Land of Rain

Konoha, at the village gate.

"All right, that's enough for today. You three go home and rest for a day. I'll submit the mission report. Meet at the usual place tomorrow," Kitada Junichi said with a faint smile.

The three nodded, exchanged farewells, and went their separate ways. Beichen Haotian also returned home. Now that he was older, the neighbors no longer treated him as they had when he was a child, but whenever they saw him, they greeted him warmly and with great friendliness.

After returning home, Beichen Haotian went through his usual training, refined his plans for future development, ate, and slept.

Early the next morning, he arrived at Training Ground 5 once more. Under Jonin Kitada Junichi's lead, they set out on another escort mission.

And so, over the course of a week, Beichen Haotian's team completed nearly every type of C-rank mission. The three grew increasingly coordinated, and their experience steadily deepened.

After a week of consecutive missions, Kitada Junichi gave the three of them three days off to rest and readjust.

With three whole days to spare, Beichen Haotian naturally could not waste them. There was no need to train his swordsmanship excessively; as long as he practiced steadily every day, he would recover his standards from his previous life. Any further improvement would depend on insight.

Armament Haki could not be awakened overnight, and Conqueror's Haki was even less likely—it required an opportunity. Therefore, Beichen Haotian planned to spend these three days practicing Chakra control and Iron Body from the Six Powers.

Without Medical Ninjutsu training, tree climbing and water walking were the simplest and most effective ways to train Chakra control. Before awakening Armament Haki, Iron Body was also well worth practicing. It would greatly improve Beichen Haotian's chances of survival.

The world of Naruto was unlike the world of One Piece. In One Piece, with Armament Haki, it was very difficult for weak people to injure the strong. In the Naruto world, defensive methods were relatively scarce, especially methods of protecting one's own body. The physical gap between a Genin and a Kage-level expert was not actually that great. In theory, if a Genin found an opening, they could kill a Kage-level expert with a Kunai. The odds were tiny, but not nonexistent. In One Piece, once Armament Haki was activated, someone could stand there and let you slash at them until your hand went numb, and you still would not break their defense.

Konoha, in the forest behind the mountain, Beichen Haotian was practicing tree climbing. The theory was simple: cover the soles of one's feet with Chakra and adhere to the tree trunk, creating an attractive force. Too much Chakra would leave footprints and waste Chakra; too little, and one would fall. Therefore, one had to find the most suitable amount of Chakra and maintain the optimal output.

Beichen Haotian had been a cultivator through all three of his lives, so he naturally had his own understanding of controlling power. Whether it was the physical strength and inner force of Earth, or the physical strength and Haki of One Piece, he had controlled them well. Now, he had merely switched to a different kind of power. Their essence was the same. In less than half the time it took to burn a stick of incense, Beichen Haotian could walk freely along the tree trunk.

After completing his tree-climbing practice, Beichen Haotian came to the base of a waterfall. Ripples constantly spread across the pool beneath it. Practicing water walking here was far more difficult than practicing on calm water.

Water walking was the opposite of tree climbing, using the soles of one's feet to create a repulsive force. Stepping on the water created ripples, which meant the required repulsive force was not constant. He needed to continuously adjust the amount of Chakra he supplied while also maintaining that supply. This made it far more difficult than tree climbing, and training in the constantly rippling pool beneath the waterfall raised the difficulty yet another level.

Even so, it could not stump Beichen Haotian. After falling into the water more than a dozen times, he grasped a few tricks. Within the time it took to burn a stick of incense, he could maintain his balance on the water's surface, though his entire feet were still submerged. Fortunately, he had made progress. After another half-incense's worth of adjustments to his Chakra, Beichen Haotian finally managed to stand perfectly atop the water.

After finishing his tree-climbing and water-walking practice, Beichen Haotian found a towering tree with lush branches and leaves. He jumped onto it, sat on its thickest branch, and began practicing Iron Body.

The principle of Iron Body was simple: control the muscles throughout the body and the flow of blood until the body became as hard as iron and steel.

Beichen Haotian had begun training his body as soon as he could move. As he grew older, the intensity of his training had steadily increased. Years of relentless physical conditioning through heat and cold, wind and rain had allowed him to meet the initial requirements for practicing Iron Body.

Beichen Haotian closed his eyes tightly, his brows faintly furrowed. The muscles of his bare upper body were sharply defined: his pectorals, biceps, triceps, and abs seemed perfectly set into his frame. His muscles trembled slightly, then began to tense and compact. His blood flow accelerated, and as time passed, even his skin glowed with a faint red light.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. That day, Beichen Haotian continued practicing Iron Body at home. After three days of adjustment and training, he was finally able to perfectly control his muscle density and blood flow. He had also touched upon the threshold for using Iron Body.

Iron Body! Beichen Haotian shouted inwardly. A unique sensation spread through his body—cold, heavy, hard!

He took out a Kunai from the Ninja Tools pouch issued upon graduation from the Ninja Academy, removed his shirt, and slashed himself with force. It felt as though he had struck steel; his skin only reddened slightly. Then he stabbed himself with greater force. The Kunai only pierced the outer layer of skin before being clamped in place by muscles of terrifying density, unable to advance another inch.

"Good. I've finally mastered it. I've grown stronger again. Now I just need to wait for tomorrow's new mission. My parents left behind too few Ninjutsu. I still need to improve my strength and obtain more Ninjutsu suited to me. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I need to properly learn the things of this world. My swordsmanship must combine the essence of all three worlds, draw upon the strengths of every school, and temper its edge." Beichen Haotian murmured as he put his shirt back on, planning to go outside and treat himself to a good meal.

After finishing a barbecue meal, Beichen still felt both unsatisfied and annoyed. The owner had actually refused to sell him alcohol because he was too young.

Back when he had no source of income, Beichen Haotian rarely drank. Things were different now. He could earn his own money, yet they still would not sell him alcohol? Was there any justice in that? Beichen Haotian had never considered himself a minor in the first place. Taking advantage of the shop's inattentiveness, he used Ninjutsu to secretly take a few bottles of sake, left the money behind, and slipped away.

On his way back, he bought a small iron flask. Once home, he cleared out some space among his Kunai, leaving only a few behind, then stored a bottle of sake and the iron flask inside. After that, he went to sleep peacefully.

The next day, he woke refreshed. After breakfast and a sip of alcohol, he dashed energetically to Training Ground 5.

"All right, now that everyone is here, I'll explain this mission," Kitada Junichi said.

"This mission is different from our previous ones. The earlier missions carried some danger, but very little. This time is different. We'll be infiltrating the Land of Rain to gather intelligence. Recently, relations between Konoha and the Land of Rain have become increasingly tense. If the Amegakure ninja discover us, we'll be hunted down."

"The Amegakure ninja have fought and killed year-round, so their combat strength is no weaker than that of ninja from the Five Great Nations. We must be careful this time. Remember, don't act on a whim," Kitada Junichi warned gravely.

The three hurriedly nodded. Then Beichen Haotian raised his hand.

"Haotian, do you have something to say?"

"Sensei, how am I supposed to carry my Ninja Sword? Even if we're gathering intelligence, I can't just throw away the tool I use to make a living, right?" Beichen Haotian said with a grin.

"You just want to get something from your teacher, don't you? Why beat around the bush? Honestly, if things were normal, I would have started teaching you personally long ago."

"Unfortunately, storm clouds are gathering over the Ninja World lately. I have too many missions and not enough time or energy. So, I'll teach you a Minor Sealing Technique now. This is the most basic sealing technique. Its effect is to seal all kinds of objects. You three, watch carefully." Kitada Junichi laughed as he scolded him, though there was some guilt in his words. It had to be said, Kitada Junichi was a good instructor.

The three carefully watched the sequence of Kitada Junichi's Hand Seals. After memorizing it, they followed him out of the village and headed toward Amegakure. Along the way, Kitada Junichi continuously explained the key points and precautions of the Basic Sealing Technique.

Sealing techniques could be called the most advanced power in the world of Naruto. Whether Kekkei Genkai, Kekkei Tōta, Kekkei Mōra, or any other special constitution, none could compare to sealing techniques. Orochimaru, Tailed Beasts, Kaguya Otsutsuki, and the Ten-Tails would all have to kneel before sealing techniques. Therefore, even the most basic sealing technique could not be mastered easily.

After five days of travel, the group of four arrived in a small town on the border of the Land of Fire. Using the sealing technique they had just learned, they sealed away anything that should not be openly displayed onto their wrists and belts. After disguising themselves, the four followed a merchant caravan controlled by the Konoha Intelligence Division into the Land of Rain.

There was no need to go too deep to gather intelligence. The towns along the Land of Rain's border were enough. Not long after entering the Land of Rain, the clear skies completely vanished. The sky turned gloomy, drizzle fell without end, the air was especially damp, and visibility was greatly reduced.

Beichen Haotian did not dislike rain at all. On the contrary, he liked it, and he especially enjoyed fighting in the rain, so he did not feel much of anything. The other two, however, were somewhat unaccustomed to it and occasionally muttered complaints under their breath.