Mission Two Completed

"Wuu..."

Jing Tianjinya woke up with a twisted expression, only to find his mouth clamped shut by a hand just as he was about to let out a curse.

As he struggled to resist, he saw a cold kunai pressed firmly against his throat. A chill shot straight to his skull, and his previous rage instantly dissolved into a calm, submissive silence.

After a few seconds, the Yi Xiang clone noticed Jing Tianjinya looking at him with fear and a hint of grievance. The face beneath the Root mask suddenly looked surprised. He's a real bully-the-weak-and-fear-the-strong type.

After a silent jab, the Yi Xiang clone asked the question he had prepared, his voice raspy: "Who told you to spread the rumor that the blond brat is a demon fox?"

The Yi Xiang clone didn't ask if he had spread the rumors; he asked with certainty to bluff him.

Before he could answer, the Yi Xiang clone pressed the kunai closer. Jing Tianjinya's eyes darted downward, and not daring to move his other hand, he pointed anxiously at his own mouth.

The Yi Xiang clone lifted his hand slightly, deliberately pretending he hadn't realized Jing Tianjinya couldn't speak.

Because only when this kind of person truly feels fear will their words be genuine.

"It was an adult dressed just like you who told me to spread it. He even gave me a reward."

Jing Tianjinya said urgently, his gaze drifting unintentionally toward the kunai in the Yi Xiang clone's hand.

Didn't he say that would be the end of it? Was my work not satisfactory, or did they think the last payment was too much? Although it was quite a lot, I spent it all on booze!! Jing Tianjinya wondered, completely confused.

"And then you just did it? Was anyone else instructed like you were?"

"I just mentioned it to some drinking buddies occasionally. At first, no one believed me, until more and more people saw the shadow of that blond brat..."

As if recalling a bad memory, Jing Tianjinya's expression grew even more fearful.

"Speak!"

Seeing the kunai pressed against his neck again, Jing Tianjinya dared not delay a second longer.

"It was the shadow of a demon fox, with nine tails and blood-red eyes. It felt like we would all become its food at any moment."

"Before that, I don't know if others were instructed, but after that, everyone was spreading it."

Genjutsu? I'll let the main body figure that out. The Yi Xiang clone withdrew his hand and slowly stood up to weave hand signs, not worried in the slightest that his target would resist.

"--Shadow Clone Technique!"

Seven or eight clones appeared in an instant, quickly filling the room. Jing Tianjinya gulped with difficulty, immediately rolled over to his knees, and begged for mercy: "Ninja-sama, I don't know what I..."

"Bam!"

"Bang, bang, bang!!"

"Damn it, I'll let you put on an act! Why aren't you cursing anymore?!"

The Yi Xiang clone cursed in Chinese, his hands and feet never stopping. The clones took turns, or sometimes several attacked at once.

A few minutes later, a strange creature covered in bruises, with tear tracks still on his face, missing a few front teeth, blood slowly trickling from his nostrils, and several large lumps on his head, lay peacefully on the floor.

"Pah, don't even think about leaving the hospital for a month. If you do bad things again, I'll come back to fix you next time."

Regardless of whether Jing Tianjinya heard him, the Yi Xiang clone kept grumbling, then found himself in a dilemma.

"And now I have to carry a guy like this, while my main body is just lying at home. Seriously..."

At the Konoha Hospital, the kind-hearted Yi Xiang clone dumped Jing Tianjinya at the entrance. The nurse on duty heard the noise and rushed over to investigate.

Meanwhile, at the Nonaka Family residence on the other side, the Yi Xiang clone, having achieved his goal, turned into white mist with a 'bam' and dissipated outside the house.

A moment later, the shrill crying of a young boy echoed from inside, accompanied by the strange wailing of an adult.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing Task 2. Reward: 20 Luck Points. Current Luck: 51]

Danzo's mental issues are even more severe than I thought. He's so twisted that he'd actually try to turn such a young child evil. How can he guarantee that a corrupted Naruto would obey his orders?

Does he intend to use Kotoamatsukami or the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal to control Naruto?

Yi Xiang thought the former was more feasible. If Naruto showed any abnormalities, the latter would not escape the Third Hokage's investigation, which would certainly touch his bottom line and potentially trigger a civil war within Konoha.

Time to sleep. Why overthink it? Soldiers come, block them; water comes, cover it with earth. At least tonight went well.

Having received the clone's memories, Yi Xiang chuckled and soon drifted off to sleep.

"Big Brother Yi Xiang, get up for lunch."

Naruto called out habitually. He was used to Yi Xiang's laziness, but he still loved staying with him, even if it meant covering Yi Xiang's meals for the day.

"Coming."

Yi Xiang responded lazily from inside the room. He sat up slowly, rubbed his eyes, and sighed to himself.

Having a little brother is actually pretty nice, especially one who knows how to cook.

Since Naruto often visited Yi Xiang's house, he felt bad and learned how to cook from Uncle Ichiraku.

At first, Yi Xiang would buy groceries for Naruto to cook, but later, Yi Xiang simply gave Naruto half a month's pension to buy his own food.

As long as they didn't go out for fancy meals or wander around, Yi Xiang's half-month pension was just enough to cover their food for the month.

"Hmm, this fish looks really good." His appetite piqued, Yi Xiang couldn't wait to pick up his chopsticks and take a small bite.

After Naruto's careful preparation, the fish had turned an enticing golden yellow. Yi Xiang took a bite; it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, accompanied by the fragrant aroma of spices.

"Big Brother Yi Xiang, this fish was caught this morning. I used Uncle Ichiraku's secret seasoning. It tastes pretty good, right?" Naruto smiled shyly.

"It's excellent. If you keep learning like this, you could open your own shop. You might even make more money running a shop than being a ninja," Yi Xiang teased.

The two sat across from each other, chatting while they ate, and soon all the food on the table had vanished into their stomachs.

"On my way here, I heard a lot of people talking about the Nonaka Family. They suspect they were robbed; all three of them were injured and are too afraid to leave their house."

"That's what you call karma. Look at those parents—they're always stealing things and love taking advantage of others. When they're in a bad mood, they'll even kick any stray cat that walks by.

That brat Nonaka Ichikawa always dared to throw stones at us and curse us, and his parents intentionally indulged him. They deserve it," Yi Xiang said matter-of-factly.

It's a pity that the money I took last night had to be burned to prevent any accidents. As for the three of them, I was just helping them loosen up their joints. Who told them to have such foul mouths?

On a bright, sunny afternoon, at the familiar creek.

Yi Xiang sat in the middle of the stream wearing only a pair of shorts, the water level just a few centimeters below his shoulders.

He slapped and struck the surface of the water, feeling the downward force of the current like a soothing massage.

"System, end the fusion," Yi Xiang said, stopping his play and looking ahead.

[Ding! Extracting ninja essence. Obtained one-tenth of the ninja's chakra.]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining a pair of Naruto-style pajamas. Keep up the good work; the higher the ninja's level, the higher the grade of the items obtained.]

"Heh, I can save some money again. But I'll just give these pajamas to Naruto; our heights aren't that different anyway."

Yi Xiang wasn't surprised; his luck had always been terrible. He considered it a stroke of pure luck that he had even pulled an Epic-tier ninja last time.

Feeling the amount of chakra in his body, Yi Xiang was soon surprised to realize that his chakra limit had increased fourfold, and his entire body felt much lighter.

Yi Xiang reckoned that he could now perform a C-rank ninjutsu five times, whereas he could previously only manage it once.

"My chakra limit has increased, but my chakra recovery speed isn't as terrifying as Naruto's."

"Be content. As long as my luck stat is high enough, I feel like there's no limit to my growth, and there won't be any side effects either."