After the battle, the Konoha Chunin retreated to their rooms.
Inuzuka Zheng couldn't help but ask,
"Feng Zheng, how did you kill the Jonin?"
Feng Zheng shrugged and said,
"He was very weak."
Liang Tai asked,
"He's a Jonin, how could he be weak?"
Feng Zheng laughed and said,
"If he participated in Konoha's Chunin Exams, I'm sure he wouldn't even be promoted to Chunin."
Feng Zheng's teammates immediately looked strange. At first, they thought Feng Zheng was humble. But now, Feng Zheng was implying that his opponents in the Chunin Exams were stronger.
Liang Tai asked,
"What do you mean? Did he not master certain Ninjutsu?"
Feng Zheng said,
"During our battle, he had many opportunities to use Ninjutsu, but he never did, even before he died. So it's very likely he doesn't know how to use any Ninjutsu at all. He just has a strong survival instinct, able to dodge many fatal attacks. I think he was just lucky not to be discovered."
Feng Zheng's answer stunned them all. Inuzuka Zheng's jaw dropped. He exclaimed,
"You must be joking!"
His dog, Kenta, barked in agreement.
After a moment of disbelief, Yuan Feibao said,
"Feng Zheng, about the bounty..."
Feng Zheng looked at him and asked,
"What is it?"
Before Yuan Feibao could answer, Feng Zheng said,
"Oh, we're splitting the bounty, right?"
Yuan Feibao nodded.
Feng Zheng said,
"Good."
Yuan Feibao smiled. He had hoped Feng Zheng would answer this way. If Feng Zheng refused to share, he would kick him out of the team.
He said,
"Normally, we would share such a bounty, but this time, you did all the work, so you can keep the entire reward. Does anyone disagree?"
Feng Zheng was surprised to find that no one showed any dissatisfaction. He asked,
"Are you sure? I don't mind splitting the bounty evenly."
Feng Zheng truly didn't mind. After all, money wasn't very useful in this world. Things that could help Feng Zheng become stronger, like elemental crystals, couldn't be bought with money. At least, not with a mere few million ryo.
Yuan Feibao said,
"Yes. We're sure."
Feng Zheng didn't insist further, just nodded. He thought,
"Wow, I didn't expect the whole team to say no to millions of ryo. If this were my previous world, even the richest person would agree without hesitation!"
"Oh, I was even worried they might plot something while I slept! In many cases, even with good economic conditions, friends and even family turn against each other for money!"
Feng Zheng looked at his teammates' smiling faces and sighed in his heart,
"If only that monkey-fox hybrid could be as kind as them!"
The next morning, the Daimyo, his family, and guards returned to the town.
Zongtan reported all the details of the incident to him. After some preparations, they held a small ceremony and invited the Konoha Ninja.
The Konoha Ninja arrived. The room was very large, almost occupying the entire floor. A long conference table was placed in the center of the room, surrounded by chairs.
Feng Zheng observed carefully. The Daimyo sat at one end, with several samurai guards standing beside him. The Daimyo was old. In the chairs next to him sat a young man and a young woman. Several officials also sat nearby.
Zongtan had the Konoha Ninja sit in the seats opposite the Daimyo. Yuan Feibao sat in the chair directly opposite the Daimyo, while Feng Zheng and the others sat in the adjacent chairs.
The young man beside the Daimyo said,
"I am Qiankalali, thank you for your efficient work. Although our estimates were wrong, thanks to you, we were able to eliminate all enemies with zero losses."
Yuan Feibao smiled and replied,
"Don't thank us, it's our mission."
Qiankalali and some of the Daimyo's subordinates praised the Konoha Ninja. Due to the increased difficulty of the mission, they paid them an additional monetary reward. The Daimyo signed a letter to Hiruzen, commending them for their work.
After an hour of boring conversation and delicious food, Feng Zheng received a bounty of 13 million ryo. Qiankalali, who presented the bounty, said,
"Zongtan speaks highly of you. Are you the Demon Swordsman who helped others?"
Feng Zheng said,
"No, I'm just an ordinary swordsman."
Qiankalali looked at Feng Zheng's face. But he couldn't see any emotion. He thought to himself,
"According to the information, I believe he is the one who cut them down. But it seems he doesn't want to attract too much attention."
Qiankalali was very impressed with Feng Zheng. He was young, strong, and sought neither fame nor fortune. He said,
"Feng Zheng, in a few years I will be sworn in as the Daimyo of this country. Would you be willing to be part of my guard?"
Qiankalali's offer surprised many people. At the same time, Feng Zheng's eyebrows twitched involuntarily. He politely said,
"I will consider it."
Without waiting for any response, he turned and returned to his team. Qiankalali looked embarrassed as his first invitation was ignored like this.
The elderly Daimyo, knowing Qiankalali's inexperience, finally spoke,
"The Land of Noodles owes you a favor. If you are willing or have time, you are welcome to visit us often."
He looked at Feng Zheng and continued,
"Our chefs will prepare the best dishes for you. As for the Demon Swordsman, I will ensure no one mentions that it was you."
Feng Zheng nodded, thinking,
"This old man is clever."
After some more formalities, the Konoha group departed. As they left, Liang Tai said,
"Wow! I thought you'd accept, Feng Zheng. Becoming the Daimyo's guard is a huge honor."
Feng Zheng said,
"As a guard, I don't expect many opportunities to gain combat experience. Moreover, it's unlikely they'll face a greater threat than this attack in the short term, so it would be boring."
While Feng Zheng said this, his thoughts were completely different.
"Seriously, why do powerful Ninja also respect the Daimyo? They don't have any real strength. Their only achievement is being born as the Daimyo's eldest son. I'm surprised people like Danzo or any other madman haven't tried to eliminate them and control all the finances and administration of the entire country."
Yuan Feibao said,
"Although this job is boring, it carries great prestige. And there are many benefits to becoming a Daimyo's guard. Most importantly, you can become an ambassador for our Village, using your influence to send most missions to Konoha."
Feng Zheng said,
"Uh, I hadn't considered it from that angle. But don't we also have many missions at our mission center?"
Yuan Feibao said,
"Yes, that's true."
Recalling the losses from the previous great war, he fell silent.
After a day's journey, the group returned to Konoha and collected their mission rewards. Yuan Feibao said,
"You can go now. I will hand the Daimyo's letter to Hokage-sama and report on this mission to him."
The others nodded and left. Yuan Feibao entered the Hokage's office, greeted Hiruzen, handed him the letter, and said,
"This mission turned out to be several times more difficult than expected. The Daimyo of the Land of Noodles has sent you a letter."
After Hiruzen read the letter, he said,
"It seems the Daimyo is very satisfied with your work, especially praising Feng Zheng. What's your impression of him so far?"
Yuan Feibao nodded and said,
"This kid is good. He didn't do much in the first two missions, but in this mission, he performed exceptionally well. He detected the attack earlier than anyone else. In battle, he killed one Jonin, six Chunin, and twenty Genin. He also assisted in subduing the leader of the thieves."
Hiruzen analyzed for a moment and said,
"The data on the Noodle Thief seems inconsistent. Although the bounty amount is huge, there are no records of any major battles."
Yuan Feibao said,
"Yes, Feng Zheng also said he was very weak, that he just had good survival instincts. I thought he was just being humble, but it might actually be true."
Hiruzen nodded and said,
"Regardless, this is already a very good performance."
Yuan Feibao agreed and added,
"His attitude is also very good. Although he killed the Noodle Thief alone, he was willing to share the bounty with the entire team. We didn't accept, but this kid is selfless."
A strange expression appeared on Hiruzen's face as he thought,
"Selfless? Is he talking about the same person?"
Yuan Feibao didn't notice the change in expression. Before leaving, he reported the remaining details to Hiruzen.
After he left, Hiruzen wondered,
"It's good that he's willing to share the bounty with the team, but how did he suddenly become so selfless? Is he only greedy in front of me?"
Hiruzen's analysis was very close to the truth. Powerful Ninja like Hiruzen and Renjiro knew many Ninjutsu that Feng Zheng wanted.
And teaching these Ninjutsu would not cost them anything, besides perhaps some time. So he would always resort to any means to get some Ninjutsu from them.
As for money, in Feng Zheng's eyes, Hiruzen managed all of Konoha's finances. And Konoha was the richest Ninja Village, so he believed Hiruzen Sarutobi was very rich!
