She Seems Able to Pluck the Heartstrings

This time, he had actually managed to produce some results.

During an experiment using Hashirama Cells that had been propagated through who knows how many generations, he discovered that one of the lab mice had actually survived for five full hours.

Furthermore, as he continued to experiment with that same batch of cells, other mice and rabbits also lived several hours longer than those in other samples; clearly, the aggression of this particular strain of Hashirama Cells had diminished significantly.

He was overjoyed, believing he had finally caught a glimpse of the dawn of victory.

But that was the only exception; no matter which direction Uchiha Qiu Yang took his research afterward, he failed to make even the slightest bit of progress.

Eventually, his patience was nearly worn thin, and he couldn't help but wonder if he should start capturing living people for research, just like Snake Auntie did.

No, absolutely not. He had once been a model youth of the new era; he could never trample on life in such an inhumane way.

The plan was vetoed!

However, this meant his research was once again stuck at the clinical trial stage, as he could never bring himself to inject the cells into his own body.

At this point, a full five months had passed since Jiraiya left Konoha.

With no leads, a helpless Uchiha Qiu Yang packed away the Hashirama Cells that had kept the mouse alive for five hours and decided to head out to clear his head.

After returning to Konoha and resting for a few days, he went to find the Fifth Hokage to ask if there were any missions he could execute.

Tsunade had assumed that since this guy hadn't returned to the village for so long, he must have gone out to train with Jiraiya. She hadn't expected him to return suddenly, and only after Uchiha Qiu Yang explained did she realize he hadn't followed him at all.

She pondered for a moment before handing over the documents for the Uchiha Clan's ancestral assets, which she had promised to return, to Uchiha Qiu Yang.

Uchiha Qiu Yang's mind hadn't been on this, but after opening the folder and glancing at it, his eyes widened and he began to read in earnest.

Inside, besides a massive fortune, there were also deeds to clan-owned shops located within the Land of Fire.

He had never imagined that the Uchiha Clan would be so wealthy.

"Ahem... thank you very much, Lady Hokage, for returning my clan's assets. I promise that I will certainly contribute my due share to the village's development in the future."

Hmm... the first task to handle is to sell off the assets inside Konoha. Otherwise, when Pain comes to "Almighty Push" everything, wouldn't it all go down the drain?

"It's good that you can think of the village. There happens to be a B-rank mission here; go prepare yourself! Oh, and for this mission, you will be working alongside a ninja from another village."

Uchiha Qiu Yang's mind was entirely occupied with how to manage the Uchiha Clan's massive wealth. After taking the mission scroll, he found an excuse to slip away, failing to notice the flash of thoughtful light in Tsunade's eyes as she sat at the Hokage's desk.

By the time he arrived at the mission assembly point on the third day, Uchiha Qiu Yang was fully recharged; the fatigue accumulated over the past few months had long been washed away by the sheer happiness of auditing his assets over the last few days.

He decided to treat this mission as a contribution to the village; he no longer cared for the meager pay that came with executing missions.

The person he was to execute this mission with was a slender girl wearing a fox-patterned mask.

At the first glance, Uchiha Qiu Yang was completely stunned.

What a perfect, golden-ratio figure she had. That incredibly stunning, curvaceous silhouette was enough to make any man's imagination run wild.

He didn't even need to see what she looked like under the mask; just from this figure, he knew she had to be a beauty.

If Master Jiraiya saw this, his face would probably already be lecherously pressed against her, asking for the young lady's name.

Noticing Uchiha Qiu Yang's gaze lingering on her body, the fox glared at him, threatening:

"Keep looking, and watch out—I'll dig those eyes of yours out."

Well, she's a spicy one, but her voice is pleasant; even her threats sound like flirting to me.

"Hello, I am Uchiha Qiu Yang from Konoha, here to execute this mission with you."

As he spoke, he reached out his hand, hoping for a handshake, his heart filled with anticipation for what her small hand might feel like.

Unfortunately, she only snorted coldly and walked away, not extending her hand to shake his.

Uchiha Qiu Yang didn't force it. He had taken the mission to clear his head anyway, but the appearance of this young lady made him look forward to the upcoming mission much more.

The mission was to protect a large merchant caravan and escort them to the border of the Land of Wind.

The first day of travel passed without incident; the road was exceptionally peaceful. In the evening, once the caravan had set up camp, Uchiha Qiu Yang volunteered to go get food.

He quickly returned with two plump, delicious rabbits. Since it was a B-rank mission with C-rank difficulty, and fueled by confidence in his own strength, Uchiha Qiu Yang used Water Release to clean the rabbits and Fire Release to build a fire for roasting.

He performed these actions without a second thought for the risk of exposure, which left the girl nearby, who was chewing on dry rations, frowning deeply.

Is this guy really a student of Jiraiya?

Uchiha Qiu Yang didn't care about her thoughts. Adhering to the philosophy of eating well, he added spices to the sizzling, oily rabbit meat, and before long, an appetizing aroma wafted through the air.

Even the members of the caravan, who were cooking their own meals in pots, couldn't help but gulp down their saliva, incredibly curious about what kind of heavenly delicacy the two ninjas were eating.

After a while, the rabbit meat was roasted to perfection. Uchiha Qiu Yang casually grabbed a brand-new kunai and skillfully sliced it.

Suddenly, he thought of the short sword that had been shattered by Naruto in his Tailed Beast form, and he couldn't help but reminisce:

"Do you know? I once had a short sword that was very easy to use, but unfortunately, a few months ago... I accidentally broke it."

It was as if he were making small talk with her, or perhaps speaking to himself to mourn the lost treasure.

Regardless, the girl remained silent, continuing to chew on her dry rations bit by bit.

Uchiha Qiu Yang couldn't bear to see her chewing on that hard, dry food. He stood up, took a piece of the carefully prepared roasted rabbit leg, walked over to the girl leaning against a tree, and handed it to her with a sincere expression.

The aroma of the roasted meat was truly enticing; she had never smelled or tasted anything like it before. She couldn't help but swallow, yet she reluctantly chose to refuse:

"Hmph, do you lack even the most basic common sense as a ninja? Whether it's using Fire Style to burn firewood or the scent of this food, both increase our risk of exposure."

A few strands of hair hung by her delicate, petite ears, the auricles flickering in and out of view with the firelight behind her, a sight so pleasing to the eye that his tone softened further:

"A caravan this large can't really hide its tracks much anyway, so we might as well eat our fill and eat well first."

Having said that, he shoved the rabbit leg into her hand with a flushed face, and to avoid embarrassment, he turned to grab his own portion and fled to a spot further away to eat.

As for whether she actually ate it in the end, Qiuyang had no way of knowing; he only remembered that his heart seemed to be beating uncontrollably and wildly.

On the day before the mission was set to be completed, an accident finally arrived.

That day, Qiuyang was still serving as the rearguard, following at a leisurely pace and stopping from time to time to admire the graceful figure ahead.

Seeing that the mission was nearing its end, he couldn't help but feel a sense of loss, wondering if he would ever meet her again.

He hadn't expected the caravan raiders to choose a direct frontal assault; by the time Qiuyang arrived at the scene, the fox mask was already locked in combat with two individuals.

Judging by their skills, they were likely rogue ninjas with the level of Chunin.

Seeing that the young lady could still handle herself for the moment, Qiuyang prioritized taking care of the five small fries who were threatening the caravan leader and looting the goods.

After offering a few words of comfort, he leaped onto a tree to watch the battle below at his leisure.

The two rogue ninjas in the fray had already sensed that enemy reinforcements had arrived and grew anxious, their offensive against the young lady becoming increasingly fierce.

They wanted to finish her off quickly and then use their numerical advantage to deal with the other reinforcement.

Under their coordinated assault, the young lady finally revealed an opening, and one of the rogue ninjas slashed his sword directly at her face.

A cracking sound rang out, and the rogue ninja rejoiced, thinking he had succeeded.

But upon closer inspection, aside from the fox mask split in two, where was the injured person who should have fallen? There wasn't even a trace of blood.

"Are you alright? Hmm?"

She is truly beautiful!

Qiuyang sighed as he comforted her; the expression on the small face beneath the mask was still frozen in the terror of being struck, but this expression did not detract from her lovely features—instead, it only made her more endearing.

It was he who, at the critical moment, had used the Flying Thunder God to grab her slender waist and dodge that fatal blow.

"It will be over soon."

Qiuyang gently patted her small face, then flashed away, finishing off the two rogue ninjas who lacked any appreciation for feminine beauty in a few swift moves.