Return to the Village

Chino, too, was in a playful mood. She shook her head at Yagura and struck a little bear shrugging pose, leaving Yagura completely speechless.

After nearly a month of contact, Chino had long known that Seiji was a secretly wealthy man. Since she had been planning to have Seiji treat her to a meal later, there was no way she would refuse to give him face now.

Yagura's face turned bright red from holding it in. Under Seiji and Chino's expectant gazes, he hesitated for a long time before finally speaking in a voice as faint as a mosquito's.

"Brother Seiji!"

"What? Speak louder, I couldn't hear you!" Seiji deliberately teased the tsundere Yagura a little more.

Yagura spent a long while mentally bracing himself again. Gathering all his strength, he shouted each word loudly and clearly.

"BROTHER! SEIJI!"

"Hahaha!" Seiji and Chino both burst out laughing. Though this little brother Yagura usually acted familiar with everyone, he was actually rather adorable in this regard.

"Alright, I'll stop teasing you. Here, take the money and go buy it!" Seiji handed the money to Yagura.

Before long, Yagura returned with the takoyaki cupped in both hands.

"Big Sister Chino, this is yours! Brother Seiji, here!" Having shamefully called him "Brother" after refusing to do so for so long, Yagura seemed to have broken through some inner barrier. He no longer felt the slightest resistance toward calling Seiji Brother.

The three wandered through the streets, stopping here and there to sample every food they came across until their bellies were stuffed round.

When they met up with their captain, Feng, at an izakaya around noon, Feng looked at the three of them, so stuffed they could barely walk. Then he thought of how he had worked hard to exchange the money at the Underground Exchange and hurried back, intending to split it among them and make everyone happy. He fell completely silent.

"Captain, you're back!" Yagura said happily. "How much was the bounty?"

Now that he was finally about to have money, Yagura was a little excited. His pig brain, already crammed full of food, had nearly stopped functioning. He failed to notice Feng's face growing darker and darker.

Feng dragged Yagura into a corner.

Thinking Feng was about to give him his share, Yagura was immediately met with a brutal beating.

Feng ruthlessly struck him while muttering under his breath.

"I'll let you split the money...! I'll let you eat...! I'll let you leave me behind...!"

"Ah... ah... ahhh~~~" Yagura's miserable screams were enough to make listeners weep.

After quite some time, Feng finally vented his anger. Looking refreshed, he returned with Yagura, whose face was bruised and swollen.

The five rogue ninja brothers, notorious for their many crimes and wanted by multiple parties, brought in a bounty of a full twenty million ryo—nearly half an Asuma.

Though there were two Jonin and three Elite Chunin in total, they were still only rogue ninja. Being able to exchange them for twenty million ryo was already an unexpected windfall, so everyone was fairly satisfied.

In the end, Feng and Seiji, both Jonin, received the largest shares. Feng, as the captain, took seven million ryo; Seiji received five million; Chino, who had contributed the most, also received five million; and the remaining three million went to Yagura, who was Chunin rank.

After the three put their money into their Storage Scrolls, they called over a waiter and prepared to accompany their hardworking captain, Feng, for lunch.

The moment he heard they were ordering, Yagura, who had just received a beating, immediately perked up again. Whether he had reached a rebellious phase or Feng was simply too gentle, the nine-year-old brat actually wanted to drink alcohol, calling it a bold experiment in life.

Chino, who had been smiling moments ago, immediately darkened. She grabbed Yagura by the ear and dragged him over, then clamped a hand tightly around his neck as she scolded him.

"Yagura! You're only nine and already thinking about drinking? How did you learn the Ninja Three Taboos? Next, are you planning to visit brothels and listen to music, drinking beneath the flowers and moon?"

With fate itself gripping him by the neck, Yagura finally sobered up and repeatedly admitted his mistake. After Chino's torrent of education, Yagura had no choice but to sign a series of unequal treaties before she let him go.

After all that horseplay, their bond deepened further.

The three siblings, whose personalities fit each other perfectly and whose parents had all passed away, seemed destined to gradually become people very close to one another.

That afternoon, having replenished their energy, the group set off on the road back to Kirigakure.

Since the mission was complete, and Anbu regulations allowed teams that completed S-rank missions during peacetime five days of free leave, they were in no hurry. They traveled at an unhurried pace, enjoying the scenery of the Land of Water along the way.

On the morning of the fourth day, just as the sun rose, four figures slowly approached Kirigakure.

After entering the village through the Anbu passage they had used when departing, the group split up.

Seiji, Yagura, and Chino each went home to enjoy the final two days of their vacation, while Feng, as captain, first had to return to the Anbu Main Base to submit the mission report.

Inside the Minister's Office at the Anbu Main Base, Feng respectfully reported the full details of the mission to Ken, the Anbu Commander-in-Chief.

After a long while, Ken, having heard the report, smiled in satisfaction. As expected of the Anbu rookies he thought most highly of.

"Lord Ken, your decision was absolutely correct. If it had been another team, it would have been hard to say whether they could have completed this mission so perfectly and smoothly. Given time, I believe Bone, Kagami, and Hua will surely become the pillars of our Kirigakure!" Feng's words were filled with approval and hope for the three.

"Hehe." Ken merely smiled without replying.

Seeing that the commander had no further instructions, Feng respectfully withdrew. He, too, was going to enjoy his vacation.