"Yo! Minato!"
Qingyu enthusiastically patted the head of a passerby. His strength was controlled—not heavy, but just enough to look like a friendly greeting between old pals.
"Who's that?"
The young man who got tapped on the head turned around, brow furrowed in irritation. He stared at Qingyu with clear dissatisfaction. He didn't know this guy. Having his head slapped out of nowhere felt like a personal affront.
"Ah?"
As soon as Qingyu saw the man's face, a look of profound apology washed over him.
"So sorry, so sorry! I got the wrong person..." Qingyu bowed deeply in apology.
"Watch where you're going next time!" Seeing Qingyu's polite and humble attitude, the man's anger mostly dissipated. It was hard to stay mad at someone so apologetic, so he let it go with a grunt.
"Will do, definitely! Sorry again!"
As Qingyu stood back up, a subtle smile played on his lips while he maintained his apologetic facade.
[Ding! Memory Reading Successful! Reward: Chakra Increase!]
Simultaneously, a flood of memories surged into his mind. The current events in the village became even clearer. As it turned out, this young man hadn't seen the actual incident either; he had just heard several different versions of the "River Ghost" story in different tea shops.
Just like everyone else, he was a living sponge for rumors.
Qingyu immediately turned around to find his next target. His eyes locked onto another young man further down the street. He sped up his pace, dialing up his acting skills to "overjoyed friend" level.
"Yo! Minato!"
He gently slapped the back of the second man's head.
[Ding! Memory Reading Successful! Reward: Chakra Boost!]
"Are you mental?!"
The man spun around, his eyes glaring with deep resentment. "Do I look like Minato to you? My hair is black! Minato's hair is yellow! And most importantly... I'm way more handsome than Minato!"
"Uh..." Qingyu's lip twitched.
Wow. This guy actually knows Minato. It wasn't surprising—given Minato's talent, he was already becoming a local celebrity. But this guy clearly wasn't a fan of the "Yellow Flash" in the making.
"Sorry, my mistake..." Qingyu muttered, feeling a genuine sting of awkwardness this time, especially since the guy genuinely thought he outshone Minato.
Qingyu spent the next few hours roaming the busiest parts of Konoha. He lost track of how many heads he had patted. Every time, it was the same routine:
"Yo! Minato!"
"Oh, wait! Sorry, wrong person!"
Initially, he felt a bit embarrassed, but after a dozen repetitions, his skin had thickened significantly. He was becoming a professional at being "mistaken."
By the time he returned to the dorms, he realized something startling: His gains from half a day of wandering were higher than a full day in the interrogation cubicle.
Sure, these were mostly civilians. But the people he interrogated in the basement were often civilians too. Unless he was reading a ninja's memory, the base rewards—Chakra and Mental Power—were roughly the same.
However, criminals were rare. The vast majority of people were law-abiding citizens who would never see the inside of an Anbu cell. By hitting the streets, he was tapping into a much larger pool of "data."
Not only did his Chakra increase, but his knowledge of the village's layout and secret whispers grew exponentially. It was as if he had installed a thousand mobile CCTV cameras across Konoha and was now downloading their footage.
If I'm not mistaken... Qingyu thought, analyzing the fragmented memories. Nara Tetsu has already begun the next phase. That body in the river—Taiichi—was definitely one of their people.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up. Wait. I don't need to guess. I have Yuta Yamanaka's memories!
He closed his eyes and mentally navigated to the folder containing Yuta's life. He began scanning the recent files, looking for secret meetings and low-level operatives.
In a memory of a clandestine gathering, he saw him: a man whose face perfectly matched the description of the bloated corpse in the river.
"It really was him."
Qingyu opened his eyes. Taiichi was a member of the "Old Era Remnants" faction. He had sacrificed his life to frame Danzo.
"The village is becoming a powder keg," Qingyu sighed. He washed up and headed to bed. He didn't care about the truth for justice's sake; he just wanted to know which areas of the village were likely to explode so he could stay far away from them.
The Next Morning.
Qingyu woke up early and dressed in casual civilian clothes. He looked like the boy next door—simple, unassuming, and "weak."
He headed straight back to the downtown area. He wanted to hit his "daily quota" early to make the most of his rare vacation.
"Yo! Minato!"
Qingyu performed his mechanical greeting and tapped a young man's head.
[Ding! Memory Reading Successful! Reward: Chakra Increase!]
Just as he was waiting for the usual annoyed reaction to start his apology, a sharp scream rang out from the street corner to his left.
"No way! Seriously?!"
"Another one! There's another body in the river!"
"Quick! Let's go see!"
The crowd instantly erupted into a frenzy, people sprinting toward the riverbank.
Ruthless, Qingyu thought, staying perfectly still while the crowd surged past him. He didn't need to follow them to know what they'd find.
Another sacrifice. Nara Tetsu isn't playing around.