Chapter 232 Shocking Facts

The first day back at Ninja Academy was a theory exam. Before the exam, students who hadn’t gone on their internships were curious, asking the Intern Ninjas about their experiences.

“Obito, what do Intern Ninjas usually do? Is it like a regular Ninja?” a classmate asked Obito, full of curiosity.

“It should be pretty similar. We do assigned missions, and when we’re not on missions, we train with our teacher,” Obito recalled before answering.

“Although they’re all assigned missions, each one is a bit different. We go to different countries and see different scenery.”

Obito quite liked going on missions. Even though they encountered danger last time, they managed to overcome the difficulties through their own efforts. That feeling of success after hard work was truly exhilarating, a thrill from head to toe.

“They even went abroad!” The surrounding students showed expressions of shock and envy.

Forget going abroad; they hadn’t even left Konoha, having stayed in Konoha since childhood.

“Intern Ninjas can even go abroad. It’s a shame I wasn’t chosen.”

“We’ll be there soon. In two months, once we pass the graduation exam, we’ll be official Ninjas.”

The surrounding students started discussing. Some, inspired by Obito’s words, began to yearn for the Ninja life after graduation, while others wondered what other countries were like.

“Which countries did you go to? How are foreign countries different from the Land of Fire?” a student couldn’t help but ask.

Before Obito could answer, Uchiha Tekka, who had overheard their discussion, voiced his confusion.

“Internships are only for D-Rank missions, aren’t they? D-Rank missions are all within the village; they don’t even leave the village. How could you go abroad?”

He had also participated in an internship, but the missions he did were all chores, like catching cats and picking up trash.

Hearing Obito talk about going to different countries to see the scenery, he seriously doubted Obito was bragging, because the Registration Ninja at the mission hall had said that Intern Ninja teams could only accept D-Rank missions.

“That’s right, I also participated in an internship, and we Intern Ninjas could only do odd jobs like picking up trash and doing farm work,” another student who had participated in the internship stood up to confirm Uchiha Tekka’s words.

The total number of Fourth Grade interns was thirty, with three to four students selected from each class. Class 2, Grade 4 had four interns.

Seeing two interns in the class state facts contrary to Obito’s, the other students looked at Obito with puzzled expressions, some even with a hint of suspicion.

Although Obito’s performance this school year had been exceptionally talented, given his performance in the previous three years, they believed there was indeed a possibility he was exaggerating.

“Generally, Intern Ninja teams can indeed only do D-Rank missions,” Obito nodded, acknowledging this statement, not getting angry at his classmates’ suspicion.

Seeing that Obito seemed to admit he was exaggerating, Uchiha Tekka nodded inwardly. Obito wasn’t too out of touch; he wasn’t the only one in the class who had interned.

“Then why did you say you went abroad for missions, Obito?” some students who still believed Obito asked, puzzled.

They had expected Obito to explain, but his words made no sense to them. Was he admitting to being a liar?

“But we’re not just any Intern Ninja team. The Third Hokage saw that our team was exceptionally strong and specially allowed us to take C-Rank Missions.”

As he spoke, Obito couldn’t help but show a smug smile. This was a special permission from the Hokage, their unique privilege.

Normally, he would be unhappy if misunderstood, but this time, Obito thought it was perfectly normal.

Because that was the truth. Intern Ninja teams were indeed not allowed to do missions above D-Rank. The Registration Ninja had told them the same thing at first. They could do C-Rank Missions because they performed so well that the Hokage deemed them capable of higher-ranking missions.

Obito thought this was very reasonable. Their teacher was Teacher Muzuki, who was many times stronger than other teachers, and his and Might Guy and Kakashi’s strength far surpassed their peers.

“Hokage-sama’s special permission!” The students in the classroom were all shocked by Obito’s words. This was the Hokage, whom everyone in Konoha admired.

Uchiha Tekka was also stunned. He hadn’t expected Obito to be so bold as to bring up the Hokage’s special permission. This sounded even more unbelievable than an Intern Ninja going abroad for missions.

Although he didn’t believe either claim individually, Uchiha Tekka had to admit that together, they sounded somewhat true.

“So, Obito, how many C-Rank Missions have you completed, and how many countries have you been to?” The students who believed Obito asked curiously.

“I’ve been to two countries: once to the Land of Rice Fields and twice to the Land of Rivers. But if you’re asking how many C-Rank Missions we’ve actually completed, we haven’t completed a single one,” Obito replied honestly.

Although they had accepted three C-Rank Missions, the completion number for C-Rank Missions on their record was zero; all of them had been upgraded upon completion.

“Huh? There’s no way all the missions failed, right?” Obito’s words once again left the surrounding students bewildered. Surely, all three missions hadn’t failed.

“They didn’t fail, but each time we encountered an unexpected situation, which led to the mission being upgraded. So, they were C-Rank when we accepted them, but they were upgraded to B-Rank and A-Rank Missions upon handover,” Obito said nonchalantly.

Most of the students didn’t know what A-Rank Missions and B-Rank missions meant, but hearing about mission upgrades made them feel very impressed, and they all exclaimed in awe.

However, Uchiha Tekka and another Intern Ninja, who understood a bit more, didn’t believe him. If Obito hadn’t mentioned A-Rank Missions and B-Rank missions, they might have believed him to some extent, as Obito indeed had strength.

But A-Rank Missions were high-level missions that even Chunin rarely participated in.

“Forget it, I’m too lazy to expose him. He’ll find out when he graduates.” Uchiha Tekka opened his mouth, but in the end, he chose not to point out the inconsistencies in Obito’s words and returned to his seat to prepare for the exam.

Exposing him would require a lot of effort to explain, and perhaps some people wouldn’t believe him, thinking he was jealous. It would be a thankless task.

Being deceived was only their own fault. If they had the strength to participate in the internship, they wouldn’t have been fooled by such an absurd lie.

“The scenery in the Land of Rivers is very different from our Land of Fire. There are vast deserts that stretch as far as the eye can see, all sand, with no green trees…” Obito then continued to gush about the scenery he encountered on his missions.

Feeling the envious and shocked gazes of others, Obito felt incredibly pleased.

It wasn’t until the proctor entered the classroom that Obito stopped, reluctantly walking to his seat to prepare for the exam.

When the test papers were handed out, Obito, who had just been so fearless in telling his story, felt his head ache at the sight of the black text on white paper.

After doing a few questions, Obito couldn’t help but look around, and then he saw Might Guy diligently writing.

“Oh no, Guy wasn’t just studying, was he?” Obito remembered that his teammate hadn’t said anything.

Thinking of this, Obito also began to concentrate on his questions. Once the results were announced, their mission records would surely shock everyone. At that point, it would be embarrassing for whoever had the lowest academic score, him or Might Guy.

At noon, many Intern Ninjas gathered to discuss their internship experiences. Obito saw them and joined in with Might Guy to partake in the lively atmosphere.

“A Ninja’s life isn’t easy,” Shiranui Genma sighed. “It feels much more tiring than school, either doing odd jobs or training.”

“Indeed,” another Intern Ninja beside him agreed. “I heard that newly graduated Genin also seem to only do odd jobs. I wonder how long that lasts.”

“It’s not bad,” Obito said with a chuckle. “I actually think internship life is pretty good.”

“Of course you think it’s good. Your supervising teacher is Teacher Muzuki,” Shiranui Genma couldn’t help but playfully nudge Obito with his fist, scolding him with a smile.

“So Teacher Muzuki also supervises Intern Ninjas! Obito, you’re so lucky!” The Intern Ninjas all looked at Obito with envy.

Except for Hyuga Homura, all other Intern Ninjas had participated in Muzuki’s summer special training. They knew how comfortable it was to be taught by Muzuki; it was a completely different experience from other teachers.

“Because Obito is the top of the grade, right?” Ebisu felt this wasn’t luck. Obito was from the prestigious Uchiha clan and the top of his grade, so he was certainly taught by the best teacher.

“That’s right. In that case, it makes sense for Guy to intern with you,” Shiranui Genma nodded in agreement. Ever since the end of the first semester of Fourth Grade, it had basically been Might Guy and Obito vying for first place.

“By the way, who’s your other teammate? Is it Hyuga Homura?” Shiranui Genma asked curiously. Hyuga Homura wasn’t there.

In terms of strength, he believed Hyuga Homura was the most qualified to be the third person. Hyuga Homura not only got first place in practical combat in the first Fourth Grade exam but also maintained first place for a long time in Second and Third Grade.

Obito and Might Guy both shook their heads.

“Eh, it’s not Hyuga Homura? Then who is it?” Shiranui Genma became even more curious.

The students nearby also looked at Obito and the others with curiosity, guessing who the lucky one was who got into this highly prestigious internship class.

Might Guy gave a name that none of them had expected.

“It’s Kakashi,” Might Guy replied truthfully.

“Uh, why would it be Kakashi? Didn’t he graduate a long time ago? I think he became a Chunin when we were in Second Grade,” Shiranui Genma was utterly surprised to hear Kakashi’s name come out of Might Guy’s mouth.

He had thought Obito’s teammate would be an excellent student like Hyuga Homura, Uchiha Tekka, or Shizune, but it turned out to be someone not even from the Ninja Academy.

“That’s right! This is an internship, so why are you teamed up with an official Ninja?” The surrounding students were also incredibly surprised.

They were not unfamiliar with the name Kakashi, as Kakashi had once been in the same grade as them. Even if they hadn’t spoken to Kakashi, they had heard of his genius deeds.

“I’m not sure. Perhaps this is the bond between me and my best friend!” Might Guy said with a bright white smile and a thumbs-up.

Shiranui Genma:…

Then Shiranui Genma looked at Obito, who nodded in affirmation. Although he didn’t know the full situation, Kakashi, who was already a Chunin, had indeed become their internship teammate.

“Then your team composition is too good! Teacher Muzuki is a Special Jonin, and you have Kakashi, a Chunin, and you two are the top of your grade. I feel like doing odd jobs is beneath you,” a student exclaimed.

“You guessed right! Hokage-sama saw that we were too strong and specially allowed us to take C-Rank Missions,” Obito said with a chuckle.

As soon as Obito said this, the surrounding students looked even more envious, and no one questioned Obito’s words.

If a Chunin teacher were leading a few ordinary Intern Ninjas, the Hokage’s special permission might seem a bit fake, but Obito’s class composition was too luxurious.

Their teacher was a Special Jonin, their teammate was a genius Chunin, and Might Guy and Obito had also proven their strength by defeating official Genin during the summer special training.

“Your treatment makes me feel like I’m doing a fake internship.” Shiranui Genma thought about his past two months and couldn’t help but sigh. It was truly infuriating to compare oneself to others.

“Quickly tell us about C-Rank Missions! What kind of enemies did you encounter?”

“C-Rank Missions are just… well, they’re either escorting clients or subjugating wild beasts or mountain bandits,” Obito said, trying hard to suppress the rising corners of his mouth, feigning indifference.

Compared to Kakashi, he was a novice, but compared to the Intern Ninjas at school, he was a seasoned mission-taker.

“As for enemies, it depends on luck. If you’re unlucky, you might encounter Ninja enemies. Usually, if there’s a Jonin, it gets upgraded to an A-Rank Mission. If there’s only a Chunin, it’s usually a B-Rank Mission. Our luck seems pretty bad; we encountered Jonin enemies twice.”

“What?! You encountered Jonin on missions?! Twice?!” The surrounding students showed extremely surprised expressions, and some even looked at Obito with a hint of doubt.

Even as students, they knew the value of a Jonin. This was easy to know because they rarely saw Jonin at the Ninja Academy. Although Muzuki had a lot of contact with them, Muzuki wasn’t actually a Jonin; he was a Special Jonin, one rank lower.

If they were from a Ninja family or a Ninja clan, they would understand the value of a Jonin even more. Even powerful Ninja clans usually didn’t have many Jonin.

“You encountered Jonin enemies and are still alive? No, you even successfully completed the missions and came back? Teacher Muzuki is only a Special Jonin,” an Intern Ninja asked, looking at Obito with suspicion.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Obito’s character, but Obito’s words were simply too exaggerated.

“Jonin are indeed very strong, but that strength isn’t impossible to surpass. If you fight hard, you can still defeat them!” Might Guy said with a wide, white-toothed smile.

The memory of the three of them working together to defeat the Jonin was still deeply etched in his mind. That time, Might Guy truly felt like he was facing death. Even with the Second Gate open and Total Concentration Breathing, it wasn’t enough. He had to combine forces with Obito, who had activated his Sharingan.

“Ninja ranks don’t represent strength. I haven’t even graduated yet, but I still defeated those official Ninjas. Although Teacher Muzuki is a Special Jonin, ordinary Jonin are no match for him,” Obito retorted seriously.

“As for Teacher Muzuki, maybe he can do it,” Shiranui Genma chose to believe that Muzuki had the strength to defeat a Jonin.

“That’s different. A genuine Jonin is very strong. Although I also like Teacher Muzuki, this is really a bit hard to believe,” the person who had just questioned explained.

Both his parents were Ninjas and Chunin, so he knew how difficult it was to become a Jonin. One had to be strong without weaknesses and also have achievements.

Obito wanted to explain in more detail, but the preparatory bell rang, so Obito said:

“Whether it’s true or not, you’ll know in a few days when the results are announced. Guy and I will both have two A-Rank Mission completion records, both from encountering Jonin.”

After speaking, Obito and Might Guy quickly rushed back to the classroom.

Seeing Obito speak so confidently, the questioning student also began to waver a little.

He also knew that the number of missions completed by interns would be announced when the exam results were released, because the supervising teachers used this to motivate them to do more missions.

“No way. If Teacher Muzuki’s strength was truly that great, he shouldn’t be teaching at the Ninja Academy,” he thought, making a reasonable deduction. His heart settled down again, feeling that he wouldn’t be proven wrong.

He believed that Muzuki’s strength lay in teaching and nurturing, not in combat, otherwise he wouldn’t be a Special Jonin at the Ninja Academy.