Naruto: I start with one door, and I can open it infinitely.

Two months later-

At the Ninja Academy this morning, Sasuke had returned to school, but Lin Chuan was still absent, and many students realized something was wrong.

Especially Naruto, because Lin Chuan hadn't brought him lunch for two months, and sometimes he forgot to bring instant noodles at noon, so he had to continue attending classes hungry.

Seeing Sasuke come to class today, with that same sour face as before, he immediately turned his face away and stopped looking, only wanting to know if Lin Chuan would come to class.

However, Iruka's arrival once again brought a look of disappointment to Naruto's face; it seemed Lin Chuan was probably not coming after all...

Iruka continued to attend class quietly, and when he called roll, he called out Lin Chuan's name again, but Lin Chuan was in the Root organization and not in the classroom, which even he found hard to accept.

One day before, Naruto saw Sarutobi Old Man coming to deliver his living expenses again. He asked him directly where Lin Chuan from his class had gone.

Sarutobi was taken aback by the question. He knew that Lin Chuan and Naruto were good friends, which was why Naruto was asking about Lin Chuan. He also knew that Lin Chuan was in Root and that he couldn't take Lin Chuan away from Root.

But he couldn't lie to Naruto, so he could only say that Lin Chuan was participating in training and wouldn't be returning to the Ninja Academy for the time being.

"When will he be back?" Naruto was still worried about Lin Chuan, since only Lin Chuan would bring him lunch.

"I don't know either. I'll ask around for you when I have time," Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head slightly. When Lin Chuan would leave Root depended on when he would break ties with Danzo.

The last time he went to Danzo to forcefully take away the Wood Release ninja Tenzo was because Danzo sent Tenzo to assassinate him. Danzo was really naive, giving him a reason to take Tenzo away.

But this time, if he wants to take Lin Chuan away, what reason can he use to force Danzo to hand him over?

Moreover, whether Lin Chuan's value is worth breaking ties with Danzo is still under his consideration.

By this point, Naruto knew that Lin Chuan wouldn't be returning to school, but he still looked forward to it every day.

A week after Sasuke started school, he discovered that the top student in his class was gone, and no one knew where the top student had gone. So, wouldn't he be the top student now?

Although he was happy to be number one, he couldn't feel happy at all right now. If his parents and brother were still alive, he would rather not be number one.

"How boring," Shikamaru stretched, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the last row, at Lin Chuan's previous seat.

He had asked his father about Lin Chuan's disappearance, but his father's evasive and unyielding manner made him feel that it must be something bad, and that Lin Chuan must have gone to a bad place.

No matter how much he pressed his father for an answer, his father wouldn't tell him. Instead, he said he would find out when he grew up, so he let it go. He just felt a little regretful that he had lost a friend.

……

Death Forest

Lin Chuan had been in the Death Forest for two months and had almost forgotten what day it was, but someone would remind him.

"Kawa, we're going on a mission." Kabuto found Lin Kawa in the forest and noticed that Lin Kawa's hair had grown quite a bit longer, so he knew that this guy must have become stronger as well.

"Senior," Lin Chuan was having dinner by the river when he turned around and saw Yakushi Kabuto. He immediately stood up and stood at attention.

"Get ready and come with me back to the Root," Kabuto Yakushi said, looking Lin Chuan over and over at the cave not far away. He realized that Lin Chuan had been hiding here all this time, which explained why he couldn't find him.

"Okay," Lin Chuan finished his dinner in a few bites, leaped back into the cave, put on his Anbu uniform and armor, slung his short sword over his shoulder, and left the cave to follow Yakushi Kabuto out of the Death Forest where they had been training for two months.

When he returned, Yamanaka Fu and Aburame Torune were already waiting for him. It seemed that he would be teaming up with these two for this mission.

"Kabuto, this is the sealing scroll. Inside is what he wants," Danzo said, throwing the scroll at Kabuto when he saw Kabuto and Lin Chuan return. As for who he was referring to, who else could it be but Orochimaru?

Two months have passed since the night of the Uchiha clan massacre, and their deal needs to begin as soon as possible.

"Yes, Lord Danzo," Kabuto Yakushi respectfully accepted the scroll, knowing who it was for.

"Kawa, have you learned the ninjutsu you chose?" Danzo asked after handing over the scroll. Only then did he have time to look at Lin Chuan, who had become much darker from the sun and whose cheeks had thinned. He wondered if Lin Chuan had made any progress.

He could ignore the children's training, but if they stagnated and made no progress in two months, they wouldn't be worth his attention and would just become a useful tool, like the other secret agents.

"Lord Danzo, I have learned it," Lin Chuan knelt on one knee, bowing his head and not daring to hide anything.

"Very good. When you return from this mission, those who performed well can go to the ninjutsu room and choose a ninjutsu." Danzo glanced at the three of them, satisfied with their performance, and continued, "Kabuto is the captain of your squad, and Kaze is the vice-captain. Go..."

"Yes, Lord Danzo," the four replied in unison, then followed Kabuto and instantly left to the logistics department to apply for supplies for this trip. They then left Root and exited Konoha through the Root Pass, without having to go through the main gate of Konoha Village.

The four arrived outside Konoha Village. Kabuto stopped, took out a map, spread it out on the grass, lit a candle in the center of the map, and explained to the other three who were gathered around, "This time we are on a secret escort mission. The mission location is the Land of Rice Fields..."

"Also, we need to detour through the Land of Hot Springs to enter the Land of Rice Fields. The Land of Hot Springs is currently plagued by a cult and is in a chaotic state, so everyone needs to be careful. If you have any questions about this mission, please feel free to ask them now..."

"Captain, since the Land of Hot Springs is unstable, why do we still need to detour through it?" Aburame Torune didn't understand. Shouldn't the mission be the priority?

"We went through the Land of Hot Springs because of another mission. You'll find out when you get there," Kabuto said. He knew someone would ask this, but he didn't expect it to be Aburame Torune. He thought it would be Rin Kawa who asked. It seems that this person is as cautious as ever and not very curious.

"Yes," Aburame Torune replied, not having received an answer, and did not press further, since he had already said that he would know once he arrived in the Land of Hot Springs.

Lin Chuan and Yamanaka Fu exchanged a glance, instantly understanding each other's thoughts. It seemed there was no shortage of intelligent people here, and both of them had clearly guessed the purpose of detouring through the Land of Hot Springs.

"Let's go then. We'll travel at night and find a place to sleep during the day," Kabuto Yakushi said, putting away the map, blowing out the candle, and placing it in his ninja tool bag. He then led the other three towards the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water.

……

After traveling for several days, they finally arrived at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water. Instead of going to the border post, they crossed the border under the cover of night.

It's safe to say that Kabuto is indeed a spy; he managed to lead them across the border undetected by the patrolling ninjas. He's really familiar with the patrolling ninjas of the Land of Fire.

After crossing the border, they finally understood what chaos meant. Not long after they left, the four of them saw fire. As they got closer, they discovered that a chaotic village was on fire, and a group of bandits with knives were burning, killing, and looting.

"See that? This is chaos," Kabuto Yakushi said, leading the four of them into hiding in the woods. Light and fire shone through the masks of the Dark Guard, flickering in their eyes.

"Captain, isn't there a ninja village in the Land of Hot Springs?" Lin Chuan vaguely remembered that there was a ninja village in the Land of Hot Springs, since Hidan came from that village.

"Yes, they're probably all protecting the daimyo at times like this. After all, it's just a small ninja village with no powerful ninjas," Kabuto Yakushi explained to Lin Chuan with interest, then assigned the three of them a task: "See those bandits? Your task is to find out where their hideout is."

"Yes," Lin Chuan and the other two instantly left Yakushi Kabuto and gathered in the woods not far from the village exit, where they finally had time to talk.

"Chuan, you've already guessed the other missions besides this escort mission, which involve detouring around here, right?" Yamanaka Fu looked at Lin Chuan, a companion who joined the Roots around the same time as them and was much younger than them.

"Yes, senior," Lin Chuan nodded slightly, looked at Shan Zhongfeng who was older than him, and also called him senior, without continuing.

"What do you mean? What is our extra mission?" Aburame Torune was still a little confused about what their extra mission was.

"Seeing blood, that's our extra task," Yamanaka Kaze said, watching the bandits laughing maniacally in the firelight as they plundered wantonly. If he wasn't mistaken, tonight would be the night these bandits would die.

"Murder?" Upon hearing the word "blood," Aburame Torune instantly realized what was happening. He wasn't averse to killing because of the poisonous insects, but he simply didn't want to harm innocent lives.

With Dou absent, Yamanaka Fu, as the squad's vice-captain, took over the captain's duties and directed Lin Chuan and his companion, saying, "Let's follow these bandits first, find out their hideout, and then come back to find the captain."

"Yes," Lin Chuan tightened his grip on the kunai. It was his first time doing something like this, and he was already mentally prepared. He would just treat it as fish and pigs, since these wicked bandits weren't human anyway.

As the three of them followed, the bandits, who had just vented their savagery, were completely unaware of them and returned to their mountain stronghold with the grain and women they had plundered.

The three men, who used their transformation abilities to sneak into the mountain stronghold, quickly figured out its secrets. The stronghold was founded by three wandering warriors, who were known as the Black Mountain Three Brothers.

Each wandering warrior had dozens of subordinates, with the Black Mountain Boss having the most, forcing the second and third to unite against him, otherwise the stronghold would have become the Black Mountain Boss's one-man show.

After figuring out the situation at the mountain stronghold, the three left and gathered in the woods outside the stronghold to discuss countermeasures.

"Chuan, take the root, we've figured out the situation at the stronghold, let's make our move now," Yamanaka Fu, as the team leader, directly issued the order to start.

"Captain, shouldn't we inform Captain Dou?" Lin Chuan and Dou were in the same group, so it was understandable for him to ask.

"No need," Shan Zhongfeng shook his head gently. Since the purpose of the detour was clear, they could do it first and then inform Dou.

Moreover, he knew something deeper: Danzo did not fully trust Kabuto and had warned him before setting off to be careful of Kabuto.

He had a deeper suspicion: the key to this mission wasn't them at all. After all, Danzo had many Jonin subordinates. If it were a crucial mission, why would he send three Genin and one Chunin to do it?

"Should we wait for the bandits to fall asleep before launching a night attack, or should we just charge in?" Lin Chuan asked Shan Zhongfeng, wondering what attack method the other side would use.

"Of course it's a night raid. We're ninjas, not brutes," Yamanaka Kaze said, glancing speechlessly at Lin Chuan. Did he look like a fool who would just charge in?

"Yes, Captain," Lin Chuan lowered his head and said no more, letting the captain arrange the battle plan.

"I'll sneak in through the main gate, you two sneak in from the flanks," Shan Zhongfeng drew an irregular circle on the ground, exactly the shape of the mountain stronghold, marking the three's attack direction, and then continued, "Take out the sentries first, then the sleeping bandits, and prioritize taking out the three bandit leaders. I'll take care of the bandit boss..."

"You will each take charge of the second and third bandits. The three of us will act simultaneously. Before we begin, signal us with insects. Take the root..."

"Understood," Lin Chuan and Shan Zhongfeng nodded in unison. The two immediately vanished in an instant, heading towards their respective attack directions, and lay in ambush in the woods, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

The mountain stronghold was still bustling with activity. The previous burning, killing, and looting was the first half, and the eating, drinking, and merrymaking back in the stronghold was the second half.

When the bandits were tired of playing, they all collapsed on the ground, drunk and unconscious. Lin Chuan, who had been lurking in the forest, suddenly noticed an extra insect on his finger and immediately knew it was a signal to make his move.

He quietly crept up to the base of the mountain stronghold wall, took out a matte kunai from his ninja tool bag—the kind of kunai that wouldn't reflect light even when illuminated by a flashlight. After all, who the hell would use a weapon with light to launch a sneak attack at night?

He then teleported directly to the top of the tower, reached behind the drowsy sentry, covered the sentry's mouth with his hand, and stabbed the sentry in the back with a kunai.

puff-

The sound of a kunai piercing flesh was heard, and blood flowed out. He quickly and gently laid the sentry down, trying not to make any noise.

Those who have seen human anatomy diagrams should know that there are ribs in front of the heart, making it difficult for a kunai to penetrate. Even if you try to pierce it from behind, you have to go through the ribs to reach the heart.

You can't stab the neck either, because there are major arteries in the neck, and it's easy for blood to spurt out. It would be bad if some bandit got up in the middle of the night and spurted blood. It's better to stab the heart.

After taking out the first sentry, he took out three more before finally reaching the vicinity of the bandit leader's cabin. There were two guards with knives outside the cabin. If he took out one of them, he would definitely be discovered by the other. He could only wait for an opportunity.

"Ahhh, an intruder! An intruder!"

"Help! Help!"

Suddenly, shouts came from the other side of the mountain stronghold. He immediately realized that something was wrong; someone must have been discovered while infiltrating. He had to hurry, or the leader would wake up.

Upon hearing the shouts, the two guards with knives immediately looked in the direction of the sound. Taking advantage of the chaos, he thrust a kunai into the back of one of the men behind him.

Upon hearing the splattering sound, the other guard with a knife turned around and quickly drew a short knife from his back, slitting it across his own throat.

Then he raised his hands to form a mudra, summoning a water dragon from the water vat outside the wooden house. The dragon rushed towards the wooden house, whose door had just been opened. The dragon's head hit the still drunken Black Mountain Second Brother who had just opened the door.

Rumbling--

The ferocious dragon bit down on Black Mountain Second Brother's body, sending him soaring into the sky before crashing down from the roof of the wooden house. The wooden house shattered into pieces, which flew everywhere.