The Strength of a Ninja Is Not Based on the Individual Alone
In the forest in the central Land of Rivers.
"Teacher, what kind of guy is that Lin Ke...?"
Rock Lee, with his thick eyebrows, asked curiously as he ran through the trees.
"What kind of guy..." Might Guy, with the same thick eyebrows, pondered for a moment, lost in thought.
He had noticed that child back in the Ninja Academy.
Aside from Little Lee, Sasuke who was full of hatred, and Neji, he was the most hardworking child.
His desperate efforts were hard to forget, but unfortunately, that child was completely unsuited for his path.
The Eight Gates Formation Technique was an extremely talent-dependent taijutsu technique, and the cruel reality was that hard work alone would never lead to success.
Even Hyuga Neji, a student who was equally hardworking, more talented, and possessed the Byakugan, had failed to master it.
Fortunately, Lin Ke had his own talent, and later, through his own efforts and talent, he graduated early, shone brightly, became the most outstanding Genin, and quickly became a Chunin...
He, Might Guy, was very gratified.
This was youth!
Hyuga Neji watched as his teacher started running and crying for no apparent reason, and proactively shared the information he knew: "I heard he's the most genius young ninja in the village, only ten years old this year, but he has already completed multiple B-Rank Missions and one A-Rank Mission."
"Isn't that three years younger than me!" Tenten couldn't help but widen her eyes.
Rock Lee exclaimed in amazement, "Amazing!"
Might Guy's eyes suddenly became firm, "That's right, he's the village's genius, and also the village's future!"
He recalled the Third Hokage's serious and earnest expression when he asked him to rescue the missing Nara Yan Shui and Lin Ke Squad, and a hotter passion burst forth! "Tenten, Little Lee, Neji! Let's go faster!"
"We've been running for a day, I'm so tired." Tenten lamented, but her feet didn't slow down at all, instead, she sped up.
"You should strengthen your training, Tenten." Rock Lee offered a friendly reminder.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Konoha's Third Squad was currently rushing to the battlefield.
...
Konoha Village, Hokage Office.
"Shikaku, I'm counting on you this time."
The Third Hokage watched Nara Shikaku leave with a heavy expression and sighed silently.
The failure of an A-Rank Mission often triggers a series of chain reactions. The Gold Mine in the Land of Rivers involved the interests of some dignitaries, and after the body of a wealthy merchant was found in Tanzaku Street, the finger was pointed directly at Konoha Village.
Although the trouble wasn't big, there were still some problems.
The Interrogation Department found no information from the body found in Tanzaku Street. Everyone's brain tissue had been destroyed, and the methods were very skilled.
In particular, the disappearance of Lin Ke Squad and Jonin Nara Yan Shui made the whole thing a bit strange.
Ninjas are like this, they just need to carry out their missions, but the Daimyo and dignitaries have to think about many things.
Jonin squad leader Nara Shikaku originally wanted to take the initiative to go out and find his disciple, but in order to deal with the accusations from the Land of Fire's high-level dignitaries, he had to meet with the Daimyo in his place.
"The Third Squad has already been dispatched to support them. With Guy there, as long as they're still alive, there shouldn't be any problems."
Mitokado Homura, who was sitting next to him, comforted his old friend. Konoha had had too many geniuses, but how many had survived?
In the end, only those who realized their talent were geniuses, the others were just fleeting seedlings. The village couldn't protect every genius well, and they could only grow in the life-and-death training.
However... as he got older, Hiruzen was getting softer and softer.
Utatane Koharu's expression was serious, and she said, "I suspect the Sand Ninja Village has ulterior motives." She had a feeling that something was wrong.
The Land of Fire's wealthy merchant died early in Tanzaku Street. Someone had seen Nara Yan Shui, Lin Ke Squad, and the living him leave Tanzaku Street, proving that the person who did it had a Genjutsu level that at least Jonin couldn't see through.
Although the Land of Wind's reply to the inquiry clearly mentioned that the Konoha Village ninja and the fake wealthy merchant left after the meeting, and that they would send people to search and support them.
But adhering to the principle of who benefits and who is suspected, she felt that the Sand Ninja Village was problematic no matter how she looked at it.
The Third Hokage remained noncommittal. Some friction between allies was normal. The Sand Ninja Village's dissatisfaction had been around for a long time. Even the Land of Wind's Daimyo no longer trusted his own ninja village and continued to cut military spending. It was indeed possible to do some things for money, but now was not the time to tear apart the relationship.
"Find the people first, and then thoroughly investigate this matter." He made a decision.
...
"Boom!!!"
The Earth Dragon slammed heavily into the forest. Its scales, so hard that even the Kusanagi Sword couldn't damage them, combined with the massive impact force of its dive, utterly devastated a large swathe of the forest.
A huge crater appeared at the point of impact, the soil around it rising in concentric circles. Dust filled the air, darkening the sky, and tree trunks lay scattered in the gullies, forming obstacles.
"Whoosh!"
A gust of wind swept through, dispersing the smoke and dust. Even many of the branches and trunks on the ground were blown away, clearing the view considerably. The wind carried sand, stones, tree debris, and animal corpses towards the four Konoha ninja who had just landed.
Lin Ke quickly formed hand seals and slammed his hands on the ground—
*Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall*
The ground in front of him rapidly rose, forming a constantly flowing earthen wall. Although it seemed much smaller in scale than the gale, the wall only slightly deformed under the onslaught of the wind and the debris it carried, quickly snapping back into shape after the impact.
The source of the gale—Orochimaru—stood high up in a large tree, lowering his hand from his mouth. He gazed at the four people hiding behind the flowing wall from afar, his expression as if he were looking at something novel.
Such a terrifying Wind Release: Great Breakthrough...
Lin Ke estimated his Chakra. Even after using Shadow Clones, multiple Substitution Jutsu, and a Five Elements Sealing in his transformed state, his remaining Chakra was still considerable.
But he didn't have much time. He needed to end this battle as quickly as possible.
He gathered Chakra, formed hand seals, and released—
Earth Style: Subterranean Voyage Technique.
"Yan Shui Teacher, cooperate with me to create an opportunity for me to get close..." His body gradually sank into the ground.
An Earth Style ninja should, of course, use Earth Style to create opportunities. He didn't think he could escape from someone like Orochimaru, and he certainly didn't think two Genin and a heavily injured Jonin could escape.
So, he might as well fight like a cornered beast. Even if he was captured, he would struggle until his last ounce of strength was gone before being taken away.
At this moment, he seemed to have no other choice but to trust his comrades, his teacher...
Nara Yan Shui felt the increasing numbness in his wound. He extracted Chakra, gathering it at his feet, and said, "Yuan Wei, Xia, you can escape now..."
He didn't want all his subordinates to die here. Lin Ke was clearly the enemy's main target, and he alone couldn't stop Orochimaru. So, it would be good if someone could escape and report Orochimaru's appearance to the village.
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