Chapter 48

"Isn't a rat out in the open far more useful than a venomous snake lurking in the shadows?"

Liuyun smiled easily, a sharp gleam filling his eyes.

"As expected of you, Liuyun. That's exactly what I was thinking. Sorry for the trouble, but I'll need your genjutsu next!"

Orochimaru nodded in agreement.

"Sure!"

Their cryptic exchange left Jiraiya and Tsunade completely baffled.

"Hey, what are you two talking about?" Jiraiya couldn't help asking.

Liuyun ignored Jiraiya, his Sharingan spinning rapidly.

"Done! I erased his memories of seeing us tonight and left only the part about Jiraiya coming to drink with him!"

"The rest is up to you, Jiraiya! Your only job is to drink with him. Whatever you do, don't mention that we were here!" Orochimaru warned solemnly.

"Got it, got it!" Although Jiraiya had no idea what they were getting at, he simply accepted the task.

After they left Dark Moon Momonosuke's room, Orochimaru said goodbye, while Liuyun went straight to Tsunade's room.

Tsunade retrieved the liquor she had hidden in a corner and poured it straight into her mouth.

"If you have any questions, just ask! Don't bottle them up. I'll tell you anything I know!"

Seeing Tsunade like this left Liuyun with a bitter feeling.

"There's nothing I want to ask. I just feel awful. I never imagined Konoha could be so dark. I'm starting to believe your conspiracy theories!"

A bleak smile touched Tsunade's flushed face.

Madou Video? What Kind of Garbage Is That!

It was disappointment in her teacher and despair over the Konoha High Command.

"As long as you understand. Now you should put some real thought into a way forward for your Senju Clan!"

Liuyun spoke slowly.

"I will!"

Judging by Tsunade's appearance, she would probably keep drinking for quite a while. Liuyun stood up and left.

When he returned to his tent, his little wife Mikoto was already asleep on the tatami.

Liuyun didn't mind. As usual, he first froze the tent flap shut, stripped off his clothes, and slipped into bed.

Looking at Mikoto's sleeping face, Liuyun didn't know why he felt that stirring urge every single time.

He kept asking himself whether he really belonged to Eastern Wu.

In two months, he would give his first time to his little wife Mikoto, no matter what.

One thing worth mentioning was that, with the arrival of a batch of Konoha reinforcements a few days earlier, Liuyun no longer shared a tent with others.

Like Tsunade, he now had a tent of his own, which was also a recognition of his strength.

Early the next morning, Tsunade's yelling woke Liuyun again.

As usual, she hauled him off to the meeting room.

"Look! That's Uchiha Liuyun! Lady Tsunade's disciple!"

"So that's Liuyun, the one who slaughtered his way through the Sand Ninja Camp. He's so young!"

"The Uchiha Clan is so lucky. Thinking about what I was like at his age... forget it. It hurts too much!"

As soon as the two entered, the jonin seated around the room lowered their heads and began talking among themselves.

Their words carried undisguised jealousy, envy, and resentment!

Those with children could hardly wait to go home and give them the full Seven-Wolf Belt treatment.

Liuyun made his familiar way over to Orochimaru's side, but just as he was about to sit down—

Orochimaru spoke in his raspy voice. "Liuyun, your seat isn't here. It's over there!" He pointed to a chair on the left.

"They're all the same!" Liuyun couldn't be bothered and sat in his usual seat.

"If Liuyun won't take it, then I will, as his teacher!"

Tsunade wore a smile, holding her head high like a proud white swan.

Without the slightest hesitation, she planted herself in the chair.

Liuyun might not understand what that seat meant, but how could she, a seasoned battlefield veteran, not know?

The battlefield was different from the village. Connections were useless here; everything depended on strength.

The stronger someone was, the closer to the front their assigned seat would be during meetings. It was an unwritten rule.

For instance, when Hatake Sakumo had previously sat in the center to hold meetings, the Sannin had always been assigned the first three seats on the left.

This time, Liuyun had unexpectedly been placed ahead of all three of them, in the very first seat.

Since Liuyun knew nothing about these subtleties, she got to reap the benefit. She had wanted to experience the first seat for ages!

Tsunade leaned back in the chair, narrowed her eyes, and nodded slightly. "Not bad!"

Some of the ninja around her immediately looked exasperated, while others gazed at her enviously.

Was this the legendary case of a teacher rising in status thanks to her disciple?

Hatake Sakumo gave a timely cough, ending this farce that wasn't quite a farce, and began the meeting.

The agenda was simple: stall. No matter how the Sand Ninja tried to provoke them, they were to wait!

Wait until Hatake Sakumo recovered from his injuries!

Then they would fight a decisive battle against the Sand Ninja!

Hatake Sakumo's purpose was to warn the newly arrived jonin not to charge in blindly without knowing the situation and fall into a Sand Ninja trap!

"B-bad news! Lord Sakumo! Our border is under attack by the Land of Rain!"

A ninja from the Hyuga Clan rushed in and shouted.

"The Land of Rain? Aren't they attacking the Land of Iron?" Orochimaru asked in confusion.

"Hanzō has already breached the Land of Iron's first defensive line. He's now leading the Rain Ninja toward us!" the Hyuga ninja said gravely.

"Hanzō's ambitions are enormous. He's already occupied the Land of Waterfalls, the Land of Birds, and the Land of Grass."

"After taking part of the Land of Iron, he's now attacking Konoha. Does he really think Konoha is like those little countries?" Jiraiya said indignantly.

"What occupation? Those little countries are merely places we use as battlefields. Now that Hanzō has occupied them, he'll have to assign troops to defend them."

"The Land of Rain is only a small country with a limited number of ninja. Sooner or later, they won't be able to hold those territories. It'll only cost the Rain Ninja their lives for nothing."

Orochimaru licked his lips, his slit-pupiled eyes brimming with insight, as though he had already seen through everything.

"Orochimaru's analysis is correct!"

Hatake Sakumo nodded. They had indeed left those small countries alone so they could use them as battlefields when fighting broke out.

Although it was rather underhanded, that was the tragedy of being a small country.

"Orochimaru will command, with Tsunade and Jiraiya assisting. Take some men and stop Hanzō!"

Hatake Sakumo spoke gravely, then glanced at the utterly bored Liuyun.

"As for you, Liuyun, stay at the main camp and guard against a Sand Ninja attack!"

"No problem!" Liuyun nodded. It was a perfect chance to spend time with his little wife Mikoto!

Once all the orders had been given, everyone quickly left.

An hour later, Tsunade and her two teammates led their forces toward the border with the Land of Rain.

"Remember! While I'm away, I'm leaving Nawaki in your care!" That was Tsunade's parting instruction.

Payment? Did half an hour of potassium diiodide and big boobs count?

With Tsunade gone, Liuyun had no other familiar company in camp.

It was the perfect opportunity to send out shadow clones for some serious training.

His real body returned to his tent to thoroughly critique the Madou Video he had just obtained.

And so, Liuyun spent his mornings wandering around the tent and completing his three choices, then spent his afternoons critiquing the videos and novels in his inventory.

Before he knew it, two months had passed. In that time, Hatake Sakumo had fully recovered.

Thanks to the system's Gene Potion, Liuyun's body had also developed to that of a sixteen-year-old without him noticing, and all his physical metrics had reached the required standards.

Perhaps because his kidneys had evolved once, he was more vigorous—and bigger—in certain respects than some other people.

That counted as one of his perks!

Since Liuyun went out for a stroll every day, the other ninja found nothing strange about how much he had grown over those two months.

Some even remarked on how quickly he was developing.

"Lord Liuyun! Lord Sakumo would like you to come see him!" A ninja entered and spoke respectfully.

"Got it!" Being interrupted while watching Madou Video was annoying, but Liuyun knew what mattered!

"Lord Sakumo! What did you want to see me about?" Liuyun asked as he entered the command tent.

Hatake Sakumo, who had been studying a map, immediately relaxed his furrowed brows.

"You're here, Liuyun!" he said with a smile.

"Yes! Lord Sakumo, is there something you needed to summon me privately for?"

Arrival at the Land of Rain's Border—Battle Begins!

"Tsunade and the others got careless and fell for Hanzō's trap. They've ventured deep into the Land of Rain and are now trapped. I'd like to send you there!"

As he turned to business, Hatake Sakumo's expression grew solemn.

"What? Teacher Tsunade is trapped? What about the ninja they took with them? Are they all dead?"

Liuyun's face instantly darkened.

When Tsunade and her two teammates left, they had taken a third of the Konoha Main Camp's forces with them.

They might not have been enough to defeat Hanzō, but they should have been more than capable of defending against his attacks.

Seeing Liuyun's expression, Hatake Sakumo gave him an odd look.

"Those men are fine. Apparently, during a battle, Tsunade couldn't tolerate a Rain Ninja's taunts. She went deep into the heart of the Land of Rain alone to kill him!"

"Jiraiya and Orochimaru were worried and followed right behind her. Now all three are trapped in Amegakure like turtles in a jar."

"The Konoha ninja outside tried to rescue them, but the Rain Ninja held them off. Unable to do anything, they sent a request for help to me!"

Liuyun's mouth twitched. Damn it, so this was all that big-boobed woman's fault after all.

"Understood! I'll pack up and leave right away!"

"Good! Be careful on the road!" Hatake Sakumo warned.

Leaving the command tent, Liuyun headed toward the medical station. He needed to have a proper word with Mikoto before he left.

"Lord Liuyun!"

"Lord Liuyun!"

All along the way, the Konoha ninja greeted Liuyun respectfully, and he acknowledged them with a smile and a nod.

Over the past two months, there had been no fighting at the Konoha Main Camp.

Apart from those who had suffered severe injuries in the first battle, nearly everyone else had recovered.

As a result, things were fairly quiet at the medical station.

When Liuyun arrived, he found his little wife Mikoto using Medical Ninjutsu to treat a patient's wounds.

Watching the young girl's deeply focused expression, Liuyun couldn't help smiling.