The Agreement

"Tsang Yeh, our Kumogakure will never let you off!"

This sentence was the final utterance of the last Kumogakure jonin.

Because immediately after, Tsang Yeh punched a hole right through his chest. Judging by the size of the cavity and the force with which the blood sprayed out, this guy was definitely beyond saving.

"Shut up! You're noisy!"

Under the ghost-like gaze of Qi, Tsang Yeh lashed out a few more times, essentially desecrating the corpse. By the time the body finally hit the ground, it was completely unrecognizable.

The aftermath was easy to handle. Although Tsang Yeh was unhappy, he couldn't afford to fall out with Minato at this moment. After a hurried greeting, he took the remaining Sunagakure Ninja and left, while Qi and the others followed Minato on the road back to the village.

However, Qi remained sullen throughout the journey.

As for why? Need you even ask? Naturally, he had been dealt a blow. In a high-level battle between jonin, he was essentially an obstacle, which was a heavy hit to someone who considered his own strength to be quite decent.

It wasn't that he didn't know he was inferior, but reality was far crueler than he had imagined.

Even though he possessed self-awareness, feeling depressed and being inferior were two different things.

Minato, however, was in a good mood. This mission had been an unexpectedly bountiful harvest; not only had they completed the mission objectives, but they had also racked up additional combat achievements.

The scrolls recovered from the Cloud Ninja alone were an incredible gain. Opportunities like this were rare, and encountering one was a stroke of great luck.

Naturally, the other person feeling happy was Kakashi. The Lightning Release Technique scrolls recovered from the two Kumogakure jonin were excellent items for him. When they were copying and splitting the scrolls with the Sunagakure Ninja earlier, Minato had conveniently helped Kakashi make a copy as well.

Although this guy still kept half his face covered, anyone could see he was grinning from ear to ear, forming a sharp contrast with Qi.

"What's wrong?"

Perhaps unaccustomed to Qi's "mourning-his-parents" expression, the restless Obito finally couldn't help but poke him with his elbow and ask.

"Nothing..."

Qi's response was listless, making Obito's facial muscles twitch uncontrollably.

He just couldn't understand why this guy had suddenly become so sentimental.

"I just feel like I'm very weak. I'm no match for the experts at all... I'm basically just cannon fodder..."

"If you say that, Ling and I will feel very awkward..."

Hearing this answer, Obito felt speechless. The way this guy put it made him and Ling feel terrible.

After this mission, even if he were blind, he could see that Qi was very strong, especially when he was slaughtering those Cloud Ninja—he was sharp and ruthless, taking a life with every strike.

If most of the Rock Ninja had died at Kakashi's hands, then most of the Cloud Ninja had fallen to the Sunagakure Ninja and Qi. Although Kakashi cut down Rock Ninja quickly, his speed in cutting down Cloud Ninja was far behind Qi's.

"Could it be that you think you're still weak in your current state?"

Turning his head back, Minato gave a wry smile.

He had observed Qi's performance throughout the journey, but he was also helpless. It seemed, perhaps, that when he was at this age, he was slightly inferior to both Qi and Kakashi.

It was precisely because of this factor that he didn't know how to offer comfort.

"Senior Brother, am I not weak? I can't even beat a Special Jonin, let alone an Elite Jonin. If it weren't for good luck this time, I think I would have most likely ended up lying out there."

Qi continued to mutter in a half-dead tone, followed by a long, drawn-out sigh that made Obito feel as if he were aging prematurely, his face practically wrinkling with every breath.

"Listen, Qi, actually, you and Kakashi are already very strong among your peers. Becoming a jonin is just a matter of time for you two..."

Minato rubbed his temples. While it was a good thing for subordinates to have ambition, he now realized that having too much ambition could also be a significant problem.

"To be precise, possessing your level of strength at this age makes you a rare talent in any village. You really don't need to be so discouraged."

"Senior Brother, don't worry, I understand."

Blinking his eyes, Qi looked at Minato with a somewhat innocent expression.

"It's just that after witnessing true experts, I'm a bit disappointed in my current strength."

Swallowing hard, he suddenly looked at Kakashi with a hint of envy.

"If only we had slaughtered Mist Ninja or Sunagakure Ninja this time, how great that would have been..."

"..."

Including Kakashi, everyone fell into a sudden, awkward silence.

Well, now they understood. After all that, this guy was just sad because he hadn't reaped any benefits. What a waste of their emotions.

"Ahem..."

Coughing awkwardly, Minato decided to improve the bizarre atmosphere.

"Well, Qi, chakra attributes are innate, so you can't force them. How about this: if you're interested, would you like me to teach you some Space-Time Ninjutsu in the future?"

"Senior Brother, are you serious?"

Qi responded habitually at first, but then he reacted. He jerked his head up!

"I can learn your Space-Time Ninjutsu?"

Had he heard correctly?

If it were true, he wouldn't be greedy; he would be satisfied just learning the Flying Thunder God Technique. After all, specialization was the key to success, and the Flying Thunder God could complement his Ice Release perfectly.

However, compared to Qi's surprise, Kakashi and the others were eyeing Qi's neck with suspicion, as if they were wondering if it had snapped from the sudden movement.

The speed and angle at which he lifted his head were truly difficult to feel reassured by...

"Of course it's true, we are fellow disciples after all, but..."

Minato chuckled, seemingly satisfied that Qi had regained his spirits.

"Your foundation in ninjutsu theory must be up to par. Without a sufficient theoretical basis, it is impossible to comprehend the various formulas of Space-Time Ninjutsu. Keep at it; whenever you feel you have the ability, you can come find me at any time."

"Then it's a deal, Senior Brother! Hehe, I'll go find Master to learn as soon as I get back to the village!"

Confirming that he wasn't dreaming, Qi felt like he had never been so moved to tears in his life. The long streak of bad luck since his transmigration had finally come to an end!

When it came to ninjutsu theory, he had a ready-made expert for a master. In terms of knowledge in this field, who in Konoha could compare to the Third Hokage and his prize pupil, Orochimaru?

It was as if the heavens themselves were helping him; all the best opportunities had converged at once! Anyone who had such a chance and failed to master the Flying Thunder God would be the world's number one fool, deserving to be wiped out.

The gloom that had plagued him since the end of the mission was completely cast to the back of his mind from this moment on. For the rest of the journey, he kept a wide grin on his face, constantly pestering Minato for advice on the basic theoretical systems required to master Space-Time Ninjutsu.

Time flew by, and a few days later, the gates of Konoha Village appeared within their field of vision.

They had finally returned to the village...