Gift

Pakura fell silent after receiving Qingshui's affirmative answer.

Lies don't hurt people; the truth is the sharpest knife.

Just as Qingshui said, there was no need for him to lie to her.

In other words, she had truly lost to a Konoha Genin!

Finally, unable to bear staying there any longer, Pakura quickly left with her subordinates.

"Don't forget your mission."

After Pakura and her group left, Qingshui reminded Konan and the Trio.

"Damn it, that guy escaped while we weren't paying attention."

While Qingshui was treating Pakura, Okubo Yahiko, to his surprise, discovered that no one was paying attention to him and quietly broke free from his restraints and escaped.

As a ninja who had managed to evade capture for so long in the ninja world, he possessed this much skill.

However, what he didn't know was that Qingshui was fully aware of his every move.

The reason Qingshui didn't stop him was to teach the Trio a lesson: never let your guard down until the enemy is truly captured.

"I'm sorry, Qingshui Big Brother, we let the mission target escape."

"So, don't ever make the same mistake again. This time, Okubo Yahiko recognized the gap in strength and chose to flee directly."

"But what if next time we encounter a similar situation, and the enemy doesn't choose to flee but to launch a surprise attack?"

Upon hearing this, the Trio's expressions changed.

They knew that if the situation Qingshui described truly occurred, the consequences would be self-evident. They would lose their companions and would surely regret it for the rest of their lives.

So, they quickly promised never to make the same mistake again.

Qingshui nodded in satisfaction.

Failing a mission once was not a big deal, but if one couldn't correct their flaws, they would eventually suffer greatly because of it in the future, and by then, it would be too late to regret it.

"Don't rush. He only escaped a short while ago. If you split up and pursue now, you can catch up. Whoever catches up first should hold him off and fire a signal flare."

With Qingshui's arrangements, the Trio immediately split up.

Qingshui then created Shadow Clones to protect each of them, preventing any unexpected situations from occurring again.

Soon, Nagato, with good luck, caught up to Okubo Yahiko and fired a signal flare immediately.

Upon receiving the signal, the others rushed towards him.

When Okubo Yahiko saw that the person catching up to him was Nagato, a flicker of apprehension crossed his face.

He hadn't forgotten the strange method Nagato had used to break his Lightning Release earlier.

But driven by the desire to survive, he didn't choose to give up. Instead, he quickly threw several kunai tied with explosive tags, attempting to stop Nagato.

In response, Nagato didn't dodge or evade. He silently used Almighty Push, reflecting all the kunai back.

Even though Okubo Yahiko dodged immediately, he was still injured by the explosive tags.

"Damn it, if you won't let me go, then we'll die together!"

Knowing he couldn't escape, Okubo Yahiko revealed his ruthless side, intending to drag Nagato down with him.

Nagato naturally wouldn't give him the chance.

Although Nagato's presence among the Trio was usually low-key, his strength was the greatest.

How could Okubo Yahiko, merely a Chunin, be his opponent?

As for dragging Nagato to die with him, it was undoubtedly wishful thinking.

Facing Okubo Yahiko charging at him, Nagato stopped his body and retreated to create distance.

At the same time, he rapidly performed hand seals, unleashing a Lightning Release ninjutsu. A bolt of lightning flashed, directly piercing the heart of Okubo Yahiko, who couldn't dodge in time.

Just like that, Nagato killed the mission target single-handedly.

This swift and decisive battle also earned the approval of Shadow Clone Qingshui, who was responsible for protecting him.

After verifying that Okubo Yahiko was truly dead, Nagato then looked at the others who had rushed over after being notified.

"Alright, the mission is complete. We should head back to the Exchange to collect the bounty."

The Trio became very excited upon hearing this.

Having lived by stealing food in their childhood, they deeply understood the importance of money.

It was only natural for them to react this way, about to receive the first money they'd ever earned in their lives.

Qingshui could empathize with this.

He had reacted the same way when he graduated and received his first mission funds as a Genin.

Soon, they returned to the Exchange. They had the Trio stand guard outside while Qingshui used the Transformation Technique to go in and exchange the money.

"This is the bounty for this mission, a total of 1,200,000 Ryo. Divided equally, that's 300,000 Ryo per person."

To look after the Trio, Qingshui chose to divide the bounty equally.

No one raised any objections. At this moment, the Trio were so shocked by the massive sum of 300,000 Ryo that they couldn't speak.

When had they ever seen so much money before?

Finally, Yahiko smacked his lips and said, "Ninjas really make a lot of money!"

Konan and Nagato nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Next, Qingshui led the Trio away from the Exchange, but they didn't return home directly. Instead, they went to a nearby town.

There wasn't enough food at home.

Also, Qingshui hadn't forgotten his plan to buy a pair of Sunglasses to hide his Rinnegan.

He decided to buy them together while they were out.

"Qingshui Big Brother, this is a gift from us to thank you for taking care of us."

The gift Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato gave Qingshui was a small piece of Chakra Metal, which they had pooled their money together to buy from the Weapon Shop.

Chakra Metal was a very special metal in the ninja world. Not only was it hard, but it also had excellent chakra conductivity.

Adding a bit of Chakra Metal to a weapon could greatly enhance its power.

However, its only drawback was its rarity and high price.

Despite this, the Trio ultimately decided on this gift because Qingshui excelled at swordsmanship, and it could be used to strengthen his ninja sword.

The ninja sword Qingshui was currently using was just a standard issue one.

"You've put a lot of thought into this. I really like this gift."

Not wanting to disappoint the Trio's kind intentions, Qingshui readily accepted the gift.

After purchasing everything, the group finally returned home.

"Welcome back. Thank you for your trouble this time, Qingshui."

"You're too kind, Lord Jiraiya. Konan and the others are also very capable. They performed very well during this mission."

After recounting the mission details to Jiraiya, Qingshui went to Mikoto's room and knocked on the door.

"Mikoto, it's me."

Soon, Mikoto opened the door and smiled, "Qingshui, you're back from the mission."

"Huh? Why are you suddenly wearing Sunglasses?"

Striking a pose he thought was very cool, Qingshui asked, "Don't you think I look handsome like this?"

"Handsome, yes, but also flashy."

Mikoto answered without mercy.

In terms of looks, Qingshui was definitely not bad. This kind of reply was just normal teasing between the two of them.

"I also have a gift for you."

Qingshui took out an exquisitely crafted Necklace and personally put it on Mikoto.

The two inevitably got much closer. Feeling Qingshui's closeness, Mikoto's face was flushed.

But she boldly kissed Qingshui on the cheek.