An Yan led his three students on various low-rank missions, such as catching cats, walking dogs, and driving away wild animals.
During this time, Minato Namikaze finally mastered the Rasengan. As promised, An Yan taught him a new technique: the Wind Style: Rasengan.
However, the atmosphere in the village was becoming increasingly tense.
As time passed, the other great ninja villages had recovered their strength. The war hawks in each country were gaining influence, and the entire ninja world was becoming restless again.
A while ago, the Kagerō Village and Konoha had a small skirmish. But before Konoha could really make a move, the Waterfall Village launched a sneak attack and wiped out Kagerō.
The ninja world was on edge, and the number of missions increased. An Yan and his team were extremely busy.
One day, as An Yan was guiding the three kids in their chakra nature transformation practice, an ANBU member suddenly appeared. It was the familiar white-haired Sakumo Hatake.
"An Yan, the Hokage has summoned you."
An Yan knew it was probably a new mission. He told his students to continue training on their own and vanished with a body flicker.
Nawaki looked on with envy. "When will my Body Flicker be as good as Teacher An Yan's?"
Minato smiled. "Nawaki, you should focus on mastering the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu first. The ninja world is not very peaceful right now."
Kana was silently healing a dissected fish in her hands. The knowledge of medical ninjutsu and sealing jutsu was so vast that her brain felt numb. She didn't want to say anything.
Hokage's Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was smoking his pipe with a serious expression, lost in thought.
Seeing An Yan enter, he came back to his senses, having seemingly made a decision.
"An Yan, I'll have to trouble you this time. It's an S-rank mission."
He handed An Yan the mission scroll and explained as he read, "Hanzō of the Salamander from the Land of Rain has been very restless lately. He's been trying to swallow up the surrounding countries and has now set his sights on the Land of Iron."
"The Sand Village, which built up its strength during the First Great Ninja War, seems to have some ideas of its own. Our elite forces are currently in a standoff with them at the border. This seems to have given Hanzō an opportunity. He has taken his men and attacked the Land of Iron."
"An Yan, your mission is clear. Ensure that the Land of Iron does not fall to Hanzō and drive the Rain ninja out."
An Yan listened quietly and nodded. "I understand, Lord Hokage."
Hiruzen took a puff of his pipe. "This mission is quite dangerous. That Hanzō has the title of 'demigod.' I don't know who gave it to him, but his strength must be extraordinary. Be careful if you encounter him."
An Yan nodded. "Yes, Lord Hokage."
The Land of Rain was to the west of the Land of Fire, and the Land of Iron was to the east. Hanzō wasn't crazy for attacking a country so far away.
The geographical location of the Land of Rain was just too poor. It was caught between three great nations, a constant battlefield with no room for development. Hanzō had no choice but to expand outward.
Unfortunately, the great nations would not give him that chance. The five great nations suppressed the smaller countries and would not allow a new power to rise.
After a day and a night of continuous travel, An Yan arrived in the Land of Iron. He didn't find Hanzō, but he did meet the leader of the samurai, Mifune.
The Land of Iron was a country without ninja. Most of its people were samurai. Mifune had not been the leader before, but when they had faced Hanzō, the other samurai had fled in fear. Only Mifune had stood his ground. Although he was defeated, his strength and courage had won the respect of the others.
And so, he became the leader of the samurai of the Land of Iron.
An Yan and Mifune sat opposite each other.
An Yan took a sip of tea. He had arrived a step too late and missed Hanzō. It was a pity; he had wanted to test his own strength.
"So the Land of Iron will be a neutral country from now on? You won't participate in the ninja's resource disputes?" An Yan said casually. A small country's neutrality was very fragile. A few battles between the great nations nearby, and it would be impossible to maintain. It was just wishful thinking.
Mifune still had a bandage on his head. Hanzō had left a long scar on his face, but his posture was upright and his expression was serious. "That is indeed my intention, and it will be the policy of the Land of Iron from now on. This is a matter I have settled with the daimyo."
An Yan was calm and said gently, "Konoha has no intention of interfering with the Land of Iron. You don't have to be so serious, Lord Mifune. But I would like to remind you that even though the Land of Iron is neutral, war often does not stop just because you are. In this world, strength is respected. You should still strive to improve yourselves. Only when you are strong will other countries not so easily violate your neutrality."
Mifune nodded. He understood what An Yan was saying, but some things couldn't be forced. They had to be taken one step at a time.
This S-rank mission had been surprisingly simple. By the time he arrived, the Land of Rain was being invaded by the Sand, and Hanzō had rushed back with his men. It was a wasted trip, but the mission was considered complete.
But it wasn't a total loss. An Yan had obtained Hanzō's salamander poison from Mifune and was now trying to create an antidote.
In the original timeline, the Sand's Chiyo had easily cracked Hanzō's poison, but Konoha was caught unprepared and suffered heavy losses.
This time, with him here, the poison would be neutralized in advance, which would surely save many lives.
While An Yan was studying the poison, something was happening back in Konoha.
The Cloud Village took advantage of the gap in Konoha's defenses and came to kidnap some Kekkei Genkai seeds.
They targeted Kushina Uzumaki and abducted her.
Kushina hadn't expected to run into such trouble just by going out for a late-night snack. She could only pray that the Konoha Military Police Force would react in time.
Minato, however, noticed that his familiar acquaintance was not at their usual meeting spot. He sensed something was wrong and began to investigate. Sure enough, he found out that Kushina was in trouble.
He immediately took action. While notifying the village, he tracked her down himself and played the hero.
Under the moonlight, the image of the boy carrying the girl and running through the forest was deeply imprinted in Kushina's mind.
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