Crossing the Border

"Then the challenge begins. Life and death are your own responsibility."

Orochimaru gave Mr. Ito, whose face had gone awkward as he kept wiping away sweat, a meaningful look before announcing the start.

"You arrogant brat! Let me teach you just how dangerous the outside world is!"

Samurai Sanada drew both his swords, gripping them in a dual-wielding stance. Chakra coated the blades, radiating an imposing aura.

"Mm, mm, thanks."

Satoru sighed and waved at the samurai.

"Come on."

"You little brat!"

Samurai Sanada's expression turned vicious. He pushed off the ground and dashed toward the seemingly unprepared Satoru.

"Impact Wave!"

"Boom—"

Sanada had barely approached Satoru before a ring of blazing fire sent him flying into the air!

"What is this?!"

As Sanada was blasted away, Satoru had already completed his next spell.

"Transformation Technique: Pig!"

"Snort~"

"..."

An indescribable silence fell over the scene, and awkwardness filled the air.

The tall samurai instantly turned into a tiny pink piglet, wandering in bewildered circles on the ground.

Orochimaru and the other two watched with strange expressions, while Mr. Ito's jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

Even the old butler, who had remained quiet all along, showed a trace of shock.

"No matter how many times I see it, it's still incredibly humiliating..."

Nawaki looked as though he could not bear to recall the past, but he ultimately could not help muttering.

However, when he saw Satoru glance his way, he decisively shut his mouth.

Mikoto covered her mouth, trying her best not to laugh.

"!!!"

The little pink pig was almost turning red. Powerful Chakra erupted from its body as the enraged Samurai Sanada forcefully broke through the restraint of the Transformation Technique with an explosive burst of Chakra.

"Bast—"

"Snort~"

The samurai's voice was forced back down. Satoru waved his hand, and he turned back into a piglet.

"You..."

"Transformation Technique: Turtle!"

"..."

"Pfft..."

Mikoto finally failed to hold it in and burst out laughing.

"Hehe... this one is even more humiliating..."

Samurai Sanada's Chakra was indeed quite strong. After transforming, even his stamina recovered faster.

But without the Byakugan, directly erupting Chakra placed enormous pressure on the chakra pathway system. Twice was already his limit. If he did it again, his pathways would likely tear.

This time, after being turned into a turtle, he felt agonizing pain in his pathways and did not dare move again.

"Tsk... looks like you've got quite a grudge, Mr. Samurai."

Blazing flames ignited in Satoru's hands, and a basin-sized fireball formed before him.

"Shall we roast him?"

The turtle's tiny eyes stared at the fireball, filled with terror. Yet he could not speak, nor could he even flee...

Curling his lip, Satoru threw the Pyroblast in his hands into the distance.

"Boom—"

The violent explosion painted Mr. Ito's pale face faintly red. The old butler beside him gently shook his head and sighed before stepping forward to bow to Satoru.

"Lord Ninja, Sanada should have learned his lesson... This old man humbly asks that you release the technique."

"Sir, money that needs to be spent must still be spent."

"..."

Ito let out a long breath, then awkwardly bowed to Orochimaru.

"Lord Jonin, please have your disciple spare Sanada... I... I will add another twenty percent to the payment as an apology to the lord ninjas!"

Ito had lowered his stance considerably. The strength Satoru had displayed had practically defeated the Land of Iron samurai he had hired at great expense in an instant.

With a technique he could not even break free from, if that terrifying fireball had struck him, or if a blade had come down on him, Sanada would have been severely injured without any ability to resist.

No wonder Lord Orochimaru, the Hokage's disciple, had been so confident in handing leadership of the mission to his own disciple.

Was this the strength of Konoha ninja? Even children were this powerful?

And this one was the youngest of the three children, wasn't he?

With ninja like these escorting him this time, he was the one who had struck it rich.

Orochimaru nodded at Satoru. Satoru released the Transformation Technique, and the panting Sanada slumped onto the ground.

Slowly getting to his feet with defeat written all over his face, Sanada bowed his head to Satoru in surrender.

He understood that if that massive fireball had hit him, it would not have been a mere light injury.

"I... I admit defeat. It turns out I was the one who did not know the immensity of heaven and earth..."

"Lord Ninja, I will follow your command for the rest of the journey. I have no further objections."

Satoru nodded calmly, then gave a light cough.

"Then, I'll continue with the battle plan."

Having dealt with the third-rate samurai, Satoru continued explaining his mission plan to everyone.

After Satoru had demonstrated his strength, no one objected to his arrangements. Once they had prepared according to the plan, they set off fully equipped.

At the border outpost between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain, Satoru's group presented their mission documents and entered the Land of Rain under the complicated gaze of the Chunin responsible for guarding the border.

"An Rank A mission... Even with Lord Orochimaru leading them, children that young are really being pushed too hard..."

"Those bastards who start wars are the ones who truly deserve to die!"

The Land of Rain lived up to its name. It rained constantly, and for an inland nation, it possessed an unbelievably abundant supply of water.

Amegakure ninja were individually formidable and exceptionally skilled at assassination.

Thus, although the Land of Rain was not large, it often accepted commissions from other countries to carry out assassinations of all kinds, earning itself a renowned reputation.

After crossing the border outpost, everyone in the group wore hooded raincoats according to Satoru's arrangements, including Mr. Ito and his two companions.

Such clothing was not uncommon among civilians in the Land of Rain. To accommodate Mr. Ito and the old butler's pace, they did not travel quickly.

Not long after leaving the outpost, night had already fallen, though they were still within Amegakure's border defense zone.

"Tonight will be the first difficult stretch. I'll handle the watch. Teacher Orochimaru, please use Earth Release to make us a place to hide."

After selecting a small hill, Satoru began arranging matters for the night.

Orochimaru had already handed all command authority to Satoru, so naturally, he followed orders now.

Making use of the existing hill, Orochimaru directly excavated a winding passage with Earth Release. He entered first and expanded the space inside.

"Mage Eye!"

Satoru set up surveillance at the cave entrance before becoming the last to enter.

A short while later, three figures darted near the entrance and exchanged looks.

"Using Earth Release to dig a cave... these ninja are really arrogant!"

They were a three-man Amegakure patrol unit, consisting of three Amegakure Chunin.

They wore their distinctive breathing masks. The speaker was the squad leader, and as he looked at the cave entrance sitting there so openly, a flash of anger crossed his eyes.

This was still the border defense zone. The ones who had dug the cave were undoubtedly Konoha ninja from the Land of Fire.

But this was practically a slap in Amegakure's face—Orochimaru had not concealed himself in the slightest while digging the cave.

Even in the rain, with visibility obstructed, the Amegakure ninja had easily discovered the entrance.

"Can you sense how many people are inside?"

The captain turned to his companion, a sensory ninja. The latter opened his eyes and said gravely,

"There are six people, but two of their presences are very weak. They should be ordinary civilians."

"However... one of them should be an elite Jonin. He's very strong!"