Unfortunate? Truly Unfortunate!

Bai Lin began to analyze the current situation of the Ninja World in his mind.

The map of the Ninja World looks small, but the time it actually takes for a ninja to travel is far longer than one would imagine.

"Hanzo of the Salamander ignores the neighboring Iwagakure and instead travels thousands of miles with his Amegakure troops to the Land of Iron, specifically targeting Sunagakure and Konoha. There is no way this is simple."

He tapped his fingertips against the cold rock wall, a flash of contemplation in his eyes. Could there be some hidden agenda?

"Right, besides bordering Konoha, the Land of Iron has another key neighbor—Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning."

As the map of the Ninja World flashed through his mind, Bai Lin instantly grasped the connection. "This explains why he only chose to strike at Sunagakure and Konoha! Sunagakure and Konoha have long-standing grievances over resource competition, and the Land of Rain is struggling to survive in the cracks between them."

"Perhaps he has held a grudge for a long time, which is why he didn't choose Iwagakure."

"It is highly probable that Hanzo of the Salamander is heading to Kumogakure to stir up the ambitions of the Cloud Ninja, using war to incite a multi-party balance of power!"

I do not know how much time passed before Uchiha Mikoto slowly opened her eyes. Seeing Bai Lin, she quickly sat up. "Lin, you woke up so early?"

"Mm, go wash up. We need to get moving once Nawaki wakes up." Bai Lin handed her toiletries and breakfast.

"By the way, Lin, these are the spoils of war collected from the Amegakure ninjas while clearing the battlefield. You specifically told me to keep them safe. See if there is any useful intelligence or ninja tools."

Bai Lin took the cloth bag and quickly inventoried the contents.

There were 23 ninja tool pouches, some scrolls, and some money.

He raised an eyebrow, but the

System Panel

showed no reaction. Clearly, these looted funds could not be counted toward the consumption amount required for the lucky draw.

This result did not exceed his expectations.

If looting could infinitely accumulate funds for the draw, the system's "Business (Cultivation)" and "Task Completion (Daily)" mechanisms would lose their meaning.

He had long realized that these three could complement each other: gaining a portion of the consumption amount by killing enemies on the battlefield, using spoils of war to conduct business, and completing tasks as part of his daily routine.

By the time Nawaki woke up, the three of them quickly packed up and set off on their journey once again.

Half a day passed, and Bai Lin had still not reached his destination.

"Lin, there are ninjas ahead!" Uchiha Mikoto issued a warning.

Upon hearing this, Bai Lin and Nawaki immediately pressed themselves against the trees, concealing their presence.

A four-man squad of Sunagakure ninjas was heading in their direction.

"Sunagakure, four people. At least one of them is a Jonin or Chunin," Bai Lin said calmly, squinting his eyes.

"Lin, should we initiate an attack?" Mikoto asked in a low voice, her fingers already resting on her ninja tool pouch, ready to strike at any moment.

Nawaki remained silent. He no longer possessed his previous carefree personality, instead observing the surroundings with careful caution.

For a 12-year-old boy like Nawaki, the results of the past few days of hellish training meant he had experienced every possible way to die, making him even less likely to be careless.

"Mm, I'll go out and test them first. If they aren't strong enough, I'll leave them for you and Nawaki to practice on."

As Bai Lin spoke, his figure dashed toward them.

The four Sunagakure ninjas saw Bai Lin, exchanged glances, and immediately assumed a combat stance.

"You are ninjas from Sunagakure. Why have you entered the territory of our Land of Fire?"

"Do you not know how to write the word 'death'?"

A wild, arrogant smile curled at the corners of Bai Lin's mouth.

"So it's just a brat. Your mother is probably calling you home for dinner right about now!"

"It's your misfortune to run into us. Let us send you on your way!"

"Stop talking nonsense. Finish the fight quickly; we need to complete our mission as soon as possible!"

The four men approached Bai Lin with sinister grins. Bai Lin did not look very old, and they feared he was simply too young to see the reality of the situation, which was why he had dared to appear before them and provoke them.

"Heh!"

"Misfortune? Indeed, it is quite unfortunate!"

"Because you are already on a countdown to your deaths!"

The Sunagakure ninjas were stunned, not understanding the meaning behind Bai Lin's words.

The next second, Bai Lin's figure vanished from where he stood, reappearing behind a Sunagakure ninja wearing a flak jacket.

"What?"

"So fast! He's not an ordinary ninja!"

"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"

One of the Sunagakure ninjas did not react slowly; he roared and quickly performed hand seals.

An earthen wall rose to block Bai Lin, attempting to intercept his attack.

"A petty trick! How dare you show off your meager skills before me!"

"Lightning Style: Chidori Sharp Spear!"

Bai Lin's eyes were as sharp as blades. The original blade instantly extended to thirty meters, like a long snake flickering with dark blue lightning. With a piercing, shrill whistle that tore through the air, it easily pierced through the earthen wall.

The Sunagakure ninja attacked by Bai Lin didn't even see the trajectory of the lightning before he was split in two, revealing himself to be Louis XVI (Clone Technique). His eyes widened, blood gushed from his mouth, and his body slumped limply to the ground, completely devoid of life.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for slaying a Jonin, obtaining 500,000 ryo.]

"Santai!" The expressions of the remaining three Sunagakure ninja changed drastically, their sneers instantly replaced by terror.

They never imagined that the youth before them was not only ridiculously fast but also possessed terrifyingly powerful ninjutsu.

The thirty-meter-long Lightning Style: Chidori Sharp Spear had long since exceeded the scope of conventional ninjutsu!

"Something's wrong. His strength doesn't match his age; the captain was taken out by him with ease."

"What do we do? Even a Jonin was killed by him in a single exchange; how am I, a Genin, supposed to deal with this?"

"Split up and retreat." Another ninja wearing a tactical vest had a drastic change in expression; his strength was also that of a Jonin.

Facing Bai Lin, he couldn't even muster the thought of fighting, let alone with two Genin on the team.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" He shouted sharply, and a surging gale carrying sand grains lunged toward Bai Lin. At the same time, he yelled to the other two Genin, "I'll handle the distraction! You two hurry back and report this!"

The two Genin were already scared out of their wits. Hearing this, they grabbed onto it like a lifeline, turning and scrambling away as if they wished they had two extra legs.

"Lightning Style: Chidori Senbon!"

Dozens of blue lightning needles instantly appeared in Bai Lin's hands, shooting toward the two fleeing Genin like a rainstorm.

The two Genin didn't even have time to look back before their backs were pierced by the dense swarm of senbon. The Lightning Style Chakra instantly invaded their bodies, paralyzing their meridians and tearing their internal organs.

Their bodies stiffened, they fell heavily to the ground, twitched twice, and then lost consciousness.

"Uchiha Mikoto, Nawaki, I'll leave this Jonin for you two to handle."

It had to be said that, provided he didn't encounter multiple Jonin coordinating an attack, his strength was basically at the level of crushing novices, costing him very little Chakra.

In a one-on-one fight, as long as the opponent didn't know his intelligence, he could basically achieve an instant kill on a Jonin.

As Bai Lin's voice fell, his figure had already darted back several meters, leaving the battlefield entirely to the two of them. This battle was merely a warm-up for him; the real value lay in letting Uchiha Mikoto and Nawaki accumulate combat experience.

He leaned against a tree trunk, arms crossed, watching the battle with an indifferent gaze.

Seeing this, the Sunagakure Jonin's expression grew even uglier.

He had intended to distract Bai Lin to let the two juniors escape the battlefield, but he hadn't expected the other party to look down on him so thoroughly.

When he saw the figures of Uchiha Mikoto and Nawaki—equally young—it was undoubtedly the ultimate humiliation.

But he also knew that now was not the time for anger; he had to find a way to escape and inform Sunagakure that another genius had appeared in Konoha.

The importance of another young genius appearing in Konoha was far greater than his own life; they had to send people to deal with him before he grew up.