The Life Gambler and the Arrogant God

Uchiha Chiba made an immediate judgment: no more waiting. He would create enough noise and gamble with his life!

"Let me show you something special," Uchiha Chiba smiled.

Then.

Wood Ghost's suspicious gaze swept over Chiba's hand. Suddenly, Wood Ghost's pupils constricted, and he threw a fierce punch!

The next second.

BOOM!!!!!

As the smoke cleared.

Aside from his face, which remained mostly unscathed, Uchiha Chiba's right hand was a mangled mess of flesh and blood. However, with his heaven-defying recovery ability, this could only be considered a minor injury.

Wood Ghost was not so lucky.

It must be said that he was worthy of being a Jonin.

In the mere few breaths of time it took for the explosive tags to prime, he had managed to minimize the damage.

His right hand was merely blown into a state of paralysis, and his clothes were charred black.

"Go to hell!" Wood Ghost didn't waste any more words. He had always been the one to toy with his prey; he never expected this brat before him to actually be able to outmaneuver him!

I was careless!

CLANG!!!!!!

Kunai slammed against kunai.

Chiba's body was forced back repeatedly.

The immense force left him gasping for air.

"Even if I kill you, I can still find the map. Damn it, I'm going to get scolded when I go back for this, all because of a mere brat!" Wood Ghost kicked out again.

His already fractured leg bone took another heavy blow.

The kunai in Uchiha Chiba's hand was instantly knocked away.

Wood Ghost gritted his teeth as his kunai closed in on Chiba's throat!

SHLICK!

The kunai sliced through the neck.

Blood sprayed out.

Then.

A massive force struck Wood Ghost from behind.

"Water Style: Water Gun!"

BOOM!!!!!

Chiba only felt his body become exceptionally light.

Am I going to die?

In the final moment before he closed his eyes, he only saw a few Amegakure ninjas fighting Wood Ghost.

On Chiba's body, unnoticed by anyone, a flash of green light flickered. The wound on his neck healed instantly, and that rich green glow merged into Chiba's body. Then, everything continued to flow with the passage of time as if nothing had ever happened.

The sound of pitter-patter reached his ears.

It was the most familiar sound of rain.

Uchiha Chiba slowly opened his eyes.

His body had mostly repaired itself; except for his dantian, he was almost completely unscathed.

"You're awake, brat," a muffled voice rang out.

Following the sound, he looked over.

A man Uchiha Chiba never would have imagined appeared not far away—Hanzo the Salamander!

HUM!!!!!

Super-Kage level chakra flickered in and out of existence.

It was no exaggeration to say that on his home turf in the Land of Rain, Hanzo the Salamander's chakra was firmly at the Super-Kage level. Of course, outside the Land of Rain, he was just a guy slightly stronger than an ordinary Kage.

"I..." Uchiha Chiba felt a sharp pain in his throat.

Cough! Cough!

A mouthful of purple blood was spat out.

"You are still very weak, don't speak. Just listen to me. Hmph, you brat, you aren't from Amegakure, are you? When my subordinates rescued you, they found fragments of your clothing. That's the Uchiha Fan, isn't it?" Hanzo the Salamander sat steadily on the sofa, muffled, wheezing sounds emanating from his breathing mask.

Uchiha Chiba did not speak.

His thoughts were still lingering on that mouthful of purple blood from just a moment ago.

Poison?

The poison of a salamander?

"I... I've been poisoned by a salamander," Uchiha Chiba forced out, enduring the searing pain in his throat.

"Oh? Little brat, you actually recognize the poison of a salamander," Hanzo the Salamander said, rising to his feet as the aura of a powerhouse surged forth instantly.

Hanzo the Salamander walked over to Uchiha Chiba's side.

"Your dantian is shattered, but it can be mended. The poison inside you was administered by me intentionally. That toxin will gradually repair your dantian in its own way. Once the repair is complete, you will be able to resist the vast majority of poisons in this world. However, in exchange, if you do not learn my ninjutsu during this recovery period, you will die," Hanzo the Salamander laughed.

Uchiha Chiba: ????

"You... why?" Uchiha Chiba asked, puzzled.

"You don't have a forehead protector, do you? Besides, if you wanted to return to your village, you would have run off long ago. I, Hanzo the Salamander, the demigod of the ninja world and currently the strongest man in the shinobi world, need a wolf cub to inherit everything I know. I don't care who that person is; as long as they catch my eye, even if they are from Konoha, I will snatch them up to be my apprentice," Hanzo the Salamander's eyes remained devoid of emotion, as if he were merely stating a fact.

Uchiha Chiba recalled the abilities of Hanzo the Salamander from the original story: Fire Style: Exploding Flame Formation (the technique that crippled Nagato's legs in the original), Water Flicker Technique, toxins, and... Iaijutsu, along with his masterful skill with the chain-sickle.

Since he had come to the world of Naruto, playing with short blades and long swords was too cliché. If he was going to play, he would play with a chain-sickle!

"Aren't you afraid... that the wolf cub won't be tamed?" Uchiha Chiba narrowed his eyes, his tone flat.

Unexpectedly, Hanzo the Salamander burst into laughter after hearing Uchiha Chiba's words.

"If a little wolf cub has the ability to kill the wolf king, then what does it matter if the position of wolf king is given to him? Besides, I, Hanzo the Salamander, revere strength. In the world of the strong, there are no rigid rules. Hmph," Hanzo the Salamander reached out and pressed his hand onto Chiba's shoulder.

Chiba's brow furrowed instantly.

He could feel the salamander toxin constantly coursing through his body.

"Little brat, don't be afraid. This is a hundred-fold concentration of salamander toxin that I have controlled. After being tempered by my own body, these toxins will only enhance your resistance to poison. In a place like Amegakure, you could be taken out by toxins at any moment; this is to protect you," Hanzo the Salamander narrowed his eyes.

Following that, Uchiha Chiba felt as if the blood in his body had frozen, and his entire body began to ache violently.

This pain was like having his skin sliced open bit by bit with a dull blade, followed by his blood vessels being cut open, one by one. Such pain was enough to make anyone faint if they weren't careful.

At this moment, Hanzo the Salamander withdrew his hand and suddenly asked, "Little brat, why don't you return to Konoha?"

"Danzo... wants to kill me... and my parents are both dead," Uchiha Chiba answered through gritted teeth. There was no need to hide these things; if Hanzo the Salamander wanted to investigate him, he wouldn't be able to hide it anyway.

Hanzo the Salamander brushed the dust off his clothes, seemingly lost in thought.

"For the next three days, you must come to Amegakure every day. Just find me at the training grounds, and I will teach you the essence of my abilities. As for Konoha... no, those things have nothing to do with you," Hanzo the Salamander said in a flat tone.

Then, a series of urgent knocks came from outside the door.

"Lord Hanzo, we have discovered that a Konoha scout unit has infiltrated the Land of Rain. We have already sent men to eliminate them. Please review the details, my Lord," the voice of a Rain ninja came through.

Hanzo the Salamander glanced at Chiba, who was struggling against the toxin, and couldn't help but recall the time he himself had been implanted with the salamander poison sac... Heh, how ironic. Without the support of that poison sac, he might have lost his life long ago.

"I understand," Hanzo the Salamander said toward the door, then pushed it open and left.

In the vast room, only Uchiha Chiba remained.