Reward, Rest, and Loss

"Stop!"

Jian Dong and three team members gradually approached Konoha's front-line camp, only to be intercepted by Konoha's outer sentries from a considerable distance.

"We are Squad Z, who departed on a special mission ten days ago. We are returning after its completion."

Jian Dong stopped obediently, then gestured for Xinliang to hand over the "evidence" they had brought back as she spoke.

"This is..."

"A Cloud Hidden Jonin, the Storm Release ninja 'I'."

The sentry was taken aback for a moment, then he carefully identified the "proof" before blowing his whistle.

"Follow me."

Led by the sentry, Yuhara and the other three returned to the Konoha camp.

Afterward, Jian Dong went to report the mission status to the higher-ups, while Yuhara and the other two were sent directly to Konoha's front-line hospital after undergoing necessary checks.

The codename "Squad Z" didn't sound very auspicious. Yuhara later learned that besides the four of them, only two other members of the squad had returned to the camp alive.

A casualty rate of 75%. From Yuhara and his companions' perspective, the mission was a disaster. However, from Konoha's high command's viewpoint, the situation was the exact opposite... such an exchange was entirely worth it.

After returning to the camp, Jian Dong had a lot to do. Besides reporting to the higher-ups, she also needed to determine the rewards and punishments after the mission's completion... The foreign ninjas who had sacrificed themselves without hesitation had different exchange conditions with Konoha, such as allowing their relatives to live in Konoha.

Mission failure meant punishment; mission success meant rewards. This was the foundation upon which ninja villages stood, so what needed to be implemented would definitely be implemented.

Those who survived would receive their mission pay. The reward for an A-rank mission generally ranged from 150,000 to 1,000,000 Ryo. Considering the strength of the enemy this time and their own scale, the reward for this mission was the highest of its rank: 1,000,000 Ryo.

If divided equally, Yuhara would probably get a little over 160,000 Ryo. Converting the currency unit (1 Ryo = 10 Yen = 0.6 Yuan), Yuhara would receive about 100,000 Yuan this time.

During the mission, that's an average of 10,000 Yuan per day. But is this a lot of money? Considering it was money earned by risking one's life, 100,000 Yuan isn't much.

Due to the excessively high casualty rate, Squad Z would likely return to Konoha to rest and await personnel replenishment... after all, this team required special personnel.

During the journey back to Konoha, Yuhara needed to find ways to increase his combat power. However, the return trip to Konoha was not entirely smooth.

Konoha Front-line Hospital.

After the hospital's examination, Yuhara was confirmed to be unharmed. According to the medical ninja, his body was very healthy, and there was no need for hospitalization.

Yuhara thought, I have a hole in my shoulder, how am I very healthy? However, when he casually lowered his head, he saw that the wound was already covered by only a thin layer of blood scab.

At this point, he had nothing more to say.

Although Yuhara was fine, Xinliang's condition seemed not so good.

After completing his examination, Yuhara returned to the tent serving as a ward. He planned to pack his things and leave immediately... the doctors had ordered him, someone so full of life, not to occupy medical resources.

When he arrived at the tent, he found only Xinliang there, who was staring blankly at his injured arm.

"How's your injury? How long until you recover?"

Out of basic concern for his teammate, Yuhara asked.

After experiencing life and death together, Xinliang no longer resisted communicating with Yuhara. However, he didn't answer Yuhara's question. Instead, he said, "Do you know what a ninja's lifeline is?"

"Ninjutsu? Secret Techniques?" Yuhara replied casually without thinking.

Xinliang shook his head. "No, it's 'Hand Seals'."

As he spoke, he began to unwrap the bandages on his right hand. As the bandages were removed, a dark, black wound was exposed to the air.

"The enemy's weapon was poisoned. I can barely feel my right hand's fingers anymore."

"Nerve necrosis?" Yuhara hadn't expected Xinliang's injury to be so severe.

"Yes."

Xinliang had almost lost his dominant hand, meaning he could no longer form hand seals, which signified the end of his ninja career.

"Is there no possibility of healing?"

"Very difficult."

Xinliang calmly re-bandaged his right hand. Performing this action with only one hand appeared somewhat difficult for him.

"Once my right hand's problem is confirmed, I'll have to withdraw from the front lines. Even for the sake of other ninjas' opinions, the village wouldn't send someone useless like me to the front lines to die... I'll probably live in Konoha as a civilian."

Hearing Xinliang describe his future, Yuhara suddenly froze. Then, a somewhat absurd thought surfaced in his mind.

"Xinliang, was the enemy's weapon really coated with poison?"

That Cloud Hidden ninja was a master of Storm Release and Lightning Release. With his style of attack, was there a need for poison? Moreover, Xinliang only showed symptoms of poisoning after some time had passed since he was injured.

This question plunged Xinliang into silence. After a moment, he replied, "Why do you ask?"

"It's nothing. I just felt that your emotions were a bit off when you were describing your future... it seems like losing your identity as a ninja isn't something to regret, and a civilian life is something you yearn for," Yuhara said.

Where did this toxin come from?

"You are very perceptive... Then how do you think I got injured?"

"Me? I don't know, and it doesn't matter." Yuhara didn't want to delve into how Xinliang was injured. In any case, with his status, he couldn't report anything to Konoha.

As he lifted the tent flap, preparing to leave, Yuhara suddenly stopped. Finally, he said to Xinliang:

"In the first half of my life, the only regrets were why low-class alien monkeys didn't end up with cheap Earth women, the only things I hated were the iron-clad men of Mars, and the only surprising thing was a male cat escorting a firebird... But later I learned that reality is always far stranger than you imagine."

Okay, what Yuhara was talking about wasn't the first half of his life, but the first half of his previous life.

Later, he was hospitalized due to illness, and then he came to this world.

"Reality can turn wrong choices into right ones, and right choices into wrong ones, but no matter what, a person always has to take responsibility for their choices."

After saying this, Yuhara walked away.

Xinliang: "..."

Even though he didn't understand what Yuhara was saying, at this moment, he felt like this person had the aura of a "life veteran."

He didn't understand, and frankly, he wasn't that shocked.

What Yuhara said to Xinliang was more of an offhand remark, and he himself didn't pay it any mind afterward.

However, the reason a "jinx" is called a jinx is because they have the ability to inadvertently make their words come true.

As retaliation for the "Yellow Flash's" excessive activity in the preceding period, that night, Kumogakure dispatched several elite squads to raid Konoha's front-line camps.

And facilities like the front-line hospital were always the enemy's top priority targets.

Their priority was even higher than that of the command post.