"Earth Release: Earthquake Core!"
A Rain Village Ninja quickly formed hand seals, then slammed both palms on the ground. A surge of Chakra swiftly moved through the earth towards Uehara Naraku.
This was a jutsu capable of altering the terrain!
"Huh?"
Uehara Naraku hadn't reacted yet when he felt the ground beneath him give way, causing him to lose his footing and fall into a large square pit.
The pit created by the Earthquake Core Jutsu was somewhat narrow, and Uehara Naraku could touch the rock walls on either side with just a stretch of his hand.
The nearby Rain Village Ninjas, seeing their comrade's jutsu succeed, seamlessly followed up by forming seals and releasing another jutsu: "Water Release: Water Rushing Wave!"
Three streams of water spewed from their mouths, quickly converging into a river that surged toward the square pit where Uehara Naraku had fallen!
Uehara Naraku, using Aerial Dance, stood in the air after lightly tapping his foot on the pit's bottom, effortlessly dodging the water waves on the ground. He clapped lightly: "You all coordinated well; I almost got buried by you guys..."
"..."
His clapping was undoubtedly a humiliation for the Rain Village Ninjas!
However, Hattori Heikawa, who was leading them, didn't care. He continued forming his own hand seals, pushing himself to seal faster!
Faster!
Because the jutsu he was trying to release required a lot of hand seals, possibly the most in the Ninja World.
He wanted to use the Water Release: Water Dragon Bomb Jutsu.
After all, his comrades had already created such a favorable environment for Water Release Ninjutsu, so he wanted to use this powerful jutsu!
Hattori Heikawa kind of wanted to curse Konoha's Second Hokage, for inventing such a complicated Water Release Ninjutsu that requires 44 hand seals!
Standing in the air, Uehara Naraku scanned the people on the ground, his gaze eventually stopping on the frantically sealing Hattori Heikawa: "Hey, does a real ninja need that many hand seals just to release a single jutsu?"
"..."
The Rain Village Ninjas were all puzzled.
Hattori Heikawa ignored Uehara's taunt, continuing to focus on the hand seals for the Water Dragon Bomb. Just six more seconds, and 18 more seals, and he would complete the jutsu.
Uehara Naraku frowned, looking at the ninja focused on his hand seals, and flung a Chakra Puppet orb he had just formed: "Command... Shockwave!"
That many hand seals, could it be some weird Kinjutsu?
To be safe, he'd better interrupt it!
The small Chakra Puppet fell at the feet of the Rain Village Ninjas and suddenly started spinning, warping the space around them...
The Rain Village Ninjas were pulled together by the warped space, stumbling into each other, each one feeling dizzy in their heads.
The Hidden Rain Jonin, Hattori Heikawa, who had his hand seals interrupted, silently cursed Konoha's Second Hokage for not improving the sealing method when he invented this jutsu.
With 44 hand seals, even if he could form three seals per second, it would still take about fifteen seconds!
Uehara Naraku stepped on Hattori Heikawa, swiftly seized his ninja blade, and stabbed it into the ground beside him, speaking softly: "Want to make a bet with me?"
"Tch!"
Hattori Heikawa opened his mouth to spit out a mouthful of blood!
Uehara Naraku dodged the blood and couldn't help but chuckle at him: "This world is already crappy enough. With your temperament, how can you survive?"
"..."
Hattori Heikawa gritted his teeth for a moment, then suddenly said, "You brat, you're not like your age!"
Uehara Naraku shrugged helplessly: "Isn't it because you guys have been causing too much trouble in the Land of Rain, forcing me to mature early?"
"..."
Hattori Heikawa paused for a moment, and then said in a deep voice: "Everything we do now is to make the Hidden Rain Village and the Land of Rain greater. The suffering of a few people is just a necessary price!"
"Alright, I'm not interested in your dreams."
Uehara Naraku pointed to the side where four Rain Village Ninjas were: "Let's talk about what's right in front of us! Which of you are Chunin?"
The four Rain Village Ninjas exchanged glances.
From their looks, Uehara Naraku instantly discerned that the two who drew the most attention had to be the Chunin Captains.
Two cards suddenly shot out from Uehara's fingers, piercing the chests of the two identified Chunin Captains. Blood started flowing from their hearts!
Watching this, Hattori Heikawa, pinned under foot, could only feel a surge of helplessness and rage, leading him to shout: "Bastard! I'll definitely kill you!"
He had four ninja squads in total, three being standard teams with a Chunin Captain plus Genin members, and another—which reported directly to him—comprising of three Chunins.
The ones Uehara Naraku killed just now were two of his direct subordinates, who had fought alongside him for over a decade, teammates he could rely on with his life!
"Don't be in such a hurry to die!"
Uehara Naraku pressed down on Hattori Heikawa, pointing at the remaining two Rain Village Ninjas: "In the future, more of your comrades will join them in the Netherworld. But for now, let's talk about these two Genin... So, want to place a bet with me?"
"What kind of bet?"
Hattori Heikawa's face turned icy cold.
Uehara Naraku looked quite interested, saying softly: "You now tell me a story that makes me happy, and I'll let you go. How about it?"
This bet sounded quite bizarre.
What did he mean by a story that would make him happy, and what exactly was his happiness criteria?
Hattori Heikawa's mind spun for a moment, thinking not of resistance but rather what kind of story might appeal to this teenager.
Hattori Heikawa was silent for a while, looking puzzledly at Uehara: "I've indeed experienced many things, but... at least tell me what kind of stories you like?"
"If I told you, the bet would lose its meaning. So pray that your story amuses me, and then those two Genin and you might be saved..."
As Uehara Naraku spoke, he squatted down a little, his voice growing chillingly cold: "If your story doesn't satisfy me... then just hope your deaths aren't too gruesome!"
"..."
Hattori Heikawa's face was ugly to the extreme, but he glanced at the two trembling Genin and lowered his head, saying in a low voice: "Will you really keep your word and not humiliate me?"
"Of course not."
Uehara Naraku nodded, suddenly adding: "By the way, you're not a Chunin, right? If you were, we wouldn't need the formalities, I'd just send you to the Netherworld..."
Uncertain of Uehara Naraku's mood, Hattori Heikawa hurriedly said: "No, I'm a Jonin from the village."
"Oh, then we'll put your life on hold for now."
Uehara Naraku seemed quite pleased that Hattori Heikawa was a Jonin, clapping his hands: "Then next, please tell me some romantic tale of men, esteemed Jonin!"
"..."
Numbly nodding his head, Hattori Heikawa's mind whirled.
Why did they have to run into such a lunatic?