Mission End

Once he dispelled his Shadow Clone, Touma consumed another Chakra Pill. This gave Shinku Yuhi quite a scare, as he mistakenly thought Touma had swallowed seven Military Ration Pills in such a short span of time!

Fortunately, after a round of explanation, Shinku Yuhi understood that consuming "Chakra Pills" refined from one's own chakra would not have any negative impact on the body. The only potential issue was that an accumulation of too much chakra in the body could easily cause tearing injuries to the meridians.

In truth, Military Ration Pills varied in quality. The refined ones sold at "Sanwuzhai," a shop jointly opened by the Ino-Shika-Cho clans, were excellent. Not only was their medicinal effect mild, but the process of extracting chakra was very gentle, and they even had a slight nourishing effect on the body.

Unlike ordinary Military Ration Pills, which were not only difficult to swallow but also extremely violent in their chakra extraction process, those with weaker constitutions could easily suffer hidden injuries after taking a few.

However, the quality of Military Ration Pills was strongly correlated with their price. A box of three refined pills from "Sanwuzhai" cost as much as 600 ryo for a single pill, and even during sales, a box never dropped below 1500 ryo—making them significantly more expensive than Explosive Tags.

Conversely, ordinary Military Ration Pills cost only 150 ryo for a bag of twelve, and they were sold without restriction. Unlike "Sanwuzhai," which required a ninja ID number from the back of a forehead protector to purchase—limiting each ID to three boxes per month—there was no room for negotiation even during peak mission periods.

After all, these refined pills were not only difficult to produce with long manufacturing processes and low yields, but the Ino-Shika-Cho clans themselves consumed a significant amount, so they naturally prioritized their own kin.

It is estimated that if it weren't for the Ino-Shika-Cho clans wanting to show support for the Sarutobi clan's Hokage, they wouldn't have even raised the purchase limit to three. To those three clans, even one box per person per month was a painful sacrifice!

Of course, Touma's technique for refining these Chakra Pills could very well deal a dimensionality-reduction blow to the Military Ration Pill industry. However, he had no intention of making it public. After all, it involved quite a bit of Orochimaru's research, and without Orochimaru's consent, this technique could only be spread within a small circle.

After the Buddha Statue Puppet was neutralized, Kenichi Onizuka and the "Yomotsu" Ota Yokokawa could no longer remain hidden in the underground shelter and had to find a way to retreat.

Unfortunately, a Jonin controlled by the Yellow Springs Puppet Technique and a semi-crippled ordinary person stood no chance against a Konoha Genjutsu Jonin and a Genin with near-Jonin combat power; it would be a miracle if they could escape.

No sooner had they moved a short distance underground using the Earth Dragon Hiding Technique than they were sensed and dragged out by Shinku Yuhi using Earth Excavation Rise.

Although Ota Yokokawa still possessed the combat skills of a Jonin, because he was under the influence of the Yellow Springs Puppet Technique, his taijutsu was riddled with openings, and he was suppressed by Shinku Yuhi within a few exchanges.

Touma did not hold back against Kenichi Onizuka either, as the abilities Kenichi mastered were truly bizarre. Even if he couldn't use chakra, Touma wasn't confident he could withstand that kind of spiritual anomaly.

He simply focused his attacks on Kenichi Onizuka's head, putting his full strength into every strike. After a few rounds, the armor on Kenichi's body was covered in Touma's fist marks, and he was left completely dazed and unconscious.

These two could not be killed. This was not only due to the requirements set when the mission was drafted, but also because if they were killed within the Land of Fire, the resulting trouble would be immense.

There was no need to mention Kenichi Onizuka; even though he was exiled overseas due to a failed political struggle, he had not lost his status as a general of the Land of Demons.

Otherwise, how could he have summoned a group of loyalists from the Land of Demons to risk their lives for him? It was precisely because if he could truly topple the current Daimyo, he would have a high probability of ascending to the throne himself.

If he were to disappear in the Land of Fire, the Land of Demons would certainly find an opportunity to unite with other great nations to attack the Land of Fire. One must remember that the Land of Demons was very close to the Land of Lightning, and the Land of Lightning would not mind causing more trouble for the Land of Fire.

As for the Yomi Sect member Yomotsu—that is, Ota Yokokawa, the suspected Iwagakure spy—his identity was already questionable. If he were truly on a secret mission assigned by Ōnoki and was killed by Konoha ninjas in the Land of Fire, Iwagakure could use it as a pretext to start a war ahead of schedule.

Currently, border friction was concentrated between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind. Even if the Land of Earth was restless, Ōnoki would not dare to rashly issue orders to launch a war without a handwritten letter from his Daimyo.

Therefore, to reduce pressure on the front lines, the Land of Fire absolutely could not give the Land of Earth any excuse. In fact, once the Yuan Clan finished interrogating Ota Yokokawa, the Land of Fire could use it as a pretext to cause trouble for the Land of Earth.

"Your Iwagakure village actually had ninjas participating in a plot to subvert the government of the Land of Fire; shouldn't you give the Land of Fire an explanation?"

If Iwagakure dared to covet the throne of the Land of Fire, would they not have ideas about the throne of their own country?

If this were publicized, even if it weren't true, there would be no way to deny it. The Iwamoto Clan, the Daimyo family of the Land of Earth, would certainly not pass up this opportunity to suppress the prestige of the Tsuchikage.

One must know that the political environment of the Land of Earth's Daimyo was much worse than that of other great nations. After all, the resources controlled by the Iwamoto Clan were not indispensable, and their importance did not compare to the water resources of the Land of Wind, the arable land of the Land of Fire, the grasslands of the Land of Lightning, or the fishing grounds of the Land of Water.

The mineral resources controlled by the Iwamoto Clan could be purchased from other countries; they only maintained the dignity of the Daimyo family because they pegged the Land of Earth's currency to the volume of mineral extraction.

If other great nations were ruthless enough to unite and smuggle large amounts of cheap minerals into the Land of Earth, the country's fragile economic structure would be instantly crushed.

Had the Iwamoto Clan not discovered this hidden crisis? Of course they had, but the Iwamoto Clan was not yet wealthy enough to support other ninja factions within their country like the Yuan Clan; Iwagakure alone was already enough to make them uncomfortable.

Therefore, once the letter bearing the Yuan Clan's emblem appeared on the desk of Iwamoto Rekiichiro, the head of the Iwamoto Clan, the clan's actions began.

As for the Land of Demons, because Kenichi Onizuka had disturbed the seal of the demon Moryo, he had directly violated the family precepts of the Onizuka family, the Daimyo family of the Land of Demons, and was immediately disowned by the current Daimyo, Onizuka Orezou.

Of course, disowning Kenichi Onizuka did not mean leaving him in the Land of Fire. To compensate for the Land of Fire's losses and to redeem Kenichi Onizuka back to the Land of Demons, the Land of Demons signed a series of unequal commercial treaties with the Land of Fire and announced that all mission contracts would be open to Konoha. This was no small concession; it could almost be considered a surrender of part of their sovereignty to the Land of Fire.

Even if signing these treaties might invite retaliation from the Land of Lightning, the Land of Demons had to swallow their pride. After all, if word got out domestically that a member of their Daimyo family had gone to another country to participate in political struggles, it would inevitably affect the support rate of the populace.

And for small countries surviving in the cracks of great powers, the support of the populace was everything. Without that support, the Daimyo family could not harvest benefits from the people, and naturally, the scale of the family could not be maintained.