Yoshihime Is Kidnapped

Qingyun then hurled a handful of kunai at the One-Eyed Dragon. The Wind Release blew them aside.

The giant pressure ball was about to crash into Qingyun when, in a flash, he vanished.

He had already marked those kunai with chakra formulas, so Qingyun easily escaped the Wind Style: Pressure Damage.

Without wasting a moment, Qingyun fired the kunai in his hand straight at the One-Eyed Dragon, aiming perfectly for his head.

"Ridiculous!" The One-Eyed Dragon immediately ducked, dodging the kunai Qingyun had thrown.

At that split second, Qingyun used the Flying Thunder God Technique again, appearing directly above the One-Eyed Dragon.

Qingyun twisted in midair. The Rumble-Rumble Fruit's lightning energy had gathered in his hand, while Tsunade's Chakra Enhanced Strength and Armament Haki had fully concentrated in the same arm.

"Armament Chakra Enhanced Strength Rumble-Rumble Flying Thunder God Fist!" Qingyun hadn't even finished announcing the move before he slammed his fist down.

The fist, infused with lightning, strength, and Armament Haki, crashed into the One-Eyed Dragon's head.

White Fang was astonished. "I see! So that's it! Could that move be the Second Hokage Tobirama's Flying Thunder God Technique? This kid has even mastered space-time ninjutsu!"

"The Flying Thunder God Technique?!" Minato's eyes lit up. He had an affinity for Wind Release, and if he could learn this technique too, he thought his strength would increase dramatically.

"I can't believe Qingyun learned this move too!" Yoshihime was astonished. After all, the technique had been passed down by her ancestor, Tobirama.

The One-Eyed Dragon had been reduced to a lump of mangled flesh, and Qingyun had wiped out every last one of the remaining bandits.

"That was a quick and decisive battle!" White Fang couldn't help remarking.

The merchant caravan had suffered no casualties. Minato and Yoshihime had protected it, while Qingyun had taken care of the bandits himself.

Looking at the bodies on the ground—the fierce, lively bandits who had been alive just moments ago, now nothing but corpses—everyone in the caravan was stunned by Qingyun's strength.

White Fang looked at Qingyun, lost in thought.

"Qingyun, you did very well. But remember, there's always someone stronger. If you run into someone stronger than you, you could pay dearly." White Fang offered a reminder, then said no more. Qingyun's performance had been flawless.

"Minato, Yoshihime, you don't have the strength to wipe out enemies in an instant like Qingyun does. So you must be clear about your duties: protect the caravan and escort the cargo."

"Judging by the results, you all did very well!" Even the strict White Fang was pleased with their performance.

These kids aren't just incredibly talented; they think clearly, too. Their potential is definitely no less than that of Kage Level fighters! White Fang was secretly delighted.

"Sorry, esteemed shinobi. This is all my fault." The caravan leader couldn't help apologizing to Qingyun and the others.

White Fang waved a hand. "It's fine. Since you hired us, we'll do what we're supposed to."

"Besides, these people clearly rob travelers around here all the time. Even if we hadn't stopped to rest here, they would've attacked us when we passed through."

According to Murphy's law, if something bad could happen, sooner or later it would.

"Whatever the case, thank you." After apologizing, the caravan leader had learned his lesson. For the rest of the journey, he didn't issue any more idiotic orders.

"Congratulations, host! You've earned points! Congratulations, host! You've earned points!" Qingyun wasn't particularly zealous about punishing evil. He'd wiped out so many bandits simply because defeating them earned him points.

His points still weren't enough to give him a chance to draw a prize, but they had increased quite a bit.

The rest of the journey passed without any bandits or robbers trying to ambush them. Before long, Qingyun and the others had completed their C-rank mission.

By then, it was already late, so everyone decided to spend the night in the Land of Hot Water before setting off again.

The Land of Hot Water lay north of the Land of Fire. It was a small country, best known for its hot springs.

In Japanese, "yu" meant hot water, so the Land of Hot Water was a tourist destination. Every visitor who came here took a dip in the springs to ease the aches and exhaustion of the day.

Since they'd completed the mission—and done so well—White Fang agreed to let Qingyun and Minato go to the hot springs.

Of course, the springs weren't mixed bathing. There were separate baths for men and women.

Qingyun soaked comfortably in the men's hot spring with Minato and White Fang.

The mist drifting around them and the hot spring's soothing warmth almost made Qingyun feel as though he'd found paradise.

But since the men and women were separated, Qingyun and the others couldn't see Yoshihime for the time being.

Before long, however, something unexpected happened. A piercing scream rang out.

"Ah!!!"

"What's going on?" Qingyun looked at Minato, and Minato looked back at him. White Fang said, "Hurry! Get dressed and see what happened."

At that moment, no one had anything improper on their minds.

After getting dressed, they went to the hot spring entrance, where a crowd had already gathered.

"What happened?" White Fang asked.

"That girl with purple hair was kidnapped!" the people said.

"Purple hair?!"

It was obvious that Yoshihime had been kidnapped. They had likely taken her because of her Senju Clan bloodline.

Could it be Uchiha Madara? Does he want to use the Senju Clan's bloodline? Or is someone else behind this? Qingyun couldn't figure it out.

"Which way did they go?" Minato asked anxiously.

"Over there!" A witness pointed, and White Fang immediately led Qingyun and Minato in that direction.

"Summoning Technique!" White Fang bit his finger and summoned a pack of dogs. They sniffed the ground and quickly picked up Yoshihime's scent.

"This way!" White Fang followed the Ninja Dogs, with Qingyun and Minato close behind.

After who knew how long, White Fang finally caught up with Yoshihime. She was lying on a rock in the middle of a waterfall.

White Fang ran over and carried Yoshihime away, while Qingyun covered her with his clothes.

"Ha! You're Konoha's White Fang, aren't you? I never thought you'd actually bring your subordinates here on a mission."

"If I'm not mistaken, those three subordinates of yours are all Konoha prodigies, right? If I destroy these three prodigies and capture you, Konoha's strength will surely plummet."