Waterless World

"Damn it, this kid's a monster. He still has Chakra!"

Staring at Gengetsu blocking their path, Scarface gritted his teeth.

"It must be the Yin Seal mentioned in the intel. They say it can store Chakra—it's one of Tsunade's techniques, one of the Sannin!"

Straw Hat Man said grimly.

"What do we do now? We can't escape while carrying the boss and Fei!"

said the Chunin carrying Bandage Man. Bandage Man and Fei were both unconscious now. How could they possibly escape while carrying two wounded men?

Scarface immediately roared, "Bastard, are you trying to abandon the boss?"

"Enough. I don't have time to watch you fight among yourselves. Surrender, or I'll beat you to death!"

Gengetsu cut them off.

"Bastard, you're underestimating us!"

Scarface snorted furiously and charged Gengetsu with a kunai in hand. At the same time, Straw Hat Man leaped into the air, formed hand seals, and spat out one air bullet after another, howling toward Gengetsu.

Gengetsu retreated repeatedly. After dodging the air bullets, he brought his hands together, and four streams of water immediately bound the charging Scarface. Then came the chirping cry of Chidori. Gengetsu flashed past Scarface's side and charged toward Straw Hat Man.

"So fast..."

Scarface widened his eyes and clutched his throat. Then his head rolled from his shoulders.

"Split up and run!"

Seeing Gengetsu charging toward him, Straw Hat Man immediately shouted.

I already said I don't like fighting and killing, yet you still want to run? Courting death...

Gengetsu snorted inwardly. Lightning coiled around him as Monster Strength erupted. With a few punches and kicks, he killed Straw Hat Man, then went after the Chunin who had taken Wandering Samurai Fei away.

A moment later, in a small forest, Gengetsu pried open Fei's mouth and saw a Cursed Seal clearly imprinted on his tongue. His expression immediately turned cold. "So he really is from Root..."

He did not bother checking Bandage Man's identity. For him, confirming Fei's identity was enough.

"Little Katsuyu, sorry to trouble you. You can go back now!"

Gengetsu said to Little Katsuyu on his shoulder.

"Yes, Lord Gengetsu!"

Little Katsuyu nodded, then dispelled the Summoning Technique.

Looking at the two unconscious men on the ground, lightning emerged in Gengetsu's right hand, and the Dragon Vein Chidori Sharp Spear extended outward. With a sweep of his arm, he killed them both, then took out a Sealing Scroll from his pack and sealed away Fei's corpse.

"I don't have time to play mind games with Konoha's people. Danzo... I can't deal with him yet, but I need to find a way to make him behave himself for a while. Come to think of it, this is already the third time he's made a move against me. They say there's no fourth time after three..."

After putting away the Sealing Scroll, Gengetsu looked at Bandage Man's corpse and pondered, With my current strength, I'm still no match for Danzo, much less Root. Unless I completely master Dragon Vein Energy or cultivate Sage Art... And I have to choose the right time. In the original story, Danzo made a move against the Third Hokage after the Nine-Tails Rampage, yet he was still tolerated. Though Konoha did need manpower at the time, I have to admit those two were quite the pair...

"Gengetsu!"

Kanzuki Chiba's voice suddenly rang out behind him. Gengetsu turned and saw her arriving with Uchiha Shinsui.

"Why are you here? Where's Teacher Kazuhara?"

Gengetsu turned back toward them.

"Teacher Kazuhara is still at the camp. One Jonin escaped, so he stayed behind just in case. We were worried about you, so we came after you."

As Kanzuki Chiba spoke, she looked Gengetsu over from head to toe. Seeing that he was not badly hurt, she finally let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm fine. Shinsui, on the other hand, your injuries..."

Gengetsu looked at Uchiha Shinsui, but the latter waved his hand. "They're fine for now. Is this man the leader behind this incident?"

After a moment's thought, Gengetsu shook his head. "Not him. It was someone else, but unfortunately, he got away!"

"Damn it... These people weren't just after you. They were trying to take my Sharingan too!"

Uchiha Shinsui gritted his teeth.

"The Sharingan... As expected of Orochimaru. His research has already reached this point—he's begun setting his sights on the Sharingan!"

Gengetsu was slightly shaken. Little Katsuyu had not told him about this.

Orochimaru must have been fanning the flames behind this. He wanted my Cells and the Sharingan to cultivate new clones. No... it should be said that both sides got what they wanted. That old bastard Danzo wanted Wood Release and the Sharingan, while Orochimaru could use the opportunity to conduct experiments!

In an instant, he had pieced together most of what had happened. He was also ninety percent sure that his guess was right.

Being wary of Orochimaru was definitely the right call...

Gengetsu said nothing more. After dealing with the corpses, the three returned to camp. Gengetsu first treated Uchiha Shinsui's injuries, then told Sarutobi Kazuhara about the Root Ninja while treating his wounds.

"So that's what happened..."

Sarutobi Kazuhara was somewhat shocked, but he had already expected something like this, so it was not hard for him to accept. He nodded. "You handled it correctly. Don't let Shinsui and the others know about this for now. The Uchiha Clan..."

He did not continue, instead saying, "When we return to the village, I'll personally report this to Lord Third Hokage!"

"No, Teacher Kazuhara. I'll handle it myself!"

Gengetsu shook his head, and Sarutobi Kazuhara's expression immediately changed. "Gengetsu, you..."

"Don't worry, Teacher Kazuhara. I won't act recklessly!"

Gengetsu smiled.

He won't act recklessly... yeah, right?

Sarutobi Kazuhara's face twitched as he smiled bitterly to himself. I hope so...

After the treatment ended, the convoy did not set out immediately. They stayed to rest and only resumed their journey the next day.

"Ugh, the Land of Rain really is something. It just never stops raining..."

Kanzuki Chiba complained again as she climbed down from the carriage. Since entering the Land of Rain, she had not seen the rain stop once. Beside her, Gengetsu surveyed the town crisscrossed with pipes, so completely different in style from the Land of Fire.

"There should still be some distance to Amegakure. I wonder whether Nagato and the others have formed the Akatsuki yet..."

Thinking of Nagato, Gengetsu looked at the curtain of rain enveloping the entire town and suddenly recalled Nagato's Sensory Technique that monitored the whole village—the Rain Tiger at Will Technique!

"Infusing Chakra into rainwater truly is a genius idea. And as a member of the Uzumaki Clan, he really does have enough Chakra to spend so freely!"

As he thought, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck Gengetsu. Infusing Chakra into rainwater for sensing... Rainwater? No, it doesn't have to be rainwater. After all, not every place gets as much rain as the Land of Rain. That would be far too limiting. But water—or rather, water vapor—is everywhere. Even the air in a desert contains some.

Still, infusing Chakra into water vapor that cannot be seen with the naked eye, or even easily sensed, would be unimaginably difficult. But if it could be done...

The more Gengetsu thought about it, the more excited he became. If I can do it, then by infusing my Chakra into water vapor and combining it with Mind's Eye of the Kagura, I could build Chakra signal base stations like a network, covering entire areas point by point. The sensing range would become unimaginably vast. In theory, anywhere with water vapor could fall within my sensing range!

I'll call this technique the Waterless World Technique!

Waaah, could one of you big shots add this book to a reading list? Kisses!!!