This is the author's first book on Fanqie. It came about because I hadn't seen a Dust Release novel set in the Land of Earth, so I decided to write one myself. If you like it, please leave your mark anything at all it will be stored here forever.
You can always offer suggestions, but please be respectful if you're going to be sarcastic from the start.
The author has tried writing female leads in other books, but their performance was too poor. For the sake of this book's success, there will be no female lead. If you can, please leave a review. The author wants to know how the writing is going, so feel you can give direct feedback. All feedback will be responded to, unless it's genuinely missed. Responses are not meant to be stubborn, but rather to discuss ideas. You can directly tell the author if something isn't working and offer suggestions.
The book has many titles during its certification period. The early part focuses on combat, with development starting around chapter forty.
Outskirts of Iwagakure, Land of Earth.
Morning mist, like a veil, enveloped the winding stream valley.
Four-year-old Chi Chen was sprawled on the stone by the stream, which the villagers called Crying Rock. His silver-grey hair was damp with morning dew.
He held a pebble of this kind in his hand.
"It's just as I thought "
Chi Chen's fingertip precisely touched a pattern node that only he could sense.
As a transmigrator who was born into this Ninja World, this body seemed to be naturally capable of perceiving the pulse of nature.
He was born with the ability to sense the surrounding energy, which allowed him to display abilities comparable to the Byakugan.
With a crisp "click," the Crying Rock, said to be able to withstand C-rank Ninjutsu, split into two, its smooth cross-section reflecting his young face.
As a transmigrator, in this life, he became an orphan whose parents died in battle, surviving on neighborly assistance and a pension.
His memories of his previous life were already hazy, but his 'golden finger' was clear, such as this ability to sense the earth. How to develop it further would only be known after systematically learning Ninjutsu.
Whenever his palm touched the earth, he could feel a certain pulse. Chi Chen could even feel that he could draw a portion of power from his surroundings, especially the earth.
Just like now, the pebbles in the stream trembled slightly under his fingertips.
Chi Chen knew this was a gift from Mother Earth to the transmigrator, and it would be his capital for future survival, allowing him to catch up with the Ninja World's freaks and giving him the ability to live in this world.
"Chi Chen! You're playing with these weird rocks again!" A childish cry pierced the tranquility.
Chi Chen knew without turning around that it was his little follower from Aunt Chun Jing's house next door, who always clung to him.
Sure enough, four-year-old Hiryu was clumsily wading through the water, the mini shuriken made from a discarded kunai at his waist jingling. The splashes from his little boots startled the drinking blue-winged sparrows.
"Why are you up so early today?"
Chi Chen slowly propped himself up. "Why did you come looking for me? Do you want to play Ninja games?"
"No way!"
Hiryu's round face flushed. He wasn't that kind of childish kid.
Suddenly, he pulled out a rice ball wrapped in oil paper from his embrace.
The wrapping was clumsy; the nori had come loose, and a few grains of rice slipped through his fingers, falling into the stream where they were immediately gobbled up by small fish.
"H-here's your breakfast!"
Hiryu fumbled, trying to re-wrap the loose nori, but only ended up squishing the entire rice ball out of shape.
Chi Chen looked at the deformed rice ball, his throat suddenly tightening.
He knew, of course, that given Aunt Chun Jing's strained circumstances, every rice ball had to be carefully rationed.
The woman, who always wore a faded apron, must have secretly made an extra one when Hiryu wasn't looking—Hiryu only had his mother; his father, like Chi Chen's parents, had sacrificed himself on the front lines.
Aunt Chun Jing also took care of him normally, earning some money by mending clothes for others and washing dishes.
Iwagakure was too poor now; the land wasn't suitable for farming.
The economy was underdeveloped, commerce was pitifully scarce, and it was surrounded by mountains. While they were the best defense during wartime, they were the biggest obstacle in peacetime, even hindering the Village from accepting missions at times.
As for Hiryu, when he was little, Aunt Chun Jing would bring him to Chi Chen's side to keep him company while she worked.
Chi Chen would tell him stories from his previous life. After hearing tales of sword immortals from the past, Hiryu wanted to become such a figure and practiced swordsmanship at home every day. It must be said that he was quite talented; with just a basic swordsmanship book, he had already made impressive progress.
Chi Chen had a clear plan for himself: learn Ninja World knowledge, undergo some taijutsu training to build a solid foundation, and practice some simple Chakra extraction.
Chi Chen discovered that his Chakra recovery speed was much faster whenever he stood on the ground.
"Thank you."
Chi Chen reached out to take the mangled rice ball. As his fingertips touched the warm rice, he suddenly stiffened.
A bone-chilling coldness shot up his spine, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
"Chi Chen? What's wrong?"
Hiryu tilted his head in confusion, his small, rice-stained hand waving in front of Chi Chen's eyes.
"Are you starving—"
Before he could finish, Chi Chen suddenly tackled Hiryu.
The two fell heavily into the stream, the icy water instantly soaking their clothes.
Almost simultaneously, twelve shuriken whizzed past over their heads, embedding themselves with "thuds" in the rocks behind them, their sharp blades glinting with an eerie purple light in the morning sun.
If Chi Chen hadn't reacted quickly, he and Hiryu would have already died.
"Poison!"
Chi Chen's pupils constricted. These weapons, laced with neurotoxin, were instantly fatal upon drawing blood.
"Ah!"
Hiryu suddenly shrieked. Chi Chen turned to look, only to see twelve dark figures leaping down from the hundred-meter-high cliff.
Their descent speed was unnaturally fast, clearly indicating they were well-trained elite Ninja.
The scorpion-tailed mask on the leader's face was still dripping blood, and the Sunagakure symbol on his forehead was smeared with fresh blood, making it look terrifyingly grotesque.
Chi Chen's gaze locked onto the man's right wrist—in the gap of the metal gauntlet, a half-piece of bloody fingernail was clearly lodged!
The edge of the fingernail was jagged, clearly torn from a living person's finger. This was a ruthless character.
"Two little brats..."
A hoarse voice, like a dull knife scraping bone, came as the Ninja wearing the scorpion-tailed mask grabbed Hiryu by the back of his neck, lifting him completely out of the water.
Hiryu's short legs kicked futilely in the air, but he had no strength to resist.
"I didn't intend to bother with you, but what a coincidence. Meeting me is your misfortune."
After saying that, he didn't wait for Chi Chen to react and directly lunged with a kunai to stab Hiryu.
"No!" Chi Chen's heart stirred with agitation.
Although he always thought of Hiryu as a little kid, every time this guy stood in front of him, pretending to be an adult, secretly bringing him food, and trying to make him laugh...
And Aunt Chun Jing, despite her difficulties, never gave up on him. He had long considered them family.
How could he, how could he let them harm his family in front of him!
Chi Chen's vision was suddenly tinged with an eerie blue.
He felt something inside him about to be released, like a volcano that had slept for a thousand years suddenly erupting.
The stream beneath his feet began to glow blue, and the water continuously dissipated. Small blue cubes emerged from the surface, spreading outwards from him as their center.
"Let... him... go."
Every word carried an echo like a rumbling earth.
"I said—" The child's voice suddenly took on an earthquake-like resonance, "Let him go."
The Sunagakure Ninja's sneer froze on his face—he discovered in horror that his kunai was dissipating, blue, spiderweb-like cracks appearing on its metal surface.
Next were his fingers, his arm... The entire process was terrifyingly fast. He didn't even have time to scream before his entire body had dissipated into the air.
The other eleven Sunagakure Ninja immediately formed hand signs, but it was already too late.
The blue light in Chi Chen's eyes intensified.
Countless blue lights spread outwards, and any Ninja they touched instantly dissipated.
A Jonin attempting to use the Body Flicker Technique had just leaped into mid-air when his legs were already gone, bleeding continuously.
A Ninja halfway through forming hand signs found his fingers beginning to dissipate;
A female Ninja watched in horror as her long hair turned to dust, and the next second her entire head began to crumble—"Chi Chen... Chi Chen, your eyes...!"
Hiryu sat slumped in the shallows, a red, swollen handprint on his face.
He looked in horror behind Chi Chen—his companion, who always did his own thing, seemed quiet, but cared deeply about everything around him.
At this moment, the surrounding small hills had also dissipated, leaving smooth, clean cross-sections.
Chi Chen's vision was consumed by a deep blue, and the sounds in his ears gradually faded. He was too tired.
In his last moments of consciousness, he saw Hiryu's terrified face and heard his heartbreaking shouts