Orange

Hayato Kamihara soaked comfortably in the hot spring.

Following Lin Qing around these past few days had left him with pockets full of cash, but his head spinning with exhaustion.

Tonight, he had a date with a girl from the Land of Lightning, rumored to be an expert in both dual cultivation and Lightning Release ninjutsu; Hayato Kamihara needed to properly unwind.

"Soaking in the springs, then off to the girl, even the Feudal Lord can't compare to me."

Hayato Kamihara hummed softly, quite satisfied with the haiku he had composed, finding it more charming the more he recited it.

Hayato Kamihara slicked his hair back, revealing a face that was still quite handsome, though his expression was far too lecherous. Wrapped in a bath towel, he swayed as he lifted the curtain.

"Beauty, I'm here—"

He raised his voice, suddenly whipping off the towel, eager to hear the unique, coy moan of a girl from the Land of Lightning.

Silence.

There was no girl in front of him.

Lin Qing and Sasuke were sitting on the sofa, one on each side.

Lin Qing, not wanting to witness such an eyesore, turned his head away, while Sasuke used his thumb and index finger to make a gesture that would infuriate any Korean.

"No way... why are you two like ghosts that just won't leave me alone?!"

Hayato Kamihara was genuinely angry.

Wasn't it agreed that everyone would take their own vacation?

"Sorry, but after thinking it over, you're the only one I can turn to."

Lin Qing pulled the unconscious Sato out from behind the door, handed the previously intercepted coded intelligence to Hayato Kamihara, and recounted the sequence of events.

"Please help me verify if this is authentic," Lin Qing said.

The lust in Hayato Kamihara's eyes faded, replaced by helplessness. He sighed softly, "Why does it feel like you have some kind of magic that always attracts these strange and bizarre affairs?"

Lin Qing didn't know how to answer Hayato's question, so he remained silent.

Hayato Kamihara shook his head, wrapped his towel tighter, took out paper and pen, and shifted into work mode.

He flipped through the documents several times, writing and sketching, spending an entire night before finally providing an answer.

"Every intelligence organization uses special codes. These codes must be combined with the organization's 'core text' to be deciphered, and they are adjusted and changed periodically.

Under normal circumstances, even if you threw this document at me, I wouldn't be able to read it. However, by using the leaked information to perform a reverse-decryption, it becomes much easier."

Hayato Kamihara picked up the document and patted it: "He didn't lie to you, but he did withhold some information—this lead isn't just being investigated by Root; others are watching it too.

The city recorded in the intelligence is Mirage City. It's currently a melting pot of various factions; once you go there, you will likely draw the attention of many forces and be surrounded. It will be very dangerous."

Hayato Kamihara knew Lin Qing's style of doing things all too well—like a long spear, charging straight toward the target, tearing apart every enemy that stood in his way.

Pressing forward without hesitation was certainly incredibly dashing.

But...

Who can remain undefeated forever?

That which is too rigid is easily broken. If one only moves forward, forward, and forward, one will eventually encounter unimaginable setbacks.

"I advise you not to go."

Lin Qing asked: "Is this professional advice from an intelligence broker?"

"No."

Hayato Kamihara said earnestly: "This is advice from a friend."

Lin Qing smiled.

If he could, he wouldn't want to take such risks either.

Who doesn't love a life of indulgence, enjoying girls of different cultures every day like Hayato Kamihara? If life were like that, what more could one ask for?

But he couldn't.

Naruto was a shonen manga about burning passion. Although Lin Qing hadn't read it, he could roughly guess the narrative trajectory.

It was nothing more than the protagonist constantly growing stronger, the enemies becoming increasingly formidable, moving from small-scale skirmishes to conflicts on a national and global level.

The JoJo series was a counter-example to this.

In the JoJo series, each part featured a different protagonist.

Why do that?

It was to provide the protagonist with room for growth, enough to draw a complete character arc.

But Lin Qing had heard of the fame of Naruto when he was very young, and it took over a decade before he heard it had concluded, and yet, there was only one protagonist in Naruto—

Naruto Uzumaki.

To keep readers hooked, the world would become increasingly dangerous, and the conflicts would become increasingly terrifying.

The peak combat power right now might be the "Kage" of various villages, but in the future... that was hard to say.

Danzo wanted him dead.

Itachi Uchiha wants to kill him.

Now that the ninjas from Root have already closed in on him, if Lin Qing were to grow complacent and stagnate just because he pulled a new five-star Stand, the next person lying unconscious on the ground might be him.

"When you have the chance to make a choice, don't let yourself regret it."

Lin Qing cherishes the power of choice he currently possesses.

"Let's go."

Lin Qing patted Hayato Kamihara on the shoulder and stood up, with Sasuke following in his footsteps.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?!"

Hayato Kamihara shouted at Lin Qing.

His only response was the sight of one large and one small figure waving their hands at him as they walked away.

The Land of Water is not large to begin with, and since both of them have mastered the Ripple Breathing Method, they moved at such high speeds that only two black blurs could be seen streaking by.

Along the way, Aero Smith hovered constantly above their heads, scanning the terrain below to help Lin Qing scout the path ahead.

By the afternoon of the second day, Lin Qing arrived at Mirage City.

Mirage City borders the ocean; at high noon, water vapor rises and clouds swirl, reflecting the sun's rays in a dreamlike, illusory display, as if it were a fairy-tale city existing only in fantasy.

Once one draws closer and pushes through the mist, however, the mottled, dilapidated city walls come into view.

The air is briny, the voices of the crowd are chaotic, and the harbor is packed.

After entering the city, Lin Qing saw pickpockets slicing open pedestrians' bags more than once.

He even witnessed an unlucky thief get his hand chopped off on the spot after being caught, blood spraying everywhere, making Sasuke's eyelids twitch.

Beneath its dreamy exterior, the hidden chaos, gloom, and oppression were Lin Qing's first impressions of Mirage City.

Lin Qing first found an inn to stay at.

Daytime was not suitable for action, so he rested in the inn and practiced his breathing method.

When deep night arrived, the second-floor window of the inn opened, and Lin Qing and Sasuke leaped out lightly, vanishing into the night.

The night sky was filled with overcast clouds and the moonlight was faint; except for the entertainment venues in the center of the city, which were still brightly lit, the other districts were plunged into darkness.

There were few pedestrians on the road, and the occasional person getting off work moved in a hurry, one hand tucked inside their coat.

The locals all knew that the hand hidden inside the coat was gripping a blade.

The day belongs to the thieves, and the night belongs to the robbers.

Listening to the screams and curses echoing from the alleys, Lin Qing found it hard for a moment to tell whether he had arrived in the world of Naruto or if he was in the quaint, simple-minded city of Gotham.

"This is it."

Lin Qing and his companion hid on the roof of a building, staring at a processing plant a hundred meters away.

A rusted sign hung at the entrance of the plant:

"Murata Sausage"

Everyone knew that the so-called processing plant was just a front.

On the way here, Lin Qing had prepared an action plan.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen were ninjas affiliated with the official Kirigakure; once he clashed with them, he would likely be unable to stay in the Land of Water any longer.

Lin Qing's idea was to first see what kind of business they were actually running—something sneaky, surely some illicit trade.

He would use this as an entry point to create chaos within Mirage City and draw out the people hiding in this city.

The more chaotic things became, the more opportunities Lin Qing would have.

As long as he defeated a few strong opponents, this trip would not have been in vain.

"Aero Smith!"

Lin Qing pointed forward, and Aero Smith took off, flying toward the interior of the processing plant.

"Initiate reconnaissance."

The carbon dioxide sensor activated.

In Lin Qing's field of vision, dense clusters of red dots suddenly appeared.

Lin Qing's first thought was:

Is it really a meat processing plant?

Because judging by the size of the red dots, they were about the size of a pig.

But Lin Qing immediately realized the truth.

Why would a sausage processing plant raise its own pigs?

And even if they were raising pigs, whose pigs... live in stacked layers?

People!

People, everywhere!

Lin Qing increased the precision of Aero Smith, and as the scanning range became clearer, he saw it—

Individual people locked inside cages.

The cages were tiny, about 1.3 meters high and less than a meter wide.

It was an incredibly uncomfortable height.

Unless one wanted to sit the entire time, standing up required bowing one's head and hunching over.

Only a few "lucky ones" could stand up straight.

But how many adults are only 1.3 meters tall?

Those who could stand straight were all children.

Aero Smith scanned the area, revealing nearly four hundred red dots.

These were over four hundred people, caged like livestock!

"Land of Water... Yagura, is he running a human trafficking business?!"

While Aero Smith explored, Lin Qing noticed someone.

She sat with her knees pulled to her chest, the carbon dioxide she exhaled outlining her features.

"Xiaotao?"

Lin Qing could not imagine seeing her in a place like this.

Wasn't Xiaotao supposed to be in the Land of Water visiting relatives with her mother? Why would visiting relatives lead to being locked in a cage?

Where was her mother?

What kind of hellish place was this processing plant, anyway?

Countless questions surged forth.

However, now was not the time to investigate.

Whether the truth was this or that didn't matter; what mattered was...

What were they going to do?

Lin Qing and Sasuke exchanged glances, seeing the answer in each other's eyes.

Save them.

There was no need for long-term deliberation or elaborate tactical planning.

It would be tonight.

Aero Smith circled in the air, marking the positions of all the visible and hidden guards within the facility.

Like ghosts in the night, the two of them took out the sentries along their path and infiltrated the interior of the processing plant without a sound.

The guards usually operated on a patrol system, overseen by a chief commander who would rotate through at regular intervals to check on the prisoners and prevent any lapses.

Lin Qing did not have much time.

He had to rescue Xiaotao and leave the facility within ten minutes.

Otherwise, a direct confrontation would be unavoidable.

Lin Qing was confident in his own strength, but he would not underestimate his enemies.

According to the intelligence provided by Hayato Kamihara, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were experts among experts; each one was an A-rank or even S-rank powerhouse, and there were three of them, along with a host of Kirigakure ninjas.

Even if they had to fight, it was best to wait until the enemy was separated and engage in one-on-one combat.

They moved quickly through the facility, following Aero Smith's guidance to find a hidden door.

Lin Qing pushed the door open.

The air became thick and foul.

It was a smell difficult to describe in words.

The scent of sweat, blood, festering rot, and the stench of urine—a complex mixture of odors that had fermented over time.

Sasuke instinctively wanted to cover his nose and mouth, but his movements froze when he saw what lay before him.

Although Lin Qing had already mentioned it to him, the image described in words was a completely different, shocking experience compared to seeing it with his own eyes.

Hundreds of people, locked in cages and unable to even straighten their backs, were like dabs of paint on a canvas, smearing this wretched world.

Human dignity, under the oppression of the cages, had been bent along with their hunched spines.

Lin Qing found Xiaotao inside one of the cages.

Her eyes were dull and gray, and she held a shriveled, rotting orange in her hands.

A distorted smiley face was drawn onto the orange.