News of the Shuzaki Great Lizard!

Bang!

Tang Ping's shoulder slammed into someone, knocking them to the ground.

"Are you okay?"

Looking at the figure on the ground, he found her somewhat familiar.

Of course, there was also the crutch that had fallen a short distance away.

Hearing Tang Ping's voice—

"Is that you?"

The girl who was climbing back up raised her head, revealing a face wrapped in bandages like a rice dumpling, along with her excited eyes.

Though he could not make out her appearance, Tang Ping recognized who she was.

The Hyuga girl who had been beaten up by the main family in the woods before—Hinata Cang Yue.

It could not be helped.

The Byakugan and the missing leg were simply too distinctive to forget.

"It's me. Your injuries...?"

Tang Ping nodded, admitting that he was the person who had saved her that day. There was nothing to deny, but it still felt strange.

The injuries on her face should not have remained unhealed after using a Healing Potion, right?

"Sometimes, not being injured isn't necessarily a good thing!"

Hinata Cang Yue's voice sank.

From her words, he could tell why she had kept herself looking injured.

Naturally, it was so that those who bullied her would know how miserable her life was, allowing them to vent their anger without coming to trouble her again.

Tang Ping did not press her about her injuries. However, something came to mind, and he tentatively asked, "By the way, can you access things like the Hyuga Clan's historical records?"

The Hyuga Clan was an ancient family with a long inheritance. Unlike the Uchiha Clan, they had not gone through the chaos of their clan head leaving, so their historical records should have been preserved well, right?

And only ninja clans would preserve things like that, unrelated to ninjutsu as they were.

"No problem."

Hinata Cang Yue thought for a moment before nodding, though she did not know why he was asking her this.

"Could you help me look something up?"

Tang Ping's eyes lit up. This would happen to solve a problem for him.

"Yes!"

This time, Hinata Cang Yue answered with extreme decisiveness.

Ever since Father and Mother had died, she had lived in hell. Back in the woods, she might not have been without the thought of using that chance to end her pain.

But he had been like a light that tore through the darkness in her heart!

Now that he had asked something of her, she would not hesitate no matter what kind of favor it was.

(Consider Shisui, who would become one of Orochimaru's subordinates in the future, as well as the Great Filial Son whom the Hokage had PUAed. This was perfectly normal—far more reasonable, even!)

"I want to know whether there is a place called Shuzaki Castle in the ninja world."

Tang Ping stated the favor he wanted.

At this moment, he still did not know that he had inadvertently accomplished something that the future "Snake Uncle" would achieve.

He had gained himself a little fangirl!

At least he had saved her life. That guy had successfully lured people in with just one sentence.

It could only be said that Tang Ping's skill was far inferior.

"I'll look it up right away!"

Hinata Cang Yue hurried off so quickly that she even left her crutch behind, leaving Tang Ping utterly stunned.

Even with one leg missing, she was no slower than an ordinary person sprinting.

But after recalling her identity, he suddenly understood.

She was a ninja!

As long as one had Chakra, the impossible could become possible.

And judging from her speed and balance, her Chakra control was far superior to his.

Perhaps—

Her usual inconvenience and bedraggled appearance might all have been an act.

Because that was the only way she could survive.

It could only be said that in the cruel ninja world, age truly did not represent maturity.

Just like a certain Great Filial Son, who could view problems with "Hokage-style thinking" at the age of seven, someone like Hinata Cang Yue disguising herself was nothing strange.

Once the matter of Shuzaki Castle had made progress, Tang Ping finally carried his books back to the clan grounds.

The bustle along the way—

It seemed utterly out of place in the cruel ninja world, especially compared to the deathly silence and barrenness outside the village.

But Konoha's prosperity rested entirely upon the strength of Konoha's ninja.

After returning to the laboratory—

Over the next few days, Tang Ping went full pay-to-win mode.

The tens of thousands of ryo from the mission loot distribution, along with the money he had saved before, were all used to purchase materials for Clarity Elixirs.

Pay-to-win!

Did you think he had merely been joking?

He especially swept out Yamanaka Flower Shop's stock more than once.

Before, if he wanted to make one Clarity Elixir, he had to slowly accumulate the materials over quite some time without attracting anyone's attention.

Now, he could simply throw money at it, and since he was not afraid of anyone knowing, he could naturally make several batches quickly.

His body had been drained dry!

After using several Clarity Elixirs, Tang Ping directly experienced what it felt like to have his "brain drained dry."

But the gains were real enough.

He had worked through ten books as thick as dictionaries.

And he had not merely finished reading them—he had memorized and digested the knowledge within.

If all he wanted was to read them, methods like "quantum reading" would have sufficed.

But to remember and digest that knowledge, he could only do so in the "sage mode" induced by the Clarity Elixir.

Knowledge that ordinary people would need months, or even more than a year, to learn could be mastered by him in just a few days.

It was only because that state did not increase combat strength that it was not completely overpowered.

But today, Tang Ping had no choice but to leave the laboratory.

First, Minato Namikaze had finished handling his affairs and summoned Team 3 to check what they had gained over the past few days.

Then, news also arrived from Hinata Cang Yue.

She had found something.

It had taken several days because the Hyuga Clan had too many books, and she had been searching alone.

With both matters happening at once, Tang Ping naturally had no choice but to leave his beloved laboratory.

Of course.

Over these past few days, his experiments had not been without additional gains.

The Healing Potion had undergone a qualitative leap.

The animal experiments had succeeded. Next came human trials.

Once that was confirmed, he could announce that he had mastered an extremely important trump card.

But he was stuck at this stage.

Human trials!

Even in the ninja world, where human lives were worth less than dogs, they were not so easy to conduct.

At least, not with his current status.

And Root was watching him in secret.

If Tang Ping dared to play around like that, he would definitely be discovered immediately. Then he would be off to sing "Tears Behind Iron Bars" in Root's prison.

As for experimenting on himself?

Sorry, Tang Ping was not that brave. He was not willing to "devote himself to science."

Thinking of these things, he arrived at the small woods not far from the Training Ground.

The two had arranged to meet here.

After meeting her, he could head to the nearby Training Ground and join Team 3.

"Tang Ping-kun, this is a map of Shuzaki Castle!"

Hinata Cang Yue still had her face wrapped in bandages. Upon seeing him, she handed over a scroll. (Ninjas were accustomed to writing everything on scrolls.)

She had drawn the map herself.

As for the form of address?

Tang Ping did not find anything wrong with it.

Swish!

Unrolling the scroll, Tang Ping saw the map and the information marked on it.

So that was it!

Shuzaki Castle truly no longer existed. In its place was Drowning Swamp, because the city had vanished.

And that swamp was located right at the Southwest Border of the Land of Fire, adjacent to the Land of Rivers. It was completely uninhabited.

It was not too far from where Team 3 had carried out their previous mission.

As for how to obtain the summoning scroll?

Tang Ping had a plan.

For a ninja, as long as they knew information about the target, setting up a scheme was not difficult at all.

The simplest method was to borrow strength.

Of course, he was not referring to the Uchiha Clan.

If he really had them retrieve it, there was no telling whose hands the scroll would end up in.

No one would ever think they had too many good things like Summoning Beasts.

Therefore, Tang Ping planned to use a certain ability.