Chapter 33: Memory Retrieval

The He no Kuni's nightlife is indeed very vibrant and colorful; shortly after entering the casino, Qimu Chao used his Magnetic Field Sense to win chips worth several times the commission fee.

Shui Men, who had been betting alongside him, also walked away with a full pot.

Nevertheless, the two still gave the client some face; after having their fun, they returned to the inn to enjoy the "ultra‑luxury hot spring" that the host had boasted about.

When they got back to the room, they found the subordinate of Caiqian Fenglin—who had led them to the inn earlier—sitting in the tea room, waiting for the two of them.

"Is there something?"

Although his yukata hampered movement, Shui Men still clasped his shoulders, silently gathering chakra; if the opponent made any abnormal move, Shui Men would swiftly take them down.

What business, not mentioned before, that they had to wait until now to show up in their room for the two of them?

"My sincere apologies."

At the sight of Shui Men and Qimu Chao, the subordinate immediately assumed a dogeza posture, pressing his forehead to the ground to express his remorse.

"This matter was our mistake."

Mid‑sentence, the person pulled two boxes from behind, opened them, and placed the boxes before the two.

Inside the boxes were black coats and white shirts identical to those worn by the casino security.

In addition to the coats, there were sunglasses, wigs, and a range of other gear.

"Is this… asking us to put on makeup?"

Shui Men raised an eyebrow; without the use of Transformation Technique, makeup disguise is a basic ninja skill, yet for a simple guard duty, why make it so complicated?

"Yes, we trouble you both."

The man named Caiqian Leiguang bowed again, in an extremely humble manner, saying to the two of them, "Please, both ninja‑sirs, change into disguise tonight so that any attacking assassin won't notice."

In other words, they should pose as security guards, waiting for the assassin to think the ordinary guards are launching the attack and then be baited?

And they specifically forbid Transformation Technique—so as to prevent any chakra fluctuations from being sensed?

That shouldn't be the case.

Qimu Chao and Shui Men exchanged a glance; Shui Men stepped forward, closed the box, and said to Caiqian Leiguang, "Understood; regarding the commission, this isn't an unreasonable request."

"Thank you very much."

After hearing Shui Men's agreement, Caiqian Leiguang finally rose from the floor, but the moment he lifted his head, his gaze met Qimu Chao's eyes.

Illusion: Dream Sleep.

Having first used Magnetic Field Sense to scan the surroundings and finding no issue, Qimu Chao instantly employed the illusion to plunge Caiqian Leiguang into a dream.

Just as Caiqian Leiguang was about to fall, Shui Men caught him; although Qimu Chao hadn't warned him beforehand, Shui Men still coordinated at the moment Qimu Chao acted, moving like a longtime partner.

That was thanks to his extremely fast neural reflexes.

After Shui Men steadied Caiqian Leiguang's body, Qimu Chao placed his hand directly on his head.

Magnetic Field Rotation, perception activated!

Low‑matching‑number Magnetic Field Strongmen can only perform Psychic Reading through physical contact; only upon reaching the High Matching Number Realm can thoughts be read at a distance.

Earlier, Qimu Chao had tried to read Kakashi's memories while he was asleep and discovered that chakra offers some resistance to Magnetic Field Rotation reading; after all, chakra is a blend of mental and life energy, so such resistance is unsurprising.

Regarding abilities like Psychic Reading, Qimu Chao usually despises using them, but the many oddities of this commission piqued his curiosity.

What exactly is the other party trying to hide?

Spending less than a minute, he swiftly skimmed Caiqian Leiguang's memories from the past month, finding no mention of Caiqian Fenglin's specific intentions.

However, one scene made Qimu Chao raise an eyebrow: the day before Caiqian Fenglin issued the commission, a ninja wearing a Ninja Village headband Qimu didn't recognize came to see Caiqian Fenglin, and the two secretly discussed something in a room.

According to Caiqian Leiguang's thoughts, Caiqian Fenglin and that ninja had met before.

After completing all this, Qimu Chao lifted Caiqian Leiguang from Shui Men's grasp and simultaneously dispelled the illusion.

Caiqian Leiguang, with his hand on the room's door handle, shook his head, clearing his mind a bit, and before leaving smiled and bid farewell to the two, "May you both have pleasant dreams tonight."

Having said that, he left immediately, not noticing anything amiss.

"A Chao, you can still use Mind Reading Ninjutsu? Did Mr. Shuo Mao teach you?"

After Caiqian Leiguang left, Shui Men couldn't help but look at Qimu Chao; this partner kept surprising him more and more.

Psychic Ninjutsu is not exclusive to the Mountain Clan; many in the ANBU also practice Psychic Reading techniques, and Qimu Shuomao, who once served in the ANBU, possessing this skill, seemed unremarkable to Bofeng Shuimen.

Qimu Chao smiled, "In this world, there is still no technique that can trouble me."

"So powerful?"

Shui Men believed him: "Speaking of it, the Second Hokage once invented a Space‑Time Ninjutsu; to this day no one in the village can use it, not even the Third Hokage. You can give it a try sometime."

After the idle chat, Qimu Chao traced the symbol of the headband obtained from the memory reading on his finger and asked, "Shui Men, which Ninja Village does that headband belong to, do you know?"

"Let me think…"

Bofeng Shuimen furrowed his brows, pacing back and forth in the room, and after a while recalled, "This is a ninja headband from Tangyin Village, located in the neighboring He no Kuni of Kawa no Kuni within the He no Kuni."

"I've heard that the ninjas of that village cherish peace and never take commissions outside of He no Kuni; is that what you saw in that guy's memory?"

"Ah, Caiqian Fenglin met the ninja wearing that headband the day before issuing the commission, and it wasn't their first meeting either."

Qimu Chao flashed a toothy grin, "Shall we storm straight into Caiqian Fenglin's office, seize him, and read his memories directly?"

"Forget it, attacking the client is a ninja's cardinal taboo, and there are surely hidden guard ninjas beside Caiqian Fenglin; no need to stir up trouble."

Shui Men shook his head, "Just finish this month's guard duty; after all, we're ninjas who work for money. As long as it doesn't threaten our lives, there's no need to create extra complications."