One Year of Training

The Kusagakure, named after grass, originally symbolized the tenacious vitality of wild grass that springs back to life no matter how much it is blown away by the spring breeze. However, because it often tries to curry favor with powerful nations and is adept at playing both sides, it is contemptuously called a "fence-sitter" by outsiders.

The Grass Ninja had established good diplomatic relations with the Konoha, but after the outbreak of war, the four great powers attacked the Konoha Village together, and the Konoha was at a disadvantage. The Grass Ninja immediately sided with the Stone Ninja and the Sand Ninja respectively, obeying the orders of the great powers. Taking advantage of their familiarity with the Land of Fire, they sent a large number of ninjas to infiltrate the Land of Fire and carry out intelligence gathering and other espionage work.

In a valley more than 100 kilometers from the Northwest Army Group of Konoha in the Land of Fire.

An Intelligence Division of the Grass Ninja organization is conducting covert surveillance of the Konoha Army.

"Are all the traps set?"

"It's all set up. Any visible or hidden sentries will immediately sound an alarm if anyone approaches within a three-kilometer radius."

"Well done! And to the perception team, keep your enemy-detecting techniques up and running at all times."

"Captain, is it really necessary to go to such lengths? We're over a hundred kilometers away from Konoha's military camp; there's no way they could have found us."

"Idiot, what do you know? I'm not afraid of Konoha's army! Uh... no, that's not right! We are indeed very afraid of Konoha's army; if we are discovered, we're absolutely doomed. But at this distance, and given the valley terrain here, the probability of being discovered by Konoha's army is very low."

"So what's the point of all this security? Aren't we just scaring ourselves?"

"Hmph! Scaring yourself? I bet you're a newbie, kid. Haven't you heard of Konoha's 'Demon Child Hunter' lately? They come here specifically to hunt down infiltrating ninjas like us."

"Huh? Why? This title sounds a bit intimidating. But if it's such a big shot, why would they bother with us nobody?"

"Damn it! Who are you calling a nobody? Let me tell you, that Demon Child Hunter isn't anyone important either; he's supposedly just a 10-year-old kid."

"What? Since they're just kids, what are we afraid of?"

"Let me finish! Although he's ten years old, he's no ordinary kid! In the past year, he's killed no fewer than a hundred people from Waterfall Ninja, Frost Ninja, Rain Ninja, Hot Water Ninja, and even wandering Demon Child Hunter from the Land of Iron. Among them are many ninjas who are quite well-known in the Shinobi World..."

"Um... Captain, aren't you Jonin from our village? How come you're afraid of a kid from Konoha?"

"Shut up! You know my Jonin... I recently heard that he even killed a Jonin from the Fuma Clan Jonin Amegakure! That was a Jonin, for Jonin!"

Under the leader's intimidation, the Grass Ninja dared not relax their guard. Some went on sentry duty, others set up additional traps, and those responsible for sensing kept their devices on at all times. Two people took turns on duty, maintaining the spell 24 hours a day without interruption.

"We haven't been able to catch Grass Ninja lately. Is it because they've paired them with Sensory-type ninjas?"

Above the sky, Shunren, wearing Bamboo-Copter on his head, flew slowly.

Looking down at the earth from high above, one can see the land within a radius of several kilometers clearly.

The unobstructed plains can be omitted; the only places where people can hide are the forest to the east and the valley to the west.

Shunren closed his eyes and formed a mudra with one hand.

"Sensory Technique: The Mind's Eye!"

A surge of vibrant spiritual energy erupted rapidly, then rippled outwards from Shunren, spreading in all directions.

After nearly a year of practical training, Shunren not only greatly improved his strength, but also, due to his long-term practice of Yin Release,

Along with the increase was his spiritual energy! After activating his Sensory Technique, images of the environment flashed through Shunren's mind. However, no trace of ninja activity was detected for the time being.

As the range of his Sensory Technique expanded, Shunren's brow twitched slightly. After a while, having achieved nothing, he had no choice but to gather back the spreading spiritual energy and then carefully scan the surrounding environment.

Based on Shunren's judgment, there must be sensory ninjas on the Grass Ninja side. Ninjas who are proficient in sensory perception are often good at concealing their own aura, so a wide-range mental scan can block out the opponent's Sensory Technique.

In such situations, more precise Sensory Technique are needed. Therefore, Shunren greatly compressed the coverage area of his Sensory Technique to enhance the intensity of regional searches. As a result, he had to constantly move his body to keep the perception network constantly in motion.

Fortunately, the Shunren, who had the advantage of the sky, were able to perform sensory scanning regardless of the terrain.

After a long search, just as the Bamboo-Copter above Shunren was nearing its projection limit, he finally discovered a faint Chakra reaction on the other side of the valley!

Down in the valley, the Grass Ninja leader muttered curses at one of his men, "Damn it! What have you done?!"

It turned out that a certain Grass Ninja had accidentally triggered a trap he had set while preparing to relieve himself, igniting the Explosive Tag. Fortunately, their leader reacted quickly and immediately used a spell to interrupt the activation of the Explosive Tag; otherwise, the explosion might have alerted the Konoha Army's tactical-level sensory battalion, which was thousands of miles away.

Despite this, the cautious Grass Ninja leader still said with a grim face, "Concentrate your senses! Don't let your guard down for a moment! That idiot triggered a trap that released some Chakra aura. If any of the Konoha's sensory ninjas nearby are aware of it, they might be detected!"

"Don't worry, Captain. I looked carefully in all four directions—east, west, south, and north—and didn't find any trace of Konoha Ninja!"

But just then, a strange voice suddenly rang out!

"Is that so? Your perception of the plane is going well, but have you paid attention to the sky?" Suddenly, Shunren descended from the sky, wielding a giant Heavy Black Iron Ruler!

"Konoha-Style Kenjutsu: May Rain Slash!"

This sword technique is classified as B-rank. It utilizes a leap to enter the battlefield from mid-air, allowing for a forceful entry and a preemptive strike. When used in conjunction with heavy weapons, it can even disrupt the terrain!

"Boom!!"

Descending from the sky, the Heavy Black Iron Ruler in Shunren's hand slammed heavily onto the ground, like a giant's foot stomping down. The ground, hundreds of meters in diameter, trembled violently like a carpet, and cracks rapidly spread outward from where the ruler fell, crumbling and splitting apart!