Land of Rain (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

A Bounty Hunter? Was he sure he wasn't joking?

Sarutobi Kazuhara's face darkened. Then he asked, "Why?"

Gengetsu replied as if it were obvious, "To make money. I heard a lot of bounties pay really well!"

He remembered that Asuma Sarutobi's bounty was thirty million. Killing one "Asuma Sarutobi" would be enough for him to cultivate one or two clones!

"Are you that short on money?"

Sarutobi Kazuhara was speechless. Could this kid be planning to get married at such a young age?

Gengetsu was even more speechless. He looked strangely at Sarutobi Kazuhara. "Kazuhara-sensei, aren't you short on money? You should already be married, right? Do you have children? The financial power at home is all in your wife's hands, isn't it? Otherwise, why do you never treat us to barbecue and only ever buy us ramen?"

The three consecutive stabs made Sarutobi Kazuhara break out in a cold sweat. Then he could not help stamping his foot and roaring, "Idiot! We're officially registered Konoha shinobi. How can we become Bounty Hunters? Besides, the ones with high bounties are all higher-ups or Jonin from other ninja villages. Are you trying to start a war?"

"Hehehe, so Gengetsu does stupid things too!"

Kanzuki Chiba, who had been watching the show from the side, covered her mouth and laughed. Uchiha Shinsui stood beside her with his arms crossed, and though his face remained cold, there was a faint hint of amusement in his eyes.

Gengetsu helplessly scratched his head. He knew he had acted foolishly in a moment of impulse, so he could only say, "Then let's take missions!"

Exploding Tags could make money too, but he could not keep milking the same thing. Otherwise, he would only be able to become a demolitionist in the future. Missions were still the mainstream.

Sarutobi Kazuhara stroked his chin. "That was exactly what I had in mind. Everyone has improved greatly during this period of training. It really is time to test the results."

"Then training ends here for today. I'm going to the Hokage Office. Gather in front of the Hokage Tower at nine tomorrow morning!"

Sarutobi Kazuhara acted swiftly and decisively as he announced their dismissal.

Everyone went back to make preparations. Gengetsu extracted Dragon Vein Energy and created four Shadow Clones to wait for Orochimaru's arrival, while his Main Body began purchasing the raw materials needed to make Exploding Tags.

After returning home and chatting with Kushina for a while, Gengetsu went back to his room and began drawing the Exploding Tag formulae. He first had to draw sealing formulae onto specially made paper before he could seal the Great Fireball Technique inside and use it for detonation.

Drawing formulae did not consume Chakra, so Gengetsu created one hundred Shadow Clones in one go, nearly filling the entire house.

Kushina, who was in the kitchen, could not help smiling when she noticed the sight. "Gengetsu is really hardworking, but this must be exhausting. Looks like I'll have to make some extra dishes tonight!"

All the Gengetsus paused in unison, then pretended not to hear. As for food, it only needed to fill their stomachs. There was no need to demand too much from it. In any case, it could not compare to Chinese cuisine!

Late at night, before going to sleep, Gengetsu once again sent his consciousness into the Eight Trigrams Seal to tease that fellow, Ancestor Dragon.

"This time, I prepared a truly wonderful story for you. You'll definitely like it!"

Ignoring Ancestor Dragon's act of closing his eyes and pretending to be deaf, Gengetsu began on his own. "It was said that before the universe and heaven and earth had taken shape, all was chaos. The ancestor of all life, humanity's progenitor, the great god Pangu, wielded the Heaven-Opening Divine Axe to split heaven and earth apart. He was the God of Creation!"

"Isn't the Sage of Six Paths the God of Creation?"

Ancestor Dragon could not help opening his eyes.

Gengetsu snorted. "Though the Sage of Six Paths is powerful, he is nowhere near worthy of comparison to the great god Pangu. He founded the Ninshu Sect, but he is still far from being a God of Creation. Besides, did you know his mother was Kaguya Otsutsuki? Did you know Kaguya wasn't actually from this world, but came from somewhere else?"

Ancestor Dragon was dumbfounded. He had existed incredibly early, even before Kaguya Otsutsuki, but he had also been sealed away early. Furthermore, it had not been long since his consciousness had fully formed and gained intelligence no weaker than a human's. By then, the Sage of Six Paths had already become a legend.

Gengetsu continued the story. The great god Pangu transformed into heaven and earth, and then Ao Cang, the Ancestor Dragon formed from the Dragon Vein of the earth, founded the dragon race.

At that point, Ancestor Dragon could not help opening his eyes again.

Gengetsu glanced at him and secretly smiled. The following story began with Ao Cang as its protagonist, battling heaven and earth against the gods and demons of the Primordial World.

Tsk, tsk. Not only was Ancestor Dragon drawn in, even Gengetsu himself felt his blood boil.

However, the story came to an abrupt end just before the dragon race unified the Four Seas.

Gengetsu smacked his lips, still wanting more. "That's all for today. If you want to know what happens next, tune in next time!"

Ancestor Dragon, who had been engrossed and imagining himself as Ao Cang, immediately felt the agony of being interrupted just as he was about to reach the climax. He flew into a rage. "Hey, keep going!"

"It's too late today. I still have a mission to carry out tomorrow!"

Gengetsu only cared about leaving a hook behind before vanishing.

"Hey, Kid!"

"Damn it!"

Ancestor Dragon roared without end. "You damned Kid! If it weren't for this seal, I'd definitely eat you!"

Ignoring the raging Ancestor Dragon in his stomach, Gengetsu went to sleep happily.

The next day, Gengetsu first met up with his team at the Hokage Tower, then joined the mission's employer at the village gates. Their mission this time was to escort a merchant caravan to the Land of Rain. The mission paid two hundred thousand ryo and was only a B-rank mission.

The employer was very generous, leaving three carriages empty for Gengetsu's ninja team to ride in. Gengetsu and the others did not stand on ceremony. Gengetsu and Kanzuki Chiba shared one carriage and hid themselves in the middle of the caravan. Sarutobi Kazuhara took the front, while Uchiha Shinsui stayed at the rear.

"Gengetsu, while we're within the Land of Fire, use your sensory abilities to search the surrounding area every half hour. Once we leave the Land of Fire, change that to every fifteen minutes. Remember, you absolutely cannot let your guard down. Though the Land of Rain is now Konoha's ally, the Land of Rain itself is far from peaceful!"

Before boarding the carriage, Sarutobi Kazuhara gave him a solemn reminder.

Gengetsu nodded seriously. "Understood!"

Sarutobi Kazuhara nodded, then gave the order, "Move out!"

The caravan set off, slowly leaving Konoha before picking up speed and heading west. However, the caravan's pace could not compare to that of ninja. It took nearly half a month just to leave the Land of Fire.

After the Second Great Ninja War, Konoha remained the strongest ninja village and retained its formidable deterrent power, so their journey through the Land of Fire was completely peaceful. Yet Gengetsu did not relax in the slightest. Every half hour, he used Mind's Eye of the Kagura to sense the surroundings, while spending the rest of the time making Exploding Tags inside the carriage.

"Huh? It's raining!"

Inside the carriage, Kanzuki Chiba suddenly spoke.

Gengetsu, who had just finished making an Exploding Tag, looked up and lifted the curtain to peer outside. Then he began packing his things. "Looks like we've entered the Land of Rain!"

"Huh? Gengetsu, you're not making any more?"

Kanzuki Chiba asked curiously.

"We've already entered the Land of Rain. We need to be on full alert!"

Gengetsu slung his backpack over his shoulders, formed hand seals, and created a Shadow Clone. It leaped out of the carriage and entered Uchiha Shinsui's carriage at the rear. The clone and Main Body formed hand seals together and used Mind's Eye of the Kagura, expanding their sensory range to a radius of five kilometers.

Seeing how serious Gengetsu was, Kanzuki Chiba quickly focused her attention as well, ready to fight at any moment.

At noon, the caravan stopped to rest.

"When is this rain ever going to stop?"

Kanzuki Chiba complained as she ate dry rations. Ever since entering the Land of Rain, the skies had never cleared.

"This is a country that weeps. Perhaps the rain will stop once there is no more war."

Gengetsu sighed, but he could not help thinking, How much of the Rinnegan's power can Nagato wield now?

If I seized the Rinnegan now, would it be possible to succeed?

The moment the thought surfaced, Gengetsu secretly shook his head. Leaving aside Madara Uchiha, White Zetsu, and Black Zetsu lurking in the shadows, Nagato himself was not weak. At a critical moment, he could even erupt with greater power.

Knowing someone else's fate yet being able to do nothing but watch it unfold... that really is an unpleasant feeling...

After quietly mocking himself, Gengetsu took a drink of water, then closed his eyes and raised one hand in a seal. Mind's Eye of the Kagura.

His powerful sensory ability spread outward. Within the pitch-black world, clusters of Chakra flames suddenly appeared, dazzlingly bright.