Qingyu maintained his exhausted facade as he limped toward Morino Eaton. From Eaton's perspective, Qingyu's face was deathly pale, his steps were unsteady, and he looked like he might collapse at any second.
Eaton suddenly recalled the scene of Qingyu panting and drenched in sweat after just three minutes of light physical activity.
Good grief! he thought. With this constitution... maybe a week of rest really isn't enough!
"Captain Eaton," Qingyu spoke slowly, his voice weak and airy, sounding like a man who had survived a brutal war and fired every last bullet in his arsenal.
"This man is named Rus'i."
"He is a Special Jonin from the Hidden Cloud Village!"
"He specializes in barrier and sealing jutsu research."
"He came to Konoha on the orders of the Third Raikage to investigate our barriers and find a way to crack them."
"There are three other Hidden Cloud ninjas with him, all specialists in barriers and seals. They are positioned at the East, West, South, and North quadrants of the village."
"I will now transmit their appearances and hiding locations to you."
As he spoke, Qingyu raised his right hand and lightly patted Morino Eaton's head.
"Good," Eaton nodded. Having worked with Qingyu before, he fully trusted the accuracy of his intelligence.
As Qingyu's hand touched Eaton's head, there was, of course, no new reward. The system only provides a reward for the first time a person's memory is read. This made sense to Qingyu; otherwise, he could just farm rewards off the same person forever, which would be a massive bug.
Qingyu channeled his chakra, using the Yamanaka clan's Mind Transmission Jutsu to project the images he had "seen" in Rus'i's memory into Eaton's mind.
Vroom! Vroom!
Several images were forcefully injected into Eaton's consciousness, shifting from blurry to crystal clear.
"Excellent!" Eaton's eyes flashed with praise. He suddenly slapped Qingyu on the shoulder and said, "Have a great vacat—"
Thud!
Before he could finish the word "vacation," Qingyu had hit the floor. He was twitching, foaming at the mouth, looking for all the world like he was at death's door.
"This..." Eaton's eyelid twitched violently. He realized he had accidentally used too much strength in his excitement, but Qingyu's reaction was terrifyingly extreme!
"Someone! Get Qingyu to the Medical Corps immediately!" Eaton barked at the other masked Anbu nearby. He then turned and sprinted out of the black room; he had to mobilize the Anbu to catch those three remaining Cloud spies before they could escape.
"Yes, sir!" One Anbu ninja responded, flickering to Qingyu's side. He scooped Qingyu up in a "princess carry" and dashed toward the Medical Corps.
"Cough... cough..."
Qingyu groaned as if the jolting of being carried had woken him. He blearily opened his eyes. "Where... where am I?"
As if losing his balance while being carried, he reached up and "frantically" slapped the masked ninja's head.
Pat!
"Ding! Memory read successful! Obtained: Escape Technique!"
The electronic chime rang in Qingyu's head. A flow of information entered his soul, making the technique feel like second nature.
Escape Technique: Allows the user to quickly untie ropes and break free from physical bindings.
This... Qingyu wasn't sure how useful this was. He was the one who tied people up in the Torture Force, not the other way around. But a skill was a skill.
"You're awake?" The Anbu ninja looked down at him through his mask, eyes full of doubt.
"Put me down," Qingyu whispered. His face remained pale, looking like he could pass out again at any moment.
"Are you sure?" the ninja hesitated.
"I'm fine..." Qingyu waved a hand dismissively. He was perfectly fine, of course, but he had to play the part to the end so his future actions wouldn't seem suspicious.
"Alright then." The ninja set him down.
"Go back to your post. I'm okay... Captain Eaton's slap was just a bit... sudden," Qingyu said weakly.
"You're... truly alright?" The ninja couldn't show his expression through the mask, but his voice betrayed his disbelief. Captain Eaton's "slap" was clearly a gesture of encouragement for a job well done.
"I'm fine. No need for the Medical Corps. I know my body best. I just need to go home and lie down."
"If you say so..." The Anbu ninja took one last look at Qingyu. He had never seen a ninja so fragile in his life. With a flicker, he vanished.
Left alone in the dark corridor, Qingyu didn't stop acting. He maintained his weak, trembling walk. You never know who is watching or who you might run into at the next corner.
Caution! Absolute caution! Especially now!
He eventually made it back to the Anbu dorms. Along the way, several ninjas gave him odd looks. From a distance, they probably thought it was old man Yamanaka Yuta—how could a young man look even more withered than the clan elder?
Back in his room, Qingyu sat on his iron bed and closed his eyes. He began to deep-dive back into the memories he had previously taken from Morino Eaton.
"I was a bit hasty earlier," Qingyu reflected. After deducing the Nara/Yuta conspiracy, his first instinct was to run to Eaton for leave, but he had forgotten to analyze Eaton's own memories regarding leave protocols.
"I'm still not being rigorous enough. I need to be more careful. Let's see if there's a way to extend this vacation."
He searched Eaton's memories and found that, indeed, a Department Head could only grant up to one week of leave. However, there was a precedent for a three-month break... but that person had gone directly to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"But I don't have a relationship with the Third..."
Qingyu's eyes suddenly lit up as a name surfaced in his mind.
Perhaps... he could have a way!