Kusagakure

"12.65 million ryo in one night, hahahaha! I've made a fortune!"

Bai Lin moved several kilometers away from Takigakure, finding a hidden cave to begin recovering his chakra.

He leaned against the cold rock wall, gasping for air, yet his face was brimming with undisguised excitement.

The total expenditure on his

System Panel

had already reached 20.55 million ryo, completing one-fifth of his goal for the

Kage-level Ten-pull

.

If the environment hadn't been so unique—with the Takigakure ninja all submerged in water—his

Lightning Style: Chidori Current

wouldn't have been able to achieve such terrifying area-of-effect damage; he might not have been able to kill so many ninja at once.

This stroke of "favorable terrain and timing" allowed him to not only successfully seize the

Hero Water

but also walk away with his pockets full.

"The first goal since coming out is complete. Is this the

Hero Water

?"

Bai Lin steadied his breathing and retrieved the crystal-clear, gourd-shaped jade bottle from the

System Space

.

The jade bottle felt cold to the touch, and through the transparent body, he could see the pale green liquid sloshing gently, emitting a chakra aura so dense it was almost tangible.

Merely being near it made the chakra within his body stir restlessly, and his

Cursed Seal

showed faint signs of resonance.

Bai Lin frowned, then immediately relaxed.

His

Cursed Seal

was an innate ability from the Sasuke Uchiha template, not something forcibly implanted by Orochimaru; it contained no soul fragments of the Snake Sage, so there was naturally no need to worry about being possessed.

The

Cursed Seal

was an experiment by Orochimaru for

Body Activation

, essentially a ninjutsu that simulated the method Jugo used to absorb natural energy from the environment—a degraded version of

Sage Mode

.

Though it couldn't compare to the perfect

Sage Mode

of Hashirama or the Mount Myoboku

Sage Mode

of Naruto, its advantage lay in its ability to passively absorb natural energy from the surroundings when activated, combining it with his own chakra to form a low-tier version of

Senjutsu Chakra

.

"This

Hero Water

is related to the great tree guarded by the Takigakure ninja. Could it also be connected to the

God Tree

?"

Bai Lin stroked the jade bottle, a flicker of contemplation in his eyes.

"The

God Tree

descended upon the Ninja World alongside the Otsutsuki; in essence, it also absorbs the natural energy of the Ninja World to bear

Chakra Fruit

."

"Since this

Hero Water

can resonate with my

Cursed Seal

, it is highly likely that it contains highly condensed natural energy."

Compared to the

Military Ration Pill

commonly used by ninja, the effects of the

Hero Water

were worlds apart.

The

Military Ration Pill

could only replenish a small amount of chakra and placed a burden on the body;

Whereas the

Hero Water

used natural energy as a base, not only causing chakra to surge dozens of times over but also allowing one to break through their own limits in a short time. The only drawback was that its side effects were far too brutal.

Bai Lin guessed that the reason the

Hero Water

devoured the user's life force was likely because the user's own chakra volume was far less than the absorbed natural energy, causing the body to be unable to bear this violent power and forcing it to burn life force to neutralize and buffer the energy, ultimately resulting in a loss of lifespan or even the body being torn apart by the energy.

Understanding the properties of the

Hero Water

, a confident smile curled the corners of Bai Lin's mouth. From this moment on, he had gained another trump card.

"Next is the second goal after leaving the village: Kusagakure."

The next day at noon, the sun was perfect.

Bai Lin stood at the edge of a dense thicket, his gaze fixed on the village not far away.

The scale of the village was not comparable to Konoha; it was surrounded by low hills, and the houses were mostly made of grass and wood. With wisps of cooking smoke rising, it looked peaceful and serene, not at all like a ninja village in a chaotic world.

Kusagakure was a ninja village in the Land of Grass, tucked between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth, and its specific location was relatively hidden.

Since it was close to Takigakure, Bai Lin hadn't spent much time on the road.

"So this is Kusagakure?" He narrowed his eyes, a playful smile tugging at his lips.

"The most opportunistic ninja village. In my past life, I heard that the underground base of Uchiha Madara seemed to be near Kusagakure. I wonder if that's true or false; if it is, that would be fun."

"Our Obito also embarked on his path of defection and was drawn into darkness precisely because of an incident in Kusagakure. It couldn't be that coincidental, could it?"

"If I could actually run into Madara, that would be interesting." Bai Lin thought to himself, his

Three-Tomoe Sharingan

quietly activating as he scanned the layout of the village.

Kusagakure was a fence-sitter, surviving in the cracks between the major ninja villages. It had a significant number of ninja, likely not inferior to the Land of Rain at this time.

Their way of survival was to help whoever paid the most, which was why Konoha would later suffer a great loss here.

Bai Lin took his Konoha forehead protector from the

System Space

, skillfully tied it around his forehead, straightened his clothes, and walked openly toward the village entrance.

"Stop!"

As soon as he approached the entrance of Kusagakure, two gate-guarding Kusagakure ninja stepped forward to block him, their eyes vigilantly scanning his forehead protector and attire. "You are a Konoha ninja? What business do you have in our Kusagakure?"

Bai Lin smiled and said in a calm tone, "I am a Konoha ninja, a subordinate of Orochimaru. I am here on the orders of Lord Orochimaru to conduct some business with your village."

"Orochimaru?"

The two Kusagakure ninja exchanged glances. One of them nodded and responded to Bai Lin, "Our village has recently forbidden outsiders from entering. Since you are a Konoha ninja and a subordinate of Orochimaru, we need to ask the village head first. Please wait here for a moment."

Bai Lin nodded upon hearing this, showing no sign of displeasure. "That would be a bother."

Seeing Bai Lin agree, one of them used a Body Flicker technique and left; it seemed he was going to report to the village head.

"Please, our village head wishes to see you."

Not long after, the Kusagakure ninja who had left returned quickly and gestured for Bai Lin to follow.

Bai Lin nodded and followed the ninja toward the center of the village.

Along the way, the Kusagakure ninja they passed cast curious or wary glances. Many secretly gripped their ninja tools, clearly full of caution toward this outsider.

Bai Lin was unconcerned, observing the surrounding environment as he walked, committing everything he saw to memory.

"I don't see any members of the Uzumaki Clan. Have they not drifted here yet, or have the people of the Uzumaki Clan been hidden away by Kusagakure?"

He observed his surroundings, thinking to himself.

He had two goals in coming to Kusagakure: first, he genuinely needed to conduct business with the village, and second, he wanted to confirm the whereabouts of the Uzumaki Clan.

On one hand, he had already devised a plan to use the system to conduct business and acquire wealth; on the other, he did it for Kushina, hoping to make her happy.

As for the worry that Kusagakure might try to detain him, that was perhaps a possibility.

However, he still possessed the flight ability granted by the Cursed Seal state two, and the Kusagakure ninja would never suspect that he had such a rare means of flight, allowing him to escape this place with ease.

Bai Lin shook his head, putting aside his thoughts about the Uzumaki Clan for now.

Whether he could even take them out of Kusagakure was a question in itself; at the very least, he could not expose his true intentions.

He was only here to conduct business and make money—women would only slow down his earning speed!

Passing through several gravel-paved alleys, the two arrived in front of a large wooden building.

This must be the office of the Kusagakure leader.

The ninja pushed open the door and shouted inside, "Leader, the ninja from Konoha has arrived."