As soon as Hyuga Tianfeng finished speaking, an undisguised scoff sounded from beside him.
"Captain Tianfeng, why waste words on a civilian?"
A boy in a dark-blue, high-collared short-sleeved shirt stepped forward from the back of the group.
The red-and-white table-tennis-paddle clan crest on his back was exceptionally conspicuous.
Uchiha Yan.
He folded his arms across his chest and lifted his chin high. His gaze swept over Qian Ye twice, the disdain in his eyes practically spilling over.
"Trash like him would've been reduced to ashes already if Pakura hadn't happened to suffer a Chakra backlash."
Uchiha Yan walked up to Qian Ye, leaned closer, and lowered his voice.
"Kid, don't think that showing your face before Lord Orochimaru means you're somebody important."
"This escort mission is the major clans helping the village shoulder its burdens. You'd better know your place and behave yourself on the road."
Qian Ye looked past Uchiha Yan's shoulder and glanced behind him.
Besides the Hyuga and Uchiha clans, the group also contained several young ninjas wearing clothes bearing the Ino–Shika–Cho clan crests.
The fat boy from the Akimichi clan was stuffing potato chips into his mouth.
The Nara clan boy yawned, his face practically screaming, "What a pain."
The Yamanaka clan girl was organizing her Ninja Tool Pouch.
Qian Ye understood instantly.
A gilded crew.
Capturing Pakura alive was a tremendous achievement worthy of being recorded in Hidden Leaf history.
As long as they delivered her safely to the Hokage Building, everyone involved in the escort would gain an exceptionally bold entry on their records.
Orochimaru was under pressure on the front lines and needed the major clans' support, so he had no choice but to pinch his nose and share this enormous cake.
These arrogant young masters and misses had come purely to mooch off military merit.
Qian Ye understood that perfectly and could not be bothered to argue with these spoiled heirs.
"Young Master Yan is absolutely right." Qian Ye took half a step back, plastering an utterly perfunctory smile on his face.
"I'm just here to make up the numbers. I definitely won't cause any trouble for you young masters and misses along the way."
"If danger comes, I'll be the first to run. I definitely won't hold you back."
Uchiha Yan choked on Qian Ye's shamelessly unbothered attitude.
He had prepared a stomachful of mockery, intending to provoke this civilian Genin and establish his authority before the group.
Instead, his punch landed on cotton.
"At least you know your place." Uchiha Yan snorted coldly and turned back toward the group.
Hyuga Tianfeng did not even spare Qian Ye another glance. He merely tossed out a cold warning.
"Remember what you said. If trouble really comes, we won't have time to protect a civilian who only knows cheap tricks."
Qian Ye shrugged and pretended not to hear him.
What was face worth?
Once they reached Hidden Leaf and he got the Yin Seal, his Chakra reserves would be maxed out. Then they would see who stepped on whom.
Pakura, locked inside the prison cart, had watched everything clearly.
She leaned against the iron bars, the corner of her mouth curling into a mocking arc.
"Hidden Leaf really is a disorganized mess."
Pakura's voice was not loud, but it was just enough for everyone nearby to hear.
"The front lines are fighting for their lives, while the rear sends a bunch of spoiled brats who haven't even weaned yet to snatch credit."
"A village like yours is doomed sooner or later."
Uchiha Yan whipped around, his hand immediately landing on the hilt of his ninja sword.
"You defeated prisoner, are you courting death?"
Pakura did not even raise her eyelids. She did not regard this young Uchiha master as worth her attention at all.
Qian Ye sighed, walked over to the prison cart, and tapped the iron bars with the handle of his Kunai.
"Enough, big sis."
Qian Ye lowered his voice. "You're a prisoner now. Will it kill you to say less?"
Pakura glared at Qian Ye, gritting her teeth.
"You filthy bastard who only knows underhanded tricks. Once I break the seal, you'll be the first one I burn to death."
Qian Ye rolled his eyes.
"Fine, fine, talk after you break it. For now, you'd better behave, or tonight I'll have the fat guy in charge of supplies skip your meal."
"You!" Pakura's chest heaved violently with anger, but she forcibly swallowed the words that followed.
She was genuinely hungry now.
Qian Ye turned around and waved at Hyuga Tianfeng.
"Captain, let's get moving. The sooner we hand her over, the sooner we're done."
Hyuga Tianfeng waved his hand.
"Move out!"
Eight elite ninjas spread out in a defensive formation, protecting the prison cart in the middle.
Qian Ye very consciously slipped to the very back of the group, walking side by side with the Nara clan boy responsible for covering the rear.
The group soon left the camp at No. 3 Outpost and plunged headlong into the dense forest.
Konoha was several days' journey from the Kikyo Pass front line.
The entire route was mostly this kind of primeval forest that blotted out the sky.
Qian Ye followed behind the group. Though he appeared to be vigilantly watching his surroundings, his mind was entirely occupied with the new idea Zhao Hai had sent him last night.
Use Chakra to stimulate acupoints and serve as a pressure pump.
This was good stuff.
As he walked, Qian Ye mobilized the meager Chakra within his body.
Unlike before, he did not spread Chakra broadly through his muscle fibers.
Instead, he controlled an extremely thin thread of water-nature Chakra, guiding it carefully along his meridians toward the Zusanli acupoint beneath his right knee.
This was also a key node near the Opening Gate among the Eight Gates.
The instant Chakra touched the acupoint—
An incomparably sharp pain instantly spread through his entire body.
Qian Ye stumbled, nearly falling to the ground.
"What? A civilian Genin can't even walk properly?"
Uchiha Yan, walking ahead, looked back and mercilessly began mocking him.
Qian Ye steadied himself and brushed the dust from his pants.
"The tree root was slippery. I tripped, Young Master Yan. Please forgive the laugh."
Uchiha Yan let out a cold snort, turned away, and continued onward.
Qian Ye took a deep breath, a layer of fine cold sweat forming on his forehead.
That had been a little too forceful.
Using Chakra to directly strike an acupoint was no different from stabbing a nerve with a needle.
He needed to be more precise.
Qian Ye slowed his breathing and reduced the Chakra to the bare minimum. He even removed the nature transformation, leaving only the purest Chakra energy.
This time, he controlled the Chakra to seep into several key acupoints in his right leg bit by bit, as slowly as a snail crawling.
Buzz.
Qian Ye felt the muscles in his right leg suddenly twitch.
There was no stabbing pain.
In its place came an extraordinarily strange feeling of swelling fullness.
It was like a shriveled sponge suddenly soaking up enough water. Under the stimulation of Chakra, every muscle fiber in his right leg instantly tightened to an unbelievable degree.
Qian Ye tried lifting his right foot and lightly stepped on the ground.
Crack.
The tree root beneath his foot, as thick as a thigh, was casually stomped full of several cracks.
Qian Ye's eyes lit up instantly.
It worked!
Old Zhao's bug-abusing method was fucking effective!
This kind of strength increase was on an entirely different level from simply using Chakra to reinforce muscles.
As Chakra remained within the acupoints, it was like installing several miniature turbochargers inside his meridians.
Every contraction and exertion of his muscles would be amplified severalfold by those "turbochargers."
And because he was not forcibly breaking through the acupoints' restrictions like the Eight Gates, his vitality was not being overdrawn at all.
At most, it increased the burden on his muscles.
But muscle strain was what Qian Ye feared least.
With Garp's insane training regimen and Sea King flesh laying the foundation, his muscle density had long surpassed that of ordinary people.
Qian Ye suppressed the wild joy in his heart and began replicating the method in his left leg.
Both sides activated at once.
Qian Ye felt as though two active volcanoes were hidden inside his legs.
As long as he wanted, he could unleash terrifying speed at any moment.
Qian Ye licked his lips, feeling as though he had found a broad path toward becoming a humanoid tyrannosaur.
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