"Zhou Duan, I've got a question for you..."
Sand swept across the sky, and withered grass covered the ground. They had reached the desert region of the Land of Wind. As the team marched on, Hundred Palms suddenly thought of something and asked Zhou Duan, who was leading the group:
"The day before yesterday, I heard how respectful you were toward Lord Orochimaru, but you've never seemed nearly as respectful toward Lord Jiraiya, have you?"
"Heh!"
Zhou Duan turned to Hundred Palms with a smile, a look of disdain curling his lips.
"Jiraiya? Lord? Don't sully that title by calling him 'Lord,' will you? I've never even considered that piece of trash a person!"
Hundred Palms: "..."
Water Gate: "..."
Nawaki: "..."
After a day of rest and a day of hurried travel, two days passed in no time. Zhou Duan and Nawaki had almost completely recovered from their injuries. It had to be said: Zhou Duan's medical skills were nearly on par with those of an intermediate Medical Ninja, and he was excellent at treating ordinary physical injuries. The wounds all over his body had disappeared, and the two puncture wounds no longer impeded his movement. Nawaki's backside showed no trace of injury at all, either. He was now bounding along right behind the team.
"Zhou Duan, openly slandering a powerful shinobi in the village is a serious crime. It greatly undermines the village's unity. But... if you give me that book from the other day, I might consider letting you off the hook!"
"Heh. Heh."
Zhou Duan gave Nawaki an amused look. After waking up the day before yesterday, Nawaki had screamed and shouted like a madman, vowing to kill Zhou Duan's entire family. He'd even covered himself in Explosive Tags, ready to die alongside Zhou Duan. But Zhou Duan hadn't even taken out a potion before Nawaki was behaving himself, completely under his thumb!
A book titled My Little Secret with a Female Jonin Squad Leader had been placed in Nawaki's hands, and it had opened the door to a whole new world for him. A kid going through puberty had absolutely no resistance to that kind of reading material!
But Zhou Duan knew when to stop, too. A shinobi who couldn't think of anything but a female squad leader wearing next to nothing on the battlefield was bound to die first. So after letting Nawaki read two pages, right up to the part where the female squad leader had just been knocked unconscious, Zhou Duan decisively took the book back. Unable to beat Zhou Duan with either force or brains, Nawaki had no choice but to beg and plead. He couldn't go three sentences without bringing up the book. His pathetic behavior was too much for even Hundred Palms and Water Gate to watch.
"Heh, now you even know how to use fancy words. 'Openly slandering,' 'undermining unity'..."
Zhou Duan made a show of reaching for the book.
"Want me to announce what you were reading yesterday, right here in front of everyone?"
"Damn it, don't!"
Nawaki's voice cracked with fear. He glanced at Water Gate and Hundred Palms, who he thought hadn't figured it out, though they actually knew everything.
"Ahem. The book's contents are too profound for them. We should study it in private, just the two of us. Water Gate and Hundred Palms might not understand it and feel bad!"
Water Gate: "..."
Hundred Palms: "..."
"Water Gate, the captain's incredible..."
Hundred Palms said admiringly to Water Gate:
"Nawaki's intelligence is already at rock bottom, but in the captain's hands, he's actually learned to hide what he's doing. That's impressive!"
"Pretty remarkable. Now I understand why the village made Zhou Duan Nawaki's captain!"
Water Gate pointed at Nawaki, who had completely turned into a sycophant.
"Even jonin have trouble dealing with Nawaki, but Zhou Duan has him countered in every way!"
"All right, enough talking..."
Zhou Duan looked at their destination, two hundred meters ahead, cutting off Water Gate and Hundred Palms's whispered conversation.
"We've reached our destination. Stay alert and keep the chatter to a minimum. You all know this already, but I'll remind you anyway: be careful during the inspection. This is a frontline base. One wrong move, and it doesn't matter whether you're a real Konoha Ninja or someone else—you'll be killed. Those are the rules during wartime, and no one will hold the killer responsible afterward. Especially you, Nawaki. Make sure you behave!"
"Got it!"
Hearing Water Gate, Hundred Palms, and Nawaki answer seriously, Zhou Duan nodded and looked ahead.
Steel Rock Valley was a vast gorge in the Land of Wind. According to legend, the valley had once been a huge boulder in the country, one that had endured countless sandstorms without being destroyed. It wasn't until the First Kazekage of the Land of Wind fought a powerful rebel leader and nearly split the boulder in two that the valley was formed.
Thanks to its ideal location and easily defended terrain, the Land of Wind had always regarded the valley as a strategic stronghold from which to attack Konoha. But before it could serve its intended purpose, Konoha had seized it first and turned it into a bridgehead—and one of Konoha's main bases for launching attacks.
"Password!"
Two chunin were checking the identities of those entering, while two jonin trained nearby. Jonin were extremely scarce because of the war, but the inspection team at the valley entrance had still been assigned two of them. Although they were busy training, their eyes remained fixed on Zhou Duan and his group, making everyone feel tremendous pressure.
"Fire Snake!"
Under that immense pressure, Zhou Duan had no time for anything else. It was wartime, and everyone was on edge. He didn't want to cause any trouble. He handed over the wooden token Orochimaru had left him. Once it had been checked and confirmed, Zhou Duan and the others were searched again before being allowed through.
"Whew, those two jonin just now put so much pressure on me!"
As soon as they entered the valley and left the jonin's line of sight, Nawaki couldn't hold back.
"Their killing intent was terrifying!"
"Of course it was!"
Zhou Duan led the way farther into the valley.
"Judging by the unhealed wounds on those two jonin, they were probably just pulled off the battlefield. They haven't reined in their killing intent yet, and their jonin-level strength only amplifies it. We're just genin, so it's normal for us to feel pressured!"
"That's true. But that pressure is only temporary. Once we get to the battlefield and survive a few rounds of fighting, we'll have killing intent like theirs too. It's a necessary step on my path to becoming Hokage. Sand Shinobi, just you wait!"
As they walked into the valley, Nawaki glanced back toward where the two jonin had been. Remembering their terrifying killing intent, he imagined himself becoming just like them after going to the battlefield. His heart surged, and he could barely contain himself. Then the idiot shouted at the top of his lungs:
"I'm about to go on a killing spree!"
"Boom!"
Killing intent descended once more, and boundless pressure swept over them again. The sound of blades cutting through the air rang out, and traces of light from swinging weapons lingered for a moment. When the sound faded and the light vanished, three jonin had surrounded Nawaki. Two Kunai were pressed against his neck and chest, a katana rested against the back of his neck, and a short blade was positioned between his legs. The three jonin stared at him expressionlessly. One of them spoke in a hoarse voice:
"Kid, you've got a lot of nerve, talking about going on a killing spree at a Konoha base!"
Nawaki: "..."
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