Bai Lin began analyzing the current situation in the Ninja World.
The map of the Ninja World looked small, but the time it actually took a ninja to travel was far longer than one might imagine.
"Hanzo of the Salamander is leaving Iwagakure, which is right next door, alone and making the long journey to the Land of Iron with his Amegakure forces. He's even deliberately clashing only with Sunagakure and Konoha. There's no way this is as simple as it seems."
His fingertips tapped against the cold rock wall, and a thoughtful glint appeared in his eyes. "Could there be more to it?"
"Right. Besides bordering Konoha, the Land of Iron also has another important neighbor—the Land of Lightning and Kumogakure."
The map of the Ninja World flashed through his mind, and Bai Lin immediately understood. "That explains why he's only targeting Sunagakure and Konoha! Sunagakure and Konoha have a long-standing grudge over resource disputes, and the Land of Rain is struggling to survive between Konoha and Sunagakure."
"Maybe he's held a grudge for a long time, which is why he didn't choose Iwagakure."
"Hanzo of the Salamander is most likely going to Kumogakure to stir up the Cloud Ninja's ambitions, using the war to provoke multiple sides into keeping one another in check!"
After some time, Mikoto slowly opened her eyes. Seeing Bai Lin, she quickly sat up. "Lin, you're awake so early?"
"Yeah. Freshen up. Once Nawaki wakes, we still have to get moving." Bai Lin handed her toiletries and breakfast.
"By the way, Lin, these are the spoils I collected from the Amegakure ninjas while cleaning up the battlefield earlier. You specifically told me to keep them safe. See if there's any useful information or ninja tools."
Bai Lin took the cloth bag and quickly checked its contents.
There were 23 ninja tool pouches, some scrolls, and some money.
His brows lifted slightly. The System Panel showed no reaction, so clearly the money he'd looted couldn't count toward the spending required for a draw.
The result didn't surprise him.
If looting could let him endlessly gather money for draws, the system's "doing business (cultivation)" and "completing tasks (daily)" mechanics would be pointless.
He'd realized long ago that these three methods could complement one another: killing enemies on the battlefield earned him some spending money, trading spoils let him do business, and completing tasks was part of his daily routine.
By the time Nawaki woke up, the three of them had quickly packed up and set out again.
Half a day later, Bai Lin still hadn't reached his destination.
"Lin, there are ninjas ahead!" Uchiha Mikoto warned them.
At her words, Bai Lin and Nawaki immediately took cover behind a tree and concealed their presence.
A four-man squad of Sunagakure ninjas was heading in their direction.
"Sunagakure. Four of them. At least one is a Jonin or Chunin," Bai Lin said calmly, his eyes narrowed.
"Lin, should we attack first?" Mikoto asked in a hushed voice. Her fingers were already on her ninja tool pouch, ready to act at any moment.
Nawaki didn't speak. He was no longer as carefree as before, instead cautiously observing their surroundings.
The results of several days of brutal training had been, for a twelve-year-old like Nawaki, an experience of every kind of death imaginable. He didn't dare let his guard down.
"Yeah. I'll go out and test them first. If they're too strong, you and Nawaki can use them for practice."
As he spoke, Bai Lin dashed toward them.
The four Sunagakure ninjas saw Bai Lin and exchanged glances before immediately taking battle stances.
"You're ninjas from Sunagakure. Why have you entered the territory of our Land of Fire?"
"Don't you know how to spell the word 'death'?"
A haughty smile curled Bai Lin's lips.
"So you're just a brat. Your mom's probably calling you home for dinner right now!"
"You're unlucky to have run into us. We'll send you on your way!"
"Quit wasting time. Finish this quickly. We need to complete our mission as soon as possible!"
The four approached Bai Lin with vicious grins. He looked young, and they figured he was too inexperienced to understand the situation, which was why he'd appeared before them to provoke them.
"Heh!"
"Unlucky? You're definitely unlucky!"
"After all, your lives are already counting down!"
The Sunagakure ninjas stared in confusion, not understanding what Bai Lin meant.
The next second, Bai Lin vanished from where he stood and appeared behind a Sunagakure ninja wearing a flak jacket.
"What?"
"He's fast! He's no ordinary ninja!"
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
One of the Sunagakure ninjas reacted quickly, shouting as he rapidly formed Hand Seals.
A wall of earth rose in front of Bai Lin, attempting to block his attack.
"Pathetic tricks. How dare you show off in front of a master?"
"Lightning Release: Chidori Sharp Spear!"
Bai Lin's gaze was as sharp as a blade. The blade of lightning extended to thirty meters in an instant, like a long serpent shimmering with a ghostly blue glow. It pierced through the ear-splitting air and easily cut through the earth wall.
The Sunagakure ninja Bai Lin had attacked didn't even see the lightning's path before he was split in two, becoming Louis XVI (Clone Technique). His eyes bulged, blood poured from his mouth, and his body crumpled to the ground, lifeless.
[ Ding! Congratulations, host. You have killed a Jonin and earned 500,000 ryo in spending money. ]
"Santai!" The remaining three Sunagakure ninjas' expressions changed drastically, their vicious grins instantly turning to terror.
They'd never imagined that the boy before them would be so impossibly fast, or that his ninjutsu would be so terrifyingly powerful.
A thirty-meter-long Lightning Release: Chidori Sharp Spear was far beyond the scope of ordinary ninjutsu!
"Something's wrong. His strength doesn't match his age. He took out the captain with ease."
"What do we do? He killed a Jonin in one move. I'm only a Genin—how am I supposed to fight him?"
"Split up and retreat." The expression of another ninja in a flak jacket changed drastically. He was a Jonin, too.
Facing Bai Lin, he couldn't even bring himself to fight—especially with two Genin on the squad.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" He shouted, sending a fierce blast of wind laden with sand rushing toward Bai Lin. At the same time, he yelled at the other two Genin, "I'll hold him off! Get back and report!"
The two Genin were already terrified out of their wits. At his words, they clung to the lifeline he'd offered, scrambling to their feet and running as fast as they could.
"Lightning Release: Chidori Senbon!"
Dozens of blue lightning needles appeared in Bai Lin's hands and shot toward the two fleeing Genin like a downpour.
The Genin didn't even have time to look back before their backs were pierced by a dense barrage of senbon. The Lightning Release Chakra invaded their bodies, paralyzing their meridians and tearing through their internal organs.
Their bodies stiffened, and they crashed to the ground. After twitching twice, they passed out.
"Mikoto, Nawaki, leave this Jonin to you."
It had to be said: as long as he didn't run into several Jonin working together to surround him, his strength was more than enough to make short work of weaker opponents. He didn't need to spend much Chakra.
In a one-on-one fight, as long as his opponent didn't know his abilities, he could usually kill a Jonin in an instant.
As soon as Bai Lin finished speaking, he leaped back several meters, leaving the battlefield entirely to the two of them. To him, the fight was nothing more than a warm-up; its real value lay in giving Mikoto and Nawaki practical experience.
He leaned against a tree trunk, arms crossed, and watched the fight with an indifferent expression.
The Sunagakure Jonin's expression darkened even further.
He'd intended to hold Bai Lin off and let the two younger ninjas escape, but he hadn't expected Bai Lin to look down on him completely.
When he saw Uchiha Mikoto and Nawaki, both just as young, it felt like the ultimate humiliation.
But he knew this wasn't the time to lose his temper. He had to find a way to escape and tell Sunagakure that Konoha had produced another genius.
The news that Konoha had produced another young prodigy was far more important than his life. They had to send someone to deal with him before he grew up.