Iwagakure Village, Tsuchikage Office
As the dusty master and disciple entered the office, the familiar scent without any incense eased Chi Chen's fatigue from the journey of more than ten days and his disgust towards those hypocritical nobles.
"Hmph, I'm finally back." Ōnoki sat down at his familiar desk chair, rubbing his lower back as usual. He looked at the pile of scrolls with a look of disgust and helplessness. "It's really a shame I'm just getting back and there's still so much to look at. I clearly asked Doi and the others on the mountain to help with it."
Chichen, standing below, ignored Ohnoki's complaints and instead placed the document of approval for the "Rock Plan" that symbolized hope on the table: "Teacher, the Earth Kingdom's revival plan can truly begin."
"Start? Of course we have to start!" A gleam of light flashed in Ohnoki's eyes, and his previous fatigue was swept away. He picked up the document and pointed at a location that had been circled long ago within the sphere of influence of the Iwagakure Village.
"But just digging rocks in front of your house isn't loud enough."
After he finished speaking, he raised his head and looked at Chi Chen: "Boy, the plan must be advanced, and prestige must be established! The future of Iwagakure needs you to stand in the sun, so that everyone can see clearly that we, Iwagakure, have successors! The most important person in this plan is you."
Chi Chen was a little confused about what Ohnoki meant. Even if he wanted to stand in front of the stage, it would take time.
Chi Chen thought about it and knew that Ohnoki was already prepared, so he stopped thinking: "Then what do I need to do now, teacher?"
Ohnoki's lips curled up into a foxy smile, and he tapped his finger on the table. "There's a ready-made stage right now. An urgent report has arrived from the border post east of the village: an elite group of Sunagakure, disguised as bandits, has attacked two of our small supply routes in three consecutive days. Their methods are brutal, leaving no one alive, but if they do this often, they'll leave traces!"
He paused, and with unquestionable majesty, he said, "Chichen! Your first independent S-rank mission: immediately proceed to the East Border Outpost and cooperate with the garrisoned jonin to find and annihilate this Sand Village team! Goal: annihilate them completely, leaving no trace! Let the Sand Village see the new fangs of our Iwagakure!"
"S-level...independent?" Even though Chi Chen was determined, he couldn't help but be moved at this moment. S-level missions usually meant that the other party had the strength of an elite jonin, and independently executing it was not only a trust, but also a declaration that they were ready to push him to the forefront!
"What? Are you scared?" Ohnoki raised his eyebrows, his tone carrying a hint of provocation, but deep in his eyes was complete trust and expectation.
"No!" Chi Chen's eyes instantly became as sharp as a knife. The dormant power in his body seemed to be ignited by this mission. A burning sensation surged through his chakra meridians. "Disciple, I obey your command! I promise to complete the mission."
Looking at the burning fighting spirit in his disciple's eyes and the calmness that surpassed his age, Ohnoki nodded with satisfaction.
He drifted closer to Chichen, no longer the condescending Tsuchikage, but an elder who cared about his juniors. His rough hand gently patted Chichen's shoulder, the movement a little stiff, but with a heavy warmth.
"Go, show the world what the true Will of Stone is. Let them recognize your existence, and use this to attract the first investment for this project."
Eastern border of the Land of Earth
Chi Chen's figure appeared like a ghost on the top of a towering wind-eroded rock pillar. He was not wearing a conspicuous Genin uniform, but a dark brown tight combat uniform that was easy to conceal, and a light vest of the Iwagakure style on the outside.
He closed his eyes and gently pressed his hands against the scorching rock surface. The earth beneath his feet and the surrounding natural energy were transmitting information to Chi Chen. Soon, several deliberately suppressed "noises" emerged, still carrying the scent of blood and chakra.
It is about a few kilometers away from Chichen, deep in a huge cave in the leeward area.
"Found... four chakras, one jonin, three chuunin-level, and some blood." Chi Chen opened his eyes; he didn't tell the jonin stationed at the outpost, because they had more important security duties. This hunt was his stage.
His body moved slightly, and he fell from the rock pillar dozens of meters high as if he had lost weight. He landed silently, leaving only a very shallow trace on the sand. Then he merged into the shadow of the rugged rocks and sneaked towards the target cave at an astonishing speed.
Inside the cave, the atmosphere was oppressive. Four Sunagakure ninjas sat around a small bonfire, the flames illuminating their angry faces. Scattered on the ground were Iwagakure forehead protectors and blood-stained bandages, evidently spoils from a recent raid.
"The supply lines of Iwagakure are becoming more and more cautious, and the harvest is much less." The leading Sand Village ninja had a hideous scar on his face. He was wiping a poisoned kunai with a faint blue glow, and his tone was cold.
"What are you afraid of? A bunch of cowards! Wait for the order from Lord Kazekage..." A Chunin with a tattoo on his face spat, without finishing his words.
boom--!
Without warning, the cave's solid dome suddenly exploded, a hole several meters in diameter! Dazzling light mixed with rubble poured down! Amidst the smoke and dust, a small figure descended from the sky, accompanied by a cold declaration:
"There's no need to wait, because your lives have ended here."
"Dust Release: Skyfall!"
Chi Chen clapped his hands in front of his chest! There were no complicated hand seals, only an instantaneous burst of chakra!
Buzz——!
Dozens of fist-sized cubes emitting deadly blue-white light instantly formed behind him as if they had life!
"What?!" The Sand Village jonin's pupils suddenly shrank, and he felt like a ghost! That light... was Dust Release?! The intelligence didn't mention that there was a new Dust Release user in Iwagakure! And... that speed?!
"Scatter!" he roared, and his reaction was very quick, he retreated quickly in an instant.
But Chi Chen's thoughts were faster!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! …
Dozens of blue-white beams of death, like precisely guided rainstorms, tore through the air, emitted piercing screams, and shot out at speeds beyond visual capture!
"Ah—!" A Chunin who had just leaped into action was the first to be struck, pierced simultaneously by three blue-white beams! Instantly disintegrated! The moment the beams penetrated his body, the parts of him that were struck were transformed into atoms and vanished!
The other two Chunins were terrified. One tried to perform a body-flickering technique, but just as his body blurred halfway, a beam of light arrived, disintegrating him along with the remaining chakra! The other frantically formed hand seals to perform a defensive earth escape technique, but a wall of sand just rose up -
Puff! Puff! Puff!
Three Dust Release beams pierced through the sand wall like a hot knife through butter, accurately hitting his chest, abdomen, and head! The sand wall, along with his entire body, turned into scattered blue dust in his despairing eyes!
In just one encounter, all three Chunins were killed!
"Bastard!" The Sand Village senior ninja's eyes were bloodshot, and he was shocked and angry.
He hadn't even seen how the other party performed the spell! This instantaneousness, this scale, this precision was simply monstrous! Fear was instantly replaced by a strong desire to survive and anger. He bit his finger hard and quickly formed seals with both hands!
"The art of spiritual communication!"
White smoke exploded, and a giant scorpion with ferocious fangs, over ten meters long, was summoned! This was his trump card. As a jonin capable of carrying out missions deep into the hinterland, how could his strength be underestimated?
"Rock Scorpion! Crush him!" the jonin shouted, his hands flying as countless poisoned Senbon shot towards Chichen like a rainstorm, blocking all his escape routes! He didn't believe the other party could handle both the summoned beast and his own full-strength attack at the same time.
Facing the poison needle storm and the crushing of the giant scorpion, Chi Chen's eyes did not fluctuate at all, and he did not even move his feet.
"Dust Release: Round Barrier!"
He clasped his hands together in front of him again.
Buzz—
This time, it was no longer an offensive Dust Release beam. Instead, a blue light wall composed of countless dense hexagons like a honeycomb suddenly appeared and rotated around his body. The light wall was as thin as a cicada's wing, but no one could underestimate it.
Chichichi——
The Poisoned Thousand Books hit the blue light wall, like ice and snow thrown into a furnace, without even a ripple. It disappeared in an instant and was completely decomposed into the most primitive energy particles!
"Roar!" The desert scorpion's huge claws slammed into the blue light wall with tremendous force!
boom!
A dull thud echoed! The light wall rippled violently, its blue light flickering. The rock scorpion's massive claws, powerful enough to split mountains and shatter rocks, crumbled at a visible speed the instant they came into contact with the light wall. The intense pain caused the rock scorpion to let out a shrill roar!
"Impossible!" The Sunagakure jonin was completely stunned. Even his summoned beast couldn't shake this defense. What kind of monster was this? He had never heard of Iwagakure having such a Dust Release.
"It's over." Chi Chen's icy voice was like the decree of death. He maintained [Dust Release: Round Barrier], but his right hand pointed at the giant scorpion, which was slowed by the pain.
"Dust Release: Skyfall - Penetrating Kill."
A blue-white beam, much thicker and more concentrated than before, burst out from his fingertips like a spear of judgment! It was so fast that the Sand Village had no time to react.
Phew.
The beam of light shot into the rock scorpion's open and roaring mouth with incredible precision, piercing through its huge body and exiting from its tail. A terrifying decomposition force erupted within its body.
The giant scorpion's huge body suddenly stiffened, and then, from the inside out, it dissipated in an instant like a ignited blue firework, without even a scream.
"It's your turn." Chi Chen removed the round barrier and walked step by step towards the senior ninja who staggered back because of fear. His eyes were calm, but with a heavy, oppressive feeling like a mountain collapsing. This was not the eyes of a child, but the eyes of a judge who controlled life and death.
"Hehe, I'm dead, but Kazekage-sama will soon know about Sunagakure thanks to a genius like you. Maybe I'll see you down there soon."
Chichen did not respond to the provocation of Sand Village, but continued to walk towards Sand Village, "They attacked my supplies and killed my compatriots. The dignity of Iwagakure and the peace of the Land of Earth cannot be trampled upon. Those who violate this will be punished!"
The moment the words fell, Chi Chen's figure seemed to blur in place.
The Sand Village jonin felt his eyes blur as an irresistible force slammed into his abdomen! It was a powerful punch from Chichen wrapped in pure earth escape chakra!
"Ah!" The Jonin flew backwards like a broken sack and hit the rock wall heavily. The sound of broken ribs was clearly audible, and the kunai in his hand flew out.
Chi Chen didn't use Dust Release. His body moved like lightning, and he caught up in an instant. However, his fists contained the force to split stones and crack rocks, hitting the opponent's joints and chakra nodes with precision!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The dull sound of blows echoed through the caverns. The Sand Village jonin was like a human sandbag, powerless to fight back, completely suppressed and destroyed by Chichen's pure and exquisite taijutsu!
Each blow was as heavy as rock, crushing his resistance and declaring the will of Iwagakure with the most primitive power.
When Chi Chen's last knife strike accurately hit the opponent's neck, the light in the eyes of the Sand Village senior ninja was completely extinguished, and he collapsed limply to the ground, leaving only a lifeless body. Chi Chen did not look at the corpse on the ground again, and did not use Dust Release because this person obviously had a high status in Sand Village and a lot of information could be dug out.
Chi Chen's eyes swept across the remaining bloodstains and scattered rock-hidden forehead protectors in the cave, and a hint of heaviness flashed across the depths of his eyes.
He squatted down, picked up a blood-stained Iwagakure forehead protector, carefully wiped off the blood and dust with his sleeve, and put it away carefully.
After doing all this, Chi Chen walked to the entrance of the cave, facing the howling wind and sand, and sent a signal to the outpost, waiting for the Rock Ninja to deal with the situation here.
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