You Handle the Posturing, I'll Handle the Cheats

No sooner had Hyuga Tianfeng finished speaking than an undisguised snort of laughter came from beside them.

"Captain Tianfeng, why waste your breath on a civilian?"

A boy in a dark blue short-sleeved turtleneck 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 held his chin high. His gaze swept over Qian Ye twice, the contempt in his eyes practically overflowing.

"Trash like him would have been reduced to ashes long ago if Pakura hadn't happened to suffer a chakra backlash."

Uchiha Yan stopped before Qian Ye, leaned closer, and lowered his voice.

"Kid, don't think that showing your face in front of Lord Orochimaru means you're suddenly somebody important."

"This escort mission is our great clans helping ease the village's burden. You'd better know your place and behave yourself on the road."

Qian Ye looked past Uchiha Yan's shoulder toward the rear.

Besides the Hyuga and Uchiha, the group contained several young ninjas dressed in 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 hassle."

The girl from the Yamanaka clan was organizing her Ninja Tool Pouch.

Qian Ye understood at once.

A gilded team.

Pakura had been captured alive—an enormous achievement worthy of being recorded in Hidden Leaf history.

As long as they safely delivered her to the Hokage Building, everyone participating in the escort would gain an exceptionally bold line on their records.

Orochimaru's front line was under pressure and needed the major clans' support, so he had no choice but to grit his teeth and share this huge cake.

These arrogant young masters and misses had come purely to mooch off military merit.

Qian Ye knew that perfectly well and could not be bothered to argue with these spoiled heirs.

"You're absolutely right, Young Master Yan." Qian Ye took half a step back, putting on an extremely perfunctory smile.

"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 up, I'll be the first to run. I definitely won't hold you back."

Uchiha Yan choked on Qian Ye's utterly shameless attitude.

He had prepared a whole stomachful of taunts, intending to provoke this civilian Genin and establish his authority in front of 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, merely tossing out a cold warning.

"Remember what you said. If trouble really arises, we won't have time to protect a civilian who only knows petty tricks."

Qian Ye shrugged and pretended not to hear.

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, saw everything clearly.

Leaning against the iron bars, she pulled her lips into a mocking curve.

"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 line is fighting for its life, while the rear sends a bunch of wet-behind-the-ears young masters to snatch credit."

"A village like yours is doomed sooner or later."

Uchiha Yan spun around sharply, his hand immediately gripping the hilt of his ninja sword.

"A defeated prisoner, are you courting death?!"

Pakura did not even lift her eyelids. She simply did not take this young Uchiha master seriously.

Qian Ye sighed, walked to the prison cart, and tapped the iron bars with the handle of a Kunai.

"Enough, sis."

Qian Ye lowered his voice. "You're a prisoner now. Will saying less kill you?"

Pakura glared at Qian Ye, gritting her teeth.

"You scheming bastard. Once I break the seal, you'll be the first one I burn to death."

Qian Ye rolled his eyes.

"Sure, sure. Talk after you break it. For now, you'd better behave, or tonight I'll have the fat guy handling supplies skip your meal."

"You!" Pakura's chest heaved violently with rage, but she forcibly swallowed the words that followed.

She really was hungry now.

Qian Ye turned around and waved to Hyuga Tianfeng.

"Captain, let's get going. The sooner we finish the handoff, the sooner we're done."

Hyuga Tianfeng waved his hand.

"Move out!"

The eight elite ninjas spread into a defensive formation, protecting the prison cart in the center.

Qian Ye very consciously slipped to the very back of the group, walking side by side with the Nara clan boy responsible for the rear guard.

The team quickly left the No. 3 Outpost camp and plunged into the dense forest.

Konohagakure was several days' journey from the Kikyo Pass front line.

The entire route was mostly this kind of primeval forest, dense enough to blot out the sky.

Qian Ye followed behind the group, seemingly keeping watch on the surroundings, while his mind was actually occupied with the new idea Zhao Hai had sent him last night.

Using chakra to stimulate acupoints as a pressure pump.

This was good stuff.

As he walked, Qian Ye mobilized the meager chakra within his body.

Rather than spreading chakra broadly across his muscle fibers as he had before,

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 crucial node near the Opening Gate in the Eight Gates.

The instant the chakra touched the acupoint,

an incomparably sharp stabbing pain spread through his entire body.

Qian Ye staggered, nearly falling to the ground.

"What? A civilian Genin can't even walk steadily?"

Uchiha Yan, walking ahead, glanced back and mercilessly began mocking him.

Qian Ye steadied himself and patted the dust from his pants.

"The tree root was too slippery. I tripped, Young Master Yan. Please forgive the laugh."

Uchiha Yan gave a cold snort, turned away, and continued onward.

Qian Ye took a deep breath, a layer of fine cold sweat appearing on his forehead.

That had been a little too forceful.

Driving chakra directly into 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, retaining only pure chakra energy.

This time, he controlled the chakra to seep into several crucial acupoints in his right leg bit by bit, as slowly as a snail crawling.

Buzz.

Qian Ye felt the muscles in his right leg twitch sharply.

There was no stabbing pain.

Instead, an extraordinarily strange feeling of fullness replaced it.

It was like a shriveled sponge suddenly soaking up water. Under the chakra's stimulation, every muscle fiber in his right leg instantly tensed to an unbelievable degree.

Qian Ye tried lifting his right foot and lightly stepping on the ground.

Crack.

The tree root beneath his foot, as thick as a thigh, was casually crushed beneath his step, several cracks spreading across it.

Qian Ye's eyes lit up instantly.

It worked!

Old Zhao's bug-abusing method was fucking effective!

This increase in strength was completely different from merely using chakra to reinforce muscles.

The chakra remained in the acupoints like several miniature turbochargers installed along his meridians.

Every muscle contraction and burst of force was multiplied several times over by those "turbochargers."

And because he was not forcibly breaking through the acupoints' restrictions like the Eight Gates, he was not draining his vitality at all.

At most, it increased the burden on his muscles.

But muscle strain was the very thing Qian Ye feared least.

With Garp's insane training regimen and Sea King flesh as his foundation, his muscle density had long surpassed that of ordinary people.

Suppressing the wild joy in his heart, Qian Ye began replicating the method in his left leg.

Both sides activated at once.

Qian Ye felt as though two living volcanoes were hidden within his legs.

Whenever he wanted, he could unleash an utterly terrifying speed.

Qian Ye licked his lips, feeling that he had found a broad road toward becoming a humanoid tyrannosaurus.