Just half an hour after Hiruzen Sarutobi met with Koharu Utatane, White Fang, who had only returned to Konoha last night, set out once again with his team!
Due to the previous joint operation in the Land of Whirlpools, nearly half of Konoha's Anbu forces had already been deployed there. Now, with White Fang leading another expedition of thirty men, only the minimum personnel needed to maintain operations remained in Konoha's Anbu forces.
Thirty people, including White Fang—it was still a logistical nightmare to transport the contents of the treasury!
But given the urgency of the situation, they had no choice but to move out immediately.
To facilitate this, Hiruzen Sarutobi granted White Fang full authority!
Upon reaching the border, White Fang could mobilize the Fourth Division's ninja to assist in the operation. Once inside the Land of Whirlpools, he would have the authority to command all Konoha ninja in the region!
At the same time that White Fang and his team departed from Konoha, several rare messenger birds took flight toward the southern ninja world. These birds, much faster than any ninja, carried intelligence reports to inform Konoha's forces in the Land of Whirlpools ahead of White Fang's arrival.
—
A day later.
Central Land of Whirlpools, Shōsho Village.
"Hey, hey, hey! You guys can't be serious! You're going to watch me while I take a bath? Do you think I'm a prisoner?" Haruto Saito stood at the bathroom entrance, loudly protesting. "I'm just taking a bath! Are you guys perverts?!"
Orochimaru stood with his arms crossed, expressionless, completely ignoring Haruto Saito's complaints.
Jiraiya, on the other hand, looked helpless as he shrugged and said, "Can't be helped. Tsunade is afraid you'll run away. If you do, she'll kill me! I have to look out for my own survival."
"But do you really have to watch me like this?" Haruto Saito continued to protest. "I refuse! You can't come in—I have to bathe alone!"
"Your objection is invalid!" Tsunade's voice called from a distance.
Whoosh!
A phantom-like figure suddenly appeared in front of Haruto Saito—it was Tsunade!
"Brat, are you going to bathe or not? If not, we'll just go out to eat!"
"Of course I'm going to! I stink! But you guys are not coming inside!"
"Not happening. Someone has to keep an eye on you. Until our teacher's orders arrive, you can't leave our sight!"
"You! Fine! Then you come in and watch me bathe!" Haruto Saito glared at Tsunade, clearly irritated.
Jiraiya immediately covered his face—this kid was digging his own grave!
Did he really dare say that to Tsunade?!
Tsunade's expression flickered briefly with discomfort. She glared at Haruto Saito but, contrary to Jiraiya's expectations, did not explode in anger. Instead, she took a deep breath and coldly huffed, "Fine. We won't go in. Bathe by yourself."
She wasn't about to be alone with Haruto Saito in the bath. That kid would definitely try something inappropriate!
Whether she resisted or not, it would still be a loss for her!
"Alright then, I'm taking my bath. None of you are allowed inside!" Haruto Saito finally felt relieved. He turned around, entered the bathroom, and immediately shut the door behind him.
"Damn brat!" Tsunade muttered, her lips twitching.
"Is this really necessary? Do you think he'll actually run away?" Jiraiya frowned slightly, glancing at Tsunade. "If you keep watching him like this, he'll develop a rebellious streak. I don't think he's planning to run. What's the point?"
"I know him better than you do!" Tsunade shot back with a sideways glance. "Be careful. Don't forget, our teacher ordered us to take good care of him!"
"Alright, alright!" Jiraiya shrugged.
"He won't escape!" Orochimaru suddenly spoke, his voice cold. "I've already set everything up. Even if he tries using Earth Release to burrow away, he won't escape my surveillance. Don't worry."
Tsunade glanced at Orochimaru and nodded.
She fully trusted Orochimaru's preparations!
It was precisely because Orochimaru had means to completely monitor Haruto Saito that she hadn't locked him up directly!
—
Inside the bathroom, Haruto Saito filled the tub and sank comfortably into the warm water.
He genuinely needed a bath!
At the same time, he finally had the opportunity to review his spoils from killing two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!
That's right—he hadn't checked his rewards yet!
Because he never had the chance! He had been under constant surveillance. If the rewards had been small, he could have checked them quickly. But there were too many! If he wanted to go through them all at once, he needed a lot of time!
Leaning back in the tub, Haruto Saito flipped his wrist, and a thick stack of cards appeared in his hand!
About twenty to thirty in total!
He had first killed Ringo Nagakaze, then Momochi Chigen, accumulating around 300 reward cards. He couldn't take them all out at once—there were too many. He had to check them in batches!
Half an hour later.
"Brat! Are you done yet? It's time to eat!" Tsunade's voice came from outside the bathroom.
"If you guys want to eat, just go ahead!" Haruto Saito called back. "I haven't bathed in days. I need to clean up properly!"
Another half-hour passed.
"Brat! Are you done yet?!"
"Still bathing, don't bother me!"
Of course, a bath didn't take this long. In reality, Haruto Saito was still sorting through his reward cards. He was in no hurry, meticulously examining each card and categorizing them—it was quite the task!
The reward cards from both battles were mixed together, and he could no longer tell which came from whom.
Since neither Momochi Chigen nor Ringo Nagakaze were bosses, Haruto Saito hadn't been confident enough to use a Double Drop Rate card. As a result, he had only obtained a portion of their ability cards. There were some pleasant surprises, but not an overwhelming amount!
A total of 317 cards!
Among them, 168 were B-rank or lower jutsu and secret technique cards. Most were useless, except for two extra Wind Release: Great Breakthrough cards. Once he absorbed them, he would reach the maximum six-card limit for that jutsu, allowing him to perform Wind Release: Great Breakthrough at 32 times its basic power!
That would make it comparable to a high-level A-rank Wind Release jutsu—its power would surpass Vacuum Wave!
There were 35 B-rank jutsu cards, covering various techniques Haruto Saito had already learned, though the multipliers weren't high enough to be too exciting. One card, however, stood out—Shadow Clone Technique!
He got another one! After absorbing it, his control over Shadow Clones would improve significantly, extending their range and making them even more lifelike!
There were nine A-rank jutsu cards and three S-rank forbidden technique cards!
Since they weren't bosses, the drop rate for high-level jutsu was low!
Still, among these twelve A-rank and S-rank jutsu cards, Haruto Saito found three major surprises!
First surprise: A-rank Kenjutsu—Radiant Thunder Blade! A sword technique infused with Lightning Release chakra! This was his highest-level sword technique yet, clearly dropped by Ringo Nagakaze, who specialized in Lightning Release and swordsmanship!
Second surprise: A-rank Secret Technique—Instant Step Seal! This was the technique Momochi Chigen had used in battle, allowing him to teleport without hand seals, though it had limited consecutive uses!
Third surprise: S-rank Forbidden Secret Technique—Dream of the Blade!
This was undoubtedly dropped by Momochi Chigen!
The technique allowed the user to instantly learn an opponent's sword skills—exactly what Momochi Chigen had done during their fight!