"After we release her teammate, what if she turns on us?" Yamanaka Kagetsu asked, a little worried.
"As long as the fact that Yuan doesn't know Space-Time Ninjutsu isn't exposed, she won't make a move. Plus, her teammate's movements are sealed by my Gentle Fist. Even if we release him, he won't be able to move freely for a while—we'll have enough time to retreat," Hyuga Asana replied.
"Exactly. Ordinary shinobi have no way to deal with space-time ninjutsu. Even if she has Ice Release, it won't help. And since she'll have to look after her teammate, we still have the upper hand in this situation," added Uchiha Yuan.
Hearing that, Kagetsu didn't say anything more. He trusted Yuan and Asana's judgment.
And so, the three of them came to an agreement.
Uchiha Yuan turned to Qing and said, "I'll count to three. You throw in your Sealing Scroll, and we'll release your teammate."
"Okay!"
Seeing Qing agree, Asana and Kagetsu lifted her teammate up.
"Wait a minute! You're not going to throw him over, are you?" Qing asked hastily.
"How else?" Yuan replied with a question.
"Can't you be a little more gentle?"
"Are you trading or not?"
"Fine, fine, fine!"
As Yuan began to count down, when he got to "1," Qing threw over her Sealing Scroll, and Asana and Kagetsu tossed her teammate over.
Yuan originally thought Qing would try to catch her teammate, but she made no move at all. Her teammate spun twice in mid-air, hit the ground, rolled over once more, and finally ended up at her feet.
Yuan, meanwhile, didn't immediately retreat after receiving the Sealing Scroll. Leaving now might have made them seem suspicious.
Qing glanced at Yuan and his teammates, who remained standing there, and gave up the idea of attacking entirely.
From her perspective, they had already given up their hostage and were still staying put—they must really have some way to escape.
Looking down at her teammate, Qing cursed, "Useless. A Chūnin who can't even handle two brats."
"Qing-senpai, those two brats weren't simple. One's from the Yamanaka clan. He used Mind Body Switch Technique on me and froze my movements. Then the Hyuga girl paralyzed me with Lightning Release and hit me with a full Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms combo. I didn't even have a chance to resist!"
"Cut the crap. You're paying me back for everything in my scroll at full price."
"Yes! I'll pay, I'll definitely pay."
"Hey—Uchiha brat, what's your name?" Qing turned and asked.
"Like we'd tell you that! You'd just use our names to gather intel. We're not that dumb," Kagetsu scoffed before Yuan could answer.
Qing curled her lip and said nothing more, lifting her teammate onto her back and walking away.
Asana activated her Byakugan and watched until Qing disappeared from sight.
"She's gone," Asana said.
"Let's go, then," Kagetsu added.
"No rush. Just in case she doubles back, let's stay a while longer. And let's check out what's in that scroll." With that, Yuan emptied the contents of the scroll all at once.
The first thing they saw was the woman's clothing—including some rather intimate garments.
Asana instantly snatched the scroll and shoved those items back inside.
"Ahem... I didn't expect that! What a surprise!" Kagetsu said awkwardly.
Yuan, however, remained expressionless, showing no reaction at all.
Asana smacked Kagetsu hard on the head.
Kagetsu looked miserable. Yuan saw it too—why am I the only one getting hit?
"Whoa! Asana, Kagetsu—we might've struck it rich!" Yuan shouted excitedly.
"There's valuable stuff in there?" Kagetsu ignored his aching head and asked eagerly.
Asana scanned the items and said, "We did. There are three exchange vouchers for cash—it says we can redeem a total of ten million ryō."
Kagetsu went slack-jawed. "Ten million ryō? How much barbecue could that buy?"
"The last time Shibi-sensei treated us, it cost 30,000 ryō for four people. Ten million would cover more than 300 meals."
"Whew—barbecue for a whole year. That's bliss."
"When the war's over, we'll cash these in and split the money evenly, alright?" Yuan asked.
Both Kagetsu and Asana nodded in agreement.
Seeing they had no objections, Yuan casually pocketed the vouchers.
Aside from the vouchers, the scroll also contained some Explosive Tags, kunai, and other standard tools, which the three divided evenly.
Unfortunately, there were no jutsu scrolls. Yuan had asked for her Sealing Scroll mainly in hopes of freeloading a couple of Water Release techniques.
Half an hour later, Yuan said, "Alright, let's move out. She probably won't double back."
Asana and Kagetsu nodded, and the three left together.
On the way back to camp, they came up with a plan for their report—leaving out anything related to the Sealing Scroll, but otherwise telling the truth.
Initially, Yuan planned to report to Orochimaru himself, but Asana argued that since Orochimaru had given the mission to her directly, it was better if she did it.
Yuan thought that made sense and let her go instead.
Asana spent about ten minutes in Orochimaru's tent and came out holding another scroll.
"New mission?" Yuan asked.
"Mm. Orochimaru-sama wants us to keep patrolling the four minor water sources for the next half-month. If we find anything, report it immediately," Asana replied.
"So it's turned into a long-term mission," Kagetsu said.
"Relatively speaking, this is safer than going to the battlefield. So I'd say it's not too bad," Asana added.
After receiving this long-term assignment, their team set out every morning and returned around dusk.
During this time, they encountered two groups of Mist shinobi trying to poison the water. Fortunately, they caught them in time and prevented any contamination.
Before they knew it, they had been performing the mission for two full weeks. Tomorrow would be the final day—and Yuan's point total had reached 35. If all went smoothly today, he would hit Level 20 and receive his second golden loot box.
(To Be Continued...)