The Resolve of a Prisoner

Qian Yun staggered to his feet and spat out a mouthful of blood.

That kick had been far too vicious. It had nearly sent him straight to the afterlife.

He looked up and found himself surrounded by Hidden Mist ninja, all staring at him with hostile eyes.

There was nowhere to run.

"Kill him!"

The violet-eyed youth spoke, his voice incomparably resolute.

"Wait, wait! I'm a medical ninja. I'm still useful!"

Qian Yun hurriedly begged for mercy. He knew the violet-eyed youth was absolutely not testing him.

The violet-eyed youth stared at Qian Yun for several seconds, then looked toward his companions who had just returned from a night raid. Many of them were seriously wounded.

"Why did you infiltrate our camp?"

Hearing the question, Qian Yun felt like crying, but he still explained quickly.

"You specifically targeted medical ninja, so I got scared and hid inside a wooden crate. I never expected that big guy to pick it up and run off with it!

In truth, I'm just a special genin with no combat experience whatsoever. I'm no threat to any of you!"

The large chunin scratched his head awkwardly, and the violet-eyed youth's expression finally softened somewhat.

Still, he asked, "You discovered that your companions had been assassinated. Why didn't you report it to your superiors immediately?"

Qian Yun gave another bitter smile. "I'm just an orphaned civilian ninja. No one believes anything civilian ninja say!

They wouldn't even bother speaking to me!"

After Qian Yun finished, the expressions of the Hidden Mist ninja around him softened, as though they could empathize.

"Treat the wounded first!"

After saying that, the violet-eyed youth turned and headed toward his tent.

The first to request treatment was a shark-toothed man with three kunai embedded in his back.

Qian Yun swiftly anesthetized him, carefully pulled out the kunai, then quickly used the Mystical Palm Technique to stop the bleeding before disinfecting the wounds, applying medicine, and bandaging them.

Every movement flowed seamlessly, drawing cries of amazement from the Hidden Mist medical ninja.

"He's incredible!

His wound treatment is practically flawless. It seems only Lord Ao can reach this level!"

Qian Yun smiled but did not respond.

As the saying went, trouble came from the mouth. No one knew which sentence might offend someone.

Qian Yun tirelessly treated everyone's injuries. An hour later, he collapsed from exhaustion.

His chakra had run dry.

The violet-eyed youth lifted the tent flap and took a careful look before nodding in satisfaction.

Theoretically, with Qian Yun's amount of chakra, he could not cause any trouble, much less escape this stretch of sea.

But Qian Yun thought differently. Given the Hidden Mist ninja's style of doing things, he would surely die once the war ended, because he would no longer be needed.

Perhaps a few Hidden Mist medical ninja would arrive, and once he became useless, he would be executed.

In other words, his dangerous period was far from over. In fact, it would only grow more dangerous with time.

Qian Yun slept for two hours before suddenly jolting awake from a nightmare.

Looking around, he saw the Hidden Mist ninja eating breakfast, and he realized he was starving as well.

Fine. Since he could die at any moment, he might as well die with a full stomach.

Qian Yun took out a piece of venison from a sealing scroll, then pulled out pots, bowls, and utensils to cook it.

The aroma quickly spread, and the Hidden Mist ninja slowly gathered around.

Qian Yun smiled awkwardly, then took out a scroll filled with meat and handed it to the large chunin.

"There's only venison and beef. Please don't mind it!"

Oh... oh...

As soon as Qian Yun finished speaking, the Hidden Mist ninja suddenly erupted into cheers, leaving him utterly confused.

Were they really that happy just to eat meat?

They ate seafood too!

Just looking at those king crabs made his mouth water.

The large chunin said with a smile, "Thank you, kid!

You have no idea how long it's been since we've had meat!

We eat fish every day. I feel like I'm about to turn into a fish myself!"

The group burst into laughter, then all started talking at once about how they wanted to throw up whenever they saw fish now.

Qian Yun smiled along with them. "When I was doing odd jobs at Konoha Hospital, I dreamed of one day eating my fill of king crab.

Unfortunately, I was fired afterward and could only search for food in trash bins!

Luckily, I learned how to make healing pills, so I finally got to eat my fill!"

After Qian Yun spoke, the Hidden Mist ninja all showed surprise and sorrow.

So Konoha's civilian ninja had it this hard.

The large chunin asked, "Kid, have you really never eaten king crab?"

Qian Yun shook his head. "I've never even eaten sea fish, but I have eaten seaweed. It tasted pretty good too!"

Everyone was even more astonished, then they gave him a king crab as large as a millstone.

They went to fry the beef while Qian Yun happily made seasonings and ate the king crab.

When Qian Yun finished his second massive crab claw, he suddenly saw a white trait appear.

[Water Affinity]

He fused with it immediately.

It seemed there was no special feeling. He was simply not as thirsty as before.

After finishing the entire king crab, Qian Yun was about to clean up the pots and utensils when the youth who had cried out in amazement earlier came over.

"Kid, you said you did odd jobs before. From now on, all the camp chores are yours!"

The youth's expression was somewhat unnatural as he spoke. This was clearly his own decision; the violet-eyed youth did not know about it.

"Yes! Thank you, sir, for giving me the opportunity to serve!"

Qian Yun stood and gave a solemn bow, making the amazed youth feel a little embarrassed.

Before the youth could exchange pleasantries, Qian Yun had already carried the pots and utensils toward the shore.

This island was truly small. It only took a few minutes to walk from the camp to the sea.

The amazed youth suddenly called out, "Kid, where are you going?"

Qian Yun stopped and turned back, asking blankly, "Doesn't the camp have water?"

Uh...

The amazed youth could finally see it now. Qian Yun really knew nothing.

"Watch closely. I'll teach you the Three Cleansing Techniques now, so you'd better learn them properly!

From now on, when you clean, make sure you do it meticulously!"

Qian Yun nodded solemnly. He had never expected such an unexpected windfall.

"First is the Water Cleansing Technique. You need to form the Water Seal first!"

The amazed youth explained everything in great detail, clearly finding it satisfying to show off in front of Qian Yun.

After the youth finished explaining, Qian Yun gave him a solemn bow.

"Thank you, sir, for teaching me ninjutsu. I will never forget it for the rest of my life!"

Qian Yun had originally planned to find an opportunity to slip in a slow-acting poison.

It would be best if he could wipe out this entire group in one go.

But now, it seemed he could wait a few more days.

Mm, I, Qian Yun, am a good person.

The amazed youth scratched his head embarrassedly. Being called "sir" really did feel nice.

"Just call me Bula. It feels strange to keep calling me sir!"

"Understood, Lord Bula!"

Hehehe...

The amazed youth left with a chuckle, feeling as though even the wind was at his feet.

For the rest of the day, Qian Yun used the Water Cleansing Technique, Earth Cleansing Technique, and Wind Cleansing Technique to clean the camp.

The Water Cleansing Technique cleaned clothes and tableware, and could even be used for bathing.

The Earth Cleansing Technique cleaned the ground, mainly food scraps and ninja excrement.

The Wind Cleansing Technique was mainly used to clear dust. It could be used even without wind-element chakra.

The Three Cleansing Techniques consumed very little chakra, so they were not too exhausting.

Three days later.

The meat Qian Yun had brought was all gone. Though reluctant, the Hidden Mist ninja had no choice but to go out to sea and fish.

Bula invited Qian Yun along, but when they reached the shore, Qian Yun was dumbfounded.

He did not know how to walk on water. He tried gathering chakra beneath his feet, but the moment he stepped into the sea, he sank.

Bula wanted to save Qian Yun, but the violet-eyed youth, Yagura Karatachi, stopped him with an outstretched hand.

Everyone understood what he meant and watched Qian Yun struggle in the seawater.

Their gazes were not exactly cold, but neither were they friendly.

About five minutes later, Qian Yun completely lost consciousness and sank straight toward the seabed.