sounds, Uchiha Gin, who was squatting in the mission lobby rest area eating snacks, put down his teacup. He looked at the long line of ninjas exchanging their valuable mission reward points for tickets to beat up dummy dummies, and shook his head with a sigh.

"That white-haired guy is so mean!"

He didn't charge a penny when he used Yuhi Shinku to promote the dummies to the ninja academy, but this white-haired guy, after getting his hands on the dummies, took advantage of the feedback to ruthlessly exploit the active ninjas.

Ten C-level missions, according to the current market price, are worth at least five million, and that's just the price of beating up a dummy once.

Of course, what angered Uchiha Gin the most was that Senju Hisama didn't give him, the researcher, a cut. The inherently despicable Senju Haku-chan was indeed guilty of heinous crimes!

"Gintoki, Sasipuri!"

Just as Uchiha Gin was imagining the sweets in his hand as Senju Hisama and frantically tearing at them, a familiar figure appeared in front of him.

"Yo~ Sasipuri, Kosuke, back from jail, here to pick up another mission?"

Looking up at the young man with a weathered face and a blackened sack on his back, Uchiha Gin wiped the crumbs from his mouth and nodded listlessly.

"I've been pretty free lately, and I heard that the rewards in the mission hall have been updated with a mysterious super prize, so I came to take a look."

Maruhoshi Kosuke chuckled, scratched his cheek, and explained.

"Idle? Haven't Fugaku and the others given you any trouble?"

Uchiha Gin raised an eyebrow in confusion as he handed a snack to Maruboshi Kosuke. Fugaku and his two nephews were no pushovers; they were at the age where they were bursting with energy, and they wouldn't let him, the Jonin in charge, off the hook.

"Gulp~ Gintoki, don't you know? Fugaku and the others graduated from my class a long time ago."

After swallowing the cloyingly sweet pastry with a bitter expression, Maruboshi Kosuke looked at Uchiha Gin with a puzzled expression.

"Graduated?"

Uchiha Gin was taken aback when he heard this. How come he didn't know about this?

"Yes, I have nothing left to teach them. Continuing to stay by my side will only hold them back."

"So they're preparing to take the Chunin Exams now?"

Graduating from the tutelage of a Jonin leader meant that Fugaku had shed his highly prestigious Genin title and become a common Chunin.

"No, not at all. It seems the three of them are going to find someone else to be their master, but I don't know who it is."

Maruhoshi Kosuke stroked his chin. During their team's farewell dinner, Fugaku and Nawaki kept saying they wanted to have another match when they graduated next time.

It seems that the group has already found someone to take over, and he, the former teacher, is just a tool to advance the plot.

"I see."

Uchiha Gin nodded thoughtfully. He suddenly remembered that Fugaku had indeed mentioned becoming an apprentice several years ago. As for the true mentor his nephew had chosen, it seemed to be...

As he pondered, a burly, white-haired figure entered the mission hall, followed by three henchmen of varying ages. Uchiha Gin looked up, his lips twitching slightly.

"Fugaku".

"what?"

The black-haired boy, who was bragging to two low-ranking prisoners in the group, turned around at the sound and met Uchiha Gin's mocking eyes, which startled him so much that he shuddered.

"Uncle Da?"

The white-haired man leading the group also noticed Uchiha Gin and Maruboshi Kosuke not far away, and a slightly silly smile immediately appeared on his otherwise handsome face.

"Grandpa Gin, Senior Kosuke!"

"How did you guys end up together?"

Uchiha Gin looked at Jiraiya, who was leading the group, with a questioning expression on his face.

"Have you forgotten? Didn't I say that I applied to be the team leader Jonin, and these three little guys are my personal disciples?"

Jiraiya chuckled and scratched his head, then pushed the three children of varying ages behind him in front of Uchiha Gin.

Aside from Fugaku, the other two didn't need Jiraiya's introduction; they were all acquaintances.

"Greetings, Grandpa Yin."

The blond boy, of average height in the group, smiled shyly and bowed respectfully to Uchiha Bank.

"Hello Grandpa Yin! Next time you come to my shop, I'll give you a big bucket of honey water!"

The shortest but also the most lively orange-haired boy raised his hands and grinned broadly at Uchiha Gin.

“I can understand that Yahiko is your child, and I can accept that Minato is young, but what about Fugaku? He's more than qualified to be a Chunin now, isn't he?”

As a loving stepfather, it was Jiraiya's duty to personally guide Yahiko, and Gin Uchiha had nothing to say about it.

As for Minato, although he had been trained at Root for a period of time, he still lacked certain ninja qualities, so it was acceptable for him to learn from Jiraiya.

But Fugaku, that brat, is almost eighteen. His son would have saved the world by now, and he, as the father, is still playing the childish games of a genin. Is that reasonable?

"Uh, actually, I followed Jiraiya-sensei mainly to learn writing skills from him."

Seeing the heartbroken look on Uchiha Gin's face, Fugaku scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Huh? You want to write about Little Liu Bei too?"

"Ahem, Grandpa Yin, be careful what you say in public~ Be careful what you say~"

Upon hearing this, Jiraiya coughed a few times, cautiously glanced around, and leaned forward to whisper,

"Wait a minute, you're with him, what about Nawaki and Mikoto?"

"That idiot Nawaki kept pestering Orochimaru to learn from him, while Mikoto became Tsunade's apprentice."

Speaking of his two teammates who went their separate ways, Fugaku's mature-beyond-his-years face was filled with sighs.

"You three really went to great lengths to avoid working for the Dark Division."

Gin Uchiha glanced at Jiraiya beside him and said with a teasing smile,

"Ordinary disciples are not even worth our attention."

As Jiraiya spoke, he winked at Uchiha Gin. The three of them had very high standards for accepting disciples; not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry could become their apprentice.

"Interesting. Tell me, who else did they take in?"

"I introduced Yahiko's two friends to them. Snake was more interested in Nagato, while Tsunade thought Konan was cuter."

It's truly heartbreaking to see the Frog Squad from the original timeline fall apart like this.

"anything else?"

Upon hearing this, Minato raised his hand in response.

"Kushina became Tsunade's apprentice, saying she wanted to learn the Yin Seal."

After briefly reviewing the combinations, Uchiha Gin rubbed his aching temples.

"What kind of bizarre combination is this?" (End of Chapter)