"Tsang Yeh, our Kumogakure Village won't let you get away with this!"
Those were the last words spoken by the final Cloud Ninja jonin.
Because right after that, Tsang Yeh punched straight through his chest. Judging by the size of the hole and the force of the blood spray, the guy was definitely beyond saving...
"Shut up! You're so annoying!"
As Qi stared at him as if he'd seen a ghost, Tsang Yeh struck the man's corpse several more times in a frenzy. By the time it finally hit the ground, it was completely unrecognizable.
The rest was easy to sort out. Though Tsang Yeh was still unhappy, he couldn't afford to fall out with Minato now. After a hurried greeting, he left with the remaining Sunagakure Ninja, while Qi and the others followed Minato back toward the village.
But Qi was rather downcast for the whole journey...
Why? Did he really need to ask? He'd been thoroughly humbled. In a high-level fight between several jonin, he'd been little more than a hindrance. That was a hard blow for someone who'd thought he was already pretty strong.
It wasn't that he didn't know he was outmatched. Reality had just turned out to be harsher than he'd imagined...
He knew his limits, but feeling miserable about them was a different matter.
Minato, however, was in good spirits. The mission had turned out to be an unexpectedly huge success. They'd not only accomplished what they'd set out to do, but had also added other achievements to their record.
The scrolls they'd recovered from the Cloud Ninja alone were an incredible haul. Opportunities like this didn't come around often. Being lucky enough to stumble upon one was a real stroke of fortune.
Naturally, Kakashi was the other one in high spirits. The Lightning Release Technique scrolls they'd found on the two Kumogakure jonin were valuable to him. When Minato had copied and divided the scrolls with the Sunagakure Ninja earlier, he'd made a copy for Kakashi as well.
The guy still had half his face covered, but anyone could tell he was grinning beneath the mask. The contrast with Qi couldn't have been sharper...
"What's wrong?"
Unaccustomed to seeing Qi look as though both his parents had died, the restless Obito finally couldn't resist nudging him with an elbow and asking.
"Nothing..."
Qi's reply was so listless that Obito's face twitched.
He just didn't get why the guy had suddenly become so gloomy...
"I just feel like I'm weak. I can't compare to the real experts. I'm basically just cannon fodder..."
"That makes Ling and me feel pretty awkward..."
Obito found that answer hard to respond to. The way Qi put it made him and Ling feel pretty awful...
After this mission, even someone as oblivious as Obito could see that Qi was strong. He'd been especially sharp when killing the Cloud Ninja—one slash, one life...
If Kakashi had killed most of the Rock Ninja, then most of the Cloud Ninja had fallen to the Sunagakure Ninja and Qi. Kakashi had cut down the Rock Ninja quickly, but he was nowhere near as fast as Qi when it came to the Cloud Ninja.
"Don't tell me you still think you're weak, even after all that?"
Minato looked back and gave a wry smile.
He'd been watching Qi throughout the journey, but he didn't know what to say. At Qi's age, Minato himself might've been a little less capable than Qi and Kakashi...
That was exactly why he didn't know how to comfort him...
"Senior, how am I not weak? I can't even beat a Special Jonin, let alone an elite jonin. If we hadn't gotten lucky this time, I'd probably be lying dead out there."
Qi continued to grumble as though he were on his deathbed, then let out a long sigh. Obito nearly seemed to age before his time, his face crinkling into a series of wrinkles...
"Qi, you and Kakashi are already very strong for your age. Becoming jonin is only a matter of time for you..."
Minato rubbed his temples. It was good for his subordinates to have ambition, but now he was realizing that too much ambition could be a problem too.
"To be more precise, people with your level of strength at your age are incredibly rare in any village. You really don't need to feel so discouraged."
"Senior, don't worry. I understand."
Qi blinked and looked at Minato with an innocent expression.
"I'm just disappointed in my strength after seeing what the real experts can do."
He swallowed and glanced at Kakashi with a hint of envy.
"If only we'd killed Mist Ninja or Sunagakure Ninja this time..."
"..."
Everyone, including Kakashi, fell silent.
Well, now they understood. After all that, the guy was upset because he hadn't gotten any loot. They'd wasted all that concern for nothing...
"Ahem..."
Minato gave an awkward cough and decided to lighten the strange mood.
"Well, Qi, chakra affinities are something you're born with, so there's no point forcing it. How about this: if you're interested, I can teach you some Space-Time Ninjutsu in the future?"
"Senior, you mean it?"
Qi answered out of habit at first, then realized what Minato had said and jerked his head up!
"I can learn your Space-Time Ninjutsu?"
He hadn't misheard, had he?
If it was true, he wouldn't be greedy. He'd be perfectly satisfied just learning the Flying Thunder God Technique. Specialization was the way to go, after all, and Flying Thunder God would work beautifully alongside his Ice Release.
But while Qi was thrilled, Kakashi and the others eyed his neck with suspicion, as if they weren't sure it could withstand the strain.
The speed and force with which he'd lifted his head were enough to make anyone worry...
"Of course I mean it. We're from the same school, after all. But..."
Minato chuckled, seeming pleased that Qi had perked up again.
"You'll need a solid grounding in ninjutsu theory. Without a sufficient theoretical foundation, you won't be able to understand the various techniques involved in Space-Time Ninjutsu. Keep working hard. When you feel you're ready, you can come to me anytime."
"Then it's a deal, Senior. Hehe, as soon as I get back to the village, I'll go study with my teacher!"
Now that he knew he wasn't dreaming, Qi felt as though he'd never been so moved. The long run of bad luck since he'd been reincarnated was finally over!
As for ninjutsu theory, he already had the perfect teacher: a master of the subject. Who in Konoha knew more about it than the Third Hokage and his prized pupil, Orochimaru?
It was as if heaven itself was helping him. All these opportunities had come together at once! Anyone who got a chance like this and still failed to learn Flying Thunder God would be the biggest fool in the world—and would deserve to get killed.
From that moment on, Qi forgot all about his frustration over the mission. For the rest of the journey, he wore a grin and kept asking the Fourth Hokage for the basic theory behind mastering Space-Time Ninjutsu.
Time flew by, and a few days later, the gates of Konoha Village came into view.
They'd finally made it back to the village...