Three Years

Over the time that followed, Jiogan took on almost every kind of mission imaginable. The one that left the deepest impression on him was an assassination mission!

The target was an official from the Land of Earth Daimyo's residence. According to Konoha intelligence, this official, Kan Naofumi, had secretly been funding radical forces in Iwagakure, repeatedly harassing neighboring minor nations and the Land of Fire's borders, stirring up trouble and profiteering through his authority. He posed a serious threat to Konoha!

Jiogan infiltrated deep into the Land of Earth, waiting for an opportunity to assassinate Kan Naofumi while he was out on an inspection tour!

"This Land of Earth official sure travels with a huge entourage! It's like the fucking emperor himself is on the move!" Jiogan was speechless and deeply troubled!

Kan Naofumi's procession was far too grand, with countless attendants. Iwagakure had sent as many as five shinobi to protect him. One was even a Jonin, while the other four were all at Chunin level!

"This is deep within the Land of Earth. Finding an opportunity to kill Kan Naofumi won't be hard, but getting away safely won't be so easy!" Jiogan's style was to make meticulous plans before taking action.

Jiogan had been trailing far behind Kan Naofumi's traveling party, searching for an opportunity. But the Iwagakure Jonin remained at Kan Naofumi's side the entire time, leaving Jiogan without confidence that he could kill him in a single strike.

When the party settled down to rest at a town relay station, Jiogan finally saw a turning point. Night fell, and the group dispersed throughout the station, some standing guard while others rested. For anyone else, this might not have been the best time to act.

But for Jiogan, as long as the Iwagakure Jonin left the target's side, he was confident he could deal with him without alerting anyone! After all, the target was merely an ordinary man without Chakra!

However, what happened next enraged Jiogan! After entering the relay station, Kan Naofumi actually sent men into town to seize two young girls for his own pleasure!

Watching the bound, helpless girls get thrown into the room, Jiogan saw Kan Naofumi close the door with a lecherous grin on his face. Everyone else looked utterly accustomed to it! Jiogan clenched his fists!

"Pah! What a fucking piece of trash!" Jiogan could not stand by and watch such a tragedy unfold. While the guards kept their distance from Kan Naofumi's room so as not to spoil his fun, he slipped inside.

Kan Naofumi was like a rutting boar, frantically tearing at the two girls' clothes. Their cries only made him more excited!

Jiogan could not bear to watch any longer. He drew a Kunai and cut off Kan Naofumi's head. Even after it had been severed, Kan Naofumi's face still wore that disgusting, lust-addled expression!

Jiogan sealed Kan Naofumi's head into a scroll, knocked out the two girls who were still screaming in terror, and swiftly withdrew from the room!

When Kan Naofumi's room suddenly fell silent, the Iwagakure Jonin assigned to guard him immediately sensed that something was wrong. He kicked open the door, only to see Kan Naofumi's headless corpse and the unconscious, disheveled girls.

"Damn it! Lord Kan Naofumi has been assassinated! Stay alert! Begin the search immediately!" The Iwagakure Jonin promptly raised the alarm! The entire relay station instantly descended into chaos!

Jiogan had just been about to sneak out of the relay station when he was unfortunately spotted. He immediately accelerated toward the outskirts of town! The Iwagakure Jonin swiftly gave chase, with several Chunin following behind in pursuit of Jiogan!

The most troublesome thing still happened. The Land of Earth is almost entirely hills and mountains, with hardly any dense forests! Jiogan thought.

Fortunately, there was a river along the Retreat Route he had surveyed in advance. Seizing the moment, Jiogan used a massive boulder to temporarily block the pursuing Iwagakure shinobi's line of sight and quickly created a Water Clone! It stood atop the river, ready for battle.

Jiogan's true body transformed into a pebble by the riverbank, while he made the airflow circulate around his body, blending completely into the environment!

The Iwagakure Jonin quickly caught up. Seeing Jiogan standing atop the river as though ready to fight, he shouted, "Who are you?! You dare assassinate Lord Kan Naofumi! Die!"

Jiogan's clone hid beneath a black robe and did not respond. It directly unleashed Water Release: Water Wave at the Iwagakure Jonin, then rapidly retreated along the riverbed!

The Iwagakure Jonin and the pursuing Iwagakure Chunin were blocked by the Water Wave, temporarily widening the distance between them before they quickly resumed their pursuit.

As it fled, the clone continuously cast Water Release: Water Needle Technique and Water Release: Water Gun. It even managed to kill two of the pursuing Chunin!

"This bastard! He can use such powerful Water Release! Is he a Kirigakure shinobi?!" the Iwagakure Jonin said.

At the same time, he unleashed powerful Earth Release Ninjutsu to intercept Jiogan. Jiogan's clone repeatedly cast Water Wall to block it. By then, it was already a kilometer away from Jiogan's true body. Jiogan immediately released the Transformation Technique and fled in another direction!

The clone's Chakra was nearly exhausted. After retreating a little farther, it was caught by the Iwagakure Jonin. After casting Water Release: Water Needle Technique one final time, it was struck by an Iwagakure Ninjutsu and dissolved into splashing water!

"What?! We've been tricked!" He immediately said to the other two Chunin, "Fire a Signal Flare! Request reinforcements!"

Jiogan saw the Signal Flare fired by Iwagakure from afar. Without hesitation, he sped up his retreat! At the same time, he created three more Water Clones to serve as decoys, exhausting and misleading his pursuers.

Jiogan himself fled in the direction of the Land of Valleys and the Land of Frost, leaving behind signs that made it seem as though Kirigakure had truly been responsible.

After all, assassinating a high-ranking official of the Land of Earth could potentially trigger a diplomatic crisis or even war.

After passing through the Land of Valleys and the Land of Frost, then traveling through the Land of Rice and the Land of Iron, he finally entered the Land of Fire from the Land of Iron and returned to Konoha!

After completing the mission, Jiogan truthfully reported the entire course of events, allowing the two political veterans, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō, to smell an opportunity.

They made a great fuss over the assassination and personally orchestrated a diplomatic crisis between the Land of Earth and the Land of Water, provoking several clashes between the two rivals and profiting from the situation!

Even Kumogakure joined in to fan the flames, delighted to see Iwagakure and Kirigakure come into conflict!

As for Jiogan, the instigator behind it all, he remained absorbed in missions and training, unconcerned with so-called politics and diplomacy!

Before long, three years passed. Jiogan successfully completed thirty A-rank missions, ten S-rank Missions, and countless B-rank Missions that he no longer even cared about.

Over those three years, Jiogan successfully mastered Nintaijutsu that fused Water Release into it, and it quickly became one of his major offensive methods. Every strike he made was coated in Water Release attacks, as though his physical attacks had been enchanted! His strength rose once more!

He had gained this insight by chance while training in the rain, incorporating water elements and the natural energy of the weather into the intent of Tai Chi. Combined with the Water Palm Prison Technique, it was almost invincible!

His Water Palm Prison Technique had also gained some renown in the Ninja World. Outsiders called him the Water Hand of Konoha Anbu! And the Konoha Cage Maniac!

Jiogan himself successfully advanced to Jonin due to his increased strength and outstanding mission record!