Of course, Tobirama Senju wasn't being sarcastic; he was just stating facts.
Although he used one more clone than Yu Zhen when experimenting with the Rasengan, this is only the development stage of the technique. The importance of stably presenting the results far outweighs practical combat attributes.
Practical combat is the next thing to consider.
The clone of Tobirama Senju responsible for applying the "rotation" released his hands and stepped aside. The main body and another clone carefully held the Rasengan, bringing it close to the trunk of a large tree.
The power of the Rasengan goes without saying; it effortlessly embedded itself into the tree trunk.
Tobirama Senju was very satisfied with this power. At this stage, the Rasengan could finally truly be called Rasengan.
After dispersing the Chakra in his hand, the three Tobirama Senjus gathered together again. After a moment, another Rasengan appeared in their hands...
This showed that his success just now wasn't just a fluke.
He had really grasped the knack.
Tobirama Senju dispersed the Rasengan again. Seeing that Yu Zhen seemed about to ask something, he preemptively said, "I'll explain when I wake up. I need to rest for a while now."
After speaking, he went to the place where Yu Zhen had just been lying and collapsed. In the blink of an eye, a slight snore followed.
Tobirama Senju was indeed very tired.
Although he was exceptionally talented in developing ninjutsu and was able to achieve results in such a short period, the effort and sweat he put in should not be ignored.
It's just...
Yu Zhen thought this kid was quite good at whetting people's appetites.
Tobirama Senju slept for four or five hours. After he ate something and replenished enough water, he explained to Yu Zhen:
"Under normal circumstances, if you want to control the shape of the Rasengan, you need to grasp a certain 'balance'.
Most ninjas rely on their senses and the experience gained from repeated attempts to maintain this balance.
And if you want to find this correct 'feeling', it would not be an exaggeration for the average person to spend three to five years."
That was quite accurate. If Yu Zhen remembered correctly, the Fourth Hokage spent three years developing the Rasengan.
"I'm different. I used a stupid method to turn abstract feelings into concrete numbers."
"Tell me more specifically?" Yu Zhen naturally wanted to know how Tobirama Senju did it.
"The Chakra used for the Rasengan can be divided into two parts: one part is the rotating Chakra, and the other part is the Chakra used to maintain the shape. So, how much Chakra should be used for rotation, and how much Chakra should be used to maintain the shape?"
"Of course, there is a specific answer to this question. If the amount of internal rotating Chakra is regarded as 100, then first of all, to squeeze the Chakra into a spherical shape, the amount of external Chakra required must be greater than 100. This is easy to understand."
"When the Chakra starts to rotate at a low speed, the amount of external Chakra to maintain the shape is 57."
"When the Chakra starts to rotate at a medium speed, the amount of external Chakra is 35~23."
"When the Chakra rotates to the maximum speed, the amount of external Chakra drops to 15."
"I tried it out bit by bit. It has nothing to do with so-called talent. It really is the stupidest method."
Yu Zhen: "..."
He could understand that what Tobirama Senju was talking about wasn't numbers, but ratios. However... this method was indeed very, well, simple, but Yu Zhen had never thought of it that way. Who would have thought that data streams would be used in the process of developing ninjutsu?
Not only had he not thought of it, but the Fourth Hokage who invented this ninjutsu probably hadn't either.
After thinking for a while, Yu Zhen couldn't help but say, "I didn't expect such an effective verification method. However, precisely controlling the output of Chakra isn't easy for ordinary ninjas."
It was easier said than done. Even if he was told to give an output of 57 at a certain time, could he give it precisely?
Tobirama Senju nodded, "This requires persistent practice. In fact, Rasengan can be made even if it's a bit more vague, but developing ninjutsu always requires perfection."
"57 or 15, these data aren't precise either. Next, I plan to refine the internal and external ratio of Rasengan's Chakra by another order of magnitude."
"..."
What else could Yu Zhen say? He could only say, "As expected of you."
Tobirama Senju continued to use the "stupid method", spending a week to finally refine the data by another order of magnitude, that is, to an accuracy of one or two decimal places. However, such precise data was no longer something Yu Zhen could pursue.
Yu Zhen only hoped to be able to use Rasengan smoothly in actual combat, and didn't insist on the maximum or best power of this technique.
According to Tobirama Senju, even if Rasengan was made more refined, the resulting killing effect would only increase from 100 to less than 110.
Yu Zhen was quite self-aware. When it came to Chakra control, he couldn't do what he couldn't do.
Of course, now Tobirama Senju had only found the best ratio. Even he couldn't apply Rasengan to actual combat for the time being.
Not to mention Yu Zhen, Tobirama Senju's requirement for using Rasengan was of course "instantaneous one-handed activation". Only in this way could it cooperate with his Body Flicker Technique, which was still far from being achieved.
In any case, after completing the initial development of Rasengan, it was time for Tobirama Senju to leave here.
The injuries on his body were no longer a problem. In fact, because of Rasengan, he had stayed here for too long.
When Tobirama Senju expressed his intention to leave to Yu Zhen, Yu Zhen naturally had no reason to dissuade him. He had already taken enough advantage, and it would be too impolite to forcibly squeeze more out.
"Let's stop here. I have a feeling that we will have a chance to meet again in the future."
Yu Zhen saw Tobirama Senju off. After leaving the camp for a distance, Tobirama said this.
The two sides only met by chance. Perhaps because he had gained something here and lost more, Tobirama Senju had a deep impression of this group of wandering ninjas hidden in the deep mountains.
He was a very strong sensory ninja, and had already intentionally or unintentionally recorded Yu Zhen's Chakra characteristics.
"Meet again? Maybe. For wandering ninjas like us, destruction is just around the corner. Powerful clans like the Senju Clan or your mortal enemies, the Uchiha, can't understand the feelings of weaklings like us," Yu Zhen said.
Tobirama Senju opened his mouth, but in the end couldn't help but say, "The Senju are indeed very strong, but... have you ever heard a saying called 'Swift Wind and Quick Lightning, Rapid Water and Flowing Light'?"
Yu Zhen was stunned for a moment. What did that mean? Could it be that there was a ninja clan in the Ninja World stronger than the Senju Clan?
Tobirama Senju directly ignoring the Uchiha was within Yu Zhen's expectations.
Tobirama Senju shook his head and didn't explain further. He said, "The Ninja World is so chaotic now, no one can say for sure what the future holds. Still, that sentence... farewell, see you again if fate allows."
There was nothing to be sentimental about. Tobirama Senju turned and left.
Yu Zhen glanced at the other party's back and returned to the camp.
Well, Tobirama Senju left very freely, if you ignored the fact that the scroll on his back was full of tea leaves.
Although Tobirama Senju had left, the benefits he brought were more than just that.
When Yu Zhen returned to the camp, he saw a ninjutsu scroll placed alone on a simple wooden table where Tobirama Senju had been staying.
A knowing smile appeared on Yu Zhen's face.
He went to the wooden table, reached out and opened the scroll. The scroll recorded another Water Release ninjutsu, named "Water Severing Wave."
This was certainly not a return gift for the tea leaves, but a return gift for the Rasengan.
Although Tobirama Senju helped overcome the biggest technical difficulty of the Rasengan, this technique should still be considered Yu Zhen's ninjutsu. No matter what, the principle and idea of this technique came from Yu Zhen.
After all, there is an important argument in the invention world that 1% > 99%.
Since Tobirama Senju obtained the Rasengan, he had to exchange it with a heavyweight attack ninjutsu of equal value to the Rasengan.
Yu Zhen silently put away the scroll, thinking that Tobirama Senju really lived up to his expectations and was a man of principle.
People say that (old fart version) Tobirama Senju is an insidious, cunning, and unscrupulous person, but after actually getting in touch with him, Yu Zhen decided to abandon this stereotype. Tobirama Senju is clearly a good person who knows how to repay kindness and is honest with everyone.
After finishing writing "The Art of Communication," he decided to write another book, "The Art of Transaction."
Tobirama Senju left, and his departure saddened Yu Zhen so much that he felt regretful for a long time.
Because in Yu Zhen's view, it wasn't just Tobirama Senju leaving, it was clearly a living "Book of Sealing" abandoning him. Unfortunately, Tobirama Senju belonged to the Senju Clan after all, and Yu Zhen couldn't occupy him for too long for personal use.
In the following month, the camp was uneventful.
No other ninjas accidentally broke into here. Taking advantage of the rare peace, Yu Zhen devoted almost all of his energy to the practice of new ninjutsu.
It must be said that Tobirama Senju's help to him was enormous. After mastering Water Release ninjutsu, Yu Zhen's fighting style became more diverse, his attack power was improved, and his actual combat ability was raised by more than one level.
Thanks to Tobirama Senju's guidance on Water Release, Yu Zhen basically learned the Water Release ninjutsu he had acquired in the past month or so.
His mastery of the Rasengan also reached the "twelve-year-old Naruto's elementary level", which meant he could use it in actual combat with the help of clones.
This was already very good, and it would be a bit difficult to continue to improve in the Rasengan.
In addition, Yu Zhen did not relax his basic training. However, compared with the progress in ninjutsu, his basic training yielded very little...
The quality and quantity of Chakra hardly improved, not even half the effort for twice the result.
This aspect was restricted by bloodline factors, and it was basically impossible to rely on his own efforts. Yu Zhen could only rely on White Zetsu. He hoped that he could have a once-in-a-lifetime encounter with a White Zetsu sometime.
On this day, after Yu Zhen finished his practice, he began to seriously consider whether it was time to leave this Primeval Forest.
On the one hand, his strength had been improved to a certain extent. As long as they didn't encounter large-scale conflicts or unexpected powerful enemies, they would have some self-protection ability more or less.
On the other hand, winter was approaching, and their supplies would only become more and more scarce, and the temperature would become an expected enemy. Continuing to stay in the forest in this situation and "passively avoid the world" was definitely not a good idea.
However, just as he was about to make up his mind, the exclamations of several clansmen suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
Yu Zhen looked in the direction of the sound and found that two people had already run over in a panic.
"Clan Head, there's news about other clansmen!"
"It's Hagong Yuan Chie, we found Hagong Yuan Chie's summoning beast!"
Perhaps because of panic, or perhaps because of excitement, someone mistakenly called "Captain" as "Clan Head".
But now was not the time to dwell on these things. Yu Zhen quickly followed the two people and soon came to a large tree not far from the camp under their guidance.
At this time, a small ninja dog summoning beast was lying on its side there. It had many hideous and exposed wounds on its body, and its overall condition was very bad, and its breathing seemed unusually rapid.
"Just now, the guard ninja on duty today discovered it. He recognized that this was Hagong Yuan Chie's summoning beast. After notifying the camp, others also confirmed this." Someone quickly explained.
The name of this summoning ninja dog was Beiji, and even Yu Zhen knew this dog.
"Can it be saved?" he asked.
This ninja dog must have encountered an enemy attack during its escape and had a very painful experience, so you can imagine how difficult it was for it to find this place.
But it still completed its mission.
Faced with Yu Zhen's question, everyone was silent, because this question actually didn't need to be answered... Everyone could see that this ninja dog had no possibility of surviving.
Yu Zhen came to the ninja dog. He squatted down and reached out to gently stroke its head.
The ninja dog Beiji seemed to remember Yu Zhen's scent. It struggled to raise its neck and gently pressed its nose against Yu Zhen's palm.
Then, it stretched out its curled tongue and spat out a small scroll.
Yu Zhen picked up the scroll and, after unrolling it, discovered a set of coordinates written on it.
"It's a message left by Hagong Yuan Chie." After reading the scroll, Yu Zhen said with considerable certainty.
Because the information on the scroll was expressed in Morse Code, a code he had taught to a portion of the clansmen.
"Chie, is it really Chie?"
"There's only a set of coordinates, what does that mean?"
"Need you ask? It's obviously a request for help."
"It's a request for help, that's right, Chie is still alive."
"Then... what should we do?"
This question caused the chaotic crowd to suddenly fall silent. Yes, even if the ninja dog brought Chie's request for help, did they have the ability to carry out a rescue?
The crowd looked at Yu Zhen in unison.
Yu Zhen didn't speak. He placed his palm on the ninja dog's head, and unknowingly, its breathing grew weaker and weaker.
A ninja beside him had been frantically bandaging the ninja dog's wounds, but his movements gradually stopped.
The ninja dog's chest no longer rose and fell; it had lost all signs of life.
"Let's go back and talk. Beiji... let's bury it here properly," Yu Zhen said.
It was somewhat ironic that in this chaotic world, the death of a ninja dog was often more touching than the death of a human.
"Captain, this matter is likely a trap set by an unknown enemy... at least we can't rule out that possibility."
After returning to the camp, the group began to discuss the rescue operation.
Everyone naturally hoped to rescue their clansmen, but they couldn't lose their minds, nor could they ignore the risks involved.
"The code isn't reliable. Once Chie is controlled by the enemy's Genjutsu, then the code has the potential to be leaked," another ninja said.
"Don't forget, it's been several months since we lost the village. This request for help... isn't it a bit too late?"
When their village was breached by the enemy, most of the clansmen were killed, and a small number scattered and broke through. If anyone besides the people in the camp had survived, then he or they should have sent a message long ago.
"Perhaps they only just managed to contact us."
Maybe it wasn't that they didn't contact us, but that they couldn't... that was also a possibility.
Most people seemed to not support responding to this request for help, because it had some suspicious points.
But Yu Zhen knew that their thoughts were contrary to their words, or rather, their emotions were at odds with their rationality.
People have feelings, and the more they are in a difficult environment, the more precious some things become.
Yu Zhen stopped the debate. He signaled everyone to be quiet, and then said, "In any case, the request for help is indeed from Chie's hand. We can't pretend we didn't see it."
"I've decided... to carry out a rescue operation."
Whether based on emotional impulse or rational judgment, Yu Zhen couldn't stand idly by and watch his clansmen in distress.
This wasn't just about his personal thoughts, preferences, or will, but also about the collective perception of everyone.
Although Yu Zhen had concealed the surname "Hagumiya," it didn't mean he could sever the blood ties between the clansmen, nor did he intend to.
Superficial changes were merely superficial; the essence remained the same. A person's nature couldn't be altered by a single sentence.
Although Yu Zhen and the others had received a distress message from Hagumiya Chie, this message didn't necessarily mean that only one person was in trouble. It was likely a plea for help from several or even a dozen clansmen.
After hearing Yu Zhen's decision to carry out the rescue, although the clansmen around him still wore serious expressions, Yu Zhen clearly sensed an atmosphere of relief.
"Rescue is of course imperative, but as always, I will act alone this time."
He reached out to stop some who wanted to object and continued, "I am more flexible acting alone. If I encounter any problems, I can advance or retreat. If too many people participate, it will be easy to lose our bearings."
Frankly speaking, the strength of the others was simply not enough to support such a complex mission integrating reconnaissance, infiltration, and rescue.
The word "burden" might sound a bit harsh, but if everyone acted together, the possibility of them causing trouble was greater than the possibility of them providing assistance.
"So… considering the complexity of the rescue mission, I will go to the destination to investigate the situation first, and you will prepare for action. Once I need support, I will give notice as soon as possible."
Yu Zhen changed to a more acceptable way of speaking.
"If the captain acts alone and encounters an emergency, if no one responds… the consequences would be disastrous," someone said.
Yu Zhen once again performed a "bare-handed tree penetration," saying, "Unless I encounter an airtight sealing technique, it will be difficult for me to be trapped."
This action was very convincing.
It seemed that this was the only way. The others couldn't change Yu Zhen's will.
Some couldn't help but secretly lament that if that Senju ninja was still here, maybe they could get some help from him.
"It's decided then. I will conduct the initial reconnaissance, and considering the urgency of the matter, our actions should be sooner rather than later," Yu Zhen said.
Although he didn't intend to let everyone participate in the specific rescue operation, Yu Zhen had to give them a sense of participation and anticipation.
Everyone had to be someone who was working hard to rescue the clansmen and could obtain corresponding "contribution points." Otherwise, what would it be if some people worked while others watched?
Clearly, the weight of the clansmen in everyone's heart was equally heavy.
In fact, whether it was the previous pure cannon fodder period or the current advanced cannon fodder period, Yu Zhen wasn't used to cooperating with others. He was more familiar with a solo fighting style.
Yu Zhen made some arrangements for various matters in the camp, then sorted out his ninja tools, took some Soldier Pills, and set off… Thanks to the contribution of the Sarutobi Clan, at least Yu Zhen wasn't short of weapons and wartime supplies now.
In the past month or two, his strength had experienced a period of rapid growth.
For him now, his strength was definitely severely insufficient compared to the top, but more than enough compared to the bottom.
He wasn't very good at fighting, but he could definitely run very fast.
After Yu Zhen left the camp and passed through the forest to the outside world, he didn't recklessly rush at the fastest speed.
Battles could break out at any time, so he had to maintain his Chakra levels.
To avoid attracting attention, he also draped a tattered blanket over himself, concealing the ninja tools hanging from his waist. This way, he looked less like a ninja and more like a modernist avant-garde artist or a classical refugee.
After about three days, Yu Zhen arrived at the coordinates marked on the request for help, which turned out to be a very ordinary small town.
Hidden in the hazy morning mist, the buildings of various styles that Yu Zhen could see were dilapidated, and the people living in the town seemed lifeless.
There seemed to be nothing wrong; most places and people in the Ninja World were living like this at the moment.
If divided according to later geographical classifications, this place should be at the border of the Land of Fire, the Land of Rivers, and the Land of Rain, and has always been a famous "three-no-care" area.
After observing for a while, Yu Zhen couldn't see anything, so he stepped into the town.
And after entering the town, he immediately noticed the problem.
Logically speaking, the sudden appearance of a stranger in this kind of closed town should have caused the others to look at him with vigilance and scrutiny, but the people here seemed to be accustomed to outsiders like him.
Although Yu Zhen's dressing style was very common, his face was definitely unfamiliar.
"As expected, something is unusual..."
After walking around the town's main crossroads, Yu Zhen noticed a certain sense of being watched.
Could there really be clansmen hidden or detained in this kind of place? Yu Zhen couldn't get an answer for a while. His only clue was that coordinate, so he could only start searching from this town.
After another turn, Yu Zhen quietly stole a purse from a guy who looked like he was doing well financially... For ordinary people, ninjas are professional thieves with very high proficiency in theft skills.
This was the first time in months that Yu Zhen had touched money.
At this time, the currency unit in the Ninja World was still "ryō," but unlike the paper money of the ninja village era, metal coins were popular in the chaotic world, each minted by the daimyos of different regions.
The purchasing power of metal coins was, of course, different from that of paper money.
Yu Zhen opened the purse, which contained about five gold coins. The coins looked very similar to the "koban" from the Edo period in his memory.
The face of it was marked with a denomination of "one ryō." Yu Zhen casually weighed it in his hand, feeling that the gold coin weighed about 15 grams.
The purchasing power of "one ryō" in the ninja village era was equivalent to about 10 yen, but it was obvious that "one ryō" was much more valuable now—this was a large denomination currency.
Yu Zhen roughly converted it, and the purchasing power of "one ryō" gold coin was definitely no less than 5,000 yuan.
After getting the money, he came to a hotel in the center of town.
He had already observed it earlier; this town only had one hotel.
Yu Zhen walked into the hotel and saw a thin middle-aged man sitting behind the counter facing the entrance, so he came to the counter, directly slapped a gold coin on the counter, and said:
"I'll stay here first, and I'll make up for it when it's not enough."
The hotel owner picked up the gold coin, checked it against the light at the door, then breathed on the gold coin and wiped it vigorously with his sleeve before saying:
"Minted by the Yuan Shi Clan, pure gold... enough for you to live until the end of time."
As he spoke, he hid the gold coin in his sleeve and threw a string of keys to Yu Zhen at the same time.
Yu Zhen raised an eyebrow. He realized that this person was not simple, because he didn't see clearly the other party's action of hiding the gold coin. Could this hotel owner be a "sweeping monk" type of master?
He didn't rashly inquire about his clansmen. Being new to the place, he should act with caution.
Afterward, Yu Zhen, with the key in hand, arrived at a room on the second floor of the inn.
After closing the door tightly, he carefully inspected the room, and only after confirming that there was nothing unusual did he slightly relax his vigilance.
Next, Yu Zhen prepared to patiently observe this small town.
As long as there was a problem here, it would eventually reveal a flaw. Sooner or later, Yu Zhen would definitely seize upon the abnormality.
Yu Zhen seemed to have no way to start, but as long as he remained patient, he believed he could find a breakthrough point soon.
Indeed, for three consecutive days, he stayed in the inn, observing the outside from the window of his room. Then, on the afternoon of the third day, he discovered that there were actually ninja active in the Small Town.
This wasn't to say that Yu Zhen's intelligence-gathering ability was particularly strong, but rather that the ninja he saw didn't bother to conceal their identity at all.
Seeing this, he didn't hesitate at all, immediately leaving the inn and decisively and quietly following the other person.
Based on the idea of concealing his trump cards, and because his tracking this time was precisely to be discovered by the target at the appropriate time, he only used the height differences of the buildings and the complex environment of the town to follow, and didn't use the Mayfly Technique at the first opportunity.
The ninja moved quickly through the town. Judging from this mode of action alone, one could tell that they weren't here for the first time, because their movements were very purposeful.
Subsequently, this ninja entered an inconspicuous alley, and then walked into a low building at the deepest part of the alley.
It was about forty minutes before they left the building again... This place naturally deserved special attention.
At this time, Yu Zhen had two choices: one was to continue tracking the ninja, and the other was to directly investigate this building.
For safety's sake, he chose the former.
He wanted to collect as much information as possible from the ninja.
Yu Zhen followed behind the other person, who then directly chose to leave the Small Town, and then moved north all the way, with their speed increasing imperceptibly.
Yu Zhen roughly knew why, so he became more vigilant and continued to follow closely behind the other person.
Not long after leaving the Small Town, after passing through a sparse forest, the terrain ahead became a swamp covered in Marsh Gas.
Stagnant dead water and rotten vegetation were soaked together in the humid and hot dead water. In the thick, gray-brown puddles, one could occasionally see the half-exposed bones of some large animals.
This looked like a good place to bury people.
"Come out, I've already spotted you."
After the ninja stopped, they said in the direction where Yu Zhen was hiding.
Just what I wanted, to be discovered by you...
Yu Zhen chose to show himself directly. Meeting the other person's vigilant yet slightly smug gaze, he walked step by step to a position more than ten meters in front of them.
After standing still, he found it a little difficult to endure the surrounding rotten smell, and subconsciously raised his left hand to cover his mouth and nose.
Then a dramatic scene appeared. Without saying a word, the other person launched an attack, with several Shuriken shooting towards Yu Zhen.
The negotiation hadn't even started, and it seemed to be over already.
No one could expect a person to have any trust in a sneaky follower. In this ninja's view, a strange ninja's "manual" equaled "attack."
Rounding it off, forming hand seals was an attack, and covering one's mouth and nose was also an attack, so they had to strike first.
In the end, Yu Zhen wasn't a native, and he didn't understand the mentality of the locals in many cases... The chaotic Ninja World had already forced the inherently extreme ninja into neurotics.
Although the other person's attack was unexpected, this distance still left Yu Zhen with plenty of reaction time, and he easily dodged the attack.
Just as he was about to continue speaking, a Kunai pierced through his chest from behind.
He turned his head back in slight surprise, and found that another ninja was attacking him from behind.
It was actually a righteous two-on-one. Those who are good at backstabbing are always stabbed by others. Obviously, there was more than one enemy.
"Heh..."
The enemy responsible for the backstab seemed to want to reveal a smile that was as "cruel" as possible, but Yu Zhen, who was stabbed, turned into a puddle of clear water the next moment.
"Water Clone?"
Not far away, Yu Zhen reappeared on his own initiative.
Even though these people had already tried to kill him, he still didn't immediately take hostile action.
"I have no malice, I just want to ask you two something."
"No malice? Ninjas have no malice before they try to kill you," the ninja said.
After saying that, the two ninjas exchanged a glance, and then charged towards Yu Zhen from near and far.
Yu Zhen had no choice, he decided to subdue these two people first, and then ask questions.
His hands quickly formed seals, almost subconsciously using the ninjutsu he was most proficient in:
Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!
In the past, Yu Zhen's opening move was always Flame Bullet, but now that he had more Chakra to spare, he changed it to Great Flame Bullet.
It has to be said that the Great Flame Bullet has a bit of a preemptive effect. When a huge fireball with a diameter of more than six meters smashes towards the enemy with layers of heat waves, ordinary ninjas cannot remain indifferent.
Of course, limited by the flying speed of the fireball, unless it is released at extremely close range, such Fire Release is difficult to accurately hit the enemy, and it is even less likely to produce a 100% killing effect.
The ninja at the very front dodged the Great Flame Bullet by sidestepping.
In other words, Yu Zhen's ninjutsu can only play a role in delaying the enemy at most, but...
Buzz... Boom!
A huge explosion suddenly came, and Yu Zhen's Great Flame Bullet triggered a secondary explosion.
Excellent ninjas will inevitably consider environmental factors during combat in order to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. From this perspective, Yu Zhen is not an excellent ninja.
Because he used Fire Release ninjutsu here without much thought.
The place under their feet was more like a marsh gas pool than a swamp.
As the outer flames of the Great Flame Bullet ignited the marsh gas, an invisible wave of air spread rapidly outward like a ripple, and then, the marsh gas clusters that had been lingering in the entire swamp for an unknown amount of time were instantly detonated.
With a loud bang, the huge energy brewing inside the swamp exploded, like a volcanic eruption, and the muddy water surface suddenly burst open.
In a trance, the earth seemed to tremble.
Fortunately, Yu Zhen himself was on the outermost edge of the swamp. Although he released the Fire Release, he had room to retreat and dodge when he realized the danger.
His escape speed was first-rate. He plunged into the ground and ran fifty or sixty meters away in the blink of an eye, but even so, he was still covered in dirt by the aftermath of the explosion.
Temporary tinnitus and even a mild concussion were unavoidable.
The other two ninjas were not so lucky. They were in the swamp, which meant they were firmly encircled by the explosion range.
Yu Zhen emerged from the ground. He shook his head vigorously, and after struggling for a while, he got up from the ground.
Looking up ahead, he found that the situation in the swamp was as bad as it could be.
After a round of fierce explosions, sediments that had been buried here for who knows how many years were overturned. Coupled with the smell of incomplete combustion of marsh gas, the mixture of various odors was nauseating.
Various parts of the swamp were burning, and then Yu Zhen discovered a charcoal-like humanoid creature.
Without a doubt, an unlucky ninja had been directly blown to death.
This showed that backstabbing Yu Zhen would be punished.
Only one enemy died. Yu Zhen subconsciously looked up and saw a Giant Eagle hovering in mid-air, carrying the surviving ninja on its back.
Summoning Beast?
This enemy reacted quickly, using a Summoning Beast to fly into the air before the explosion.
Of course, this was also because he was farther away from the epicenter of the explosion.
"Madman."
Yu Zhen's ears were ringing now. He couldn't hear the other person's voice, but judging from the shape of their mouth, that's what they seemed to be saying.
"I really didn't mean any harm. What just happened was just an accident. It doesn't mean I'm that bad."
Unfortunately, among the three people present, due to the huge roar caused by the explosion, neither Yu Zhen himself, nor the enemy who escaped into the air, nor the ninja who had been burned to a crisp...
Could hear this pale explanation.
Compared to most ninjas, Yu Zhen could be considered a very normal person.
As an outsider to this world, it could be said that his thinking was quite disconnected from the common sense of the Ninja World, or that he was "alone" in his thoughts and cognition, without any heavy burdens on his shoulders.
Against the backdrop of the entire Ninja World being in chaos, he was neither blindly optimistic nor so bitter and hateful as to become nihilistic.
He never saw himself as the "protagonist" who could determine the direction of the world. In fact, for him now, his life goal was simply to survive the troubled times in a relatively normal way.
Therefore, he really didn't have the idea of killing anyone he saw; that would be too extreme.
Although someone was killed just now, it was by no means intentional by anyone, but simply an accident caused by a natural disaster.
Which swamp doesn't bury people, right?
This conflict should not have happened in the first place. Yu Zhen only wanted to ask a few questions from beginning to end.
Now that the other party had lost a companion, the matter was even less likely to end peacefully.
The remaining ninja was crouching on the back of the Giant Eagle Summoning Beast, looking down at Yu Zhen from mid-air.
After his head cleared and his senses were no longer affected by the explosion, he unhesitatingly directed the eagle to swoop down.
Yu Zhen's tinnitus gradually subsided, and a shrill eagle cry entered his ears.
Such a large Summoning Beast was worth taking seriously. Yu Zhen knew that his physique was not enough to confront this Chakra beast head-on, so he decided not to give the opponent a chance to get close.
In the blink of an eye, the distance between the two sides had narrowed to twenty meters.
At this distance, among the ninjutsu that Yu Zhen had mastered, there was only one that could guarantee 100% effectiveness—Water Release: Water Severing Wave.
He quickly formed hand seals, and then a dense water blade shot out towards the sky.
The high-speed, high-density water flow, with a high-frequency vibration far beyond imagination, had the power to split gold and crack rocks. Using such a move against flesh and blood was simply invincible.
The water blade slanted into the sky, and then a white line that seemed soft but was actually indestructible slashed down from mid-air. The slender water blade accurately cut into the Giant Eagle's body, and then passed through it without any delay.
In an instant, blood splattered everywhere, and one of the Giant Eagle's wings was easily cut off.
Even in the air, a large object is always easier to hit than a small one.
And for some reason, this eagle's reaction was not flexible enough.
Against an enemy of this level, Yu Zhen's use of such advanced Water Release was a bit like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.
But there was no other way. When dealing with long-range targets, only Water Severing Wave had the most guaranteed range.
The attack power of Water Dragon Bullet might be barely enough, but when dealing with targets in the sky, gravity would severely restrict its impact, and the killing effect would definitely not be as good as Water Severing Wave.
This leads to another question: why do ninjas like to throw Shuriken? The answer is simple: because the effective attack range of Shuriken can exceed more than 90% of ninjutsu.
Ninjutsu with a range of more than twenty meters is not something that ordinary ninjas can master.
The crippled Giant Eagle, along with the ninja on its back, fell from mid-air, and then it struggled on the ground like a domestic fowl waiting to be slaughtered.
The ninja no longer had the ability to control the Summoning Beast, which was dominated by pain. While dodging the Giant Eagle's random attacks, he released another Summoning Beast.
Another huge lion-shaped monster suddenly appeared on the battlefield. Its sharp teeth were exposed, and its sharp claws protruded from its feet, making it look like it was not easy to mess with.
Yu Zhen felt a bit puzzled. Logically speaking, large Summoning Beasts were a scarce resource. How could he casually encounter a ninja who could pull out two of them at will?
However, what shocked him even more was what followed. After being summoned, the lion-shaped Summoning Beast immediately adopted an attacking stance.
Yu Zhen lowered his body, ready to counterattack at any moment.
But just then, the Summoning Beast, which seemed about to charge forward, suddenly turned sideways. With a movement and speed that could be described as grotesque, it stretched out its neck and opened its bloody maw, biting its master beside it in one go.
The biting force of this Summoning Beast was terrifying. Half of the ninja's body was instantly crushed, and in an instant, blood stained half of the Summoning Beast's body red.
This way of dying was much more miserable than being blown up. At least the guy who was blown up didn't scream in agony before he died.
The ninja whose body was crushed quickly ran out of breath. Then, the Summoning Beast shook its head, flicked its neck like spitting out trash, and casually threw the remaining half of the body aside.
Next, the Summoning Beast came to the Giant Eagle that was still struggling and bit off its neck in one bite.
After doing all this, its gaze turned to Yu Zhen.
After seeing this look, Yu Zhen was suddenly a little dazed. Could a Summoning Beast show such a complex look?
It was like... a human.
From this look, he saw a certain determination to die.
The Summoning Beast roared and strode towards Yu Zhen.
Yu Zhen seemed to understand something. He formed hand seals, and Water Blades shot out again.
The running Summoning Beast was instantly split in two, dying as quickly and painlessly as possible.
In fact, Yu Zhen felt that these two Summoning Beasts were all show and no substance. Although they looked huge, he always felt that they had not shown corresponding combat power.
After the battle, he stood there for a while in a daze.
This battle could be said to have started inexplicably and ended inexplicably.
He simply cleaned up the battlefield and scavenged some Ninja Tools and currency from the two ninjas. There was nothing else of value.
On the contrary, when he was checking the two Summoning Beasts, some traces on them caught Yu Zhen's attention.
These two Summoning Beasts had many hidden scars, or rather, traces of modification. At the same time, some incantations that Yu Zhen couldn't understand were buried in their bodies.
After seeing these things, and thinking about the performance of the Summoning Beast before its death, Yu Zhen's thoughts suddenly diverged to the "Big brother, let's play together" aspect.
Was there really nothing new under the sun?
It wasn't that Yu Zhen was psychologically dark, but that no one could guarantee how low the bottom line of the ninjas of this era could be.
Having not obtained any valuable clues from the two ninjas, Yu Zhen could only choose to return to the Small Town to explore that building.
The battle that had just occurred had no impact on this place. Everything in the Small Town was as usual.
Yu Zhen wasn't sure if the movement from the Swamp just now could be transmitted here, but according to the distance, this place should have noticed some movement... Such a large-scale explosion would have created an exaggerated sound.
But looking at the reaction of the people in the town, they seemed completely unaware.
"As expected, there's something strange."
Yu Zhen followed his previous memories and found the building hidden in the alley. He thought for a moment at the door, then chose to push the door open and walk in.
Behind the door was an ordinary-looking courtyard, but perhaps it was psychological, Yu Zhen seemed to smell a faint scent of blood.
After he arrived in the courtyard, the door he had pushed open behind him closed automatically.
"An unfamiliar face, a foreign ninja. You've been here for a few days now. What's your purpose? Or... who introduced you?"
Without seeing anyone else, a voice suddenly echoed in the courtyard.
As expected, Yu Zhen had been under surveillance since he arrived here.
Hiding your head and showing your tail, playing tricks, Yu Zhen slandered inwardly while saying:
"I just happened to pass by and happened to see ninjas frequently entering and leaving here, so I was just a little curious."
"I see..."
The other party seemed to believe Yu Zhen's statement so easily, so he explained "sincerely":
"It's nothing, those people are just my clients."
"If you want, you can become my new client, just like them."
Clients?
Yu Zhen was already dressed in tattered clothes, and he had gotten a body full of mud and stench in the swamp. It could be said that he was as wretched as could be. If someone like him could be a client, then he must be a VIP among VIPs.
"Client?"
So he was a "businessman." That explained the presence of unfamiliar ninjas.
But in this chaotic era, a "businessman" hiding in a remote corner of the Ninja World gave off a less-than-savory vibe.
The business here was likely not legitimate.
"What can I get from you?" Yu Zhen asked, curious.
"My clients can be broadly divided into sellers and buyers."
"Can you elaborate?"
"If you're a seller, I generally only deal in human trafficking... My research requires a lot of ninja assistance.
In this chaotic Ninja World, defeated ninjas are often killed outright, which is a bit of a waste. Ninjas are a valuable resource, after all.
So, if you want to make the most of them, you can hand over the ninjas you capture in war to me, and I'll offer a fair price."
Vocal, it was "black slave trade." Yu Zhen had stumbled upon...
Good news.
Yu Zhen clenched his fist secretly. Regardless of why this person was collecting slaves from the Ninja World, he was now almost certain that the distress signal from his clansmen had originated from here.
His clansmen were likely here. He had come to the right place.
Only slave traders would gather all sorts of people, which was indeed good news for Yu Zhen.
"That's certainly a good business, but unfortunately, I didn't know beforehand, and I don't have any goods for you," Yu Zhen said.
"Oh, so those two ninjas are dead. What a pity," the voice said.
The other party had indeed noticed the battle in the swamp.
If I said those two weren't directly killed by me, would you believe it? Yu Zhen thought.
"What about as a buyer? What can I get from you?" he continued to ask.
"Things that can quickly enhance a ninja's combat power, such as secret medicines that temporarily and rapidly increase Chakra, or absolutely loyal, super-sized summoning beasts."
Absolutely loyal? Yu Zhen thought of the unlucky guy who had just been bitten to death by his summoning beast.
"Can I see the summoning beasts? I'm very interested in that."
"Of course. As long as you adhere to the principles of fair trade, anyone can become my client... Please come inside. The merchandise is in there."
As the voice faded, a corner of the courtyard suddenly collapsed, revealing a downward-sloping staircase.
Yu Zhen pondered for a moment, then stepped towards it.
As he descended the dark stairs, his vigilance reached its peak. His right arm, hidden under his clothes, began to turn pale.
He couldn't help it. This kind of underground space felt too much like a trap, and he had to be ready to run at any moment.
Almost as soon as Yu Zhen began to partially transform into a White Zetsu, his vision suddenly changed!
After going a certain distance underground, Yu Zhen had only seen ordinary underground structures, but now those structures had turned into iron cages.
One by one, cages were scattered on both sides of the passage. In the cages on one side were ninjas with their hands and feet locked, while in the cages on the other side were some strange-looking beasts. Genjutsu? When did I fall under a genjutsu? The change in the scene before his eyes indicated that Yu Zhen had been under some kind of genjutsu control all along, but the problem was that he had no idea when he had fallen under the genjutsu, and he had no clues in his mind. Also, why did this genjutsu dissolve after he performed partial "White Zetsu-ification"? Could it be that the White Zetsu-ified body allows his Chakra to return to its normal flow? Now is not the time to think about these things. Yu Zhen pretended not to know and continued to walk towards the depths of the passage. At the end of the passage, there was a room with an open door. Yu Zhen tried to undo the White Zetsu-ification and found that he was looking at a relatively well-built house. In the room directly opposite the door, there was a long table, and behind the table sat a person wearing a cloak whose face could not be seen... This looked like a place for doing business. Then Yu Zhen performed White Zetsu-ification again, and the so-called room turned into another cage, filled with all kinds of strange torture instruments. He carefully observed the inside of the cage, and then, without much hesitation, boldly walked in. "Welcome, my guest. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Tsuchi, and I am a person who is passionate about cultivating summoning beasts." After entering the room, the voice echoed in the empty space. Passionate about cultivating? He's passionate about "assembling" summoning beasts, right? Without giving Yu Zhen time to react, the cage door closed. After he became a turtle in a jar, the secretive guy finally stopped pretending, and a gloomy laughter began to echo in the underground space. "You will definitely become a good research material." "Not long ago, it seems that someone took advantage of my carelessness to send out a distress signal. I am very confident in my cage, and originally thought it was just an illusion, but I didn't expect someone to walk right into it..." "Don't worry, I will extract your brain and heart, and then choose the most outstanding beast to replace them. You will not die, but you will live a fresh life..." Chatting? Of course not, this person is stalling for time. Yu Zhen felt his Chakra being stripped away by some force, and he subconsciously looked at the wall behind the iron cage. Earth Release? He thought for a while, and then said, "I seem to remember that there is an Earth Release ninjutsu that can absorb the enemy's Chakra, what was it called... Earth Prison Dome Nothing?" The somewhat arrogant voice stopped abruptly, and then he became exasperated: "Why do you know my secret technique?" Does Yu Zhen have an obligation to explain to the other party? He smiled and then said: "Your attitude is not very good. As a researcher, you should be calm and maintain absolute calmness and rationality no matter what the situation." How can you celebrate victory halfway through the match? You obviously have no experience. "Turtle in a jar, wait until your Chakra is drained, and then you..." However, before he could finish speaking, Yu Zhen had already stretched out a pale hand and pressed it against the surrounding rock walls. The surrounding Chakra began to flow backward, and in the blink of an eye, Yu Zhen went from "net loss" to "net gain." The Chakra in the Earth Prison rock wall was completely extracted by him in an instant, and after losing the maintenance of Chakra, the surrounding rock walls instantly collapsed.
A more secluded room was thus revealed.
"Found you. You were hiding pretty deep."
Just as Yu Zhen had expected, those who hid their heads and showed their tails, trying to lure him into traps with various methods, definitely weren't that great in direct combat.
Of course, the ability to absorb Chakra could be considered a killing move, but unfortunately, he ran into Yu Zhen, who could absorb even more.
If it were anyone else, they might not have been able to escape from this cage.
In the Ninja World, the ability to absorb Chakra wasn't rare to the point of being as scarce as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, but if one believed that relying solely on this trick could make them invincible, they would stumble sooner or later.
The man before him, who called himself Tsuchi, had made the mistake of being overly confident in his experience.
"You can see me? No, when did you break the genjutsu?"
"I was just about to ask when I fell for the genjutsu."
Yu Zhen formed hand seals, Water Release: Water Severing Wave.
The iron cage that trapped him was easily sliced into four pieces. Seeing this, Tsuchi immediately tried to escape.
Want to run?
Yu Zhen continued to release a second ninjutsu, Water Release: Water Surge Wave.
In the narrow underground space, the rushing water surged like a breached dam, instantly filling the small "rat hole."
In open areas, the attack effect of such a ninjutsu wouldn't be significant. With a ninja's skills, there would always be ways to dodge or defend.
However, in the confined underground space, ordinary people simply couldn't cope with this kind of "flooding." The opponent had no room to maneuver and could hardly escape the impact range of Yu Zhen's Water Release.
Yu Zhen then used the Mayfly Technique , merging his body into the rock wall first, and then using the rock wall to move quickly.
He instantly arrived next to Tsuchi, and with a "chop," directly slapped the back of the drowning enemy's neck. With a crisp snap, Tsuchi's neck vertebrae seemed to have shifted.
Choking on water and getting beaten, the enemy was directly knocked unconscious.
"This... wasn't resistant to being hit?"
The enemy's ability to withstand attacks was so weak, which was somewhat beyond Yu Zhen's expectations.
With such weak strength, he dared to call himself a "researcher"?
The real Ninja World inventors all had Shadow-level strength.