Lihuo, Wind, Snow, and the Land of Iron

"Ding! Head-pat A-rank ninja: Nakajima. Please select three of the following rewards."

"Earth Release: Earth-Splitting Palm"

"Earth Release: Camouflage Jutsu"

"Moderate Physical Enhancement"

"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Spear"

"Earth Release: Subterranean Voyage"

Looking at the "Camouflage Jutsu" on the reward list, Lihuo was greatly surprised; this ninjutsu was not common.

In the original work, it only appeared once during the Kannabi Bridge mission, where the Iwagakure Jonin Taiseki used this technique to abduct Rin and wound Kakashi.

One must remember that Kakashi had just been promoted to Jonin at the time.

An invisibility technique that even a Jonin could not see through—how precious it was!

This explained why this ninja could repeatedly infiltrate the hotel to commit murders without making a sound.

However, considering the ninja's rating, it made sense that he could drop such a ninjutsu.

The strength of an A-rank ninja was roughly between Jonin and Kage level.

If Mifune and Orochimaru hadn't been there to hold the fort, capturing a Jonin alive and performing a head-pat would have taken a great deal of effort.

In short, the three of us are simply too strong!

Lihuo pulled back his thoughts and carefully examined the reward list, gleaning two key pieces of information!

First, this ninja definitely did not come alone!

To accurately locate Lihuo and Orochimaru's residence without being detected by them, it would be impossible without a powerful intelligence network.

Second, this organization would very likely come again!

After all, no organization would be willing to abandon a Jonin!

"Looking at it this way, this seemingly easy guard duty is actually fraught with danger."

Lihuo rubbed his chin and muttered to himself.

"And judging by the rewards, the probability that this organization is from Iwagakure is very high, given that so many Earth Release ninjutsu were dropped."

Thinking of this, Lihuo did not rush to claim the rewards; instead, he immediately reinforced his defensive traps.

After perfecting the traps in the room, Lihuo sat cross-legged on the bed, his eyes slightly closed.

"Simplified Sage Mode, activate!"

Following Lihuo's soft shout, a dense amount of Natural Energy was rapidly drawn into his body.

He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and opened his eyes.

Immediately afterward, he used the powerful sensory ability unique to Sage Mode to carefully perceive his surroundings.

After confirming that the area was safe, Lihuo began to select his rewards.

"I choose 'Earth-Splitting Palm', 'Camouflage Jutsu', and 'Moderate Physical Enhancement'."

"Rewards have been issued."

As a cold system tone rang out, a familiar pain spread throughout Lihuo's body once again.

He knew this was the inevitable path of physical enhancement. As the pain slowly subsided, Lihuo clearly sensed that his physical fitness had improved by another twenty percent compared to just moments ago!

Subsequently, the usage methods for "Camouflage Jutsu" and "Earth-Splitting Palm" were fully mastered by Lihuo.

Lihuo's hands moved rapidly, weaving through a complex series of hand seals.

"Earth Release: Camouflage Jutsu!"

As Lihuo whispered, he felt as if his body were being wrapped in a cool liquid.

Gradually, his body merged completely with the environment.

If he couldn't clearly feel his own existence, Lihuo wouldn't have believed he was still in the room.

"This invisibility technique is truly powerful."

Lihuo couldn't help but sigh with emotion. He then dispelled the ninjutsu and began to use medicine to simply stop Nakajima's bleeding.

It wasn't that Lihuo had a sudden surge of kindness; during the process of stopping the bleeding, he incidentally severed Nakajima's hamstrings.

Stopping the bleeding was purely to prevent him from dying of blood loss. After all, he was the only survivor among the attackers! His intelligence value was immeasurable!

Thinking of this, Lihuo also "incidentally" dislocated Nakajima's jaw to prevent him from hiding poison in his mouth!

He then "incidentally" stuffed his own sock into the man's mouth.

Lihuo didn't intend to extract information from him personally, as there would be more professional people to handle that!

By the time he finished all this, it was already late at night. Lihuo watched the unconscious Nakajima cautiously, his Simplified Sage Mode still monitoring the surroundings without pause.

Lihuo could faintly hear sounds of fighting coming from not far away; it must be Orochimaru and Mifune leading people to mop up the remaining attackers.

And just at this moment, an unexpected change occurred!

Lihuo clearly sensed five figures abruptly intruding into his sensory range.

Enemy attack!

Thinking this, Lihuo immediately assumed a defensive stance, yet he did not move a single step toward Nakajima, who remained trapped in the center of the room.

The intruders knew they had been discovered, but they were in no hurry to act.

Four of them moved rapidly to the four corners of the inn and shouted in unison, "Earth Release: Earth Core!"

Then, the chakra of the four surged forth like a waterfall.

Rumble!

The entire inn sank along with the surrounding ground!

Lihuo felt the world collapsing in an instant. He struggled to steady himself and looked out the window, only to see the entire inn completely encased by the earth!

A rough observation revealed that the depth of the subsidence was clearly beyond what he could easily escape from!

Not to mention that there were four ninjas guarding the top!

It was impossible to leave without defeating them!

Suddenly, the fifth ninja appeared in Lihuo's perception. He was searching the inn carefully and soon located Lihuo's position.

Bang!

The newcomer violently kicked the door to Lihuo's room off its hinges.

"Orochimaru is truly blind..."

Boom!

A flash of fire and the sound of an explosion rang out to the heavens. Lihuo glanced at the door hinges, where he had attached fifty Explosive Tags!

"Cough, cough, brat, you're dead!"

The Jonin emerged from behind an Earth Style Wall, his body charred black.

He was exceptionally furious at this moment; had he not used Earth Style Wall at the critical moment, he would have been blown to smithereens long ago.

The massive explosion woke Nakajima, who was still unconscious. As he slowly opened his eyes and felt the sock in his mouth, the usually proud Nakajima slowly shed tears.

"Damn brat!"

The Jonin rushed toward Nakajima, intending to rescue him, but what awaited him were countless defensive traps set by Lihuo!

Cold, gleaming Kunai, Shuriken, Meteor Hammers, Sickles, and Pickaxe Handles flew out from mechanisms hidden in the shadows.

"What the—!"

Although they could not inflict effective damage, the countless hidden weapons successfully altered the Jonin's path, forcing him to scramble to deal with them!

Finally, after batting away all the projectiles, the Jonin let out a sigh of relief.

"I admit, you brat..."

Hiss!

A faint sound came from beneath the Jonin's feet. He looked down and chuckled.

"More little tricks? I wondered what it was—it's just... just Explosive Tags!"

Boom!

With the explosion of the final Explosive Tag, Lihuo's defensive traps were completely exhausted.

The result was...

The arrogant Jonin had his legs blown off, his body covered in burns, and he lay on the ground, gasping his last breath.

Lihuo had no intention of leaving him alive; guarding one Jonin was already Lihuo's limit.

Lihuo quickly looted the body, then used a Kunai to end his life.

Without the slightest hesitation, in order to prepare for the coming battle, Lihuo decided to sustain the fight through the fight itself!

After quickly browsing the looting rewards, Lihuo chose "Minor Physical Enhancement" and two ninjutsu.

The rewards were distributed rapidly, and Lihuo felt his strength increase once more.

Yet, Lihuo dared not be careless, for he knew that the true, brutal battle was only just beginning!

"Earth Mound!"

The four Jonin guarding above sensed the death of their teammate and were no longer as calm and composed as when they arrived.

The four exchanged glances, exchanged no further words, and quickly jumped down.

Lihuo also decisively left the inn room and moved Nakajima to the open space where the inn stood.

The four Jonin landed rapidly before Lihuo and assumed battle stances.

Lihuo looked at the four Jonin before him, his internal alarm bells ringing loudly. He saw that these Jonin were all wearing uniform Iwagakure attire, their expressions grim and murderous.

Silently shielding Nakajima behind him, Lihuo knew that a great battle was about to break out.