Konoha Gate
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were still sitting in the guardhouse, leisurely drinking tea.
"Slurp, mmm~(), another relaxing day."
"Gurgle, ha~(ōō), I'm in an exceptionally good mood today."
People come and go from Konoha in great numbers, but with their sharp eyes, it's safe to say that ordinary spies can't escape their notice. This job is practically a vacation for them.
"Oh! Koharu, look, First... oh no, Sakura's here. Is she on another mission?"
" Sakura? Who did she bring this time? Ugh, why are Mushroom Head and Nine-Tails following behind? What kind of group is this? And Hongshi, they're almost here, pretend you didn't see them!"
The two men knew that Hongshi had replenished Hiruzen Sarutobi's Danzo, but they were too proud to ask for it back.
Rock Lee was still very excited. "I know a place in the Land of Land of Rivers where the food is really good, let's use that as our supply point."
Upon hearing that it was delicious, Naruto immediately perked up. "Really! What is it?"
Sakura asked in the same way, "I haven't really eaten much food from other villages."
Rock Lee Li grinned, his teeth gleaming brightly. "Let's keep it a secret for now, you'll find out soon enough!"
A group of seven people left Konoha.
Rokusuke and his two companions walked ahead, looking at Hongshi and his group of four. "Hey, I have a feeling these kids aren't reliable."
Kyūsha Che sighed, "There's nothing we can do. That bald, muscular black man looks pretty strong."
Nanasuki was also very frustrated. "We don't have enough money to hire powerful ninjas, and the Lord Hokage himself said they are very strong. We'll just have to leave it to fate."
However, after walking for a while, Rokusuke discovered that the Hongshi was gone.
"Captain Sakura, where did that bald, muscular black man go?"
Sakura naturally knew what had happened. "It's okay, let's keep going, he'll catch up."
For some inexplicable reason, Rock Lee suddenly grabbed Naruto and said, " Naruto! Let's have a race to see who gets to the supply point first!"
After Naruto mastered the Adamantine Sealing Chains, he never had another chance to use them. He was already really looking forward to this mission and couldn't wait to get to the Land of Rivers: "Yoshi! Sakura, do you want to come too?!"
Sakura looked disgusted. "I refuse. Whatever makes you happy."
"Then let's begin!"
"Boom!"
Rock Lee and Naruto quickly entered their fighting mode, smoke rising from their feet as they moved forward rapidly, disappearing from Sakura's and the others' sight in no time.
Sakura looked at Rokusuke two apologetically. "Sorry, those two have always been like that."
For a moment, Rokusuke didn't know what to say.
" Sakura-chan! Look at my newly invented Ninjutsu!"
Upon hearing Hongshi's voice, Sakura rolled her eyes. She saw that Hongshi was standing on a turtle made entirely of earth and stone. The turtle was one meter long, and Hongshi was standing on its back.
The earth and stone moved very quickly, and their weight was disproportionate to their size. Their four feet left only a shallow footprint on the ground.
Sakura: "Wouldn't it be better if you put the same effort into improving your speed instead of inventing Ninjutsu? But this technique looks pretty useful though."
The Rokusuke exchanged a glance. "This technique is very useful! Can we make a few more? That would greatly save travel time!"
Hongshi laughed Hongshi: "Hahaha, that's for sure, it's Earth Release: Turtle Runner Technique!"
The four of them, including Sakura, suddenly felt a shock beneath their feet, and a similarly sized earthen turtle rose up. They then rummaged through their ninja tool pouches behind them, pulled out several items, and put them on their faces.
Sakura: " Hongshi, what stupid thing are you doing again? Take off that white beard and the turtle shell on your back! What are you doing using a cane for, a young man like you? And why are you wearing sunglasses when there's no sun?!"
Hongshi, leaning on his cane, said, "Hehehe, please call me Master Roshi, or Master Mutaito."
Rokusuke: "Hey, hey, hey, is this guy out of his mind?"
The Lord God: "You've really gone too far!"
"Stand still and hold on tight! Let's go!"
So, amidst the strange looks from passersby, the five people led by Hongshi rode forward swiftly on their tortoises.
"Wow! What kind of monster is that?!"
"Did you just see that? A big, fluttering moth with a beard and a tortoise shell scurried past us."
With the speed of the Earth Stone Turtle, the group arrived at the border of the Land of Rivers in just three days.
The Land of Rivers is located between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire, serving as a buffer zone between the two great powers.
Because the country's terrain is almost entirely mountainous, it is rich in mineral resources and often produces rare ores. However, due to the high cost of transportation, the three neighboring countries are not very interested in its minerals.
Lacking advanced smelting and forging techniques, the country was unable to produce its own excellent ninja tools, resulting in a low level of combat capability. It didn't even have its own ninja village, which directly led to the rampant establishment of foreign forces in the area.
It must be said that the roads in the Land of Rivers are indeed difficult to travel, consisting of steep and winding mountain paths, with walking being the only way in and out.
However, the Hongshi Earth Turtle demonstrated excellent climbing ability, remaining fast on the path.
At the same time, Hongshi also used this technique to help his fellow travelers, paying each of them five hundred taels of silver.
Lord God: "You threw the 100 million ryo that Jiraiya gave you into the river?"
Led by Rock Lee, the group finally arrived at the restaurant he had so highly praised.
" Curry of Life "
At this moment, the shop owner Granny Sansho, was rinsing the vegetables.
Rock Lee gestured for everyone to stop. "Everyone! We're here! This is it! The curry rice is delicious! Teacher Guy and I were saved by the curry rice here last time!"
Naruto looked up at the restaurant's sign. " Curry of Life, that name sounds weird."
Sakura looked equally bewildered. "I have a bad feeling about this."
Granny Sansho was drawn by Rock Lee's voice and looked over. "Oh! It's Rock Lee Li! Quickly, call your companion in, I'll go prepare the curry rice!"
Rokusuke: "Let's eat here. At this pace, we'll be there soon. We can't fight on an empty stomach!"
Naruto: "Ah! I'm starving after a day of training, let's have a big meal!"
The group entered the shop and sat down. Granny Sansho greeted them very warmly. When she reached Hongshi, she asked, "Brother, would you like some tea?"
Hongshi had no intention of removing the Master Roshi costume. Instead, he stroked his beard and said, "Hehehe, you're quite polite, young man. Bring me two pots of Longjing tea."
Sakura was speechless at Hongshi's quirk. " Hongshi-kun, could you please take off that outfit? It looks so lewd!"
Rock Lee, however, had a different opinion. "The way Hongshi-kun is acting, he exudes the aura of a powerful figure. It seems he, like me, is using me as a role model to motivate himself!"
Sakura almost vomited when she saw Guy's image in her mind.
After pouring the tea, Granny Sansho went back to the kitchen and started fiddling around again.
Suddenly, Rock Lee remembered something. " Granny Sansho, where are the Karashi?"
Granny Sansho was silent for a while before sighing, "Sigh, seeing how hard you and Kai trained back then, Karashi said he wanted to become stronger too, and in the end he actually joined that Kurosuki Clan... Sigh. I'm too old to stop him."
Everyone was shocked. " The Kurosuki Clan?"
Granny Sansho lowered her head. "Yes, my son joined a yakuza organization, and I really have no choice but to leave him alone."
Rock Lee suddenly stood up and said to Sakura, " Sakura-chan! I request that the task of rescuing Karashi be added to the mission."
Granny Sansho turned to look at Rock Lee, tears welling in her eyes. "Really... really, Li!"
Rock Lee refused to believe that Karashi had joined the Kurosuki Clan voluntarily, believing that he, like the other villagers, had been kidnapped.
Sakura understood, and nodded with a smile, "Agreed."
"Alright, alright! The enhanced version of Life Curry is ready!"
First, everyone was served a bowl of white rice. Seeing Hongshi's enormous size, a large bowl of rice was specially given to him.
The rice was cooked perfectly, each grain white and plump, exuding the unique aroma of rice.
Sakura couldn't resist the aroma of the white rice and her mouth watered.
Then Granny Sansho carried a large iron bucket and scooped out curry from it, pouring it over the white rice.
Then something strange happened.
The curry was a terrifying black color and as thick as tar. It was bubbling constantly after being scooped out, and there were some unknown insects as garnishes. The steam rose like screaming ghosts and dissipated into the air.
"(°ー°) Hey, this curry..."
Granny Sansho finally reached Hongshi and poured almost half a bucket of Life Curry into his hands. "You're the biggest one, so here's the biggest portion for you! Judging by your Forehead Protector, you must be Konoha ninjas. You've been traveling a long way; you need to eat something good."
Hongshi: "Hehehe, Granny Sansho, you're so thoughtful!"
Apart from Rock Lee, who looked on with anticipation, everyone else swallowed hard.
" Naruto, I think we shouldn't eat this curry rice."
" Sakura, I feel like I'm not far from death after eating this."
Looking at the Curry of Life rice, blacker than Hongshi, Rock Lee swallowed hard, scooped up a spoonful, and said, "Then I'll start eating!"
Everyone stared wide-eyed as Rock Lee Li put the still-bubbling black curry into his mouth.
After chewing a couple of times, Xiao Li suddenly stood up, his face flushed. "Oh! Gulei gulei! This is the taste! Incredibly spicy! Paired with this slightly firm rice! My god, this is the taste of youth! glug glug"
Everyone watched as Rock Lee gesticulated wildly in amazement as he ate. "Is it really that delicious?"
Hongshi also picked up an oversized spoon and put a spoonful into his mouth. "I've long heard that this curry is deadly. I'm not good at it, but I'll try it now and see if it's true."
Sakura nudged Naruto: " Naruto, why don't we give it a try?"
"Um!"
Everyone took a spoonful, after a brief chew.
Except for Hongshi, everyone else suddenly began to tremble and convulse violently, their faces turning red. The three commoners, including Rokusuke, foamed at the mouth, kicked their legs, rolled their eyes back, and collapsed unconscious on the spot.
Naruto and Sakura breathed fire, clutched their necks, scratched their heads, unable to speak or breathe. After a struggle, they finally stood up, breathing heavily in the long-awaited air, their bodies soaked in sweat.
"This isn't some kind of Life Curry! This is a deadly curry! A soul-stealing curry!"
Sakura drank some water to calm the spiciness a little, then looked at Hongshi, who was still sitting upright. "Hmm? Hongshi-kun, are you alright? You ate so much..."
The Hongshi Immobility.
Naruto wiped the sweat from the spiciness, then suddenly sensed something was wrong. " Hongshi! Hongshi! Say something!"
"Hiss~"
Hongshi remained Immobility, then suddenly a plume of white smoke rose from its head, like boiling water.
"Ah! The Hongshi is smoking!"
Naruto rushed forward and removed the sunglasses and beard from Red Stone's face. He saw large amounts of black blood flowing from Hongshi's mouth, nose, eyes, and ears, and his breathing was weak. "Σ() Holy crap! Hongshi is bleeding from all seven orifices! Sakura-chan! Quick, get out the Super Military Rations Pill!"
Hongshi was still conscious. "This curry... it's poisonous... Quick, quick, save me..."