“Aren’t we going to finish them off, Qingyuan?”
Kurenai Yuhi was puzzled.
Qingyuan still seemed to have enough strength left to unleash another ninjutsu.
Why hadn’t he acted just now, and why had he stopped her from acting?
“Our goal is to draw the attention of the Iwagakure ninja, not wipe them all out in one go.”
Qingyuan explained.
Even if they killed one or two more, it wouldn’t change the situation here.
It would be better to let them pass the intelligence along and draw the attention of more Iwagakure ninja.
That way, they could consider their mission accomplished.
With Renegade Qingyuan around, Qingyuan wasn’t afraid of a surprise attack.
He had also come to understand just how outrageous Kato Dan’s “Spirit Transformation Technique” really was.
The enemy couldn’t see where his spirit body emerged from, or how it then killed the body it had possessed.
It was a ninjutsu with its intelligence-gathering and assassination capabilities completely maxed out.
Its only weakness was that while his soul was outside his body, Kato Dan’s physical body would be left completely defenseless.
But Qingyuan didn’t have that problem.
Renegade Qingyuan could wander around freely without affecting him in the slightest.
“Is that so?”
Kurenai Yuhi nodded.
So that was why.
Qingyuan truly lived up to being the captain—even in battle, he didn’t let himself get carried away and knew when to pull back.
“Alright, let’s split the spoils… oh no, I mean, let’s inventory the assets.”
Qingyuan said.
This was an outpost, and some of the food supplies would be stored here.
They couldn’t take that portion with them.
The sealing scroll had limited capacity; it was impossible to carry everything away.
But there were also ninja tools, armor, and the like.
They didn’t take up much space and could be stored in the sealing scroll and carried away.
Soon, Shiranui Genma, who had been lying in wait outside, discovered that the enemies had run straight past Qingyuan instead of passing through the spot where he was hidden.
“Come out, Genma. I was only worried that we might fail to kill the chunin and let the two of them escape, so I had you keep watch. Now that the two genin have run off, let them run.”
Qingyuan spoke as he lifted his clothing, pulled a sealing scroll from inside it, and began loading things into it.
“Don’t be shy—take some.”
“Uh…”
Only then did Shiranui Genma realize that this guy Qingyuan had intended from the very start for him to deal with the chunin!
“Qingyuan, you even brought a sealing scroll?”
Kurenai Yuhi asked, puzzled.
Normally, not many ninja carried sealing scrolls; a ninja tool pouch was already enough for everyday use.
Carrying an extra sealing scroll would somewhat affect one’s mobility.
After all, whether it was the chainmail lining or the ninja vest worn over it, both were designed for light equipment, not the heavy armor of the Warring States Period.
“If I hadn’t brought a sealing scroll, wouldn’t all this have gone to waste?”
Qingyuan said matter-of-factly.
He was still carrying a hefty debt.
A total of seven hundred thousand ryo—one hundred thousand had gone to Tsunade, and most of the remaining six hundred thousand had been spent on medicinal materials.
What was left, aside from some essential ninja tools and the equipment for making forbidden drugs, had gone toward this sealing scroll.
Chapter 17: Qingyuan’s Slick Combo
A ninja’s mission pay was only so much.
Without a side hustle, how was he supposed to fatten his wallet?
As for taking a job, Qingyuan made it clear that working for someone else was impossible—absolutely impossible in this lifetime.
Some of the poorer ninja took on side jobs to earn extra money, doing work meant for ordinary people.
But Qingyuan didn’t want to waste time on any of that.
Not long after the Third Great Ninja War ended, the Nine-Tails Incident would follow.
Whether Obito fell to darkness or not, Qingyuan figured Madara Uchiha would put someone forward to carry out the mission.
A crisis was bound to come sooner or later.
“That makes some sense.”
Shiranui Genma nodded.
How had he never noticed before that Qingyuan was so wise?
While Kurenai Yuhi and Shiranui Genma were still dazed, Qingyuan had already packed most of the things into his sealing scroll.
“Some of these are still new. They should fetch a good price.”
Qingyuan thought to himself.
“What should we do now?”
Shiranui Genma also pulled two shuriken from the corpses and put them in his ninja tool pouch.
“Rest for a while, then raid the next base.”
Qingyuan said.
If they repeated this a few times, they would definitely draw an Iwagakure jonin to pursue them. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
At that point, Qingyuan and the others could make their escape.
For a squad composed of one genin and two chunin to draw out a jonin was already quite an achievement.
“Getting some rest would be good.”
Kurenai Yuhi nodded.
After collecting a few more things, they left the outpost.
There was a chance the Iwagakure ninja would make a return strike, so there was no need to stay at their outpost any longer.
The group made their way through the vast bamboo forest and found a relatively concealed spot to rest for a while.
“I wonder how Kakashi and the others are doing.”
Qingyuan stroked his chin.
He felt that Madara Uchiha probably had more than just Obito in mind.
After all, if that boulder had been even slightly off target, it would have crushed Obito’s entire head.
With such high stakes, Qingyuan didn’t think Madara would take the gamble.
At most, Obito had simply happened to survive, and Madara had then decided to choose him.
Madara Uchiha was probably monitoring and observing the battle here through White Zetsu.
“I remember that he and Obito would get into an argument.”
Qingyuan stroked his chin.
Kakashi believed that, as a ninja, one had to complete the mission even if it meant sacrificing a comrade—that was the “rule.”
If the mission failed, the war would drag on endlessly, and there might be even more sacrifices.
But Obito didn’t care about any of that.
Lovestruck as he was, his heart held only Rin.
“I hope we can get back as soon as possible.”
Qingyuan thought to himself.
This mission was already more than halfway complete.
They only needed to blow up the bridge at the end to complete it.
Over the next day or two, Qingyuan led Kurenai Yuhi and Shiranui Genma in waging constant guerrilla warfare.
When the enemy retreated, they advanced.
When the enemy advanced, they retreated.
When the enemy grew tired, they harassed them.
This slick little combo left the Iwagakure ninja utterly helpless.
“Damn it, their squad definitely has an outstanding sensory ninja!”