The Enemy in the Distance

Yang Xiang and his group packed their bags and prepared to leave Wochao Village, their mission now complete.

As expected, the trio of Uzumaki Flame were waiting at the village entrance.

They will represent the Uzumaki clan in the Chunin Exams.

To achieve a deterrent effect in conjunction with Konoha, Ashina Uzumaki did not hold back and directly dispatched the most outstanding members of the younger generation of his clan.

The team leader was Koichi Uzumaki, who was limping over at that moment.

Last night, he was brutally beaten with a rice bowl by the clan elder, and almost died on the spot.

According to the plan, if everything goes smoothly, Koichi will visit Konoha as the team leader;

If he encounters an enemy whose strength far exceeds his expectations, he can immediately join the battle as a genin from Uzushio Village and adapt flexibly.

With a smile on his face, Guangyi took the initiative to greet Yang Xiang and the others.

People are always like this; once their bottom line is crossed, they feel much more relaxed.

After losing face in public last night, Koichi is now completely at ease and no longer holds back.

"I'll have to rely on you a lot along the way," Koichi said to Yang Xiang.

Last night he had a few clues, and he was certain that if he tried a few more times, he could create his own armor.

At that time, he will be the true master of the armor.

The group chatted and laughed as they embarked on their journey to Konoha.

Jiraiya playfully pulled out bags of snacks and distributed them to the boys and girls of the Uzumaki clan, winning their hearts in no time.

During his travels in the ninja world, he had visited Uzushio Village. At that time, he only saw it superficially and thought it was a bustling and prosperous sea village. He never imagined that the villagers of Uzushio Village would be so poor.

The land of Whirlpools has little arable land, and the vast majority of villagers can only make a living by fishing.

Uzushio Village itself receives almost no commissions from outside ninjas, and the revenue from its few local shops has to be used entirely to subsidize the village's financial shortfall in training ninjas.

The thriving shops in the village were almost all owned by merchants from the five major powers, and Wochao Village couldn't even collect taxes.

It's truly heartbreaking that in such a prime location, a maritime hub connecting fire, thunder, and water, the children in the village can't even afford a single meatball.

Jiraiya couldn't help but feel a sense of doubt:

Wochao Village is a peaceful village that lives in harmony with the world, but is such peace really a good thing?

Are the people living under such peace truly happy?

Unable to find the answer, he could only exchange all the royalties he had saved for so long for food and share it with the children he met along the way.

He glanced up at Yang Xiang, who was walking at the front of the group, and thought to himself:

If it were Yang Xiang, what would he do?

"Um?"

Jiraiya suddenly exclaimed softly, and a ball of water suddenly fell from the upper left, hitting Yang Xiang directly and instantly soaking his clothes.

Yang Xiang looked down at the corner of his clothes. The sky was clear and cloudless, so it couldn't possibly be rain.

"Yuto!" Koichi patted Yuto Uzumaki on the shoulder, and the latter immediately activated Kagura's Mind's Eye to investigate the surrounding movements.

A few seconds later, Yuto opened his eyes with a strange expression and said, "That person has already left, about eight miles away."

"Never mind then, let's keep going." Yang Xiang shook his head. He didn't sense any hostility from the water sphere, so he decided to ignore this inexplicable sneak attack.

In the distance, Yagura Karatachi swiftly retreated, pulled out a mission scroll from his pocket, and wrote:

When encountering an enemy, use ninjutsu; if outmatched, retreat.

He then heavily checked an X in the "Mission Failed" column.

Several hours later, the ship arrived at the coastline of the Land of Fire.

With a swift maneuver, the boatman brought the boat to shore and respectfully escorted the group ashore.

Yang Xiang glanced at him, not expecting that this boatman was still making a living by smuggling people, and that he had run into him again.

This person was the villager who was severely injured and nearly killed by Yagura Goji tachibana, but was later rescued by the Yosho squad.

Now that he had just recovered from his injuries and was back to his old ways, Yang Xiang caught him red-handed in Wochao Village.

"Good luck to you," Yang Xiang said casually before leaving.

The boatman just kept begging for mercy, not daring to say a single word of explanation.

Yang Xiang shook his head helplessly. Was this really his problem?

Obviously not.

If boatmen don't do this dangerous business, how will they support their families?

We can't just let him obediently go and farm, can we?

His neighbors all hoard guns.

If it weren't for rampant banditry, how could there be so many ninja missions to support the entire ninja community?

This forms an absurd logical loop, but the world shouldn't be like this.

Meanwhile, as the Konoha group disembarked and stood firm, Uzumaki Yuto closed his eyes again, and after a moment, gave everyone a wary look.

Jiraiya immediately stepped to the front of the group, his hands rapidly forming hand seals:

Hai—Yin!

"Earth Release·Yellow Spring Marsh!"

The ninjutsu suddenly erupted, and the boatman on the shore stared wide-eyed.

He immediately rolled his eyes and simply found a flat piece of ground to play dead on the spot.

This time he was smarter and didn't run away. Instead, he collapsed near the ninja, making it easier for him to receive timely treatment.

A dark figure suddenly darted out of the forest, narrowly avoiding Jiraiya's ninjutsu range and not falling into the swamp.

After the man appeared, he coldly flicked his sleeve and said:

"Commendable vigilance, Konoha brats."

The newcomer had a pair of eerie fluorescent pupils, and a scratch on his forehead guard indicated his identity as a rogue ninja.

"Kakuzu?" Yang Xiang recognized the person at a glance and immediately asked.

"Were you the one who launched the sneak attack outside Utsushima Village before?"

He instantly suspected that it was him who had thrown the water balloon when he left Wochao Village.

This guy is a repeat offender!

"What Wochao Village? I've never been there."

Kakuzu was somewhat surprised that the kid from Konoha could recognize him at a glance.

After receiving the underground bounty, he waited here without ever setting foot in Wochao Village.

"Since you know my name, it seems that the elders of Konoha have already mentioned me to you."

Kakuzu slowly stepped forward, his eyes sweeping contemptuously over the group of young ninjas before him.

"The heads of all of you are worth a lot of money. Why don't you lend them to me?"

Tsunade immediately assumed a fighting stance, turned to look at Yang Xiang, and asked with a puzzled expression:

"Where did these rogue ninjas come from? And what wildebeest?"

???

Kakuzu's face instantly darkened, and he stared intently at Tsunade:

"It's Kakuzu, not Wildebeest!"

"Whether you're a wildebeest or a elk, I'll beat you until you're begging for your mother!"

Without saying a word, Tsunade charged forward with her fist raised, followed closely by Jiraiya. The two of them instantly became entangled in a battle with Kakuzu.

In the blink of an eye, the three had exchanged dozens of blows.

Jiraiya and Tsunade worked together seamlessly, with one taking the lead and the other launching a powerful attack, gradually putting Kakuzu at a disadvantage.

Kakuzu was secretly surprised; the younger generation of Konoha really did have some skill.

He adjusted his body to dodge Jiraiya's white hair binding, then exchanged a punch with Tsunade, and tentatively asked:

"The Thousand Hands' monstrous strength... who is your elder? I might even know him."

Tsunade scoffed, her tone full of disdain:

"Stop bragging. My grandfather was Hashirama Senju. You think you're worthy of knowing him?"

Upon hearing this, Kakuzu's small, glowing eyes narrowed sharply, and he said:

"Unfortunately, I did fight a man from the Senju clan, known as the First Hokage. Give up, little girl, you're no match for me."

Upon hearing this, both Tsunade and Jiraiya were stunned, with only one thought in their minds:

I have never seen such a shameless person!

Even though Hashirama Senju is dead, does that mean you can try to frame him?

Hashirama Senju was Tsunade's greatest hero, and at this moment she was furious to the extreme.

"Call me 'Grandma' and I'll consider it. Go to hell!"