A month passed quietly amidst the smell of disinfectant and the rustling of turning pages.
When the attending physician finally removed his stethoscope, nodded to Shira, and said, "You can be discharged now, but you are prohibited from high-intensity Taijutsu training for three months," Shira felt like a bird that had been released from its cage.
He took a deep breath of the dusty yet exceptionally free air outside the hospital and stretched his slightly stiff limbs.
Although a faint stinging pain still occasionally emanates from deep within his lungs, reminding him of the price he paid for overexerting himself, overall, a sense of strength is gradually returning to his body.
His mother, Rira, had red eyes, but she smiled and helped him carry his simple luggage. His father, Shiya, patted him on the shoulder, everything understood without words.
Along the way, the villagers' eyes held curiosity, approval, and even admiration.
The rescue during the black storm, this mission—these deeds all highlight Shira's special qualities.
"Let's go to the mission delivery point first," Shira said to her parents. She was thinking about the reward for this mission and the subsequent arrangements.
In the mission handover hall, he was greeted by a stern-faced Chunin Kashina.
He carefully verified Shira's identity and the mission scroll, and after confirming that everything was correct, he handed over a heavy scroll bag and a list.
Mission Rating: Rank A. Mission Objective: Pursue the missing-nin Nighthawk and Fang, and retrieve the confidential scroll. Completion Status: Targets eliminated, intelligence recovered. Bonus Achievement: Successfully rescued and recruited key strategic personnel.
Kashina's voice was steady, but his tone wavered slightly when he read out "Grade A" and "additional results".
Grade A!?
Shira was dumbfounded. Because it was a classified mission, he didn't know the mission rating when he set off. Although he guessed that this mission was not simple, he didn't expect to be directly rated as A.
This means extremely high risk and a huge contribution to the village. You should know that many veteran Chunin may not be able to complete A-Rank Mission independently even once in their entire lives.
He opened the scroll bag, inside which was a thick stack of brand-new, high-denomination banknotes, the amount far exceeding his expectations.
In addition, the list includes extra rewards: double the quota of high-grade healing medicine, a 30% discount coupon for the ninja tool store (limited to one year), and an opportunity to consult with Special Jōnin within the village.
This last reward made Shira's eyes light up. It was clearly a special compensation and training direction given by the village for his inability to use regular Ninjutsu. Indeed, bringing the Uzumaki mother and daughter back was the right choice.
"Regarding the missing-nin Fang," Kashina closed the notebook and added calmly, "He was executed three days ago with the approval of the Lord Kazekage."
Executed?
Shira paused for a moment. The end of a life was just a cold sentence in the mission report.
The Fang Fang's sinister eyes and his bizarre poison techniques flashed through his mind, but his heart remained largely unmoved, only filled with a ninja's indifferent understanding of the rules of life and death.
This is the law of this world.
Having received the generous reward, Shira didn't go straight home, but instead headed towards the village bulletin board. He wanted to see what was happening recently.
Besides the usual mission recruitment and village affairs notices, the most prominent item on the bulletin board was a notice signed by the Kazekage's Office.
The gist is: Through the Kazekage Rasa and the Daimyo's Mansion, and based on humanitarian principles and the spirit of strategic cooperation, Sunagakure officially accepted the war orphan Uzumaki and her daughter as villagers, granting them full rights and obligations as villagers.
The announcement used official and rigorous language, cleverly avoiding direct conflict with Kusagakure and the Land of Fire.
Shira carefully read the announcement and could sense the difficulty of Rasa's negotiations from between the lines.
It is said that although the Daimyo of the Land of Wind eventually acquiesced, he was quite dissatisfied with Sunagakure's "acting first and reporting later" behavior, and even cut part of the quarterly budget as a warning.
However, Rasa, Chiyo, and the others clearly believed that the value of saving the Uzumaki mother and daughter far outweighed the temporary economic loss.
"If used properly, the power of the Uzumaki Clan will surely bring returns far exceeding today's efforts in the future." Shira could almost hear Granny Chiyo saying this in her distinctive tone. This was an investment and boldness focused on the future.
" Shira!" A clear voice interrupted his thoughts.
Shira turned around and saw Ameno running towards her with a happy smile on her face, "I heard you were discharged from the hospital today! Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah, everything's basically fine now." Shira smiled and shook the scroll bag in her hand. "I just turned in the quest."
When Ameno saw the A-Rank Mission token bag in his hand, her eyes widened in amazement. " A-Rank Mission... Shira is amazing!" There was no jealousy in her tone, only pure admiration and joy.
"We were lucky, and mainly relied on the captain and the seniors." Shira scratched his head and spoke the truth. Without I Fūgetsu and the others, he would have died in Kusagakure long ago.
However, on the other hand, if he hadn't fought so hard to hold off those two, the mission would most likely have failed.
"Don't be so modest!" Ameno laughed, then suddenly lowered her voice, "By the way, did you hear? Those two seem to have been arranged to stay in the newly renovated courtyard on the west side of the village. Granny Chiyo even sent someone to help them out."
Shira nodded; he had heard this news from his parents.
The village took great care in settling the mother and daughter in the whirlpool, ensuring their safety and relative independence while also facilitating their protection.
"I hope they can live a peaceful life here," Shira said softly.
Saving them was a choice he made based on his memory and current judgment, and now that he sees them settling down, he feels a sense of relief.
After saying goodbye to Ameno, Shira walked alone on the gravel road home.
The setting sun cast a long shadow over him. Holding the heavy reward and the certificate symbolizing the A-Rank Mission in his hands, he felt not much excitement, but rather a heavy sense of responsibility.
Finally home! School runs from 5:30 AM to 10 PM, isn't it gloomy? ⌓‿⌓
The music that wakes us up is still playing in my head.