Passing the last mountain pass through the Gobi, the smell of gravel in the wind was instantly replaced by the smell of damp vegetation.
The border of Land of Waterfalls is a continuous rainforest. Towering ancient trees block out the sky and the sun, and vines wrap around the tree trunks like snakes. The water vapor in the air is so heavy that it can squeeze out water, which sticks to the skin. Rinto took off his hood and patted the fallen leaves off his shoulders. His eyes did not fall on the tree crown that blocked the sky and the sun. Instead, he squatted down and stared at a broken vine.
The vine was trampled by a passing beast, and transparent juice was seeping out from the fracture at a speed visible to the naked eye. The originally scattered fibers slowly gathered together, and in less than half a minute, a new protective film formed, and even the juice no longer seeped out.
Rinto's eyes lit up. He immediately put down his backpack and took out his notebook and carving knife. He carefully cut off a small section of the vine, and a very fine Chakra condensed from his fingertips. He penetrated the cells of the vine and observed the energy flow when it repaired the damage.
Jiraiya's booklet states that the core of Takigakure's Yang Release secrets is "the body's self-repair and potential stimulation." He had previously figured out the framework of the adaptive regulatory membrane in the Gobi, but how to accelerate cell division and stimulate potential without damaging the cells, the parameter threshold has been stuck.
The repair logic of this vine happened to hit the spot where he got stuck. Instead of forcing all cells to divide together, it only activated the dormant cells at the break, precisely controlling the energy supply, so that no extra point was wasted.
Rinto squatted in the mud of the rainforest, completely forgetting the time. The carving knife in his hand cut the cross section of the vine as thin as a cicada's wings, and the charcoal pen quickly wrote down the parameters in the notebook, Chakra He probed in and pulled back again and again, repeatedly verifying the threshold of cell activation. Mosquitoes in the rainforest landed on his arm, sucking blood and he didn't notice it. Even the sky above his head slowly darkened and a drizzle began to fall, without even distracting him from his attention.
After he finished dismantling the logic of repairing the vines and filled two pages, the coarse cloth coat on his body was mostly wet by the drizzle. He closed the book, stood up and stretched his numb legs, only to realize that the rain had already fallen hard, the leaves were rustling from the rain, and the surrounding light had dimmed a lot.
He glanced at the map in his arms and saw that there was still less than two kilometers away from the Ochiai Town mentioned by Jiraiya.
Ochiai Town is the only town on the Land of Waterfalls border that allows outsiders to stay. It lives on border trade. Business travelers, wandering ninjas, and black market merchants are all crowded here. It is also the only place that can avoid the main patrol of Takigakure. Rinto has no intention of directly breaking into Takigakure--Jiraiya made it very clear that Takigakure values his secrets more than his life. There are dozens of layers of barriers around the village. Breaking in will only cause endless trouble and delay his research progress.
Let's settle down at Ochiai Town first and find out the situation first.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier. Rinto put his backpack in his arms to protect the information inside from getting wet. He quickened his pace and followed the path in the rain forest in the direction of Ochiai Town. On the way, he encountered several peripheral perception barriers made by Takigakure. They were all hidden under the bark of trees and in vines. They would be triggered if you were not careful.
Rinto did not forcefully break through, nor did he take a detour. He just moved his fingertips slightly and used Yin Release to change his own Chakra wave, so that his breath blended with the surrounding vegetation. Like a gust of wind, he passed through the barrier silently. Those sensory lines that could trap even wandering ninjas were no different from the lines drawn on the ground in his eyes, and he passed through without even stopping for a moment.
Half an hour later, he finally saw the outline of Ochiai Town.
The town was built on a flat land in the rainforest, surrounded by a wooden fence with the warning seal of Takigakure engraved on it. Two Takigakure Genin with knives stood at the door, checking people entering and leaving the town one by one, their eyes full of vigilance.
Rinto put his hood back on, lowered the brim of his hat, and followed the group of business travelers in front of him to the entrance of the town.
"Foreigner? What are you here for?" When it was his turn, Genin, the gatekeeper, immediately tightened his face, put his hand on the ninja tool bag on his waist, and looked him up and down, his eyes full of scrutiny. Land of Waterfalls was xenophobic, especially towards the foreign ninja who came alone, and his vigilance was at its highest.
"Businessman passing by, here to collect some medicinal materials from the rainforest." Rinto's tone was very calm, without showing any Chakra fluctuations, like an ordinary businessman. He didn't want to cause trouble, and it was best to fool him. There was no need to conflict with the ninjas guarding the gate here.
Genin was still worried and reached out to search his backpack. Rinto frowned slightly. The backpack was full of his core information and experimental supplies. Not to mention touching it, even if he looked through it and damaged the drawings, it would be enough to annoy him.
Just when he was about to use Yin Release to fool him quietly, the caravan boss behind him hurried over and smoothed things over with a smile, "Sir, this is the guy who is with me. It's his first time at Land of Waterfalls. He doesn't understand the rules. Please bear with me."
The boss had just seen Rinto on the trail in the rainforest. Although he didn't know his background, his ability to pass through the barrier quietly just now was definitely a ruthless character. He didn't want to cause any trouble at the door and delay his business, so he simply helped him.
The gatekeeper Genin looked at the caravan's customs clearance documents, glared at Rinto, and waved his hand impatiently. "Go in! Be honest in the town, don't wander into restricted areas, and don't inquire about things you shouldn't inquire about, otherwise you will suffer a lot!"
Rinto didn't answer and followed the flow of people into the town.
Ochiai Town was more chaotic than he imagined. Both sides of the narrow streets were filled with taverns, inns, and medicine shops. The muddy roads were mixed with rainwater and horse manure. The sounds of shouts, quarrels, and gambling in the taverns were mixed together, which was worse than falling sand. The town is still noisy. Ninjas carrying ninja tools can be seen everywhere on the streets. Most of them are foreign business travelers, and there are also many Takigakure patrols. They walk in groups on the streets, scanning every outsider with vigilant eyes.
Rinto was not in the mood to go shopping, so he walked along the street, found the most remote inn, and got a room with a backyard. He didn't pack his luggage at the first time, but placed three layers of sensing anchors and anti-reconnaissance seals in the room and backyard, and locked the door. The gaps in the windows were sealed with solidified structures to ensure that no one would sneak in and no one would notice the Chakra fluctuations in his experiment. Then he took out the information, engraving knife and consumables from the backpack and carefully placed them on the table.
The rain outside was still falling, making a loud splash on the roof tiles. Rinto sat at the table, first sorting out the vine repair parameters that he had just memorized in the rain forest, and then optimizing the configuration of cell activation little by little against the Yang Release basic framework that he had drawn previously.
The adaptive regulating membrane he designed before could only passively stabilize the flow of body energy, but now, he can add a layer of actively stimulating structure, like the repair mechanism of vines, to precisely control the activation range and energy supply of cells, which can not only improve the body's energy conversion efficiency, but also not damage the foundation of cells.
The more he revised, the more he became absorbed in it. The charcoal pen in his hand kept scratching the paper, and he revised one edition after another, without even noticing that his stomach was growling. It was not until the sky outside the window was completely dark and the light in the room was so dark that he could not see the words on the paper. He stopped writing and lit the oil lamp on the table.
The moment the lights were turned on, he realized that it was already dark, the rain had stopped, and the noise on the street was much less, except for the faint noise from the tavern in the distance.
Rinto put down the charcoal, rubbed his stiff shoulders, got up and prepared to go to the town to find some food. He also went to the black market to see if he could find some information about Takigakure's body secrets.
He locked the door and added two more seals to the door before turning downstairs and heading to the busiest black market street in town. Ochiai Town's black market was hidden in the backyard of the tavern. It was much smaller than Falling Sand Town's. There were only a dozen stalls, most of which sold rare medicinal materials from the rainforest, poisonous insects, and some scattered ninja tools. There were very few stalls selling classics.
Rinto Browsed through the stalls one after another, most of them were basic Ninjutsu scrolls and illustrations of poisons in the rainforest, none of which even touched Yang Release. He walked to an old books stall in the back. The stall owner was an old man who was blind in one eye. In front of him was a pile of yellowed old scrolls, most of which were insect-eaten fragments.
"Is there any information about Takigakure's body secrets?" Rinto squatted down and asked straight to the point.
The old man's single eye narrowed in an instant, he scanned the surroundings vigilantly, lowered his voice, and waved his hands to chase people away. "No, no! Leave quickly! Don't ask me this, if you want to die, don't get me involved!"
Rinto frowned and took out a small piece of crystal jade from his pocket - this was what he had left over from Falling Sand Town. It was of extremely high purity and was more useful than money on the black market. He put the crystal jade on the stall and pushed it in front of the old man. "Just a few relevant records will be enough, even folk rumors and fragments of scraps will do."
The old man looked at the piece of crystal jade, his eyes moved, he swallowed, but he still pushed the crystal jade back, shaking his head like a rattle. "No! It's not that I don't make this money, it's that I really don't dare to sell it! People from Takigakure Just watch, whoever dares to touch the secret things in the body will die in the rain forest the next day, and even the body will not be found! A while ago, a foreign businessman collected half a page of relevant fragments, and was killed that night, and his stall was burned down!"
He paused and then added, his tone full of fear. "Young man, I advise you not to ask about this either. Takigakure values this thing more than his life, let alone buying it. If you just ask a few more questions, the patrol will be on you. It's not worth throwing away your life here for half a piece of broken paper."
Rinto didn't press any further, took the crystal jade back, stood up and left.
He asked three stalls in a row, but the result was the same. When he heard the words "Body Secret" and "Yang Release", they all felt like they had seen a ghost. They either drove him away or waved their hands and said no, not even daring to mention it.
Rinto's brows furrowed even more tightly. He didn't expect that Takigakure's control over secret information would be so strict. In Ochiai Town, a border town where no one cares, no one even dared to tell relevant rumors, let alone buy information.
It seems that it is impossible to understand the secret biography of Yang Release by buying information.
He stopped visiting the black market and turned around to walk back to the inn, thinking about the next steps in his mind. It was unrealistic to forcefully break into Takigakure. Even if he could break the barrier and repel the patrol, it would lead to endless pursuits and delay the research progress. Is there any difference? What's the way? For example, go to the rainforest outside Takigakure and look for those abandoned ruins? Or, find the ninjas of Takigakure, find a way to get their Chakra samples, and deduce them in reverse?
Just as he was thinking about it, a group of Takigakure patrolling ninjas came towards him. The leader was a Jonin, with sharp eyes, scanning everyone on the street. Rinto subconsciously restrained his aura, used Yin Release to suppress the Chakra fluctuations to a minimum, and walked close to the roadside, trying to get through.
But just as he passed by the patrol, the leader Jonin suddenly stopped and turned to look at him, his eyes full of vigilance. "Stop."
Rinto paused, feeling a little impatient. He didn't want to cause trouble, but trouble always came to him.
"Which caravan are you from? Why haven't I seen you just now?" Jonin took two steps forward and put his hand on Ninja Blade on his waist. Several ninjas behind him immediately surrounded him and blocked Rinto on the side of the road. "Take out your customs clearance documents and take a look."
He had noticed this young man just now. He looked like an ordinary businessman, but his walking steps were ridiculously steady, and his aura was also very strange. He could not feel Chakra, but it gave people an unfathomable sense of oppression.
Rinto didn't take any customs clearance documents. He was not originally from a caravan. He raised his eyes and looked at the few ninjas surrounding him, and said in a calm tone, "I'm just passing by. I stayed in town for one night and then left. I didn't cause any trouble."
"Stop talking nonsense! Bring out the documents!" A Genin shouted sharply, with the Kunai in his hand already showing, "If you can't get it out, come with us to the patrol team! I suspect you are a spy who came to steal secret information!"
Rinto's brows knitted together. He didn't want to take action. Once he did, if the commotion became louder, all Ochiai Town's Takigakure ninjas would be attracted, making the follow-up even more troublesome. But following them to the patrol would be a waste of time.
Just when he was thinking about the easiest way to escape, he suddenly felt that there were several strange Chakra fluctuations around him, and they were approaching here. They were not Takigakure ninjas, but someone else, hiding on the surrounding roofs and in the alleys. Their aura was cold and full of murderous intent. The target seemed to be him, but it seemed not to be him.
Jonin of the patrol also noticed something was wrong, his expression changed instantly, and he suddenly looked up at the surrounding rooftops. "Who is that person?!"
Before he finished speaking, several black tentacles suddenly sprang out from the alley next to him, carrying a fierce wind, and headed straight for Rinto's back! They were not heading for Takigakure's patrol team, but straight for him!
Takigakure's patrol team panicked for a moment, thinking it was a sneak attack, and immediately set up a battle formation, but the tentacles ignored them at all and were all directed at Rinto.
Rinto's eyes turned cold. He turned sideways to avoid the tentacles, and several wind blades popped out from his fingertips, accurately striking the black tentacles. The wind blades struck the tentacles, only cutting through the surface layer of flesh, and the blood vessels inside shrank instantly and wrapped around him again.
Earth Grudge Fear.
He recognized it instantly. At Konoha, he had seen the information about Kakuzu collected by Danzo. This was Kakuzu's secret technique, which relied on Earth Grudge Fear to fuse other people's hearts, extend life span, and control these black tentacles to fight.
Kakuzu Why is he here? And you are here for him?
"Uchiha Rinto."
A cold voice came from the alley. Kakuzu wore a mask and walked out step by step. His scarlet eyes stared at Rinto with undisguised greed in his voice. "There is someone on the black market who is offering a high price for your life and the technology in your brain. Come with me and you will suffer less."
When the patrol team of Takigakure heard the name "Uchiha Rinto", their expressions suddenly changed. Although they did not know Rinto, they had heard of this name - an S-class rebellious ninja named Konoha. The bounty on his head was frighteningly high and he was said to be extremely dangerous.
"You handle your own matters! Don't do anything in Ochiai Town!" The leader, Jonin, immediately led his men back, but did not leave. He stared from a distance, keeping his hands on Ninja Blade, ready to report at any time. They did not want to get involved in a battle of this level. As long as they did not destroy the town or hurt innocent people, they were too lazy to care.
Rinto ignored the retreating patrol and just looked at Kakuzu coldly, his tone full of impatience. "Get out. I don't have time to waste with you."
His mind is now filled with the configuration of Yang Release and how to get the secret information of Takigakure, and he has no intention of fighting with Kakuzu. What's more, Earth Grudge Fear of Kakuzu is essentially immortality achieved by the fusion of Yang Release and cells. To him, there is nothing worth studying, and fighting is a waste of time.
"Ha, that's not a bad tone." Kakuzu sneered, and the sutures on his body split instantly, and four masked monsters emerged from his body, each with the four attributes of wind, fire, thunder, and earth. Chakra, "Kazama died in your hands, and the price given by Danzo is not low. What's more, your configuration technology is worth much more than the bounty."
He has been eyeing Rinto for a long time. Since Falling Sand Town, he has been following the traces of Rinto, but before Jiraiya was there, he did not dare to take action. Now Rinto arrived at Land of Waterfalls alone, which was the best time to make a move. As long as he could catch Rinto and force him to hand over the technology to solidify the ninja tool and its configuration, he could sell it for a sky-high price on the black market, which would be more than what he earned from ten S-level missions.
Before he finished speaking, four masked monsters attacked at the same time, Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation, Wind Release: Pressure Damage, Lightning Release: False Darkness, and three Ninjutsus smashed towards Rinto at the same time. The momentum was so huge that it enveloped the surrounding streets.
The surrounding businesses screamed and closed their doors, and the Takigakure patrol team also retreated, their faces turning pale. Once this level of Ninjutsu bombardment spread to the town, half the street would be destroyed.
But Rinto stood there, not even moving a step. He didn't even Hand Seals, he just raised his hand and drew a circle in front of him, Chakra spread out instantly, and an invisible barrier formed in front of him.
With a loud bang, fire, wind, and thunder Ninjutsu hit the barrier and dispersed instantly. Not even a shock wave escaped, let alone hurt Rinto at all.
Kakuzu's pupils suddenly narrowed.
He knew that Rinto was powerful, and the elite team that could kill Kazama must have two brushes. But he didn't expect that Ninjutsu, which he had fused with five hearts, was actually blocked by the opponent without causing any trouble.
Rinto's brows frowned even more. The Ninjutsu explosion just now caused the surrounding tiles to fall down. The noise was so loud, and it will definitely cause more trouble in the future.
He has no patience to waste it with Kakuzu.
Before Kakuzu could make another move, Rinto's fingertips moved. A few Chakra Threads, which were so thin that they were almost invisible, followed the tentacle wounds cut by the wind blade just now, quietly got in, and directly invaded the core structure of Earth Grudge Fear.
Kakuzu was just about to let the remaining Earth Release mask launch an attack when he suddenly felt a sharp pain coming from the Earth Grudge Fear tentacles in his body. Those tentacles that were originally controlled by him suddenly seemed like crazy. Twisting around, the flow of Chakra was instantly messed up, and the Chakra of the four masked monsters were also instantly confused. The Ninjutsu that had just condensed into half collapsed, and the backlash caused him to spurt out a mouthful of blood.
"What did you do?!" Kakuzu was shocked and angry, staring at Rinto with disbelief in his eyes. He didn't even see how Rinto acted, and his Earth Grudge Fear lost control.
"Your Earth Grudge Fear is essentially a forcible fusion of foreign cells and hearts, which are forcibly bound together by Chakra." Rinto's tone was very calm, as if stating a simple fact, "I only need to change the binding configuration of your Chakra, and they won't listen to you."
For him, dismantling the structure of Earth Grudge Fear is not much more difficult than disassembling a simple Sealing Jutsu. It is all the fusion logic of Chakra and cells. His current understanding of Yang Release can just hit Earth Grudge Fear's Achilles' heel.
As he spoke, his fingertips moved slightly again. Several of the Earth Grudge Fear tentacles in Kakuzu's body broke instantly. The Chakra cores of the four masked monsters were directly shattered by the invisible configuration. They let out several shrill screams and instantly collapsed, turning into a puddle of rotten flesh.
Kakuzu's whole body was shaken, and another mouthful of blood spurted out. Several sutures on his body burst open, and his face was as pale as paper. Earth Grudge Fear, whom he was so proud of, looked like paper in front of Rinto, and could not survive even a single move.
He finally understood why Kazama's team was completely wiped out. The young man in front of him was no ordinary rebel ninja at all, he was a complete monster.
"Get lost." Rinto spit out one word coldly, "Don't bother me anymore. If you follow me again, I won't mind dismantling all the fusion structures in your body and turning you into a puddle of mud."
He did not kill anyone. Killing Kakuzu would only cause more trouble, and the patrols of Akatsuki and Takigakure would all keep an eye on him. He just wanted to get rid of these troubles quickly and go back to continue his research.
Kakuzu stared at him, his eyes full of resentment and fear, but he did not dare to take another half step forward. He knew very well that Rinto had not killed him just now, otherwise he would be a dead man now. If he continued to fight, let alone arresting Rinto, his life would be lost here.
He gritted his teeth and raised his hand to retract the out-of-control Earth Grudge Fear tentacles. He didn't even pick up the remains of the mask on the ground. He turned around and rushed into the alley next to him. After a few ups and downs, he disappeared into the rain forest without even daring to say a harsh word.
In less than a minute, the battle was over.
The surroundings were so quiet that the merchants hiding in the house did not dare to make a sound. The Takigakure patrols surrounding them from a distance all had pale faces, and their hands holding Ninja Blade were shaking. They were useless with just one move. Kakuzu? That's Kakuzu from Akatsuki, an S-class rebellious ninja who has lived for decades, but he didn't even survive a single move in the hands of this young man?
Rinto ignored the shocked looks around him, dusted himself off, turned around and walked in the direction of the inn. His mind was now filled with the fact that the cell fusion logic he discovered when he just dismantled Earth Grudge Fear could just complement his Yang Release configuration, so he had to go back and write it down quickly.
When passing by the patrol, the Takigakure ninjas subconsciously stepped back. No one dared to stop him, not even a word. They could clearly see the scene just now. Monsters of this level, let alone their patrol team, even the entire Ochiai Town guards combined are not enough for one Teuchi. As long as he doesn't cause trouble in the town, they don't bother to care about Konoha's wanted warrant.
Rinto returned to the inn, locked the door with his backhand, re-strengthened the seal, rushed to the table, picked up the charcoal pen and started writing. The cell fusion logic that he saw when he just dismantled Earth Grudge Fear, and the repair mechanism of the previous vines, together, completely solved the problem of the cell excitation threshold that had been stuck before.
The flame of the oil lamp danced quietly. He lay on the table and was so absorbed in writing that he didn't even hear the footsteps of the patrol patrol outside.
What he didn't know was that the battle that took less than a minute had already exploded in Ochiai Town. Konoha's S-class rebel ninja and Kakuzu defeated Akatsuki's Kakuzu with one move. The news spread throughout the town in an instant like it had wings. Even the top brass of Takigakure received the news.
No one knew that in the rain forest outside the town, Kakuzu, who had just escaped, was covering his wounds and summoning Pain of Akatsuki, telling him Rinto's strength and his strange ability to easily dismantle Earth Grudge Fear, word for word.
Rinto in the inn didn't care at all. All his attention fell on the brand new Yang Release cell excitation configuration on the paper.
Takigakure's secret biography hasn't been obtained yet, but his research on Yang Release has already taken a crucial step.