After conquering the Land of the Moon, as a reward, Yamato treated everyone to a big meal of dumplings, this time paid for by King Mangetsu Kumo.
The eldest prince, Mangetsu Kaze, still had many questions for Hongshi, but due to his status, he ultimately did not come. Instead, his bodyguard, Zantetsu Ichibei.
Full Moon Dumpling Shop - Private Room
The Lord God: "You have private rooms at your dumpling shop? What were you thinking?"
Hongshi, holding eighty meatballs in both hands, exclaimed, "Yo-ho-ho! Xiao Daocao, your master will show you a 'whale swallowing the world' move!"
Xiao Daocao's eyes were filled with admiration. "Wow! Master is so amazing!"
Konohamaru knew the dumplings were free, so he stuffed them into his mouth like crazy. "Watch me! I'll have some too!"
Hanabi Hyuga sipped her strong tea. " Hongshi-kun! Konohamaru! Don't eat so many sweets!"
Zantetsu Ichibei stared wide-eyed at the Hongshi that looked like a reincarnated raven. "Hey, hey, hey, the king's invitation was just a symbolic one, don't be so greedy! These dumplings are very expensive, and in just a short time you've eaten a million ryo!"
The meatball shop owner beamed, "Haha, it's alright, it's alright, eat as much as you want! I've never seen anyone eat so much before! 20% off! Eat as much as you want!"
Hongshi sneered, "Since the boss has said so, it would be disrespectful of me to eat less. Come on, give me another five hundred skewers to tide me over!"
Seeing that Zantetsu Ichibei was about to stop him, the dumpling shop owner preemptively shouted, "Guys! No one's sleeping tonight! We've got a Legendary Sucker! Bring out that pile of old dumplings I've been saving in my warehouse for thirty-two years!"
In a secluded corner outside the dumpling shop, Yamato released his Ninja Hawk and opened the mission scroll. "Next target... the Land of Hot Water, huh? But why not from the beginning... I see..."
The quest scroll can only be unlocked and its contents revealed after certain conditions are met.
After reading through all the contents of the quest scroll, Yamato destroyed it and turned to walk into the dumpling shop.
"Holy crap! Hongshi! Is this how you eat dumplings?! What? Free? Give me dumplings worth 300,000 taels!"
"Captain Yamato, don't try to take it!"
"I'm going to recoup my losses!"
"Damn it, why are you getting so hungry? Waiter, another 300,000 worth of meatballs!"
After eating your fill
Hongshi slumped into a chair, rubbing his stomach. "Burp~ I'm not bragging, Captain Yamato, if I hadn't eaten too much at lunch, with just these burps~ dumplings, I could have eaten a thousand skewers."
Konohamaru and Xiao Daocao, having eaten too many sweets, became so overwhelmed by the heat of the moment that they fell asleep on the table.
Yamato: "(_) What's wrong? You got a headache from eating a dumpling?"
Zantetsu Ichibei said dejectedly, "Boss... please... please pay the bill. Slow down, my head is a little dizzy."
The dumpling shop owner wept with joy. "Waaah, tomorrow I can finally retire and go home! 20% off, that'll be 150 million, 6,804,000 taels in total!"
Zantetsu Ichibei: "Looks like my life is in danger."
Hongshi patted Zantetsu Ichibei on the shoulder. "Oh, what's the big deal? The wealth of the Land of the Moon is beyond measure; this is just a drop in the ocean."
Hanabi Hyuga obediently brought over several cups of tea. "Captain Yamato, Hongshi-kun, Uncle Ichibei, please have some tea."
After Yamato, Yamato solemnly said to Zantetsu Ichibei, " Ichibei, although Hongshi is stupid and eats a lot, you've seen his strength. He easily subdued over a hundred Cloud Ninja."
Zantetsu Ichibei agreed, "I saw that too, but this guy is just Genin, isn't he?"
Yamato and said, "After Konoha stabilized, the new generation of children have all shown extremely strong bloodlines; they just haven't taken the Chunin Ninja Exams yet."
"I see." Zantetsu Ichibei suddenly realized something. "You mean this bald, muscular, dark-skinned man is still a child?"
"Slurp~ Ha! Of course, I really am only fifteen years old this year." Hongshi took a few sips of tea and pointed to the scarf around his neck. "Look, this was a birthday present from Hinata and Hanabi!"
"I'd believe you if you said he was forty-five! How could anyone look like that!"
Hongshi sighed, "Well, now that things have come to this, I'll lay my cards on the table. The reason I'm so big and dark-skinned is because there's too much sealed Senjutsu energy within me. The darkness you see is just a thick layer of orange eyeshadow. Actually, this is what I originally looked like! Transform!"
"Bang!"
Hongshi used Transformation Technique, revealing its original form...
Hanabi Hyuga: "(▽) So cool!"
Yamato: "(▽) So handsome!"
Zantetsu Ichibei: "(▽) So cool!"
The entity that Hongshi had mentioned stood in the same spot, its size restored to normal.
He had long, flowing white hair that reached his waist, a cold and aloof appearance, two purple facial markings, three different samurai swords at his waist, and shoulder guards covered with fangs.
Hongshi tossed his white hair, his eyes like stars, and looked at Yamato: "I am the Great Commander of the West District Dog Demons, Tōga!"
Lord God: "Pfft! Get out of here!"
Yamato: "I don't know what you're talking about, but you're really handsome!"
Hanabi Hyuga, however, knew Hongshi well. "(_) Hongshi-kun, you used Transformation Technique again! This isn't your true form at all. Your true form is that tall and strong one!"
Tōga -o Hongshi: "Wow, I'm really starting to love the Transformation Technique more and more. I've been using this form for a while now, it's so cool, I'm almost as cool as you are now."
Seeing the narcissistic Hongshi, Yamato chose to ignore him and fell silent.
Tōga -o Hongshi: "So, Yamato, where is our next target? Should we return to Konoha?"
Yamato brandished a wooden mallet and tapped it on the Hongshi: "How dare you talk to me like that? Our next target is the Land of Hot Water."
Zantetsu Ichibei asked, " The Land of Hot Water? Since the Land of Hot Water is part of the target, why didn't we go there first?"
Yamato shook his head. "I'm sorry, I can't say yet."
Tōga -o Hongshi: " Land of Hot Water, what is the current situation in the Land of Hot Water? Is it necessary for this old man to intervene?"
" Hongshi, can you please stop talking like that?"
"No, an ordinary tone is not befitting the noble status of Tōga."
Yamato: "(_) If you keep saying that, I won't let you soak in the hot springs of the Land of Hot Water Springs."
"Oh my god, there's a hot spring! Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Hanabi Hyuga sat quietly and slowly said, "As for the Land of Hot Water, forming an alliance with them might be a bit difficult, because they are a neutral country like the Land of Iron."
Yamato shook his head. "No, Lady Hanabi, you only know the surface. The Land of Hot Water is now on the verge of collapse."
Zantetsu Ichibei agreed, "That's right. I went to the Land of Hot Water last year to investigate and discovered many terrifying things."
Hanabi Hyuga only received a theoretical education and didn't really understand the real situation. "What is it?"
Yamato raised his index finger. "It's a religion called the Jashin Cult. In just a few years, it has developed a large number of followers, and its sphere of influence almost covers half of the Land of Hot Water."
Hidan suddenly flashed through Hongshi's mind: Hidan, the suicide master from the Land of Hot Water. "Hmm, looks like this is going to be a very interesting trip."
Yamato: "What kind of weird stuff are you thinking about now?"