Establishing Authority

Lan's goal was not to end this quickly, but to thoroughly get the measure of all three of them.

Facing the combined pounce of Inuzuka Tsume and Kinmaru, he deliberately dodged sideways, yet at the hair's breadth of a moment, he revealed what looked like a fatal opening.

A sharp gleam flashed in Inuzuka Tsume's eyes. Thinking her chance had come, she and Kinmaru immediately activated Beast Human Clone in sync. One person and one wolf attacked from the left and right, their sharp claws and fangs driving straight for Lan's vitals.

At the same time, Aburame Shibi's Parasitic Destruction Insects had already formed an airtight wall of bugs, pressing toward Lan from the front in an attempt to seal off every path of retreat.

Yamashiro Aoba's pupils shrank. He had not expected his teammates to strike so viciously, but what shocked him even more was that Lan was still standing in place without moving!

"Stop, all of you! Genjutsu: Hell Viewing Technique!"

Just then, Yamashiro Aoba moved as well.

But though his mouth was telling them to stop, his genjutsu was not aimed at stopping Aburame Shibi and Inuzuka Tsume. Instead, it was meant to bind Lan!

However, under Lan's One-Tomoe Sharingan, none of it had anywhere to hide.

"Heh." Lan gave a cold laugh. The Saiyan Chakra around him erupted, and an invisible wave of energy instantly spread outward. Yamashiro Aoba's genjutsu was torn apart as easily as paper.

He neither dodged nor blocked, letting those Parasitic Destruction Insects crawl onto him.

The instant the insects were about to bite down, Lan used Ki Control to condense chakra over the surface of his skin, forming an invisible defensive barrier.

The moment those Parasitic Destruction Insects touched the barrier, it was as if they had slammed into red-hot branding irons. They fell to the ground one after another, twitching, their vitality gone.

Inuzuka Tsume and Kinmaru's pincer attack was already close at hand, but Lan's figure swayed like a ghost, vanishing the second before their claws and fangs touched his body.

"Too slow."

A cold voice sounded behind Yamashiro Aoba.

Yamashiro Aoba was horrified and wanted to turn around, but it was already too late.

Lan's hand chop landed precisely on the back of his neck. Yamashiro Aoba did not even manage a grunt before he went limp and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

After dealing with Yamashiro Aoba, Lan turned his gaze to Aburame Shibi.

He casually grabbed Kinmaru, who was still dazed on the ground, and hurled him at Aburame Shibi like a sandbag.

Aburame Shibi's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly controlled the remaining Parasitic Destruction Insects to intercept.

But with Kinmaru's weight and momentum combined, he smashed straight through the swarm and crashed toward Aburame Shibi.

Seizing the chance, Lan instantly closed in and struck Aburame Shibi in the abdomen with a simple, direct straight punch.

"Urgh!" Aburame Shibi let out a muffled groan and flew backward like a kite with its string cut, slamming into the earthen wall of the relay station before sliding to the ground. He fainted as well.

Seeing both teammates fall one after another, Inuzuka Tsume's eyes went red. She no longer cared about Kinmaru and attacked Lan wildly, using both claws and fangs, every move vicious.

Lan, however, dodged with ease as though toying with prey. From time to time, he even deliberately showed an opening, causing Inuzuka Tsume's attacks to miss and making her scream in fury.

After figuring out all her moves, Lan finally stopped holding back. A hand chop landed precisely on the back of her neck.

Inuzuka Tsume's body stiffened, then she too went limp and collapsed.

The entire process took only three short seconds.

Three ninjas had all fallen to the ground.

Lan clapped his hands, as though he had merely dusted them off.

He glanced at the three unconscious people on the ground, his eyes showing not the slightest ripple.

"From today onward," he said flatly, "you do the missions. Don't bother me if there's nothing important."

[Ding! System mission: Establish absolute authority within the squad (Vegeta holds absolute authority within the Saiyan squad)]

[Mission complete: Successfully displayed overwhelming strength before new teammates, successfully established authority.]

[Reward: External Ki Sense (beginner) -- External perception range increased to three times the base, current perception range expanded to 300 meters]

The system notification sounded in his mind, and Lan's face remained expressionless.

This reward was better than nothing.

What he cared about more right now was how to use the limited time in the coming journey to familiarize himself with the first two gates of the Eight Gates Released Formation as quickly as possible.

At the border, there should be enough "material" for him to practice on.

He licked his slightly dry lips, a trace of anticipation and excitement flashing through his eyes.

The blood of a Saiyan had already begun to crave battle.

Early the next morning, the squad simply packed up their gear at the relay station and continued on their way.

The three who had been lying on the ground had long since woken up.

When Yamashiro Aoba woke, the back of his neck still throbbed faintly. He looked at Inuzuka Tsume and Aburame Shibi beside him, both equally stifled and aggrieved, then looked at the small figure walking at the very front of the team as though nothing had happened. His face turned blue, then white.

He had been a chunin for so many years, and this was the first time he had been "team-wiped" by a six-year-old brat.

Inuzuka Tsume held Kinmaru, watching Lan's back with a complicated look.

The scene of yesterday's battle was still replaying in her mind—the ghostly speed, the wave of energy that had easily shattered the Parasitic Destruction Insects...

For the first time, she felt that this brat was not here to experience life, but to... crush them.

Aburame Shibi remained silent, but the eyes hidden beneath his face covering glanced toward Lan from time to time. They were no longer cold, but carried an added trace of vigilance and... fear.

"Hey, brat," Inuzuka Tsume could not help speaking, her tone much more restrained than yesterday, "today we're going to pick up the mission target. You..."

"I know." Lan did not look back, his voice calm. "You go receive him. I'll watch from the side."

He had no interest in paying attention to these three "trash" teammates right now. His mind was full of the Eight Gates Released Formation.

Around noon, they arrived at a stronghold in a border town.

Inside the stronghold stood two men in samurai attire, long swords at their waists, their eyes sharp. With one look, it was clear they were experts who had long been tempered on the battlefield.

Between them stood a boy of about ten years old.

The boy wore a luxurious silk robe. His face was somewhat pale, and his eyes carried a trace of wariness and timidity that did not match his age.

When he saw Lan and the others, especially when he saw a child as young as Lan, he was clearly stunned for a moment.

"You are the ninjas sent by the Hidden Leaf Village?" One of the samurai stepped forward and asked in a deep voice, his gaze sweeping over Yamashiro Aoba and the other two before finally landing on Lan. His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

"Yes, we are Yamashiro Aoba's squad." Yamashiro Aoba stepped forward and presented the mission scroll. "This is the mission target?"

"Mm. He is the son of Lord Fujii, a great noble of the Land of Fire, Fujii Yuta." The samurai nodded, his tone solemn. "We received orders to escort him safely here. We'll be relying on you for the rest of the journey."

"Leave it to us," Yamashiro Aoba replied.

Inuzuka Tsume held Kinmaru and sized up the boy Fujii Yuta from head to toe, curling her lip, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied with this "delicate" mission target.

Aburame Shibi stood off to the side without saying a word.

Lan's gaze also fell on Fujii Yuta.

He did not speak, only silently sensed the three people across from him, especially Fujii Yuta.

This boy's chakra fluctuations were very weak, weaker than even an ordinary genin's.

But...

Lan could feel that although this chakra was weak, it was exceptionally pure, and the way it flowed was very strange. It did not seem like chakra naturally refined by the body, but more like... it had been suppressed and guided through some special method.

The son of a noble? Lan sneered inwardly.