Chapter 44: Island Return Conversation

At night, when Bofeng Shuimen finished a day's guard duty and returned to his room, he finally let out a long sigh; these past few days, to be safe, he had been constantly gathering chakra with full awareness, never pausing, and his constantly tense nerves were hard to relax.

In the ninja village, mission ranks are not determined solely by difficulty; the higher‑level missions follow this principle even more.

Missions of A rank or even S rank must involve the village or the nation; an escort mission like this can at most be considered B rank.

Even if, during the escort, they encounter high‑rank ninjas from other countries, even those with Kage‑level power, as long as the opponent does not threaten Konoha and Fire Country, the mission remains B rank and does not reach A or S level.

For this guard mission, if it involves Konoha, rating it as A rank would be no exaggeration.

"hey, youngman!"

A familiar, off‑key voice came from the window; Shui Men's mouth twitched into a slight smile, then quickly shifted to a serious expression: "A Chao, what have you been doing these past days? Do you realize that your prolonged absence from duty will lower your ninja reputation, and if your employer discovers and reports it to the village, you'll never get high‑rank missions again!"

That's no alarmist talk; after all, reputation is crucial for every ninja and for the ninja village alike.

The village's reputation affects its economic lifeline and can influence the number of commissions the village receives in the future.

The same applies to individual ninjas; reputation not only determines the missions they receive but also affects their rank promotions, especially the promotion from Chunin to Jonin.

"Hey, aren't you still here? And I didn't go out empty‑handed, you know."

Qimu Chao's face wore a brilliant smile as he casually waved his hand.

The ninjas who attacked again had all been dealt with by him; their fate, due to the Tianwu Series of Techniques, was so gruesome that blood dyed that stretch of sea red.

After finishing off those guys, he realized he had been standing at sea for five days, and he hurried back to Yucha Island without pause.

Hearing Qimu Chao say that, Bofeng Shuimen finally noticed various injuries on his body, his clothes were heavily torn, and the headband tied to his arm bore scratches.

"What happened?"

He furrowed his brows and looked at Qimu Chao: "Was it the previous group of attackers?"

"Yeah, but don't worry, I've already taken care of them all; there shouldn't be any problems tonight."

Qimu Chao casually stripped off his torn clothing, and Bofeng Shuimen could even see the mark on his left shoulder where a Ninjutsu had pierced him.

With no medical ninja on the island, this essentially meant his left arm would be unusable for the foreseeable future, which would greatly affect upcoming missions!

"You're injured that badly?!"

Shui Men hurriedly pulled a scroll from his Ninja Tool Bag, broke its seal, and after the smoke cleared, the medical items sealed inside appeared; he grabbed a bandage to dress Qimu Chao, but Qimu Chao refused: "It's just a minor wound; I'll recover in a few days."

Minor wound... do you even hear what you're saying?

Bofeng Shuimen wanted to say that, but after seeing Qimu Chao swing his left arm casually a few times and even do a left‑handed handstand push‑up, he reluctantly believed the wound wasn't a hindrance, though the required medicine still needed to be applied.

After the dressing was finished, Shu Men still had something to say, but Qimu Chao beat him to it and began recounting the backstory.

After understanding the situation, Shu Men also let out a sigh of relief; at least he could get a good night's sleep.

"Because it's in the sea, you hired ninjas from Wuyin Village, right?"

Bofeng Shuimen pinched his brow: "In short, the most critical thing now is tomorrow's Festival; if unrest breaks out on this island, it must be because of the Festival."

"Let me confirm again: will your wound affect the upcoming mission? If so, to be safe, I'll go find Orochimaru and have him assist us with this commission; of course we'll also have to pay Orochimaru for his services."

"Don't worry, I've said it—this level of wound is just a minor injury for me."

Qimu Chao changed into fresh clothes, tied the headband onto his right arm, and spoke with confidence, prompting Shu Men to nod: "Understood."

For a Magnetic Field Strongman, this wound truly is minor, which means he currently doesn't have enough power to directly use cellular reconstitution; otherwise, the wounds would have completely healed during his journey back to Yucha Island.

The broken rib he reattached is now only a fracture, and repairing the remaining cracks will take about a week, which won't hinder his actions at all.

He also cleared the internal bruising, and recovery will take only a few short days.

The next day, when Caiqian Xingzi saw Qimu Chao, she smiled at him: "It's been a few days since I've seen you, Mr. Qimu, and thank you for your guard work these past days."

"You're welcome, it's what I should do."

Even though he's been fishing for several days, Qimu Chao still kept a solemn demeanor, making Shu Men turn his head away, unable to watch.

"Will you still conceal the guard today as before, or will you swap places with Mr. Bofeng?"

Caiqian Xingzi continued to ask, while beside her, Caiqian Leiguang gave Qimu Chao a glance; he felt something was off, but since no issues had arisen these days, he hesitated to speak up.

"No, today's Festival is likely the key, since after the Festival ends, Miss Caiqian, you'll be preparing to sail back, right?"

Qimu Chao said very seriously: "It's very possible the opponent's attack will far exceed the previous one; concealed guard is no longer necessary—this time we'll eliminate them in one go."

"Ah, as expected of a Konoha ninja, truly reliable—then we'll entrust this to both of you."

Caiqian Xingzi gave the two a slight bow and then turned to leave.

During the days Qimu Chao spent fishing and training, Shu Men also received more intel from Orochimaru.

It concerned the connection between this island and Tangyin Cun of Kawa no Kuni, as well as the relationship between Kawa no Kuni and Kawa no Kuni.

Although it doesn't involve Konoha or Fire Country, it still counts as a conflict between nations.