Hidan slowly opened his eyes, waking in the hot spring pool.
Intense pain blurred his consciousness, leaving him half-comatose and half-awake.
He subconsciously moved his fingers—his arm could actually still follow commands?
Memories flooded back: in the prison, the samurai had sliced open his arms, exposing the stark white bone.
He raised his arm and was astonished to find the wound had been sutured, the flesh intact as if never harmed. Not just his arms; all the wounds across his body tingled and itched, healing at an astonishing rate.
"A miracle! A miracle!" Hidan roared internally. "Jashin-sama! You finally heard your believer's final call and bestowed your favor!"
A thunderous hunger in his stomach pulled him back to reality. He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten.
His gaze shifted. Bread and milk sat quietly by the edge of the hot spring pool.
"A miracle! Another miracle!" Hidan was once again overwhelmed with ecstasy.
"I am favored by Jashin-sama! I absolutely will not die!"
Yōkō was speeding on his way to the Land of Waves.
Sensing Hidan's prayers, he thought to himself: What miracle? It's just me carrying the weight for you.
He still had to find a suitable forbidden jutsu for Hidan.
White Ram and the members of the Antelope Squad followed behind Lord Fox, their hearts filled with confusion: Why does the Lord need to specifically arrange for a taijutsu-specialist Genin?
Might Dai, this lowest-ranked Genin, was the kind of "perpetual dead-last" who was destined to fail the Chūnin Exams even three hundred times.
In the eyes of other ninja, he only knew how to shout passionate slogans, stubbornly burying himself in taijutsu training without understanding how to leverage his strengths and avoid his weaknesses—a complete and utter stubborn mule.
Ninja from his same graduating class who developed slowly had become Chūnin or Jōnin.
Those who developed quickly, like Hatake Sakumo, rose to become Konoha Advisors, so fast they sacrificed themselves for the village.
In contrast, Might Dai, who had graduated over twenty years ago, had remained stagnant.
Day after day, he performed the lowest D-rank missions. No one would team up with him; he rarely even touched C-rank missions.
This time, the Anbu pulled some strings, having a temporarily short-handed team "accidentally" select Might Dai to escort a merchant ship bound for the Lodging Port in the Land of Hot Water.
On the merchant ship, the newly promoted Chūnin Hachimaru quietly asked his captain, the Special Jōnin Kyōgo:
"Captain, that... green-clothed uncle over there who's so enthusiastically helping the sailors coil the ropes... can he really help us complete the mission?"
Kyōgo sucked in a cold breath and said helplessly:
"Don't even mention it. I meant to find a Water Release expert named 'Maishi Dai', but the Hokage Building registered the name wrong, wrote it as 'Might Dai'. I wanted to change it, but when I saw him in person, and he looked at me with those expectant eyes... Sigh, I just couldn't bear to refuse him.
We'll just bring him along. Besides, before Advisor Shinnosuke sacrificed himself, his diplomatic missions to Uzu and Hot Water heavily damaged Kiri and Kumo's leadership. This mission shouldn't be too dangerous."
Hachimaru agreed: "Yeah, Lord Shinnosuke was truly amazing, clearing obstacles for us even before his sacrifice. Worthy of the Third Hokage's son! It's a pity..."
Kyōgo sighed: "Pity that the outstanding tree gets chopped down by the wind."
Half an hour later, the shipowner came over with a pained expression: "Ninja-sama! Please tell that green-clothed ninja to stop manning the oars! His strength alone outweighs the twelve men on the right side; the ship is veering off course!"
Kyōgo hurriedly apologized: "My sincerest apologies. He rarely leaves the village; he's just too excited this time."
Hachimaru quickly went below deck to pull Might Dai out.
Ordered by the captain to rest, Might Dai proceeded to do handstand push-ups on the deck, continuing his training.
Hachimaru watched for a while, then couldn't help but say to Kyōgo: "Captain, even though Uncle Dai's strength is average, his dedication to taijutsu training is truly admirable."
Kyōgo nodded: "Yes. If those young masters from the ninja clans had even half his perseverance, they wouldn't waste their talent, looking down on everyone in the Ninja Academy only to become mediocre after graduation."
The ship left Tōga Port, heading north the entire way.
Entering the Land of Waves strait, the atmosphere suddenly grew tense.
This stretch of water was rampant with pirates and water bandits. The chaos of the Land of Waves stood in stark contrast to the stability of the Land of Fire.
A heavy fog suddenly rose over the sea. The shipowner approached Kyōgo worriedly: "Ninja-sama, this fog... it doesn't seem right."
Kyōgo nodded reassuringly: "Don't worry. With us here, even Kiri-nin won't be able to touch the ship's cargo!"
Nearby, Might Dai rubbed his hands together, eager and ready for action.
The fog grew thicker and thicker, overwhelming, blotting out all directions, leaving only the maddening sound of waves. It was so thick it was almost suffocating.
Deep within the thick fog, Yōkō put on a Kirigakure Assassination Unit mask.
White Ram was puzzled: "My Lord, you're taking action personally?"
Yōkō said in a deep voice: "There's something about that Might Dai. I'll test him myself. I'm afraid you all would get killed by him."
White Ram found the statement "getting killed by a Genin" too exaggerated, but seeing Lord Fox so serious, he said no more.
Yōkō merged into the thick fog, forming hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
A ferocious, giant water dragon tore through the thick fog, roaring as it charged towards the merchant ship!
The distinctive roar of the water dragon reached them. Kyōgo's expression changed, and he quickly formed seals:
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A blazing fireball shot out, vaporizing part of the fog and revealing the water dragon's true form.
The dragon's head and the fireball collided violently, annihilating each other, but the massive body of the dragon transformed into a raging torrent, slamming hard against the ship's hull!
The merchant ship listed violently. The sailors, unable to keep their footing, fell towards the ship's railings.
"Dai! Save them! Don't let them fall into the sea!" Kyōgo yelled urgently.
"Yes!" Knowing his limitations, Might Dai immediately slid down the tilted deck, grabbed ropes, and securely tied the sailors one by one to the ship.
From within the thick fog, a figure shot out like a ghost, wearing a patterned mask with four diagonal wave marks on the forehead—a Kirigakure Assassination Ninja!
Kyōgo leaped down from the ship, running on water to meet the enemy.
After a fierce exchange of Fire and Water Release techniques, Kyōgo was kicked flying by the Kiri-nin, his back smashing through the ship's hull before disappearing from sight!
Splash— Seawater instantly flooded into the cabin.
Might Dai, not caring about the sailors now, rushed towards the ship's bow.
He saw the Kiri-nin gripping Hachimaru by the throat with one hand.
Hachimaru futilely tried to pry open the iron-vise-like fingers. Seeing Might Dai, he desperately signaled with his eyes for him to run.
Might Dai felt as if his heart were being sliced apart: Why, in the blink of an eye, have both the captain and Hachimaru fallen?
Crack! A light sound as the Kiri-nin moved his fingers slightly.
Yōkō made it look like he was snapping Hachimaru's neck, but in reality, he just dislocated his jaw.
Unaware of the truth, Might Dai cried out in agony: "Hachimaru!"
The Kiri-nin's icy gaze locked onto Might Dai on the ship's bow, mocking him:
"Heh, has Konoha really run out of people? An old Genin who can't even earn a Chūnin vest is worthy of a B-rank mission?"
Might Dai remembered Captain Kyōgo's expression when he couldn't bear to refuse him, remembered how the young Chūnin Hachimaru, despite his Dislike, had always looked out for him...
He clenched his fists, slowly crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"Eight Gates! The First Gate: Gate of Opening! Open!"
***
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(End of Chapter)