Relax

Having successfully completed the mission, they were all a little excited, especially Yagura and Qing Si. Their first mission after becoming ANBU members had been an S-rank mission of such difficulty—a shining accomplishment on their records.

What was more, after Feng identified them, they had taken out five wandering shinobi with bounties on their heads along the way. They had made a small fortune.

Of course, that did not include Qing Si, who had unknowingly become one of the wealthy elite of the Shinobi World.

The other three now knew that Qing Si had a tiny bit of wealth, but they did not know that he was currently one of the mysterious high-ranking figures behind the Underground Bounty Station.

After their excitement faded, they returned to their respective rooms to rest. After visiting the bounty station tomorrow and relaxing in the capital of the Land of Water, they would return to the village.

Early the next morning, having completed their mission, they all got up early. After breakfast, the four of them split up.

As the captain, Feng headed to the Underground Bounty Station to collect the bounties. The other three were granted half a day of rest and could properly enjoy themselves in the capital.

For the past several days, they had been constantly tense while carrying out missions. Every time they went out, they had done so with a purpose, mainly to gather intelligence. Today, they finally had the leisure to properly explore this city with its long history.

Once they reached the streets and quietly took in the bustle around them, the boys and girl felt a long-lost sense of relaxation.

"Have you heard? That damned vampire was found dead in his own home this morning. Seems someone came looking for revenge and killed him!" The commoners on the street were abuzz with discussion. It seemed that what they had done last night had already spread, and news of the general's death had reached the entire capital.

"That inhuman bastard really is dead, but he was killed by his own men, who took his money and ran! Believe me, my older brother's neighbor's third aunt's son's friend's father's younger brother's neighbor works as a servant at the general's residence. The news is absolutely accurate!" someone claimed.

"Good riddance! With all the things he did, if he hadn't controlled the army, he would have died who knew how many times already!" another person chimed in.

"Well done! Whoever did it, they must be truly good people!"

The three of them, who had inexplicably been labeled good people, turned to look at one another and smiled.

As it turned out, when the general had been killed in the latter half of the night, no one had been alerted. Everyone stationed in both the front and rear courtyards believed everything was normal. It was not until the next morning, when the servants prepared breakfast and waited for the general to rise and eat, that they began to find it strange when he did not appear after a long wait. The general's son then prepared to go to his father's room to wake him.

When he entered the courtyard, he did not see the five wandering shinobi brothers who had remained at the general's side every moment of the past few days. A sense of dread immediately rose in him. He rushed into the room and saw the general lying stiffly on the floor, long devoid of any sign of life. He froze, letting out a piercing scream and a stream of curses. He could not believe that his father, who held great power and stood nearly at the pinnacle of the Land of Water, had died so miserably.

The general's son felt dizzy, as though the world were spinning around him. Although he ordered the news sealed after regaining his senses, the servants and guards drawn by his screams and curses had already discovered that the general was dead. Quite a few spies planted by other nobles and even the daimyo were hidden among them, so with certain people fanning the flames, the news quickly spread throughout the capital.

Meanwhile, the daimyo was also somewhat more satisfied with the Third Mizukage. To successfully carry out an assassination under such heavy security without leaving any trace showed that Hidden Mist Village did have some merit. Having removed a major thorn in his side, the Land of Water's daimyo generously decided to allocate a larger share of this year's military budget to Hidden Mist Village—at least ten to twenty percent more.

On the bustling streets, the cries of countless vendors rang continuously in their ears. Yagura, who had never visited the capital before, and Qing Si, who had only passed through it once in haste, were dazzled by the wide array of goods and food. They wanted to buy every novel item they saw and eat anything that smelled delicious.

Qian Nai watched the two younger boys reveal their youthful sides with amusement. Infectious as their liveliness was, a faint smile appeared on her face as well.

"Qian Nai, come quick!" Their relationship had progressed by leaps and bounds in recent days, and the three had begun addressing one another as older sister and younger brothers. Qian Nai was a full four years older than the other two, so she was naturally the older sister. Qing Si had been born in February, nearly two months before Yagura's April 3 birthday. Combined with Yagura's clearly underdeveloped, squat little stature, Yagura helplessly accepted the title of the youngest brother in the group.

"Qing Si, I want to eat this. It looks so good!" Yagura said, pointing at a small streetside shop selling takoyaki. The poor kid had simply assumed they were out on a mission, so he had brought everything except money.

"Hehe, call me big brother! Then I'll treat you!" Qing Si teased.

Although Yagura had accepted that he was the youngest of the three and often called Qian Nai older sister, his prideful nature kept him from calling Qing Si big brother.

"Qian Nai, look at Qing Si! He's bullying me again!" With no money in his pocket and no confidence to back himself up, Yagura could only complain to Qian Nai.