Night fell.
Neji was patrolling the village. As he passed the wooden house where Hongshi was staying...
"(͡°͜ʖ͡°)✧ Lee-kun, take it off."
"No, Hongshi-kun, I'm scared."
Neji: "???"
"Don't be scared, don't be scared. I'll take it slowly."
"But Hongshi-kun, this is my first time. It's so big. Will it hurt a lot?"
"I'll be quick. It'll be over in a second."
"Will I bleed?!"
Neji: "(°ー°〃)?? I think I just heard something I really shouldn't have."
"Lee-kun, your flesh is so pale, and so firm!"
"Hongshi-kun, it's so big... so long!"
"Hack, ptui!"
"Hongshi-kun, what are you doing?!"
"Lubricating it first."
"I see!"
"I'm going to stick it in now."
"Ah~ It hurts! Stop, don't move yet!"
"Bear with it. It'll be over soon!"
Neji smashed the door open with his palm. "Motherfucking hell, what are you doing?!"
Hongshi was holding a syringe in one hand, injecting some kind of red liquid into Rock Lee.
Hongshi: "(°ー°〃) Neji, why did you smash my door?"
Rock Lee: "Yo! Neji, what brings you here?"
"Oh my~ This guy has no manners at all."
Neji: "(╬•᷅д•᷄) What the hell are you two bastards muttering about?! It's the middle of the night! Do you have a death wish?!"
Hongshi pointed at the syringe in his hand. "Oh! You mean this? This is my exclusively developed Chakra Revitalization Medicine."
Rock Lee: "Hongshi-kun! You just said it was Chakra Replenishment Medicine! Don't scare me!"
"Really? Maybe I remembered wrong."
Neji: "Rock Lee... I don't think you're going to survive tonight."
Hongshi tossed the syringe aside. "Haha, it's fine, it's fine. My Medical Ninjutsu is among the best in the Land of Snow."
Neji: "Did the Land of Snow even have any medical-nin before you?!!! Rock Lee, your face!"
Rock Lee: "∑(❍ฺд❍ฺlll), what? What's wrong with my face?!"
Red patterns began spreading across Rock Lee's face, shaped like flames.
"Waaah!!!!" Rock Lee shot to his feet. "Burn, my youth!"
Boom! Veins bulged on Rock Lee's body as red flames gradually ignited all over him. "Ah! I'm burning up!"
Neji activated his Byakugan and saw that the chakra pathways throughout Rock Lee's body were filled with red, fire-nature chakra. This had never happened before.
Hongshi smiled. "Lee-kun! It worked!"
"Hi-yah!"
Rock Lee suddenly leaped up, kicking the wooden house's roof clean off.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
The entire village erupted in shouts, but when everyone stepped outside, they saw Rock Lee, wreathed in red flames, fighting Neji.
Yuhan used Water Body Flicker to appear beside Hongshi. "What bizarre thing have you cooked up this time?"
"Nothing, nothing. Just a dose of medicine."
Boosted by the chakra, Rock Lee's speed soared by thirty percent, and flames trailed his punches and kicks.
Neji struggled to fend him off. "So fast!"
"Konoha Strong Fist Whirlwind!" A fiery tornado actually sprang up around Rock Lee and charged toward Neji.
"Gentle Fist: Rotation: Water!"
Neji also used chakra transformation, forming a waterspout around himself. Water and fire remained locked in a stalemate, and even the air began to vibrate.
The rebels around them stared in amazement. "Do all you Konoha ninja fight like this?"
Yuhan shook his head. "No, no, just them."
Rock Lee fought for nearly twenty minutes before the flames on his body gradually died out and he finally stopped. "Neji! I did it!"
Santada cried out from beside them. "Rock Lee, why aren't you wearing any clothes?!"
"Huh?"
Only then did Rock Lee realize that the flames had burned his clothes away completely. He was now standing naked in the cold wind, bathed in everyone's stares.
"Are all Konoha ninja this uninhibited?"
"Ah! This is so embarrassing!" Rock Lee covered his face and fled.
Everyone: "(°ー°〃)... You know, he really is pretty pale."
Neji touched his scorched hair and stared at Hongshi. "Hongshi! Explain what the fuck just happened!"
Hongshi gave two dry coughs. "Ahem, well, I started thinking about this issue back when I was on a mission in the Land of Waves."
Neji repeatedly confirmed that there was nothing wrong with Rock Lee's body. "Go on."
Hongshi said, "To become a ninja, you need to mold chakra. But for Taijutsu-type ninja like Rock Lee, molding chakra is very difficult. So I wanted to use an external method to replenish chakra directly and artificially. That's why I added Fire Style chakra to a base of Super Military Rations Pills."
Neji: "You're that smart?"
Hongshi: "Oh, you found me out again. How annoying."
The Lord God: "This is clearly Orochimaru's research. You even stole the medicine from him. Have you no shame?"
Orochimaru had indeed developed this medicine. Hongshi had picked some up "along the way" while rescuing the hostages.
Hongshi said solemnly, "I've named it the Chakra Refill Agent. It's still only a half-finished product."
Neji: "(╬•᷅д•᷄╬) You just called it a replenishment agent!"
Hongshi now possessed most of Orochimaru's knowledge. Combined with the memories of his previous life, it had given him new ideas for this medicine, but... he really wasn't cut out for scientific research. Until he found someone suitable, he could only shelve it.
The Lord God: "Oh my, there's actually something you can't do?"
Hongshi: "I scored two hundred-something both times I took the college entrance exam, and you're talking to me about scientific research?"
Just then.
A white figure used the snow as cover to sneak into the village amid the chaos.
But how could that escape the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan?
Neji flickered behind the newcomer.
"Tenten? You escaped?"
At some point, Tenten had escaped from Kazahana Dōtō.
Seeing that it was Neji, Tenten said, "Ah, you scared me to death! Neji, I'm just a Shadow Clone. What's inside this is what Hieimon and I stole. Huh? What happened to your hair?"
"Don't worry about the details." Neji took the scroll and found it rather heavy. "What's inside?"
"They captured Hieimon to do research. Every day, he secretly brought back some parts. He assembled these himself." Tenten pointed at an inconspicuous little device at her waist. "I've equipped one too!"
Having suffered at the hands of Chakra Armor several times, Neji was interested. "All right. Yuhan has already arranged the battle plan. Do you know what you need to do?"
Tenten gave him a thumbs-up. "Don't worry! I'm a ninja tool expert! Your hair really looks awful, and it stinks."
Neji: "(°ー°〃) Looks like I'll have to find a chance to kill Hongshi."
With that, Tenten dispelled the Shadow Clone.
Hongshi and the others gathered to distribute the Chakra Armor Tenten had stolen.
"(͡°͜ʖ͡°)✧ Oh!!! These shoes can shoot fire!" Hongshi had received an Extreme Speed Type One set, just like Captain Jack's. "With this equipment, I'll be really fast!"
Rock Lee: "Oh-hohoho! Neji, Neji, look, my hands can shoot fire! Awesome!"
Hongshi: "Wow! I even have wings!!!"
Yuhan: "You two are so loud! Neji! Pin them down!"
"Gentle Fist: Pressure Point Strike!"
Neji looked at the note Hieimon had left. "Hmm. Hieimon collected and made all these things in a short time. They can only be used once."
Rock Lee and Neji each received a pair of bracers, with fire chakra and lightning chakra sealed into the two hands respectively using Sealing Jutsu.
Yuhan received the newly developed "Ninjutsu Type Two," which could greatly increase the power and range of Ninjutsu.
The remaining items were also single-use Chakra Armor components, which Yuhan distributed to the rebels' main fighting force.
After Hongshi put on the armor, his speed improved greatly, though he was still terribly slow...
Kazahana Kinji looked at the fully equipped group. "With these things, our chances of winning are much better!"
Sandayu also equipped a pair of bracers. "We should attack now. We can't wait any longer."
Neji nodded. "Yes. The intelligence Tenten brought back mentioned that Kazahana Dōtō has already obtained the Hexagonal Crystal. He'll take the train to the treasure's entrance today."
Yuhan said, "Then let's get ready to set out now. Hongshi will deal with the Titanic Pirates, then come support us by sea once he's finished. Neji, your Team 3 will keep the Snow Ninja Trio and Kazahana Dōtō occupied. I'll help the rebels finish the battle quickly."
Rock Lee: "All right! Let the demon king feel the knight's wrath!"
Boom!
Hongshi had already put on the Chakra Armor and charged through the wall like a wild ox. "Titanic Pirates! Prepare to die...! Ow! Where did that rock come from?!"
"(°ー°〃) Did he just trip...?"
"Yes."
Hongshi: "One... one bag of rice! Aaaaaaah!"
Sandayu: "Hongshi-kun rolled down... This isn't very sound, is it...?"
Yuhan: "It's fine."
Kazahana Kinji stood and addressed the subordinates around him. "All right, warriors, draw your swords! Attack!"
"Raaah! Raaah! Raaah!"