March
"Is this guy... actually scared like this? Hah, that's good news."
The corners of Ming Jing's mouth curved into a smirk.
The more frightened he is, the more his spirit crumbles. That's when they start talking.
An idea flashed through Ming Jing's mind.
"Genjutsu: Narakumi no Jutsu!" he muttered, forming the necessary hand seals.
Yuichi Tobita's eyes glazed over as the illusion took hold. A proud gleam flashed in Ming Jing's eyes.
"Now, tell me where you hid your money."
---
Lord's Mansion – Moments Later
The samurai forces had been wiped out. Inuzuka Rui and Aburame Nami hadn't bothered chasing the few who fled.
Over the years, the servants of the Lord's Mansion had exploited Yuichi Tobita's power to oppress the townspeople of Tieshi Town. If those scum escaped, the furious locals would likely deal with them themselves. Ming Jing and the others didn't need to lift a finger.
Tobita's men no longer had his protection.
By the time Inuzuka and Nami finished cleaning up, Ming Jing returned, carrying Tobita Yuichi's severed head in one hand and a sealed scroll in the other.
The mission had specified that Tobita Yuichi should ideally be captured alive for interrogation—Konoha hoped to gain intel on the rogue ninja he'd been working with from another country.
But Ming Jing had his reasons.
He feared that if Tobita was brought back alive, the village might discover how much of the man's wealth he had confiscated—and reclaim it.
So, he simply decapitated him.
Let the Intelligence Division handle the rest, he thought. The Yamazaki clan's sensory and interrogation techniques could pull accurate information from a corpse better than crude torture.
In the world of shinobi, even the dead could "speak"—and they couldn't lie.
As for Ming Jing, he had already extracted the location of Tobita's hidden funds through Genjutsu. Tobita never realized he was under an illusion until the end.
Which meant the village would never know.
"Remember to split this scroll up when we get back," Ming Jing said, handing it to Inuzuka with a sly smile. "Same arrangement as last time."
He chuckled. This C-rank mission had netted them almost as much as an A-rank bounty. Far more than they should've earned escorting some caravan or chasing bandits.
I really am lucky.
"You're something else, Ming Jing," Inuzuka said, flashing a thumbs-up.
"Alright, that's enough. Let's go find Kato-sensei and report in."
Ming Jing tossed the scroll to Inuzuka, yawned, and wandered off to rest.
He had been up late studying a new Genjutsu technique. Now, he was running on fumes.
---
Three Months Later – Northern Wilderness of the Land of Fire
Winter had arrived. The oppressive summer heat had long since faded.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
Three shuriken flew through the air in a precise triangular pattern, aimed at a black-clad Missing-nin from the Land of Waves.
He recognized the Uchiha crest on Ming Jing's uniform and immediately understood the danger—no clan wielded shuriken like the Uchiha.
Prepared, he narrowly dodged.
But before he could counter, a short sword wreathed in flames slashed toward him. He evaded again, but Ming Jing's Sharingan had already spotted an opening.
A hard kick to the chest sent the rogue ninja flying.
"Damn it!" he cursed, mid-air.
Ming Jing was already forming hand seals.
Panicked, the Missing-nin hurled his sword at Ming Jing in desperation, hoping to interrupt the technique.
"Genjutsu: Shiranui!"
In an instant, the man felt searing pain race through his limbs as if they were on fire. He screamed and dropped his weapon.
Ming Jing had activated a mid-tier illusion through eye contact—no seals needed. The Sharingan granted him that edge.
Against high-level opponents, this Genjutsu would be ineffective. But for opponents like this?
It opened the door to a swift victory.
"Game over," Ming Jing said coldly.
He formed a half Tiger seal.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A massive fireball erupted from his mouth, engulfing the enemy. The Missing-nin's scream was swallowed by the flames. When it cleared, only a charred husk remained.
In the past, Ming Jing might have regretted destroying the corpse—there could've been loot on it. But last month changed that.
During a mission, Inuzuka had been nearly killed by an explosive trap hidden in a dead Missing-nin's clothing.
If not for Kato Dan's quick reflexes, Inuzuka might've been vaporized by the blast.
Since then, Kato's team had stopped looting corpses unless they could be absolutely sure there were no traps.
After all, you had to be alive to spend money.
Besides, they weren't exactly broke.
The haul from the Tieshi Town missions, combined with earnings from several C-rank assignments over the last three months, meant they were sitting on a comfortable sum.
---
"Yo, Ming Jing! You good?"
Inuzuka Rui and Aburame Nami emerged from the nearby forest, having just finished pursuing the enemy's allies.
From Inuzuka's expression, it was clear their side of the mission was also a success.
"There." Ming Jing pointed to the smoldering corpse.
"That makes twenty C-rank missions complete," Inuzuka muttered, chewing on a blade of dogtail grass as he stared at the sky. "Wonder when we'll start getting the good stuff."
"Our strength still needs work," Ming Jing replied, collecting his shuriken. "But we'll get there."
In total, they had completed twenty C-rank and over a hundred D-rank missions. Steady progress. Their time would come.