News of the Chunin Ninja Exams

The turmoil in the Land of Waves had finally settled, and the journey home became exceptionally easy.

Sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves and fell across the forest path, Madara-speckled patches of light swaying gently in the breeze.

"Ugh... I can't go on... I'm coughing my lungs out..."

Ye Tian lay sprawled across Kakashi's back, groaning weakly now and then. His eyes were half-lidded, his head drooping limply over Kakashi's shoulder, looking as if he could pass away at any moment.

"Ye Tian..." Several dark lines appeared on Kakashi's forehead. Carrying a frail boy was hardly a burden to him, but wasn't this kid's acting a little too exaggerated?

"That Void-Piercing Bullet of yours on the bridge was pretty impressive. How come you don't even have the strength to walk now?"

"Kakashi-sensei... cough, cough..." Ye Tian weakly raised his eyelids. "You don't understand. That move was a forbidden technique that drains one's life force... I feel completely hollow right now. Only lying on your broad back lets me feel even a trace of safety from one of Konoha's elite jonin..."

In truth, Ye Tian was practically bubbling with delight.

This trip to the Land of Waves had not only stabilized his cultivation at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, but also earned him fragments of the Kubikiribōchō. He had even left a spiritual energy mark on Haku's heart without anyone noticing. What a massive profit!

Naturally, he needed to seize the chance to recover his spiritual energy while enjoying the privilege of having someone carry him. This was the true "freedom" of a Cultivator: if he could sit, he would never stand; if he could lie down, he would never sit.

Naruto bounced along ahead of them, as energetic as a monkey. "Ye Tian is way too sly! I want someone to carry me too!"

Sakura punched Naruto on the head. "Idiot! Ye Tian really is sick! Since you're so full of energy, carry more luggage!"

Sasuke walked beside them with his usual cold expression, but the occasional glances he gave Ye Tian held less contempt and more scrutiny. He had seen it clearly on the bridge. In that instant, those hundreds of mercenaries had truly been scared out of their wits by something.

And the source of it had been that sickly boy pretending to be dead on Kakashi's back.

"How many secrets is this guy hiding?" Sasuke clenched his fists, and his desire to grow stronger intensified.

Konoha, Hokage Office.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, held a pipe between his lips as he looked at the mission report in his hands, his brows slightly furrowed.

A C-rank escort mission had been upgraded to A-rank. They had encountered Zabuza Momochi, a rogue ninja from Hidden Mist, and even the rumored Kekkei Genkai of Ice Release.

"I never expected this mission to be so dangerous."

The Third Hokage exhaled a ring of smoke. His gaze fell on Kakashi standing before him, then shifted to Ye Tian, who stood nearby leaning on a cane and looking as though he might collapse at any second.

"Ye Tian, the report mentioned that at a critical moment, you used a special 'Wind Release' to blow away the heavy mist, then frightened off hundreds of mercenaries with an unknown ninjutsu?"

A sharp gleam flashed through the Third Hokage's seemingly cloudy but actually shrewd eyes.

"Cough, cough... You flatter me, Lord Hokage."

Ye Tian had already prepared his explanation. With a look of shame, he said, "What special Wind Release? I was just so scared at the time that, somehow, all the Chakra in my body burst out like air leaking from a tire... As for scaring away those mercenaries, that was purely because I had an episode. I must have looked so terrifying, like some vicious ghost, that they were disgusted enough to run away..."

The Third Hokage: "..."

Kakashi: "..."

That excuse was... certainly fresh and unconventional.

But the Third Hokage did not press the matter. Everyone had their own secrets. As long as one's heart remained with Konoha, he, as Hokage, was willing to be tolerant. Besides, Ye Tian's health was indeed a serious concern.

"Ye Tian, your body..." The Third Hokage sighed and took a letter from his drawer. "This was sent by Tsunade some days ago. Although she is not in the village right now, I mentioned your illness in my reply."

At the mention of "Tsunade," Ye Tian's ears twitched slightly.

She was the legendary fat sheep... no, the legendary medical expert! If she examined him, perhaps he could find some top-grade medicinal herbs or pill formulas.

"What did Tsunade say?" Though inwardly excited, Ye Tian still looked half-dead on the surface.

"She said she would return and take a look when she had the chance." The Third Hokage smiled. "She is the strongest Medical Ninja in the shinobi world. Perhaps she can cure your... congenital weakness."

"Thank you for your concern, Lord Hokage." Ye Tian nodded gratefully. Yet inwardly, he was calculating: If Tsunade came back, should I prepare a set of dice? They say a Cultivator's luck is part of his strength. It shouldn't be too much to win all her money, right?

After leaving the Hokage Building, Naruto suggested they go eat barbecue to celebrate the successful completion of their mission—mainly to celebrate the fact that they were all still alive.

Inside Barbecue Q, smoke curled through the air and the rich scent of grilled meat filled the room.

"Cheers!"

The three members of Team Seven and Kakashi raised their drinks and clinked glasses.

Just then, a lazy voice came from the next table. "What a drag... Making such a big fuss just to eat barbecue."

Ye Tian turned to look and broke into a grin.

It was Team Ten.

Shikamaru lay sprawled over the table, unwilling to move. Choji was frantically stuffing meat into his mouth, while Ino looked at her two teammates with open disgust.

"Well, if it isn't the 'sickly weakling.'"

The moment Ino turned around, she saw Ye Tian. Her words were as sharp as ever, but an unconcealable flicker of delight passed through her eyes. "I heard you ran into a real S-rank rogue ninja this time. I thought you would've been scared badly enough to wet your pants."

"Thanks to your good fortune, I barely made it back." Ye Tian replied with a smile, casually picking up a piece of freshly grilled pork belly and bringing it toward his mouth.

Smack!

A pair of chopsticks intercepted it with perfect precision.

Ino placed the finest piece of beef tongue from her own plate into Ye Tian's bowl. It had been grilled to perfection, and she had even carefully trimmed off the burnt edges.

"Well... you're skinny as a monkey, so this meat... I'm giving it to you."

Ino turned her head away, a proud Kurenai blush rising on her cheeks. "Don't get the wrong idea! I just don't want to see you starve to death on the street next time!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "What a drag... Women really do say one thing and mean another."

Choji mumbled through a mouthful of food, "Mmph... that was my meat..."

Ye Tian looked at the beef tongue in his bowl, warmth spreading through his heart. This little girl really had not changed at all—sharp-tongued but soft-hearted.

"It would be rude not to return the favor."

Ye Tian pulled a wrinkled yellow talisman paper from his robes. Strange, scribbled symbols had been drawn across it in cinnabar.

"This is a family heirloom, a 'secret formula for preserving youth.'" Ye Tian spoke utter nonsense with a perfectly serious face. "Place it on your forehead for half an hour before bed every night, and your skin will become smooth and supple while your youth lasts forever. I was planning to sell it for a high price, but for the sake of that piece of meat, I'll give it to you."

This was actually a low-grade Dust-Cleansing Talisman. It could not truly preserve youth, but female cultivators often used it to cleanse their pores, detoxify their skin, and enhance their complexion. Its effects were indeed a hundred times better than ordinary cosmetics.

"Really?" Ino accepted the talisman skeptically. "Why does it look like something from a zombie movie?"

Though she sounded disdainful, her hand gripped it tightly, afraid someone else might snatch it away. What girl could resist the temptation of "eternal youth"?

After eating and drinking their fill, everyone went their separate ways.

The lights had just begun to illuminate Konoha's streets.

Ye Tian walked home alone, still leaning on that broken tree branch.

Suddenly, he stopped.

An aura reeking of blood and violent Chakra entered his sensory range without the slightest attempt at concealment.

He looked up toward a nearby rooftop.

Three figures dressed in foreign clothing stood there, overlooking Konoha's nightscape.

At the front stood a blonde girl carrying an enormous fan. Beside her was a boy with purple markings painted across his face, carrying a Puppet wrapped in bandages.

And between them stood a Kurenai-haired boy with a huge gourd on his back and a vivid red character for "love" carved into his forehead.

The three Sand Village siblings.

Gaara.

Those eyes ringed with heavy dark circles were filled with bloodthirsty killing intent, as though he could go berserk at any moment and tear apart everything before him.

But Ye Tian was not frightened by that killing intent.

His gaze was glued to the enormous gourd on Gaara's back.

More precisely, to what was inside the gourd.

It was sand.

But not ordinary sand.

Under Ye Tian's spiritual sense, every grain contained an extraordinarily unique spiritual energy fluctuation. It had been steeped in Shukaku's Chakra over countless years, then ground together with the Land of Wind's distinctive Magnetic Release ore...

"Supreme-Grade Spirit Sand!"

Ye Tian's eyes instantly lit up like two lightbulbs. "That's perfect material for refining an Earth-Element Treasure or setting up defensive formations! With that level of purity and spiritual nature, it would sell for at least several hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones per pound in the cultivation world!"

"There must be several hundred pounds in that gourd..."

Ye Tian could not help swallowing.

Originally, he had wanted to stay as far away as possible from a "mentally unstable child" like Gaara. But now, he looked at Gaara as though he were a walking treasury.

"The Chunin Ninja Exams... Heh heh, looks like this time, not only Orochimaru, but even this little Tanuki will be delivering a package to me."

Ye Tian licked his lips, revealing a smile even stranger than Gaara's.

"I want to rob him... I really want to rob him..."

The night wind blew past, carrying a trace of chill.

The approaching Chunin Ninja Exams were destined to be anything but peaceful.

And while everyone else fought for honor, dreams, or conspiracies, one utterly unconventional Cultivator was drooling over other people's equipment, his mind filled with thoughts of murder and robbery... no, "resource recovery."