Chapter Forty-Three: Jiraiya, You Have to Endure It!

"Tch!"

Seeing Jiraiya give in, Zhou Duan's cold expression softened a little. He took a scroll from his clothes, unsealed a vial of medicine and a syringe, and flung them at Jiraiya's face. Only a hidden trump card could truly be called a trump card. Now that Jiraiya had figured out exactly where his body was having trouble, Zhou Duan's antidote wouldn't be nearly as effective. Besides, the antidote was the real punishment.

"Here. I'm leaving!"

"Wait..."

Seeing Zhou Duan about to leave, Jiraiya stopped him. For the first time, his expression turned serious.

"Zhou Duan, who taught you that you should drug your own patients? Who else have you given this kind of medicine to? Do you realize you'll be in serious trouble if they find out?"

"Don't worry about that!"

Zhou Duan gave Jiraiya a reassuring look.

"So far, you're the only patient in Konoha I've drugged. And the medicine I made is special, so there's very little chance anyone will detect it. Even if they do, a medical analysis will only show that it's a powerful tonic!

When it comes to drugging people, I'd say I'm one of the top ten at Konoha Hospital!"

"Hey, after hearing that, I don't feel reassured at all!"

Jiraiya stared at Zhou Duan in a frenzy.

"Putting everything else aside, why am I the only one you've drugged? Drugging a fellow villager is strictly forbidden in Konoha, you know!"

"Heh! A fellow villager?"

Zhou Duan sneered at Jiraiya.

"Sorry, I only see you as a scumbag who'd trick an eight-year-old out of his money and sneak peeks into the women's baths whenever you got the chance!"

"...Oh, God!"

Jiraiya was beside himself.

"Zhou Duan, is that really what you think of me?"

"That's exactly what you are. The moment you set your sights on my wallet, I knew you had bad intentions and were just waiting for a chance to get back at me. Turns out I was right to drug you!"

Zhou Duan's scathing accusations came down on Jiraiya without mercy. Even someone as thick-skinned as Jiraiya couldn't take it. He was about to argue, but after thinking about his own behavior, he sadly realized that he'd done every single thing Zhou Duan had accused him of!

Like a defeated Ninja Dog, Jiraiya staggered toward the door. But then a casual glance made him stop again.

"Zhou Duan, why is the tip of this syringe rounded? Shouldn't a syringe have a sharp tip if it's meant for a subcutaneous injection?"

"Who said I wanted you to inject it under your skin?"

The corners of Zhou Duan's mouth lifted slightly. He pointed at Jiraiya's crotch.

"This syringe is meant to be inserted into a certain spot on a man's body!

"Oh, right. You can ask someone else to make an antidote if you want, but I developed a new kind of medicine. Even a medical jonin would need at least half a year to make an antidote!

"And..."

Zhou Duan watched as Jiraiya's face suddenly filled with fear. His voice was cold, as though it came from the depths of hell.

"This medicine releases a lot of heat when it comes into contact with water. When that happens, you'll have to endure it!"

With that, Zhou Duan vanished in a flash, leaving Jiraiya behind, dazed and crestfallen.

"Lord Inuzuka Jin, we're the fifth squad of the sixth supply team. We encountered a battle while escorting supplies, so Lord Orochimaru told us to report directly to you!"

After leaving the supply exchange, Zhou Duan didn't go anywhere else. He took his squad straight to Inuzuka Jin's office to report in.

Inuzuka Jin was a jonin nearing forty. He had brown, spiky hair, two fangs protruding past his lips, and a prominent scar on his right cheek. Though middle-aged, his sharp eyes still made people wince.

"I'm aware of your situation."

Inuzuka Jin took the report from Zhou Duan, glanced over it, and his eyes twitched. He set it on his desk, then pointed to a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old boy standing beside him.

"You've been assigned to Inuzuka Rui's squad. He's in charge of five squads. Since you've only just arrived, Inuzuka Rui will give you special training against the Sand Ninja for the next two days. The Sand Ninja are short on supplies, but they'll still fight us in a major battle before long. Make good use of these two days to learn the battlefield. Follow Inuzuka Rui's orders and remember every word he says. Inuzuka Rui, take them away."

"Yes, sir!"

Inuzuka Rui bowed to Inuzuka Jin, then raised his nose at Zhou Duan and strode out of the room.

"Before going into battle, check your ninja gear pouch. You don't want to get killed because you can't even draw your weapons once you're on the battlefield. Zhou Duan, you rookie, remember that!"

"On the battlefield, even your food needs to be checked first, so you don't get poisoned. Zhou Duan, you rookie, make sure you remember!"

Inuzuka Rui was a head taller than Zhou Duan. He had short black hair, dark red eyes, and a prominent nose, and he exuded an air of arrogance. Now he was leading Zhou Duan and the others to a location in the valley, lecturing Zhou Duan in an overbearing manner.

"Zhou Duan, on the battlefield, you have to manage your Chakra properly and take out the enemy at the lowest possible cost. Otherwise, you'll run out of Chakra and get killed instead! A rookie like you, who's just stepped onto the battlefield, needs to remember that!"

"Hey, Zhou Duan, that Inuzuka Jin guy is pretty arrogant. He's only a jonin, but he acts like he's above everyone. It really pisses me off, and I'm going to be the future Hokage..."

Walking behind Inuzuka Jin, Nawaki nudged Zhou Duan and complained.

"Even fresh academy graduates know this stuff. He's acting like he's so clever, and from the way he's behaving, he's obviously picking on you. Is he trying to put you in your place? No way. I'll go take him out!"

"We were just assigned to him, so don't do anything that looks like insubordination. The first possibility we can rule out is that he's stupid enough to be trying to put me in my place. That's less likely than the Third Hokage dressing as a woman in front of the whole village. And if he were that stupid, he wouldn't be in charge of five squads..."

Zhou Duan stopped Nawaki from going over to teach Inuzuka Jin a lesson. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly interrupted Inuzuka Rui.

"Hey, Squad Leader Inuzuka Rui, I heard White Wolf Maru from the Inuzuka Clan got shaved. Is he better now?"

"...You bastard!"

The air suddenly froze. Inuzuka Rui finally stopped and turned around, his blood-red eyes fixed on Zhou Duan.

"Hatake Shudan, you're a genin, and I'm your squad leader. I'll make sure to teach you a proper lesson over the next two days, so you learn to keep your claws tucked away and stop touching things you shouldn't. I'm sure we'll have a great time together!"

"Tsk. Just as I thought!"

Watching Inuzuka Rui stride away, Zhou Duan motioned for Water Gate, Hundred Palms, and Nawaki to follow. Then he said something that left everyone dumbfounded.

"White Wolf Maru's fur isn't easy to pull out!"