The rest of the journey was peaceful. They encountered no ninja ambushes and arrived safely at the Land of Rain camp.
Akai, the chunin, went to hand over the supplies and report on the battle, while Su Zheng was free to handle his own business.
Inside a tent near the center of the camp, Hanzo of the Salamander sat at the head of the table. Amegakure jonin sat on either side of him, discussing the situation on the battlefield.
The chunin responsible for compiling intelligence reported, "So far, there have been twenty-five small-scale clashes with Sunagakure. Most involved small elite squads, and neither side has committed many troops. Sand Village's top fighters, such as Chiyo and the Third Kazekage, have yet to appear. Intelligence also indicates that Konoha is gathering troops and is eager to make a move."
The Amegakure ninja had not expected the situation to be so dire, and they began discussing it heatedly.
"Damn it! Sunagakure is trying to tie us down while waiting for Konoha's forces, hoping to cripple us!"
"That's right. We should force a decisive battle immediately and drive back Sunagakure."
"The intelligence is unclear. Sunagakure's main force has yet to appear. Attacking rashly would be dangerous!"
"But we can't just sit here and wait to die. We should strike as soon as possible!"
Hanzo stared coldly at the arguing ninja. He slammed a hand on the table, and an icy, heavy-metal voice came from behind his mask. "Enough! If Sunagakure refuses to show itself, then force it out. Prepare the entire camp. We will be ready for a major battle tomorrow!"
"Also, notify the spy ninja who have infiltrated the Land of Fire. Find out what Konoha's ninja forces are doing. Report immediately if anything happens!"
Seeing Hanzo issue his orders, the ninja stopped arguing and rose to make preparations.
"Lord Hanzo, your nephew Su Zheng has arrived!" Hanzo's guards naturally recognized Su Zheng, and they immediately announced his arrival.
"Let him in."
Hanzo was strict with his subordinates, but he was exceptionally tolerant toward Su Zheng—one could even call it doting.
A sturdy middle-aged man sat before the table. He had long golden hair, wore armor and a mask, and radiated unmatched authority. This was the demigod of the ninja world—Hanzo of the Salamander!
Su Zheng entered the tent and found Hanzo sitting alone before a map, analyzing intelligence. He stepped forward and said happily, "Uncle, our mission this time was to deliver supplies to the front lines. I came specifically to see you. Have you been well?"
"Good, good, good!" Hanzo asked gently, "Well? Did anything happen on the way?"
"When we were in Yubu Town, we encountered a Sand Ninja squad. We defeated them, but something felt strange."
"Oh? What was strange about it?" Hanzo asked.
"First, those Sand Ninja mostly used Earth Release and Water Release ninjutsu. Sand Village certainly has ninja like that, but why weren't they using the techniques they specialized in?"
"Second, they seemed to know about our mission and had prepared an ambush there in advance."
"Third, they deliberately looted civilians for money. After being trapped, they even chose to destroy themselves rather than leave behind intelligence. No matter how I look at it, it doesn't seem simple."
Hanzo pondered for a long while. He had already formed a judgment, but his expression revealed nothing. He asked with concern, "Let me see if you were hurt."
"I'm fine. I took down two of them and injured another!" Su Zheng said bashfully.
"Good, good, good! As expected of my nephew!" Hanzo patted his shoulder encouragingly.
Su Zheng hesitated. Those ninja did not seem like Sand Ninja at all, and what made him most suspicious was Kaiyu Rui's meaningful smile when he assigned the mission. But he could not determine it was him based on something so vague.
He still needed to become stronger. Whoever dared provoke him would get beaten flat!
Hanzo saw that Su Zheng wanted to speak but stopped himself, so he asked, "What is it?"
Su Zheng decided not to mention it for now. Putting aside the fact that he had no evidence to suspect anyone, even if Hanzo doted on him, it was hard to say what might happen. The interests entangled between great clans ran too deep; for now, he should not put himself in danger.
Su Zheng smiled. "Nothing. I just have some questions about ninjutsu that I'd like to ask."
"I've learned all the Ninjutsu Scrolls Uncle gave me before. I developed a Lightning Release ninjutsu called Chidori, but I can't control it very well."
"Oh! Show me."
Su Zheng formed hand seals with both hands: Ox, Rabbit, Monkey.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle! Electric currents formed from Chakra gathered in Su Zheng's left hand. As he increased the flow of Chakra, a sharp screech rang out. Blue-white Chakra leaped across his palm like a thousand birds crying at once. However, the technique dispersed before long, and his fingers twitched slightly with a burning sensation.
Hanzo crossed his arms and asked, "How powerful is it?"
"Piercing hard armor or a wall isn't a problem!"
After pondering for a moment, Hanzo said, "Its power is decent. The short duration is because your Chakra control is not good enough yet."
"This technique requires both nature transformation and shape transformation of Chakra at the same time. It also requires extremely precise control. Otherwise, it will be like this—short-lived and harmful to yourself."
"Moreover, this technique has one major flaw. Its attack range is very short, so you need to charge right up to the enemy. That makes it easy for them to counterattack and injure you."
"Well, overall, it's still not bad. How did you think of developing a Lightning Release ninjutsu?"
Hanzo did not crush Su Zheng's confidence. After pointing out the critical flaws, he still offered him encouragement.
Su Zheng blurted out, "Because in the Land of Rain, rainwater and earth are everywhere, so the corresponding releases are the easiest to use. But if I use Lightning Release, I can also use the rainwater to create large-scale control and damage."
"The idea is good, but it's relative. Ninjutsu is already powerful enough when cast on its own, but once the electricity travels through rainwater, its damage is dispersed as well. That requires stronger Lightning Release and more Chakra!"
Seeing Su Zheng lower his head in thought, Hanzo encouraged him. "How about this? I'll grant you access to the archives where the Ninjutsu Scrolls are stored. If there's anything you want to learn, compare the strengths and weaknesses of different ninjutsu. All right?"
"Yay! That's great, thank you, Uncle!" Su Zheng happily shook Hanzo's arm. (So embarrassing inside!!!)
"All right, Uncle still has work to do. I know you want to find your teacher, so go on."
"Okay."
As Su Zheng left the main tent, Hanzo's smile gradually froze. After some thought, he decided to intercept the matter of that "Sand Ninja" squad first. It was not yet time.
He called out, "Ah Hui, preserve the corpses of the Sand Ninja who attacked the transport squad. Don't let anyone touch them."
"Also, send three squads to clean up the trash in the rear. Let them learn a lesson too!"
"Yes!"
An Amegakure ninja appeared inside the tent, then vanished at once.
Su Zheng had no idea that a single remark from him had caused those people heavy losses, forcing them to delay their plans. Hanzo was famously obsessed with doting on his nephew!
In the intelligence office at the front, Su Zheng met his teacher, Maki Jiro, a tough-looking man.
The two walked outside the tent. Maki looked at Su Zheng and praised him, "Not bad. You're getting stronger and stronger. You're almost catching up to me, your teacher."
Ever since Akai had arrived, news of Su Zheng killing three chunin and injuring a jonin had spread far and wide, changing many people's fixed impressions of him. As his instructor, Maki was proud as well.
Su Zheng scratched his head awkwardly and said modestly, "It's because you taught me well, Teacher!"
"Hahaha! You sure know how to sweet-talk people. When I started teaching you, you already knew how to use ninjutsu. All I could do was teach you the ninjutsu I knew, and I never expected you to learn every last one of them!"
"By the way, why didn't Shota and Maki come?"
"Oh! I forgot to mention it. We met two orphans in Yubu Town, so I had them stay there to take care of the girls."
"By the way, Teacher, I want to take in those two girls. Their parents died in the war. They're pitiful."
Maki was silent for a long while. He lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and said, "Sure. I completely agree. Does your uncle know?"
Su Zheng looked a little embarrassed as he responded, "I didn't tell him. You know Uncle doesn't like children."
Maki nodded and said nothing more.
"Teacher, don't forget that you still owe us a barbecue meal!"
"Mm."
That afternoon, after handing over the supplies, Akai Squad and Su Zheng set out on the road back to the village.
When they arrived at Yubu Town, the two girls had already formed a certain friendship with Maki. Their laughter could be heard from time to time, which pleased Su Zheng greatly.
The return journey was relatively slow because there were two girls with them—Konan and Haruna—and both were only five years old.
They encountered no danger on the way back and returned safely to Amegakure.
Although Amegakure could not compare to a great village like Konoha, it was still far better than places ravaged by war.
The two girls were endlessly curious. After Akai Squad handed in the mission, Su Zheng took them around the village.
Naturally, they did not see the figure by the window in the second-floor office. Kaiyu Rui watched their departing backs, recalling his shock when he received the intelligence report: "Mission failed! Maki is injured!"
Su Zheng, could you truly be a genius? The figure disappeared.
Before you continue