Granny Cat watched Wen Lan stomp away, each step heavy with resentment. She smiled faintly and muttered to herself,
"Serves you right for not buying ninja tools from me. If I'm not fleecing you, who should I fleece?"
Wen Lan returned home and packed a small bundle—just some spare clothes.
He wasn't extravagant enough to use sealing scrolls as storage.
The night was dark as ink. Wind chimes under the eaves rang softly.
Standing in the courtyard, Wen Lan looked up at the star-filled sky and silently fixed tomorrow's destination in his mind.
"You're leaving tomorrow?" Pakura asked softly, standing beside him.
"Yeah. Shouldn't take too long."
"Do you really not need me to go with you?"
"Your identity is too sensitive. Suna already knows you're not dead.
If you come with me, it'll be hard to guarantee you won't be hunted down by Sunagakure."
Pakura pursed her lips, then slowly nodded. "Alright, I understand."
"Sleep well tonight. Those spies won't get into the Uchiha compound."
Wen Lan returned to his room and went straight to sleep.
Early the next morning, after washing up, Wen Lan didn't wake Pakura.
He stepped out of the Uchiha compound, casually bought two rice balls on the road, and left the village.
He headed west…
Huh? West?
Whatever. The Land of Grass was west anyway.
"Hey kid, want a ride?"
Hoofbeats and the rumble of wheels came from behind. Wen Lan turned around and saw a caravan.
About twenty people in total.
Among them were four wearing Konoha forehead protectors—
Might Guy, Yūhi Kurenai, and Mitarashi Anko.
The fourth was wearing a jōnin vest, someone Wen Lan didn't recognize.
Wen Lan looked at them in surprise. They looked just as surprised in return.
"Wen Lan?! What are you doing here?" Kurenai asked in astonishment.
Wen Lan frowned slightly and swept his gaze over the group.
"Why are you three together?"
Indeed, Guy's original team had been Guy, Genma Shiranui, and Ebisu.
So how did it turn into these three?
"Oh? You know each other?"
A middle-aged man in his fifties—clearly the caravan leader—spoke up.
"They're Konoha shinobi," the jōnin said as he stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Wen Lan.
"Wen Lan sir!"
In the ninja world, rank mattered—but strength mattered more.
Though they were both jōnin, Wen Lan's strength was on an entirely different level.
"And you are?" Wen Lan asked, slightly frowning.
"My name is Sanshiryoku," the jōnin replied immediately.
"Nice to meet you," Wen Lan said with a slight bow in return.
"Wen Lan, we're heading to the Land of Grass. Looks like you're going the same way—want to come along?" Guy said, flashing his trademark gleaming smile.
Wen Lan hesitated briefly, then nodded. "Alright."
The caravan had no objections whatsoever.
Originally, the leader had seen a child walking alone ahead and thought it was dangerous—even with a sword. He had already intended to invite Wen Lan along.
Now that he knew Wen Lan was a ninja—and judging by the jōnin's respectful attitude, clearly a powerful one—it was like gaining a free high-level combatant. There was no reason to refuse.
Wen Lan climbed onto a wagon, and the caravan set off again.
From their conversation, Wen Lan learned that Asuma had run away.
Apparently, he claimed that "a man must do something big," then left the village.
Wen Lan knew exactly what that meant— he'd gone off to become a daimyo's bodyguard.
As for Ebisu, witnessing the brutality of the battlefield had shaken him.
He decided to focus on teaching students, especially survival skills for war, and left the team.
Ironically, he ended up regretting it later— because the war ended soon after.
Genma Shiranui has been hard to find lately. Eventually, it turned out he'd withdrawn from the team.
And just like that, Guy and Kurenai—two chūnin without a squad—ended up teaming up with freshly graduated Anko.
Of course, being chūnin didn't mean you could just form a team and take missions freely.
They still needed evaluation missions to assess whether they were capable of operating independently.
Sanshiryoku was their examiner this time.
Today was their very first mission together.
It could only be described as— what a coincidence.
Guy began walking upside down, moving forward on his hands as he spoke.
"Wen Lan! This is a perfect chance to train—don't waste it!"
Wen Lan thought about it.
His Eight Gates maxed out at the Seventh Gate. He hadn't reached the Eighth Gate yet.
Since that was the case, he might as well train a bit along the way.
So Wen Lan flipped upside down as well and started walking on his hands alongside Guy.
Kurenai and Anko watched with expressions full of awkwardness.
Anko, who had originally wanted to chat with Wen Lan, deliberately moved away from the two "lunatics," her face screaming "I don't know these people.
That night, the group set up a campfire by the roadside. Sparks leapt into the darkness.
Everyone was roasting food when Anko finally came over and squatted beside Wen Lan.
"Hey, that sword technique of yours—are you really not going to teach me?"
"You can't learn it," Wen Lan said calmly, shaking his head.
"It requires breathing techniques."
Breathing techniques were different from chakra.
Wen Lan could use both only because of the system. Others, even if they learned the breathing methods, wouldn't be able to match the rhythm of the sword style.
Anko pouted, clearly unconvinced.
"Hmph. You make it sound all mysterious. Then how did you learn it?"
"I mastered it before I ever trained chakra," Wen Lan replied evenly.
Then he frowned slightly and looked at Anko.
"By the way… who's your teacher?"
Wen Lan remembered very clearly—
Anko's teacher was Orochimaru.
"Heh heh!"
Anko's eyebrows shot up. She stood up proudly, hands on her hips.
"Let me tell you—my teacher is the famous"
"Alright, I don't want to know anymore," Wen Lan interrupted flatly.
Anko froze.
Clearly, Wen Lan already knew. Orochimaru had taken her in as a disciple.
"Hey! Hey hey hey—!"
Anko felt instantly stifled. This was supposed to be her big bragging moment!
Kurenai couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.
"No, I have to tell you!"
"I'm not listening."
"No! You must listen!"
"Okay, I definitely won't."
"Even if you don't want to, you still have to—my master is—mmph!"
Just as Anko tried to force it out, Wen Lan slapped a hand over her mouth.
"I really don't want—ngh—!"
He sucked in a sharp breath.
"You damn dog! Let go! You actually bit me?!"
Anko released him and grinned smugly.
"That's what you get for covering my mouth!"
Wen Lan shook his finger helplessly, then glanced at the sly look in her eyes. After a moment, he lowered his voice.
"Orochimaru is a good teacher. Learn properly from him."
Anko stared at Wen Lan in shock.
"How do you know that?!"
And Wen Lan wasn't lying.
Orochimaru might have gone astray in his pursuit of research, but when it came to teaching his students—
He was genuinely excellent.
Unlike a certain someone who took disciples and then completely abandoned them.
Yeah. I'm looking at you, Jiraiya.
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