The Use of New Abilities

That morning, Su Zheng left after breakfast, leaving the children at home to play.

Today, he was going to sentence Kaiyu Rui to death. Yesterday's interrogation had made everything clear: Kaiyu Rui had intended to abduct him, make it look like Su Zheng had died on the battlefield, and lure Hanzo and Konoha into a fight to the death.

But he had not expected to fall into Su Zheng's hands again. Su Zheng's strength had grown far too quickly; he could now easily kill elite jonin in seconds. He was not like those in the plot who introduced their techniques during a fight. Battle was about instant kills—who had the time to trade move for move with anyone?

Gray Rain Village was the homeland of the Gray Rain Clan.

Since a few members of the Gray Rain Clan had survived the battlefield, they had naturally slipped easily through Hanzo's rear defensive line.

Kaiyu Rui had brought the remnants of his fighting force back to their clan grounds, planning to flee with his people today.

Their clan's strength had been nearly exhausted. Staying here would only bring Hanzo's thunderous retaliation. They might as well flee early; perhaps they could rise again someday. He was not that rigid-minded.

Gray Rain Village had once been a major settlement in the Land of Rain, bustling with life. Yet today, it was deathly silent.

Su Zheng walked through its streets, where every household had its doors tightly shut.

When he arrived at Kaiyu Rui's home, it was already empty.

With no other choice, Su Zheng used his Sharingan to control several villagers and learned Kaiyu Rui's whereabouts from them.

On the road, a group of thirty or forty people fled through the rain, carrying bundles and dressed in tattered clothes.

You might have thought they were refugees, but a closer look would reveal that they were completely different. Though their clothes were ragged, they were full of spirit, with none of the weariness of drifters. Every one of them was a strong, able-bodied man or woman. How could they possibly be refugees?

"Lord Rui, why are we heading toward the battlefield? Wouldn't going toward the border be safer?"

"This is to avoid Su Zheng. We sent Blackwater after him yesterday, but there has been no news. He probably failed. We can't lose to Su Zheng again this time!"

The young man nodded.

"Yo!"

A figure suddenly appeared on the road ahead.

The youth said teasingly, "Wonderful! You even knew to change directions while fleeing, but I still found you. What are you going to do now?"

Gray Rain Zhenmura immediately charged forward with several others, trying to hold Su Zheng back.

Su Zheng looked at Zhenmura and said, "You're the one who attacked us last time, aren't you? You'd better be careful this time!"

"Don't look down on me!"

Zhenmura, charging in with his blade raised, was instantly trapped in the Sharingan's illusion.

In the blink of an eye, they had all fallen into pools of blood.

The crowd immediately erupted into panic. Kaiyu Rui shouted, "Quick, kill him! Otherwise, we'll all die here!"

The youth curled his lips. "I can't let you die too easily."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's three disciples had finally encountered their most powerful opponent—Hanzo of the Salamander. A fierce battle was unavoidable, and it was one that would directly affect the future.

Sunagakure, Sasori's home.

Sunagakure's army had already finished its preparations. Ebizo remained in Sunagakure to receive intelligence, while Chiyo was still stationed at the border of the Land of Wind, guarding against the war between Amegakure and Konoha spilling outward.

According to the plan, Sunagakure's army was divided into three forces: the first, led by Sasori's parents, Chiyojuro and Chiyo, would launch a feint attack on Konoha from the upper route; the second, led by the Third Kazekage, Kōno, would attack Konoha from the central route; the last, led by the One-Tails Jinchuriki Bunpuku, would attack from the lower route.

The first force would undoubtedly bear far greater pressure, because it needed to draw enough attention and mobilize Konoha's military forces. Only then would the other two forces have a better chance.

This was a huge gamble. If they won, Sunagakure would rise to greater heights, suppress Konoha and become the number one great village. It would also change the impoverished state of the Land of Wind and allow it to develop smoothly. But if they lost...

Chiyo looked at four-year-old Sasori playing alone, her heart aching. Chiyojuro patted her shoulder. She knew it was time to move, so she turned and composed herself.

Putting on a gentle smile, she looked at Sasori and said, "Sasori, wait at home for your father and mother. We're going on a mission, but we'll be back soon."

As she spoke, she pulled Sasori into her arms and fiercely kissed his forehead.

The innocent Sasori smiled and held his mother's face in his hands. "Mm!"

Sasori's parents turned and vanished from his sight, carrying Sasori's longing with them as they resolutely headed for the battlefield.

The rolling yellow sands scattered their silhouettes.

Only a lonely wind remained where they had stood.

Amegakure. Su Zheng raced through the rain. After interrogating Kaiyu Rui, he had learned many things.

That "Sunagakure" squad had indeed been sent by Kaiyu Rui. They had long since made a deal with the Hizume Clan. Killing him had merely been meant to force Hanzo and Sunagakure (Konoha) into a fight to the death, allowing them to reap the benefits.

They had plundered civilians because they had also made a secret deal with Sunagakure, hoping to use Sunagakure's strength to destroy Hanzo. But Sunagakure had offered only verbal support and taken no action. They could not let all that money go to waste, could they?

"They're truly despicable. They're quite dedicated when it comes to scheming against their own people."

He set aside the matters of the Gray Rain Clan and the Hizume Clan for now. There was something more important: Sasori's parents were about to die at the hands of Konoha's White Fang. This would indirectly lead to Sasori withdrawing into himself, as well as the beginning of the Third Shinobi World War.

Su Zheng had already devised a plan on the way. After bringing Nagato and Yahiko home, the system had awakened two more abilities.

System activated. Salvation Points: .

Reward: Death Substitute, Identity Vest.

Death Substitute: Death Doppelganger. Imprint a forbidden technique formula into a target's body. When the target was on the brink of death, a substitute could be summoned to exchange places.

Identity Vest: Identity Vest. It could provide identification for different identities, and no one would question them.

Death Substitute:

1: Fake Death. Imprint the formula into the target's body. After suffering fatal damage, the target would enter a state of fake death. Once the formula was removed, they could be revived. (2,000 Salvation Points)

2: With a Substitute. Prepare a substitute beforehand (a vessel), then imprint the formula containing the substitute into the target's body. When fatal damage was suffered, the substitute would take the damage while the original body was sealed within the formula. Once the formula was removed, the original body could be revived. (3,000 Salvation Points)

3: Without a Substitute. Imprint the formula into the target's body. When fatal damage was suffered, the formula would convert a substitute to take the damage while the original body was sealed within the formula. Once the formula was removed, the original body could be revived. (4,000 Salvation Points)

Identity Vest:

1: Identification. Set an identity in advance, and the system would prepare the corresponding identification. Note: Different identities required different amounts of points. Starting price: ordinary person (2,000 Salvation Points)

2: Body. Set the corresponding body and identity, and the system would prepare the corresponding identification. Note: Different identities required different amounts of points. Starting price: ordinary person (Salvation Points)

These two abilities were truly devastating weapons. Unfortunately, they could not be used permanently and could only be exchanged for a limited number of uses.

With these two abilities, he had already planned out his future development. The system was amazing!

The descriptions made both abilities seem incredibly powerful, but there was no time to test them, and he did not have that many points anyway.

As for Sasori's parents, he planned to use Death Substitute. To be safe, he directly exchanged for Without a Substitute.

Blue fluorescence appeared in his palm. Once the glow faded, a strange pattern appeared on his hand: at the center of a formula-filled design was the character for "substitute."

He only needed to imprint the formula into the target's body. The substitute exchange would be completed in an instant, while the original body would fake its death and be sealed within the formula. As long as the corpse was not destroyed, it could be revived.

There was no interval in this process, so it would not be discovered.

Su Zheng was also worried that if he used Fake Death and the body was destroyed afterward, things would become troublesome. Since it was his first time using it, he had to make absolutely certain.

As for how to imprint the formula onto Sasori's parents, Su Zheng already had a plan.