I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 121 One must look forward, for a life lived in retrospect is nothing but failure.

"Tatsuma-kun, I'm leaving the downstream sensing work to you."

In the Land of Rain, in the rainforest where the sun never shines, a group of ninjas are gathered around a river, both to resupply and to scout out their surroundings.

The dogs that some people who are afraid of dogs see as constantly barking are now quiet. Even when they put their paws down, they are careful, and the paw pads next to their paws ensure that they do not make a sound when they step on the wet fallen leaves.

These ninja dogs kept sniffing the surrounding scents, and you could even see human-like furrowed brows and thoughtful expressions on their faces, as if they were trying to distinguish the type and source of the scents.

Beside each ninja dog, there is a ninja from the Inuzuka clan, lying down beside the dog and doing the same thing as it. The ninja is like a dog, and the dog is like a ninja; this is something you can only see in this clan.

Nearby, there were also some Aburame clan ninjas dressed in long raincoats with their hoods pulled low, all wearing sunglasses in the dark rainforest, constantly releasing special insects from their bodies.

Beside the pair of silver-haired and blonde-haired boys, a fully clothed female ninja was speaking in a low voice to the silver-haired Sakamoto Tatsuma.

Chenma nodded, then went to the riverbank, formed a Xu seal with both hands, and then changed the seal with his right hand, connecting his thumb and little finger while relaxing the other three fingers.

This is also a special type of hand seal, and it is a systematic one called the Seal System. This system emphasizes that each finger has a corresponding chakra element, which is quite similar to the Yuga of Tatsuma's previous life.

The thumb represents fire and the little finger represents water, but the hand seal is called the Water Hand Seal, which means the balance of water and fire, symbolizing communication and openness. It was used by Tobirama Senju in his perception techniques and the effect was amazing.

The water was so clean that even the ninja dogs were somewhat distrustful of it because of the lack of scent. Tatsuma extended his right hand into the river, and as the water flowed through his fingers, his chakra also attached itself to the water.

This kind of sensory technique is not fast, or rather, the speed of perception depends on the water flow. Of course, too fast a water flow is also not good, firstly because it may splash and interrupt the flow, and secondly because the chakra may not be able to adhere closely and be intertwined with each other.

Fortunately, it was September, and although the rainforest's flood season was late, it wasn't completely over yet, so the rivers here were flowing much faster than usual.

The oil-skin ninja knew that Tatsuma's perception wasn't very fast, but it was safe. If there were other perception-type ninjas among the enemies, then his perception of ninja dogs, insects, and even the ground and air could be detected.

However, almost no ninja would pay attention to whether chakra was attached to the constantly flowing water, because it was too difficult to detect, and very few people had ever figured out such a method.

As a covert support team, Chenma and his team had no shortage of time, so they needed this safest method to sense the situation in the distance and ensure that they would not be detected.

Nearly half an hour later, Tatsuma finally withdrew his hand from the river and said, "Five kilometers downstream, there are remnants of ninja chakra. They must have been walking on water, heading further downstream."

The aburame ninja nodded and said, "Still as cautious as ever. These ninjas from the Land of Rain, even on their own territory, are so careful to conceal their movements."

He shook his head and said, "But since the direction is further downstream, our whereabouts should not be discovered in the short term. Let's rest here for now, and I'll contact the other teams."

Patrols in the rainforest cannot be too frequent. Not to mention a small country like the Land of Rain, even the Five Great Nations do not have enough ninjas for daily border patrols.

Especially recently, with Konoha and Sunagakure expanding the battlefield to the Land of Rain, the focus of the ninjas in the Land of Rain will definitely shift towards the battlefield, and secondly towards the central areas. The frequency and intensity of surveillance on these uninhabited rainforests will definitely decrease.

Patrols once every one or two weeks are probably the limit, so they should have no problem setting up camp here in the short term.

Chenma walked to the side, rubbing his right hand, which was getting itchy from being soaked in the water. This river water wasn't exactly pure, and during the flood season, it might wash in some things that had been silted up in the rainforest for who knows how long.

Therefore, timely cleaning is essential. After rubbing his right hand with a gauze soaked in alcohol, Tatsuma felt much more at ease. At this time, Minato handed Tatsuma a water bottle containing the water that he had collected and filtered, with added effervescent disinfectant tablets.

Thank you.

After taking a small sip, Tatsuma put the water bottle back in his backpack. Minato shook his head and said, "It was just something I did on the spur of the moment."

"Would you like to learn that method of perception?"

Tatsuma whispered to Minato. In fact, among a large group of sensory ninjas, it wouldn't have mattered if Tatsuma spoke softly. However, after expressing this attitude, the Inuzuka and Aburame ninjas around them tacitly moved away.

Minato looked embarrassed and said, "Isn't that a bit inappropriate? I heard it was given to you by Tsunade-sensei, and it's the Second Hokage's research result."

"I already asked the teacher before we parted ways, and he had no objections. Besides, my hands can't stand being in the river water every day. If you learn it, you can help me share the burden."

Tatsuma hooked his arm around Minato's shoulder. Minato thought for a moment, nodded, and then said, "Then I'll share all my ninjutsu with you from now on."

Minato felt he had lost out to Tatsuma Ryosuke, especially after Jiraiya talked to him these past few days and learned the background of how he learned the Shadow Clone Technique. Minato bluntly stated that without Tatsuma, he would not have been able to learn this ninjutsu so early.

The astute Minato, after a few words of advice from Jiraiya, understood the risks Tatsuma had taken when he offered his opinion to Hiruzen Sarutobi in the Hokage's office.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi had felt dissatisfied with this matter at the time, then Tatsuma's behavior would have been seen as self-aggrandizement. Fortunately, Hiruzen Sarutobi had high hopes for the two of them and was willing to personally teach them.

Otherwise, they would at most receive a ninjutsu scroll, and as the one who made the request, Tatsuma might also incur Hiruzen Sarutobi's dislike. Tatsuma would bear all the risks, while Minato would unknowingly accept the benefits.

Moreover, Minato also recalled how Tatsuma had taken care of him on the battlefield, even taking many injuries for him. The more Minato thought about it, the more indebted he felt. Seeing Tatsuma's generosity, he couldn't repay him, so he could only mortgage his own future.

Upon hearing Minato's promise, Tatsuma simply waved his hand. After all, Minato couldn't provide what he needed in a short time. Tatsuma had already taken the most important skills from Minato: ninja tool throwing, space-time manipulation, sensory perception, and ninjutsu development.

Even the Rasengan, which Minato would develop later, was secretly created by Tatsuma. However, he never had the opportunity to reasonably expose this technique, so it could only be used as a trump card.

Minato felt indebted, and so did Tatsuma. However, Tatsuma felt he owed Minato the purity and sincerity of their friendship and wanted to make up for it.

Tatsuma didn't bring Tobirama's notebook with him, but he had an excellent memory and had memorized the contents of the scroll, so it wasn't difficult for him to write it down for Minato.

For the next period of time, Tatsuma spent his time teaching Minato about water perception in addition to being in charge of water perception himself. Unfortunately, but as Tatsuma had expected, Minato had very poor aptitude for learning water perception.

Not only is his sense of water limited, but his sense of ground is also struggling to develop. He's nowhere near the level of Tatsuma, who can use it rudimentarily after reading the notes. After all, Minato doesn't have the attributes of water or earth.

However, Minato's blow didn't end there. When he heard about the technique of sensing air, he was determined to learn it, but his progress was truly disappointing.

The air in the Land of Rain is too humid, and when chakra is stored in the air, it is often blocked by water. This is something that even Tatsuma did not expect, since his chakra is not blocked by water.

"As expected, my talent is still far inferior to yours, Tatsuma."

After more than three months, Minato, who had memorized Tobirama's notes completely like Tatsuma, came to this conclusion when summarizing the past year on his first New Year's Eve spent away from home.

Minato couldn't learn sensory techniques that combined the five chakra natures because he lacked earth and water chakra. Furthermore, sensory techniques that combined wind chakra natures were greatly limited in the Land of Rain. Minato didn't even know how well he was progressing in his training.

As for fire and lightning, aside from needing to save people during a forest fire, Minato couldn't think of any scenarios where the former would be applicable. As for the latter, unless he was in the Land of Lightning, the rare and unpredictable weather phenomenon of lightning would hardly give him an opportunity to cultivate.

Hearing Minato's remark, Tatsuma, who was also reminiscing about the past year, snapped out of his reverie. Tatsuma felt that Minato's words were full of flaws, after all, Minato's joke about his lack of talent was second only to Naruto's statement that he couldn't preach.

However, in terms of the year, both of them were training in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Tatsuma was indeed much more dazzling than Minato on the battlefield. In the third quarter, they were training in the village, and Tatsuma was also in charge.

In the last quarter, Minato was almost driven to despair by the sensory techniques he couldn't learn, so he finally came to this conclusion, which Tatsuma could suddenly understand. However, this was not the truth.

Tatsuma patted Minato on the shoulder and said, "The environment in the Land of Rain isn't suitable for training, and besides, haven't your senses improved a lot since we came to the north of the Land of Rain recently?"

Now, in the depths of winter, they are gradually approaching the border between the two countries of Rain and Turkmenistan. The air humidity has dropped considerably, and not only are their clothes no longer constantly damp, but Minato's senses have also been greatly enhanced.

It's just that these short ten days or so are such a small fraction of the total year that Minato didn't realize it.

Upon hearing Tatsuma's words, Minato managed a weak smile, thinking it was his friend comforting him.

Happy New Year!

While most people remained silent, the female ninja leading the group suddenly spoke up, and everyone smiled upon hearing her words.

Although in such a godforsaken place, there was absolutely no festive atmosphere for the New Year, and the dampness and stickiness on my body always made me feel like it was the rainy season, another year has passed.

Let's all make a wish.

The captain, with a smile, addressed everyone. A ninja from the Inuzuka clan, trimming the fur on his ninja dog's paw, said, "My wish...I hope the war will end this year."

His wish was shared by many, but Tatsuma's smile was forced. If his memory and calculations were correct, the war would not only fail to end this year, but it would also escalate into the Second Shinobi World War, affecting the entire shinobi world.

However, he was still too insignificant. Even if he knew some things, he couldn't stop this trend. Not to mention him, given the current situation, neither the Shadow of Wind nor the Shadow of Fire could end the war even if they wanted to.

Because this battlefield is no longer the will of the two Shadows, but the will of both countries, something that everyone from the noble class, such as the Daimyo, to the common people, wants to continue.

There was a brief moment of pleasure here, but further north, in a cave, Tsunade withdrew her hands, her face covered in sweat, while Jiraiya lay there gritting his teeth, clearly badly injured.

Tsunade popped a soldier's ration pill into her mouth to regain her strength. At the same time, she looked at Orochimaru, who was on guard outside the cave, and said, "Orochimaru, let's call for reinforcements. With Jiraiya's current injuries, we have no way to hide our tracks and escape properly."

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru glanced back at his old teammate in the dimly lit cave, a hint of conflict in his eyes. After a long while, he shook his head and said:

"Hold on a little longer. Given the distance between us and the support team, they would have to rush at full speed to get there, which would render their months of infiltration meaningless."

"Let's head a little further south and have the squad provide backup. We can't let the Land of Rain know we have a large number of ninjas lurking within its borders. Besides, with your current strength, we can hold out."

Upon hearing Orochimaru's words, Tsunade raised her hand and touched her headband. The mark that had taken a year to form was now almost invisible.

Her power cannot continue.

Jiraiya opened his eyes, took a few breaths, and said, "Haha~ Don't be so pessimistic, I'll be fine if we really get caught."

He pressed his abdomen, still in excruciating pain. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Covering your retreat is no problem. The most important thing is to get the intelligence out. I also support Orochimaru's decision not to ask for reinforcements."

Orochimaru remained silent, his expression suddenly turning grim. He said, "An Iwa ninja is approaching. Tsunade, can you take Jiraiya with you?"

Tsunade tried clenching her fist, then shook her head and said, "You take him a short distance, I need to rest."

"it is good."

Orochimaru didn't waste any words. He picked up Jiraiya and left the cave, heading south. Tsunade followed behind them, gritting her teeth as she made her decision.

Before Orochimaru and Jiraiya could even notice, Tsunade took out a communicator from her ninja tool pouch and pressed the call for help button.

She then put the communicator, which was flashing its signal light, back into her ninja tool bag.

(End of this chapter)