When those flamboyant young ninjas stood before someone of Yuta's experience, their depth was visible at a glance. Their personality, their skill level, whether they were bluffing or genuinely confident—he could read them eighty to ninety percent of the time.
But Qingyu...
Yamanaka Yuta could see absolutely nothing. Before today, he had simply thought Qingyu was a tight-lipped, honest person. Now he realized that wasn't the case at all. This was a clever man—an exceptionally clever man.
"Qingyu, have you ever thought about leaving the Torture Force? I feel that with your talents, returning to the clan might give you more room to grow," Yuta asked seriously.
"What talents could I possibly have?" Qingyu shook his head, waving a hand dismissively. "The clan has Inoichi; that's more than enough."
"I see."
Yuta didn't push further, but his mind was racing. If he had heard those words yesterday, he would have believed them. Today, they sounded strange. In the entire Yamanaka clan, everyone believed Inoichi far surpassed Qingyu.
Wait—it was worse than that. Most clan members had likely forgotten Qingyu even existed. In their minds, Qingyu didn't even have the qualifications to be compared to Inoichi.
To be able to stay low-profile to such an extent... that's terrifying. Yuta's gaze began to shift, and a new plan started forming in his mind.
"Mr. Yuta, if there's nothing else, I'd like to get back to work." Qingyu felt Yuta's gaze becoming uncomfortably intense. He felt that staying any longer would be detrimental to his safety.
"Don't be in such a hurry." Yuta waved him off. He was too curious to let him go yet. "Why did you advise me not to get involved in the missing persons case?"
"Because it's not your mission." Qingyu desperately wanted to leave, but since Yuta wouldn't let him, a forced exit would only arouse more suspicion. He was stuck in this Q&A loop.
"And if it was?" Yuta's eyes lit up.
"Then investigate it." Qingyu felt the conversation was going in circles, but he had to maintain his persona.
"Then..." Yuta said meaningfully, "What if it was your mission?"
Qingyu's pupils contracted slightly before instantly returning to normal. A sense of foreboding washed over him. This old man was definitely up to no good.
"I'm just asking out of curiosity," Yuta pressed. "What would you do? Evade it? Or investigate?"
"Investigate," Qingyu answered firmly. As an Anbu, once a mission is assigned, it must be completed. If it were his, he would find the safest, most effective way to handle it, but evasion was the worst possible response.
"Good! Good! Good!" Yuta repeated, a smile finally breaking through his tense expression.
"Mr. Yuta, I don't want—" Qingyu started, but Yuta cut him off.
"I don't have the authority to issue you such a mission anyway," Yuta said.
"..."
Qingyu fell silent. The logic held up, but his gut told him he'd been set up.
"Hahahaha!"
Yuta laughed heartily. In their verbal sparring, he had finally managed to score a point. He spent the next few minutes chatting about meaningless topics, aiming to lower Qingyu's guard.
"Alright."
Yuta looked at the empty teapot and nodded at Qingyu. "I enjoyed our talk today. Let's leave it at that. We'll have tea again sometime."
"Yes, sir."
Qingyu stood up and turned to leave without any polite lingering. He still felt like he was being played, but he couldn't put his finger on how. Can't I just stay in the Torture Force in peace?
"By the way..."
Yuta's voice stopped him just as he reached the exit. "Half a month ago, I officially left the Torture Force. I'm no longer an active ninja. I'm old... my body can no longer support the use of Mind Reading. I don't know how much time I have left. If one day I'm gone... don't be sad."
Yuta's voice turned soft, almost like he was delivering a final testament.
"Understood."
Qingyu nodded and walked out. His figure vanished from the tea house immediately.
"Truly an emotionless fellow!"
Yuta watched him leave, the sentimental look on his face vanishing instantly, replaced by a look of sharp focus.
"However... no matter how cautious you are, you're still green compared to me! Life is a drama, it all depends on the acting! Let this clan senior give you one last lesson."
At that moment, Yuta looked like a different person. The frailty was gone; he looked revitalized and sharp.
"Mr. Yuta!"
Suddenly, a voice rang out from outside the tea house. With steady footsteps, Qingyu returned to the table.
"What is it?"
Yuta "changed masks" instantly, hunching over and looking like every movement cost him a great deal of effort.
"When I was leaving, I saw something on your head. I felt I should help you remove it."
Qingyu walked straight up to Yuta, his dark eyes focused on the top of the old man's head. His movements were decisive. He didn't wait for permission. He raised his right hand and reached for Yuta's head.
"Something on my head?!"
Yuta frowned. His instinct was to dodge, but Qingyu's sudden "return to the scene" caught him completely off guard. He could only sit there as Qingyu's hand descended.
Pat!
Qingyu's palm lightly touched Yuta's head. Between his fingers, he pinched a small green tea stalk.
"There."
Qingyu smiled, showing the stalk to Yuta.
At that exact moment, scene after scene of memories—accompanied by the crisp chime of the system notification—flooded into his brain.