The Jashin Lord Was Smiling

Yugakure, ninja hospital.

"Lord Shangyuan, after emergency treatment, the injured man was no longer in danger, but..."

The medical ninja responsible for this rescue mission appeared somewhat hesitant.

Shangyuan frowned. He was the leader of Yugakure and the supreme commander of this campaign, appointed by the Daimyo and nobles of the Land of Rivers.

"If there's something, say it directly. My time is limited."

Hearing that, this renowned medical ninja of Yugakure did not dare delay and hurriedly said, "Yes. Although this patient's life is no longer in danger, there seems to be a problem with his mental state."

"A mental problem?"

Shangyuan's brow furrowed. He had some impression of this injured Chunin. After all, Yugakure only had so many ninja, and as its leader, he knew at least something about each of them.

Though this Chunin could not be called battle-hardened, he had considerable battlefield experience. By all rights, he should not have developed something like post-battle trauma.

"I'll take a look."

Shangyuan gently pushed open the door and found the injured man sitting upright on the hospital bed.

Seemingly hearing the door open, he slowly opened his eyes and asked, "Is that Lord Shangyuan?"

"It's me."

Shangyuan walked over to the ninja and, quite unusually, forced a smile.

"Are you feeling better?"

He had just intended to exchange a few pleasantries and show a leader's concern for his subordinate when he was abruptly interrupted.

The injured man on the bed tightly seized his hand, staring fixedly at Shangyuan as he said excitedly, "It really is Lord Shangyuan! It's wonderful to see you, Lord Shangyuan!"

Shangyuan slightly tensed his arm, only to find that he could not pull free from the other man's grasp. He could only smile awkwardly. "Um, Mr. Linben, do you have some intelligence to report