Just by seeing Hellish Blizzard's name on the poster, her cool, elegant appearance, and the words "Blizzard Group," Qingshui knew this was the One-Punch Man world.
He just didn't know what the current timeline was.
As Qingshui sifted through fragmented memories in his mind, he opened an old computer on the desk.
The fan whirred loudly, and it took a full five minutes for the ancient computer to boot up.
First, check the date.
New Calendar Era, January 22, 1518.
Hmm, an unfamiliar calendar system. This world, full of monsters, must have a history vastly different from any world I know.
He opened an unknown browser, ignored the suggestive search terms, and clicked on several news websites, quickly scanning for information.
"Newcomer Metal Bat spotted at a famous children's piano recital..."
"Sweet Mask voted 'Hero of the Year,' leading by a landslide in public votes!"
"Shocking! Martial Arts Tournament Champion Disqualified? The reason is..."
"This round of hero selections will officially begin in one week. Registration closes tomorrow at 4 PM."
...
News articles flashed before his eyes. Qingshui then opened the Hero Association's official website to check the current hero rankings.
There were only fifteen S-class heroes, and neither Genos nor Puri-Puri Prisoner were among them.
But they were probably close, as Puri-Puri Prisoner was currently ranked A-class #2.
Sweet Mask was, naturally, #1.
The third spot was also different from Qingshui's memory: it was Tanktop Master, and only then at #4 was Atomic Samurai's disciple, Iaian.
His other two disciples, Okamaitachi and Bushidrill, were ranked #6 and #9 respectively.
They were all in the top ten, but still a ways off from Qingshui's memory of them monopolizing the top three A-class spots below Sweet Mask.
The S-class hero rankings had also shifted.
It seemed the current timeline was still relatively early, but not too early.
At least King was already among the top ten S-class heroes, indicating that a certain bald monster was at least nearing his complete form. Even if the sky fell, that ultimate bald head would bear the brunt.
And as for his own identity...
An exceptional talent with over ten years of work experience, provided to society by a certain internet company.
A thirty-five-year-old laid-off programmer, unemployed for three months now.
This was Qingshui's oldest Avatar to date.
Having worked for over a decade and lived frugally, he had accumulated a decent sum of wealth, totaling over thirty million Japanese Yen.
As long as he didn't marry, buy a house, gamble, do drugs, buy luxury goods, or get seriously ill, this money would be enough for him to live a comfortable, lazy life for the rest of his days.
The computer on the desk was bought when he first graduated college and started working; it was just sitting there as a memento, hadn't been turned on in over a year.
Next door, there was a gaming room set up three months ago, complete with a high-spec computer, game consoles, large monitors, and other gaming equipment, as well as an ergonomic chair, ambient lighting, display cases for figures, a snack fridge, and other amenities.
The original owner had been holed up at home, playing games for three months.
If this were truly a peaceful, normal modern world, the original owner could comfortably live out the rest of his life.
Unfortunately, it wasn't.
Even with the bald demon lord and the heroes of the Hero Association suppressing the endless stream of monsters and maintaining superficial peace in this world, no one could guarantee that they wouldn't encounter a monster just by going out for groceries, or even that a monster wouldn't drop down from the sky while they were on the toilet at home.
Even if the probability was small, it was still a probability.
Qingshui opened the window and took a deep breath of fresh air.
"Breathing Style can be used normally, excellent. This ensures I have some extraordinary combat power for self-preservation until I can extract a certain amount of Chakra.
But my lung capacity is terrible, and my physical condition has severely declined over the past ten years due to abnormal work-rest patterns from overtime and late nights. Even though I'm in my prime, my muscles are flabby and my limbs are weak."
Qingshui moved his body around a bit in the bedroom, feeling somewhat dissatisfied with this body.
If a monster appeared one day, the original owner wouldn't even be able to outrun others.
It seemed he'd have to go back to his old ways: first, create weapons and Puppets to ensure he had sufficient combat power. That way, even if he encountered dangerous monsters, he could at least save himself. Then, he'd strengthen his body through training and other methods to increase his Chakra, while also finding ways to gain power in this world and collect Fortune.
Qingshui stretched a few more times, then went into the bathroom, washed up, and shaved his beard.
In the mirror, his features were decent, his foundation wasn't bad, but his sallow complexion, puffy eyes, and messy, medium-length hair seriously detracted from his looks.
This starting point was decent, better than some, worse than others. He still had some assets to procure various materials.
In the short term, as long as his luck wasn't too bad, he should have a period of development.
Thoughts swirling in his mind, Qingshui continued to browse various information online, sorting through useful intelligence.
...
...
Naruto World.
After transferring his consciousness into the black vortex and learning about the world from his Avatar, Qingshui bid farewell to the Third Kazekage and set off for the northern border of the Land of Wind.
The Blood Demon Art Flying Thunder God was incredibly fast. Relying on the blood coordinates he had strategically left throughout the Land of Wind during previous missions, Qingshui reached his destination in less than an hour.
As soon as he arrived at the entrance of the Sand Hidden forces' camp, a patrol squad on lookout spotted Qingshui, who hadn't bothered to conceal his presence.
"Lord Qingshui! What brings you here?!"
A Special Jonin with a white cloth wrapped around his head exclaimed in surprise upon seeing Qingshui.
"Ah, it's Jonin Hotta. Konoha has already agreed to cede land for peace, so there's no major fighting for now. I just came to check on things here. How are things looking?"
Qingshui recognized the Special Jonin at a glance and greeted him.
Although he had read numerous written reports about this battlefield, Qingshui still wanted to hear the perspective of someone actually fighting there.
A Special Jonin was considered a core member of Sand Village's upper-middle ranks, so he should have some insights.
"From the beginning of the war until now, Stone Hidden and us have had our share of victories and losses. Just like the Second Great Ninja War a few years ago, people are dying every day. Thankfully, our logistics this time are much better than before.
New Puppets, war ninja tools, as well as Ice Bombs and Fear Toxins, have also shone brightly on the battlefield. To be honest, this Great Ninja War is much easier to fight than previous ones. Even though we are the defending side, we're the ones bullying Stone Hidden during battles. If it weren't for the Four-Tails Jinchuriki's immense power, we could already be pushing into the Land of Earth.
We heard that Stone Hidden recently dispatched another contingent of reinforcements, but before another battle could even begin, news came from Stone Hidden that they want to negotiate for peace."
Hotta answered truthfully.
Upon hearing this, Qingshui understood.
The leaders of the Stone Hidden army were Rōshi, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, and Kitsuchi, the Third Tsuchikage's son.
Kitsuchi was still young, only in his early twenties, similar in age and strength to Rasa and Karura. He wasn't considered strong among Kage-level experts, merely having just reached that threshold.
Rōshi, however, was quite formidable. He could utilize the Tailed Beast form to a certain extent and had developed his own Lava Release Kekkei Genkai.
Chiyo's Chikamatsu Collection had been modified with new Puppetry techniques and equipped with new heavy weapons, making their overall strength significantly greater than before. In fact, their power was a bit stronger than Rōshi's. However, in his Tailed Beast form, a Jinchuriki's recovery, stamina, and destructive power were incredibly astounding, and their attack range on the battlefield far exceeded that of regular ninja.
Even if he couldn't win, Rōshi could always stabilize the situation thanks to his Jinchuriki abilities, leading to a stalemate between Sand Hidden and Stone Hidden in the north.
But once Konoha started showing signs of defeat, Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage, couldn't possibly remain calm. Therefore, he sent reinforcements to break the stalemate and force Sand Hidden to divert forces to support the north, thereby alleviating pressure on their ally, Konoha.
If Konoha lost, then only Stone Hidden would be left to face Sand Hidden directly.
Stone Hidden's strength was still far inferior to Konoha's; how could they resist?
Unfortunately, before a battle could even start, news came from the other side.
Orochimaru, the Fourth Hokage, had revived the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, using the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu. The two former Hokage fought Qingshui from Sand Hidden to a draw, shook hands, and negotiated for peace.
This put Onoki in an awkward position.
I wanted to help Konoha share the burden, but you went and made peace first?
So what about Stone Hidden?
Now they had no choice but to follow suit and negotiate as well.
After being announced, Qingshui, Chiyo, and Karura finally met.
Before they could even exchange pleasantries, Karura immediately asked:
"Lord Qingshui, Rasa's hands..."
"His hands' souls were sealed by Hiruzen Sarutobi before his death. Afterward, Sasori crafted him a pair of bionic hands using Chakra metal. His strength has slightly declined, but it's nothing serious."
"I know, the intelligence reports said that, Lord Qingshui.
I wanted to ask if Rasa's hands can be fully restored? Didn't we get the corresponding Sealing Jutsu from Konoha? I wonder..."
"Currently, no."
Qingshui shook his head.
"The Reaper Death Seal is a forbidden jutsu that seals the enemy's soul along with the user's own into the belly of the Reaper, at the cost of the user's life. To retrieve the soul, one must be a master of Sealing Jutsu capable of performing this forbidden-level seal, wear a Reaper Mask from the Uzumaki Clan Mask Temple, perform a soul sacrifice, and then cut open the belly to release the sealed soul."
Karura's eyes darkened.
The conditions were too harsh. There was no need to even think about it; Rasa's hands weren't worth that price.
With bionic prosthetics, Rasa could still retain seventy to eighty percent of his former strength. Sand Village would never sacrifice a master of forbidden-level Sealing Jutsu just for Rasa to recover the remaining twenty to thirty percent of his power.
Karura quickly composed herself and thanked Qingshui.
It was already excellent that Rasa's life was saved with Qingshui's help, let alone retaining most of his strength.
Otherwise, Karura couldn't imagine what Rasa's personality would become after realizing he had turned into a worthless cripple.
Chiyo sensed Karura's urgency and didn't interrupt. Only after Karura finished thanking him did she pull Qingshui aside to chat. She first asked about Qingshui's recent situation, then about Sasori's performance. After talking for over ten minutes, she finally got to the point.
"According to reports from our dark channels, the reinforcement sent by Stone Hidden is very likely the Five-Tails Jinchuriki. This individual has never acted before, and the village has no relevant information. However, since Onoki sent him, he most likely, like Rōshi, controls most of the Tailed Beast's power. If you hadn't come, perhaps in the next battle, this old woman and Karura would have suffered a great loss."
Chiyo placed the intelligence report from the dark channels in front of Qingshui and spoke.
"What are your plans, Teacher Chiyo?"
Qingshui took the document, glanced through it, and confirmed from the information that the Five-Tails Jinchuriki was indeed the steam ninja, Han. He then put down the not-so-detailed document and asked Chiyo with a smile.
"Heh, this old woman actually has some ideas. Anyway, with you here, Qingshui, we might as well assemble our forces tomorrow and launch a full-scale attack, defeating Stone Hidden's army before peace talks. Ideally, we'll capture Onoki's son and take the Jinchuriki alive, forcing Stone Hidden to learn from their ally and pay us reparations and cede land."
Chiyo, with more wrinkles and a hint of old age on her face, spoke with a fierce, murderous tone.
Before her retirement, the old woman had been quite ferocious and ruthless. She'd been thoroughly disgusted by the Four-Tails Jinchuriki's antics on the battlefield before. This time, her disciple, the strongest fighter in the entire Ninja World, had arrived. Wasn't it time to get some payback?
"Alright, I don't think we need to wait until tomorrow," Qingshui said, nodding slightly, agreeing with Chiyo's idea. "Let's assemble our forces now and launch a direct surprise attack. That way, my arrival won't leak out, and Stone Hidden won't have time to prepare or retreat beforehand."
Yes, since their side was already strong enough to crush the enemy, there was no need for any other complicated matters. They could just charge in head-on.
"Alright, I'll go gather the various units!" Chiyo slapped the table, stood up, and started to leave.
Ninjas are highly efficient. Even though some ninjas were still out on missions in small teams, performing reconnaissance, assassinations, sabotage, and logistical interdiction, the main force was still in the camp.
From the moment the order was given to the completion of assembly and departure, it took only a little over ten minutes. Then, under Chiyo's command, they marched rapidly straight towards the location of the Stone Hidden forces.
As a result, even if Stone Hidden had spies stationed in Sand Hidden or surveillance set up in the vicinity, they wouldn't have time to react.
By the time they realized what was happening, the Sand Hidden army had already arrived outside their positions and begun their assault, before the Stone Hidden forces could even finish assembling.
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