Chapter 192
Two days later, within the borders of the Land of Fire, a road that wasn’t particularly wide stretched forward through a dense forest. Might Guy, Ebisu, and Genma were traveling along the road at a leisurely pace. The mission deadline was generous, so there was no reason for them to hurry. They could maintain a steady pace while conserving their Chakra and physical strength for whatever might await them after reaching the Land of Rivers.
“By the way, I wonder what kind of person that Master Chen from the Land of Rivers is?”
Ebisu pushed up his sunglasses as he walked, his eyes behind the lenses filled with curiosity. He had been thinking about this question for quite some time.
“Could he be… well, a very serious Taijutsu expert?”
“I don’t know, but since Minato-sensei personally recommended him, he’s bound to be someone extraordinary.”
Genma replied casually, a senbon dangling from the corner of his mouth. However, his hands weren’t idle either. At that moment, he was holding a blank piece of Chakra induction paper, with a faint blue Chakra glow swirling around his fingertips as he carefully inscribed a Flying Thunder God formula.
After many days of practice under Minato Namikaze’s guidance, Genma was now able to completely inscribe the basic Flying Thunder God formula without making any mistakes. However, this was only the first step. Being able to inscribe the formula completely did not mean that he could use it proficiently, and it certainly didn’t mean he could complete the inscription instantaneously in the middle of a rapidly changing battle.
The essence of the Flying Thunder God Technique lay precisely in its ability to establish spatial coordinates almost instantaneously, allowing the user to leave a marked anchor point whenever and wherever necessary. The faster and more naturally the formula could be inscribed, the greater the tactical value would be. A shinobi who needed several seconds of complete concentration just to establish a mark would be severely restricted in actual combat.
Currently, Genma still needed about five seconds to completely inscribe a mark while standing still, undistracted, and concentrating entirely on the operation.
That was clearly far from enough.
Therefore, he was now undergoing the second stage of training, practicing the inscription while walking and deliberately allowing his attention to be divided. He was training both his multitasking ability and the stability of his Chakra control, trying to gradually turn the complicated process of carving a Flying Thunder God formula into something closer to instinct.
Ebisu glanced at him with a hint of envy.
But immediately afterward, he touched the steel wire hanging at his waist and grinned proudly.
“Well, this great me isn’t doing too badly either!”
During the two days of travel, Ebisu had already successfully learned the Rope Binding Seal. Even though it was only a C-rank Sealing Technique, learning it within two days was enough to demonstrate that Ebisu possessed a certain amount of talent in the field of Fuinjutsu. More importantly, after finally finding a path that suited him, his entire mental state had changed.
He was in a very good mood.
Might Guy patted him on the shoulder and laughed.
“Once we reach the new station, practice your Sealing Jutsu properly. In the future, our team’s Sealing Jutsu and logistics will all depend on you.”
“Of course!”
Ebisu immediately puffed out his chest, regaining some of his usual smugness.
“This great me is going to become Konoha’s number one Sealing Jutsu Ninja Tool Master! When that time comes… hehe!”
A strange, somewhat lewd expression appeared on Ebisu’s face.
Clearly, he was already fantasizing about some things that were difficult to describe.
Genma gave a dismissive “Tch.”
He was deeply skeptical of Ebisu’s newly declared grand ambition.
Might Guy, however, didn’t mock him. Instead, he let out a hearty laugh and gave Ebisu a thumbs-up.
“Ebisu! Keep it up! I believe you can do it!”
Genma helplessly rolled his eyes.
“Guy, you’re just spoiling him.”
Might Guy shook his head with an unusually serious expression.
“It’s a good thing for a comrade to have a dream. We should support it. What people should fear most is having no dreams at all. If you live without a dream, what’s the difference between you and a salted fish?”
Genma was stunned by those words.
After a moment, he nodded heavily.
Although Guy’s words were blunt and his way of expressing himself was strange, there was a certain truth behind them.
Ebisu’s eyes widened even further.
Then, as though he had suddenly remembered something extremely important, he stopped walking, pulled a small notebook from inside his robes, and began writing rapidly.
Guy and Genma had long since become accustomed to Ebisu’s behavior. This was one of Ebisu’s little hobbies. The small notebook he carried with him contained all sorts of strange observations, theories, and information he had gathered throughout his time as a shinobi.
Of course, it also contained quite a lot of useful information.
For example: [Basic application methods of the Akimichi Clan’s Multi-Size Technique.]
For example: [Combination of the Hyuga Clan’s Rotation technique with special weapons.]
For example: [Hypotheses on the limit of the Uchiha Clan’s eye awakening and its compatibility with Fire Release.]
For example: [Things the Inuzuka Clan and their Ninja dogs must do every day.]
For example: [Special damage bonuses of One Thousand Years of Death on various body parts, tested personally by Ōnoki.]
Now, another line had been added to the collection.
[If you live without a dream, what’s the difference between you and a salted fish? Taken from the words of Might Guy on the way to the Land of Rivers.]
After finishing his notes, Ebisu tucked the little notebook back into his robes with satisfaction.
Then the three of them continued their journey.
They chatted along the way, occasionally discussing their training and occasionally talking about the new station they were about to reach. With their current pace, the journey didn’t feel particularly boring. Before they realized it, a fork in the road appeared ahead.
One path continued southwest toward the Land of Rivers.
The other path veered northwest, winding deep into a mountainous forest.
That was the road leading toward the Land of Rain.
Might Guy’s footsteps gradually slowed at the fork.
His gaze involuntarily drifted toward the road leading into the Land of Rain.
“What is it, Guy?”
Ebisu noticed his sudden pause and stopped as well, looking at him curiously.
Might Guy remained silent for a moment.
The Land of Rain.
Nagato, Yahiko, Konan.
Hanzō.
Danzō.
And the Akatsuki.
Those names and images surfaced in his mind one after another.
His gaze lingered on the distant mountain forest for several seconds before he finally shook his head.
“It’s nothing.”
The current Land of Rain was not something he could afford to touch.
Not yet.
Unless he could somehow encounter Jiraiya.
Unfortunately, Jiraiya’s movements were notoriously unpredictable, and Guy had no way of knowing exactly where the legendary Sannin was at this moment.
Of the three legendary Sannin, Orochimaru was currently associated with the Land of Rice Fields and had been involved in the recent conflict there, while Tsunade was in Konoha. Only Jiraiya’s whereabouts remained uncertain.
Back in the Land of Grass, Guy had specifically asked Minato Namikaze about him.
The answer he received was that Jiraiya was most likely carrying out a special mission somewhere outside the normal battlefield network.
Even Minato didn’t know his exact location.
Thus, Guy had no choice for the time being.
He secretly shook his head and suppressed those unrealistic thoughts.
One had to walk the path step by step, and strength had to be accumulated bit by bit. It was too early for him to think about getting involved in matters concerning the Akatsuki, Hanzō, or Danzō.
“Let’s go.”
Might Guy withdrew his gaze and prepared to continue along the road toward the Land of Rivers.
Ebisu noticed that Guy’s expression had been somewhat strange just now, but he didn’t ask any further. Instead, he stretched his arms and remarked with emotion:
“This trip has been so quiet. Nothing has happened at all. It’s great! I hope it stays this peaceful until we reach the station.”
However, before his voice could completely fade, Might Guy, who was walking in front, suddenly changed expression.
He abruptly raised his right hand, signaling the two people behind him to stop.
At almost the same time, Genma’s brow furrowed.
The Chakra induction paper he had been inscribing emitted a soft “crack.”
A sudden disturbance in his Chakra caused the carefully drawn formula to collapse instantly, ruining the paper in his hand.
Genma immediately stopped moving.
The casual expression that had been on his face disappeared, replaced by sharp vigilance.
Ebisu’s relaxed expression also vanished instantly.
His eyes behind his sunglasses narrowed as he carefully scanned the surrounding forest.
The three of them exchanged a glance.
No words were necessary.
Years of fighting together had given them an understanding that went beyond ordinary communication.
Something was wrong.
The forest was too quiet.
There were no obvious sounds of birds or small animals nearby, and even the natural rustling of the leaves seemed strangely subdued.
Then, carried by the breeze from deep within the dense forest on one side of the road, a faint and barely perceptible scent drifted toward them.
The scent of blood.
It was extremely faint.
So faint that an ordinary shinobi might have overlooked it completely.
But for three experienced battlefield shinobi, especially those who had spent years fighting together, there was no mistaking it.
“Careful. Prepare for combat.”
Might Guy lowered his voice while simultaneously crouching slightly, his body entering a defensive stance.
Ebisu and Genma nodded immediately.
Ebisu’s right hand reached toward his Ninja tool pouch, while Genma silently slipped several senbon between his fingers.
They were indeed within the borders of the Land of Fire, and this region was considerably safer than the active battlefields.
But safer did not mean completely safe.
The area was still relatively close to the borders connecting several countries, and enemy shinobi occasionally infiltrated the Land of Fire to conduct reconnaissance, sabotage, assassination, or intelligence-gathering missions.
The scent of blood drifting through the forest was the most direct warning possible.
Someone had been injured.
Or someone had died.
The three exchanged another glance and silently adjusted their formation.
Guy took the lead, with Ebisu and Genma positioned to his left and right.
They formed a loose triangular formation, allowing them to cover one another while maintaining enough distance to respond to a sudden attack.
Slowly, they moved toward the direction from which the scent of blood was coming.
It was a patch of dense grass near the road leading toward the Land of Rain.
The three shinobi carefully crept forward.
Their footsteps were as light as possible, and their eyes continuously swept across the surrounding vegetation for any sign of movement.
Nothing.
There was no obvious enemy presence.
But that only made them more cautious.
Guy raised one hand slightly, signaling the others to slow down even further.
They pushed aside layers of waist-high weeds.
The scent of blood immediately became stronger.
Much stronger.
Ebisu’s expression gradually became solemn.
Genma’s fingers tightened around the senbon in his hand.
Then they saw it.
In a patch of grass at the edge of the road leading toward the Land of Rain…
A corpse was lying there.
The moment the three of them saw the body clearly, the expressions of Might Guy, Ebisu, and Genma all changed drastically.
The corpse was dressed in dark, non-standard shinobi attire.
There were several wounds across the body, apparently caused by sharp weapons.
From the appearance of the wounds, the victim had clearly been involved in a violent battle before dying.
However, that wasn’t what made the scene so disturbing.
The grass and soil surrounding the body were splattered with dark red blood.
Yet the corpse itself was bizarrely shriveled.
The skin clung tightly to the bones, as though almost all the moisture and blood inside the body had been drained away.
Its cheeks were sunken.
Its lips had dried and cracked.
The exposed skin had taken on a horrifying, desiccated appearance.
It looked less like an ordinary corpse and more like a body that had been rapidly drained of its vitality before being left to dry.
This was definitely not normal.
It didn’t look like the result of ordinary blood loss from the wounds alone.
Something had happened to this person after, or perhaps even before, death.
It was as though the corpse had been rapidly sucked dry by some unknown technique.
Or perhaps its body had been subjected to some strange Chakra-related effect.
But even that wasn’t what shocked the three of them the most.
Their gazes slowly moved upward.
They stared fixedly at the corpse’s face.
Or rather, at the object covering the corpse’s face.
A familiar white mask.
The moment Guy recognized its shape, his pupils contracted slightly.
Ebisu’s expression became stiff.
Even Genma, who was usually the calmest of the three, stopped chewing on his senbon.
A white Anbu mask.
The corpse lying before them…
Was an Anbu shinobi.
For a few seconds, no one spoke.
The forest suddenly felt much colder.