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He had enjoyed several refreshing hot baths in this village.

This Root Organization mission had been truly unlucky.

Soaking in the wooden tub, he recalled the details of his battle against Pakura and the Azure-Black Serpent.

Against Pakura, he had relied primarily on the Shadow Clone Technique and his Kekkei Genkai, Storm Release, while the Tobirama-style Water Release: Water Formation Wall had also played an indispensable role.

As for that Azure-Black Serpent, he had dealt with it using the Storm Release: Body Flicker Technique, which he developed from a Body Flicker Technique looted from a Sunagakure Ninja. The involvement of lightning-attribute chakra extended the range of the technique, while water-attribute chakra stabilized his posture; this balance was crucial, as it meant he could exert force immediately upon finishing the flicker to transition into his next move.

Of course, his physical foundations—stamina, vitality, and reaction speed—were equally the "capital" that allowed him to escape the danger.

If his stamina had been insufficient, his speed would inevitably have dropped, and Pakura and the Azure-Black Serpent would have caught up long ago.

His powerful vitality significantly increased Byakuya's physical durability; had it been any other ninja of equal strength, any injury sustained during the battle would have immediately impacted their combat ability and mobility, making survival a true one-in-ten-thousand chance.

Moreover, he had consumed massive amounts of chakra twice in a short period; had his vitality not been sufficiently tenacious, his body would have collapsed long ago.

When the hot water in the tub gradually turned cold.

Byakuya put on his clothes, spread out the map of the Land of Rivers he had looted from the Sunagakure Ninja, and marked the forest where the Azure-Black Serpent was entrenched.

If nothing else, after being tested in actual combat, the strength of the Azure-Black Serpent had earned his approval.

As a Summoning Beast, it was highly qualified.

"Honored guest, what would you like for lunch today?"

The master of the house asked Byakuya, who was lost in thought, with great delight.

"Whatever you are eating, I shall eat."

"Ah, right, it's just, it's just..." The host stammered.

"Two hundred ryo?" Byakuya offered proactively.

"Oh my, that's too much, since you..."

"Two hundred ryo is too much? Then one hundred ryo."

"No, honored guest, you..."

Byakuya asked, "Is one hundred ryo also too much?"

"Not at all, not at all." The host waved his hands hurriedly.

"I'll trouble you then."

"Right, coming right up."

The villagers made their living by farming and hunting, having no other sources of income.

A few hundred ryo was a decent bit of extra income for them.

Byakuya didn't have much money either; what he was spending now was what he had looted from corpses during his first mission.

But every bit spent was a bit less left.

"Should I use this mission as leverage to demand a salary from the Root Organization? I can't just be a beast of burden for nothing."

Lunch was a bowl of coarse grain rice, accompanied by a dish of pickled vegetables.

He ate until he was half-full.

He weighed the cloth bag he had taken from the Sunagakure Ninja, which had held Military Ration Pills; they were all gone now.

He rested for one more day.

He completed the task for his Fate Grid.

[Heaven Rewards Diligence, Perseverance Leads to Success Time limit 3 days: Successfully perceive Natural Energy in a natural environment for a cumulative total of one hour (Completed) Reward: Slight increase in Sage Art Affinity]

His Sage Art Talent had been slightly improved before, making him adept at perceiving Natural Energy.

However, Byakuya had also experienced the danger of Natural Energy; it was a formidable power that sought to transform the human body into a part of nature, and if one were not careful, it would spiral out of control.

The next morning.

The village suddenly became noisy.

Byakuya, wearing his Black Trench Coat, opened the door and took a glance.

A group of ninjas wearing Konoha headbands were shouting at the villagers about something.

He did not show himself, but instead waited for the master of the house to return to ask for the reason.

"What else could it be? Ninjas from the Land of Fire have come to demand grain from us."

"Are they not paying for it?"

"They are."

"If they are paying, why not sell it to them?" After asking this, Byakuya instantly guessed the answer.

"We bought too much. If we sell it to them, we won't have enough for ourselves."

"Do Konoha ninja come here often?"

"This is the Land of Rivers! Why would they come here often?! Who knows, as long as they don't disturb our lives, it's fine."

The civilians in the village were still unaware that the flames of war had begun to ignite.

The Land of Rivers was, by nature, a buffer zone between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind. If the two great nations clashed, the smoke of war would sweep across the entire Land of Rivers; such was the tragedy of the small nations in the ninja world.

Byakuya left an extra two hundred ryō, donned his Shuten-dōji Mask, and vaulted over the village wall to depart.

The Konoha ninja who had newly arrived in the Land of Rivers had nothing to do with him; there was no need for contact.

The journey back to Konoha was, at last, peaceful and uneventful.

He encountered no more Sunagakure Ninja or Iwagakure Ninja, nor did he have the misfortune of running into powerful creatures like that Azure-Black Serpent.

After passing through the checkpoint set at the border of the Land of Fire and traveling for several more days, Byakuya stepped through the gates of Konoha.

It was the same Konoha ninja guarding the gate who asked for identification, so he flashed his Anbu pass.

Unexpectedly, the gate guard added a remark this time.

"The Barrier Squad has already recorded your chakra fluctuations. You won't need to show your pass from now on."

Byakuya replied in a hoarse voice, "Much appreciated."

"You've grown quite a bit."

"Is that so?"

"Actually, there's no need to intentionally use such a grating voice. We don't care who you are."

Byakuya stopped in his tracks and asked, "Has Captain Namikaze Minato returned to the village?"

"Why do you suddenly ask about that?"

"I passed by the Iron Ore Factory a while ago, and Akimichi Todō was asking me for news about Captain Minato."

"Who? Lord Akimichi Todō? Are you sure?!" The gate guard's tone turned solemn in an instant.

Byakuya looked at the stout ninja: "Are you also from the Akimichi Clan?"

"That's right. Lord Todō hasn't been home since he went to the front lines to resist the Cloud Ninja. Oh, I forgot to mention, he's my cousin."

"I see."

"Forget it, let me tell you a rumor I just heard: Kumogakure has deployed a Jinchuriki on the battlefield, and Captain Namikaze Minato has already crossed blades with him."

"Did he win or lose?"

"He won, of course. Besides the Jinchuriki, there was also the son of the Third Raikage."

The AB Duo had made their entrance.

Byakuya couldn't help but yearn, "I really want to see with my own eyes how Captain Minato used the Flying Thunder God Technique to defeat them."

What he yearned for even more was the S-rank space-time ninjutsu, the Flying Thunder God Technique, itself.

Thinking of this, his train of thought shifted.

Both Water Release: Water Severing Wave and the Flying Thunder God Technique were developed by Senju Tobirama. That illustrious Second Hokage was, damn it, a true genius.

Since the gate guard had provided him with useful battlefield intelligence, Byakuya softened his attitude and politely took his leave.

He still chose the secluded path to return to the Ninja Academy warehouse.

He took off his trench coat and removed the Shuten-dōji Mask.

Carrying the four sealed intelligence scrolls, he headed straight for the office of that old silver-tongued fox, Hiroya.

He knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Hiroya's voice had become exceptionally weary, as if he had pulled several all-nighters.

"Principal, it's me. I've returned from completing the mission."

The moment the words left his lips, a harsh sound of a chair being shoved back violently came from inside the office, followed immediately by an "Ouch."

It seemed Hiroya had been too eager and had tripped while standing up. He didn't care about the pain; he scrambled up, rushed to the door, grabbed Byakuya by both hands, and stared at the boy before him in disbelief.

"You, you, you, you... you're not dead?"

"What kind of talk is that, Principal? Didn't I return safely?"

"The higher-ups said—never mind, the intelligence the higher-ups received was inaccurate!"

Patting Byakuya on the shoulder, his eyes, bloodshot like a panda's, were filled with relief: "You have no idea. You were gone for so long that we thought you had died in the Land of Rivers."

"This subordinate was fortunate enough to survive, and I have not failed your expectations, Principal."

"What is that in your hand..." Hiroya's gaze fell upon the scrolls Byakuya was holding.

"These are scrolls seized from three Sunagakure Ninja. They are all protected by sealing jutsu and are likely important items, so I brought them back together."

"Good, good, good! You wait here; I'm going to claim credit for you right now! With this achievement, no one will ever look down on you or me again. Tell me, what reward do you want? Don't hold back, ask for something big!!"

Byakuya mused to himself, What does he mean by "no one will look down on you or me"? What does this achievement have to do with you?

He looked up and said, "Water Release: Water Severing Wave or the Flying Thunder God Technique, plus a large sum of money."