Chunin

At night, a misty rain fell.

Whew. Inside a tent in the camp, Beichen Haotian let out a soft breath and used a clean scrap of cloth to wipe the remaining blood from his Tang Saber.

"Today's battle was truly dangerous. If that Jonin hadn't underestimated my close-combat abilities and let me suppress him, then if he'd used Ninjutsu, I would have had no choice but to flee. And if I fled, the remaining Konoha people would have perished."

"In the end, my strength is still insufficient. Fortunately, after such a long period of training, my Chakra has reached the limit of a genin. I'm not far from becoming a Chunin. Once my Chakra greatly increases, my strength will barely qualify as that of a Special Jonin. I'll use this day of rest to refine Chakra and prepare for my advancement to Chunin."

After murmuring to himself for a while, Beichen Haotian focused his mind and began refining Chakra in earnest.

In the blink of an eye, it was the following evening. Other than eating, Beichen Haotian spent all his time refining Chakra. His Chakra had finally accumulated to the limit of a genin; all he needed was an opportunity for it to break through to the level of a Chunin.

Zhao Qingcang intended to create that opportunity himself.

After informing the Anbu Jonin that he planned to train nearby, he left. The surrounding area was all Konoha-controlled territory. Unless rain ninja above the level of Elite Jonin infiltrated, there was almost no chance of danger. Thus, the Anbu Jonin readily agreed.

After searching around, Beichen Haotian easily found the place he wanted within the mountains and forests.

It was a waterfall with a drop of roughly thirty meters. Taking off his shirt, Beichen Haotian gripped his saber and jumped into the pool beneath the waterfall.

The pool was not deep, at most around five meters. Diving to its deepest point with his saber in hand, Beichen Haotian began practicing the Blood Battle Breaking Army Saber Technique underwater.

At the bottom of a five-meter-deep pool, he had to control his breathing while practicing his saber technique, multiplying the difficulty. The saber technique that had once been swift as the wind became incomparably slow, churning up sprays of water as bubbles gradually rose.

He held his breath for four or five minutes. Beichen Haotian's face flushed crimson, desperately craving air. Yet he continued to endure. At this physiological limit, his Observation Haki sensed that his body was gradually growing stronger and that his cells were becoming more efficient at utilizing oxygen.

Finally, when he held on for six minutes, Beichen Haotian felt the amount of Chakra within him surge sharply. He stomped off the bottom of the pool and swam rapidly toward the surface. The instant he broke through the water, he began gulping in air through both mouth and nose, his crimson face gradually returning to normal.

Once he had recovered, Beichen Haotian stood atop the water's surface and felt the explosive increase in Chakra within him, a faint smile appearing on his face. His Chakra reserves might not compare to those of people with special physiques, much less a Jinchuriki's, but they were more than double those of an ordinary Chunin.

Although Chakra reserves were important, they were not absolute. Chakra was like ammunition. You might have more ammunition, but if you were using a pistol while I had a cannon, what difference would it make? It was like an Uchiha Clan member with Mangekyō facing a Tailed Beast. Though the gap in Chakra was immense, the Tailed Beast was like an infant before the Mangekyō Sharingan, utterly incapable of withstanding it.

After breaking through, Beichen Haotian returned to camp and applied to the Anbu Jonin in charge for permission to operate independently and hunt isolated rain ninja.

The Anbu Jonin would not have agreed at first, but after sensing Beichen Haotian's changed aura and considering his outstanding previous performance, he ultimately gave his reluctant approval.

After a good night's rest, Beichen Haotian strapped his Ninja Sword to his back early the next morning and once again entered the region occupied by the remaining rain ninja. He understood that only battle could restore his strength as quickly as possible.

Beichen Haotian carefully lay in wait and scouted within a mountain forest. The positions of hunter and prey were never fixed. Konoha was hunting rain ninja, but with the rain ninja driven into such desperate straits, how could they not want revenge against Konoha?

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh... The moment Beichen Haotian stepped into a patch of grass, dozens of Kunai and Shuriken flew at him from nearly every angle.

Beichen Haotian's expression did not change. In such a dangerous area, he had kept his Observation Haki activated the entire time. The instant he stepped into the trap, he used Shave, escaping the attack range of the Shuriken and Kunai with speed beyond the limits of the naked eye.

Water Style, Water Wave.

Wind Style, Violent Wind Palm.

A surging torrent and a condensed ball of compressed air blasted toward Beichen Haotian.

Water Style, Water Wall Formation.

A blue wall of water rose before Beichen Haotian, blocking both the torrent and the air mass.

With a flick of his hand, Beichen Haotian picked up the Tang Saber embedded in the ground and swiftly knocked away two Kunai with Explosive Tags tied to their ends. Boom! Boom! Two trees as thick as an adult's calf were blown apart.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Beichen Haotian raised his left hand, sending three Shuriken flying toward the two rain ninja Chunin opposite him.

Clang! Clang! Clang! The three Shuriken were knocked aside by the two rain ninja, who charged at Beichen Haotian. Naturally, he did not fear them and countercharged at even greater speed.

After rushing only a few meters, Beichen Haotian frowned and stopped. In one smooth motion, he sheathed his saber and formed Hand Seals.

Lightning Style, Earth Run.

Several tangible bolts of lightning coiled around the two charging rain ninja like Lightning Serpents. Their bodies immediately stiffened before transforming into two puddles of water, each containing a burning Explosive Tag.

Boom! Boom! Explosions with the force of grenades sent water spraying everywhere.

"Water Clones? Did they use them when I cast Water Wall Formation? How crafty. Ordinary Chunin would easily fall for that if they weren't careful."

"Two rats, since you insist on hiding, I'll drag you out one by one." Beichen Haotian shouted coldly as his Observation Haki fully expanded, instantly bringing every movement within several hundred meters into his mind.

"Found you. If you don't come out now, don't blame me for being merciless." Beichen Haotian looked toward the northern side of a small hill, but there was still no movement after his words.

Lightning Style, Swift Thunder.

A streak of blue high-voltage lightning shot from Beichen Haotian's mouth and instantly struck a tree several meters beside the hill, one as thick as an adult's thigh.

With a shrill scream, a rain ninja whose entire body had been charred black revealed himself. He tried to point at Beichen Haotian, but failed in the end and collapsed limply beneath the tree.

"Hmph. You thought you could deceive me with ordinary Transformation Jutsu and the Breath Concealment Technique? I told you I'd found you, yet you didn't believe me. Too naive. Is the last one still not coming out?" Beichen Haotian's sharp gaze swept toward a cluster of bushes.

Wind Style, Great Breakthrough.

Six Shuriken shot out from the bushes, accompanied by fierce winds that increased their speed and power by another thirty percent.

A large amount of Chakra gathered beneath Beichen Haotian's feet, generating a powerful suction force that resisted the gale. Blue arcs of electricity spread across the Tang Saber in his hand, dyeing it entirely blue. As he swung it at high speed, six crisscrossing streaks of blue saber light flashed through the air, not only knocking away the Shuriken but cutting each one in two.

Once the gale subsided, Beichen Haotian charged toward the bushes. The remaining rain ninja's expression turned slightly anxious as he formed Hand Seals.

This person is very strong. I've really hit a wall today. I don't have much Chakra left. I'll use one more Ninjutsu to stop his pursuit, then leave. Once I find my companions and have more confidence, I'll come back for revenge.

Just as the rain ninja needed only two more seals to cast his Ninjutsu, a pale blue saber light streaked with crimson appeared in his pupils.

The rain ninja was horrified. He hurriedly stopped his Ninjutsu and tried to flee, but the saber light was too fast, and he suffered backlash from interrupting the technique. He could not evade it at all. A fountain of blood shot into the sky as the rain ninja's body crashed to the ground.

The rain, which had paused for a while, began falling again. Mist rose through the forest, rain and fog shrouding the area. It was the perfect time for killing. After resting briefly to recover his stamina and Chakra, Beichen Haotian's somewhat short yet cold figure vanished into the mist with a frigid, razor-sharp Tang Saber in hand.

For an entire week, Beichen Haotian operated independently. During that time, no fewer than fifteen rain ninja died by his hand. There were genin, Chunin, and even Elite Chunin among them. He did not encounter any Jonin, but even if he had, Beichen Haotian would not have wanted to hunt them. The risk was too great; when the time came, it would be hard to say who was the prey.

Beichen Haotian loved the Sword Dao, battle, and adventure. Yet he only took risks he could control unless retreat was impossible. Those who could not clearly recognize themselves often did not live long.

Beichen Haotian did not believe he was Naruto Uzumaki or Sasuke Uchiha, capable of overcoming countless major gaps under the protagonist's halo. Jonin were far beyond genin and Chunin in every aspect and were unquestionably experts. Only after his Chakra increased further and he mastered more techniques would Beichen Haotian stop avoiding Jonin. At that point, such a risk would carry some chance of success.

After a week of Konoha's extermination efforts and the comprehensive coverage of sensory ninja, all remaining rain ninja had been eliminated.

With nothing to do, Beichen Haotian could only continue training. After an unknown number of days, unable to bear the loneliness any longer, he applied to go to the front lines. Unfortunately, his request was denied. As one of the most outstanding geniuses of Konoha's generation, how could Hiruzen Sarutobi possibly allow him to take part in such a brutal war?

Beichen Haotian was furious. What a perfect opportunity it had been. The battlefield was the place that tempered people most effectively, yet he could not go.

There was no helping it. He could only pass the time through training. He returned to the waterfall where he had broken through to Chunin. During the day, he first practiced his saber beneath the waterfall, then practiced underwater in the pool. At night, he studied Lightning Style Ninjutsu and Water Style Ninjutsu while refining Chakra.