"It's been a long time, Teacher Ye Liang!" Rin Nohara said cheerfully while holding Ye Liang's hand.
Ye Liang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
I mean, if you just wanted to greet me, why keep rubbing your chest against my arm? Are you trying to provoke me or something?
He felt awkward. Rin was fifteen now—in fact, most of Team 7 were about the same age.
Not too young, not too old either.
Looking at Kakashi walking ahead, Ye Liang helplessly picked up the mission map in his hand.
This was a task map.
That's right, since Minato wasn't around, Ye Liang had once again taken over leadership of Team 7.
Ye Liang understood why, but he couldn't stop feeling annoyed when he remembered what Hiruzen had told him that morning!
"What do you mean Konoha is rebuilding and as an honored guest I must take responsibility by setting an example through training! Why don't people like Koharu Utatane, who are also founding honored guests, come out and lead teams then?"
Ye Liang was speechless. Still, he knew asking those old fossils to lead missions was simply impossible. He was young and full of energy, so naturally, he should endure more hardship.
Of course, being a team leader really was tough—it meant carrying out missions himself while simultaneously taking care of the genin and chunin accompanying him.
Man, it was exhausting!
So inside, Ye Liang truly resisted the idea, even with the promise of money.
After all, he was now an honored guest—someone who didn't even have to pay for meals!
Who've you ever seen like Jack Ma going into a factory?
Just like Jack Ma, Ye Liang was someone who didn't care about money!
Thinking about this made him even angrier.
At that moment, Obito approached from the side.
"Teacher Ye Liang, I heard last time you defeated Madara Uchiha using some sort of black spherical ninjutsu. Can you teach it to me? I also want to become stronger. I don't want to remain the class loser," Obito asked eagerly.
"A black spherical ninjutsu?"
"Oh, you're talking about the Tailed Beast Ball!" Ye Liang thought for a moment before immediately understanding.
"Yeah, yeah, that one exactly." Seeing Ye Liang understood, Obito quickly nodded in agreement.
Obito was clearly impatient, but Ye Liang already understood his thoughts.
Due to the previous Ninja War, many celebrations in Konoha had been canceled, including something known as the Chunin Exams!
Among Team 7, Kakashi had been specially promoted to jonin, but the other two were still fresh genin who'd just left the village. Therefore, they absolutely needed to participate in the Chunin Exams!
Partly because they'd grown older, and partly because after passing the exams, they would be able to accept higher difficulty missions.
Ye Liang nodded.
"You can learn other ninja techniques from me, but I can't teach you that black Tailed Beast Ball. That one's probably a Kekkei Genkai."
"A Kekkei Genkai?" Obito immediately looked disappointed.
If it was a bloodline inherited technique, then there truly was no way he could learn it.
This referred specifically to inherited clan abilities known as Kekkei Genkai; only those sharing the same bloodline could master them.
Take Obito Uchiha's Sharingan, for example—it was a Kekkei Genkai, and except for members of the Uchiha clan, no one else could learn such a jutsu!
"Well, though I can't teach you the Tailed Beast Ball, I can teach you another ninjutsu no less powerful than the Tailed Beast Ball!"
"Ye Liang saw their reactions and immediately changed his tone.
'Really?'
Obito's eyes lit up with excitement right away.
He had previously mentioned the Tailed Beast Ball, which decisively defeated Madara Uchiha, and he was eager to learn it!
Obito himself was also an Uchiha, so naturally understood just how strong Madara really was! This was someone who didn't even respect the First Hokage.
And because of Madara's actions, the current situation of the Uchiha clan had become problematic.
They were treated with disdain everywhere they went, as if people wanted to drive them away like cursed outcasts.
Therefore, Obito wanted to prove himself through his own strength.
'Teacher, will you teach me too?!' At this moment Rin Nohara also chimed in. She hadn't thought about this angle before, since she was a Medical Ninja and her graduation exam was simpler than ordinary ninja. But now that Ye Liang had agreed to teach Obito, naturally she wanted to get in on it too.
'Okay, okay, I'll agree to both of you!'
Ye Liang happily gave in to Rin's sweet request without hesitation.
Meanwhile Kakashi, who had been leading the way ahead, also turned his head around.
...
Before long, the group arrived at a vast desert.
The winds were strong here, blowing sand everywhere until even the path became unclear. If Ye Liang had another chance, he definitely wouldn't want to come here again.
But unfortunately,
This was Team Seven's mission.
Thanks to the big war that happened before, the major ninja villages still held all sorts of grudges—for example, Konoha had developed hostilities with Iwagakure and Kirigakure.
And where there are grudges, alliances are sure to form.
So Konoha also needed to build good relations with other villages!
Such as Sunagakure!
Ye Liang knew this well.
In the original story, this was the territory of Gaara, another major male character in the original story.
It belonged to the Land of Wind.
Constantly battered by windblown sands without much rainfall, this was a desert country. The leader of Sunagakure was the Kazekage, standing in opposition to Konoha's Hokage.
'Shouldn't this be when the Fourth Kazekage is in power?'
Ye Liang recalled from his memories.
Since the Third Kazekage had gone missing, Sunagakure grew significantly weaker and suffered invasion from the Land of Lightning.
At this critical time, a middle-aged man named Rasa stepped forward, using Sunagakure's unique Magnet Release techniques to defeat the invaders, becoming a hero who saved the Land of Wind!
This middle-aged man was the Fourth Kazekage—Gaara's father.
Ye Liang couldn't bring himself to feel any fondness toward this man. In the original story, this man implanted Shukaku, the One-Tail, into young Gaara, causing him to frequently lose control during childhood, gradually becoming lonelier and more psychologically disturbed.
Gaara was still a child back then, naturally unable to resist Shukaku within his body.
'Hmph, I really hope this mission goes smoothly.' Ye Liang smacked his lips, continuing forward together with everyone else.
Before long, the entire group reached between two towering sandy mountains!
Sunagakure was surrounded by desert on all sides. To prevent the invasion of wind-blown sands, the village was hidden within mountain ravines.
Ye Liang glanced at the two sandy mountains on either side, but vaguely felt uneasy.
'Mr. Ye Liang, don't you sense something strange too?' Suddenly Kakashi, who had been scouting ahead, walked back over.
'Indeed, it's quiet! Too quiet!'
Although this was a desert, there should have been some sound—either voices or wind. But the surroundings were eerily silent, and Ye Liang couldn't hear a thing.
With strength nearly reaching Kage level, he clearly sensed a trace of killing intent!
A chill ran down his spine, as though being stalked by a predator!
"Quickly, run!"
Ye Liang suddenly lunged for Rin Nohara, who was only a Medical Ninja, and dashed forward with urgency.
The other two immediately caught on and swiftly fell in behind him.
Just as they left their original spot, the tall sand dunes on both sides suddenly collapsed like flowing water.
[Earth Release - Dragon Missile Technique!]
Ye Liang roared the command, and in an instant, a sand-formed dragon erupted beneath their feet, launching them skyward.
"Boom!"
The sand dunes collapsed!
The original path leading in and out of Sunagakure had also been buried.
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