The System Quest Has Arrived

"Smack!" Seeing Jiraiya continue peeking, Tianqi slapped him again.

What the hell! Is this bathhouse haunted? Jiraiya turned around again and saw no one. A look of confusion crossed his face.

Forget it, I'd better get out of here. Maybe there really is a ghost. Jiraiya grabbed his towel and dashed straight out.

"Hahahaha! Jiraiya's such an idiot! Hahahaha, he actually got scared! I can't—this is killing me!" Seeing Jiraiya flee in panic, Tianqi surfaced and burst out laughing at him.

"Was it really nice to scare him like that?" Tang He asked calmly.

"Tang He, you don't understand. This is what young people enjoy. They say a laugh makes you ten years younger. You should laugh more often—it'll keep you young," Tianqi said with a grin.

Tang He looked unconvinced. You just wanted to mess with him. What kind of excuse is that? Besides, my country is suffering. How could I possibly laugh?

The two of them soaked in the hot spring for a while longer. When they were done, they didn't go anywhere else. They returned to their room, lay down, and rested.

The next day, after getting up and washing, the group set off again.

"This hot spring inn is awful. It's haunted, too. I'm never coming back," Jiraiya grumbled. He thought the place was haunted and hadn't slept well all night. Dark circles shadowed his eyes.

"Haunted? Jiraiya, what are you talking about? How could it be haunted? Are you still half asleep?" Tsunade flat-out refused to believe him. It had to be a dream he'd had last night. Orochimaru nodded too; as an atheist, he didn't believe in that sort of thing.

"You still don't believe me? I'm telling you, yesterday in the bath—" Jiraiya began, but Tianqi clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Enough. Shut it. There are no ghosts in this world, let alone gods. We're getting closer to the Land of Hot Water, so stop talking nonsense and stay alert," Tianqi said, afraid Jiraiya would reveal what had really happened and make the others suspicious of him. It wasn't exactly something to be proud of, and there was a girl present, so best to leave it alone.

At Tianqi's words, the others dropped the subject and began watching their surroundings. Only Tang He regarded Tianqi with a strange look.

"There are two Genin lying in ambush up ahead. Get over there and take them out as quickly as you can. Clear the road," Tianqi said to the three of them, having sensed the two enemy ninja ahead.

"Yes!" Their expressions turned serious at the mention of enemy ninja, and the three made their way toward the spot Tianqi had indicated.

Boom! Boom! Not long after the three set out, the sounds of ninjutsu clashing rang out from the forest.

"I warned them in advance, and they still got spotted by the enemy. They even ended up clashing with ninjutsu. Did I overestimate them, or are they really only this strong?" Tianqi looked toward the explosions with concern.

"I can't count on them for this mission. The Sannin are still young, and this kind of task seems too much for them."

When the explosions stopped, Tianqi led Tang He toward where the three were.

As soon as they arrived, Tianqi saw the three looking battered, with minor injuries on them as well. The future Sannin were still only future Sannin. Right now, they were rookies.

"Two Genin gave you this much trouble? It makes me question whether you're strong enough to complete this mission," Tianqi said with a frown.

"Big Brother Tianqi, you can't blame us. Those two Genin were almost at Chunin level. Beating two near-Chunin was already pretty good," Tsunade explained.

"Yeah, Big Brother Tianqi. It's not that we're too weak—the enemy was too strong. We only barely won," Jiraiya chimed in.

"The enemy really was strong," Orochimaru agreed with a nod.

"Stop making excuses. You were obviously careless and underestimated them. I told you where the enemy was, and you still let them spot you. Then you ended up clashing with ninjutsu. And Orochimaru, especially—you're already at Chunin level, yet you couldn't take out a Genin quickly."

"Even with a numbers advantage, you ended up in this state and got injured. I'm starting to wonder if you're even ninja. You've really disappointed me," Tianqi said, pointing at them as he berated them. Their performance had truly let him down.

The three lowered their heads under Tianqi's scolding, looking aggrieved. They didn't dare talk back; they really had been careless.

Looking at the three with their heads hanging, Tianqi sighed.

"Still, I can't blame you entirely. I didn't expect those ninja to be so capable. They're practically on par with ninja from a small village."

"Forget it. I'll lead the way from now on. You can finish off the Genin I take down, and make sure you protect Tang He."

"Yes, Big Brother Tianqi. We'll work hard to improve our strength from now on," the three said, nodding.

"Good. I hope you don't disappoint me next time." With that, Tianqi vanished from sight.

"Huh? Where did he go?" Seeing Tianqi disappear, Tang He asked in alarm. Tianqi was the strongest one there; without him, Tang He suddenly felt completely unsafe.

"He's probably gone to scout ahead. Uncle Tang He, how much farther is it to the Land of Hot Water?" Orochimaru asked.

"Not far. The Land of Hot Water is only three kilometers away. We'll be there soon," Tang He said, surveying the surroundings.

"So close! Tsunade, protect Tang He. Jiraiya and I will keep watch." With Tianqi gone, Orochimaru, the strongest of them, took charge and assigned everyone their tasks. Jiraiya and Tsunade readily agreed.

Watching the group from the shadows, Tianqi nodded in satisfaction. This wasn't Tianqi himself, but a Shadow Clone. Though Tianqi had gone ahead to scout, he still wasn't comfortable leaving them alone, so he'd left a clone behind to protect them.

Meanwhile, Tianqi had gone a little over two kilometers ahead when he spotted three more Genin. More ninja? Those bastards seemed intent on turning the Land of Hot Water into a small ninja village. There was definitely something going on.

As Tianqi wondered about it, the system chimed in.

Ding! Quest issued: Dismantle the Faction. Successfully drive the foreign forces out of the Land of Hot Water to receive 300,000 Points and one Sharingan upgrade opportunity. Failure will result in immediate elimination!

"Holy shit! Three hundred thousand Points and a Sharingan upgrade opportunity? I'm going to take off this time!"

"An upgrade to the Mangekyo Sharingan would give me the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. I've avoided using Susanoo because it's incomplete and has weaknesses."

"With the Eternal Mangekyo, I can just activate Susanoo like a giant mech whenever I face an enemy. They'll be scared shitless."

"Right, and I'll be able to summon a Tailed Beast and use Beast Demeanor—also known as Susanoo Beast Demeanor. That technique is ridiculously powerful. In the original story, Hashirama Senju only beat Uchiha Madara, who was using Beast Demeanor, by using Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands." Looking at the system's reward and thinking about what he'd get after completing the quest, Tianqi grew excited.

As for being eliminated if he failed, Tianqi didn't care at all. With Kamui and several Tailed Beasts, how could he fail? With a broken ocular technique like Kamui, failure was impossible. Wasn't the system just handing him free money?

"System, you still want to eliminate me, but your quests are getting easier and the rewards better. I'll stop calling you a shitty system from now on," Tianqi said happily. The system still didn't respond.