I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 154 The best lie is not the one you tell, but the one the other person thinks.

"As expected of the elite of the Rain Ninja, they tracked us here based solely on the slightest clues in the changing terrain."

In the rainforest, a young man with a scarf covering half his face landed on a large tree. He looked back at the hundreds of rain ninjas who were chasing after him, his voice filled with deep fear.

The Rain Ninja on the opposite side was led by Jonin Zeren, who had repeatedly harassed the Konoha camp. He was looking at the young man in front of him with a scrutinizing gaze. His clothing style and the scarf that could cover all exposed skin were very similar to those of the Sand Ninja.

Moreover, this person wasn't wearing a Sand Village headband, which made Zeren even more convinced that the person in front of him was a Sand Village ninja. He just didn't know why this Sand Village ninja had ventured deep into the Land of Rain.

After all, the Sand Ninja only had one camp in the Land of Rain, which was in the south, far from the center of the Land of Rain. Moreover, the Sand Ninja's focus had always been on the ninjas of Konoha, and they had always maintained a defensive posture towards the Rain Ninja.

However, this Sand Ninja had penetrated deep into the heart of the Land of Rain, and was not even far from Konoha's camp. If he hadn't been discovered in time, perhaps in another day or two, this Sand Ninja could have infiltrated near Konoha's camp in the heart of the Land of Rain.

Although he suspected that this Sand Ninja was likely there to gather intelligence on Konoha, Zeren still asked responsibly, "Who are you? What is your purpose in coming to the Land of Rain?!"

"Gentlemen, your target should be the ninjas of Konoha. There's no need to keep targeting me. Can't you just treat me as a lost traveler?"

After the young man finished speaking, he gently adjusted his scarf to cover more of his face. Zeren's eyes, however, turned displeased. He said, "My Land of Rain has never wanted to interfere in the war between your Sand Village and Konoha, but actions taken within my territory come at a price!"

"So there's no room for negotiation?"

As the young man spoke, he reached into the ninja tool pouch at his waist. Upon seeing his action, the Rain Ninja became alert, wary that the young man might pull out something that could harm them.

"Bang!"

But before the young man could even pull his ninja tool pouch out, a large cloud of smoke billowed from his body. Zeren frowned and said, "It's a poison fog smoke bomb! Don't touch it!"

As he spoke, he bypassed the smoke and chased after the young man. Sure enough, the young man who was originally in the smoke had escaped again, faster than most Chunin. However, Zeren showed a hint of disdain on his face.

His Body Flicker Technique was personally instructed by Lord Hanzo, so catching up with such a slightly better Sand Ninja Chunin was a piece of cake.

"Rustling sound~"

Zeren moved swiftly towards the young man, rapidly closing the distance between them. Suddenly, the young man stopped and said, "Sir, please do not approach any closer."

Zeren stopped as if he knew what was going on, looking around warily, because he had also sensed something was wrong. The young man in front of him spoke again, "Captain Urokodaki, I've been discovered."

"Any teammates?"

Hearing the young man's words, Zeren became even more wary. Soon, a figure appeared in the rainforest, with short white hair and wearing a Tengu mask, obscuring his face. He spoke in a low voice:

"Katakuri! Why did you bring so many Rain Ninja here?!"

"There's nothing I can do, their tracking methods are too numerous, I'm not familiar with them. Never mind, where's Yoshikage Kira? Has he returned?"

The young man called Katakuri stopped explaining halfway through, and as he asked a question, another thin figure landed. Clearly, this person must be the Yoshikage Kira he was talking about.

Zeren's face also showed a hint of solemnity. The last one to appear, Kira Yoshikage, was faster than the one called Katakuri, and the one called Rin-taki was more dangerous.

He had sensed the pressure when Linlong was hiding, and now that Linlong had appeared, he felt uneasy. This ninja leader named Linlong was stronger than most Jonin.

The faces of those Sand Ninja Jonin kept flashing through his mind, trying to find a comparison. Unfortunately, the faces of these Rin-taki were all hidden. Not only Rin-taki, but Katakuri also covered most of his face, and Kira Yoshikage remained in the shadows.

"The Sand Village's Anbu?"

The thought popped into Zeren's mind, and he couldn't help but purse his lips. In battles between ninjas, the worst thing is to have no information, especially when facing a ninja who is stronger than oneself. Without information, it is tantamount to being slaughtered.

The five great ninja villages each have powerful ninjas unknown to the public. They either have dual identities or lurk in the shadows, such as the Anbu, founded by Tobirama Senju and later imitated by other villages.

If it were the Anbu of the Sand Village, it wouldn't be surprising to find a powerful ninja like Rin-taki. Besides, Rin-taki, Katakuri, and Kira Yoshikage might all be pseudonyms, especially Katakuri. Who in their right mind would name themselves "Mountain Mushroom"?

Zeren did indeed guess part of the truth: the three of them were not using their real names, and even their identities were fake. They were impersonating Jiraiya, Sakamoto Tatsuma, and Minato Namikaze, the teacher and student trio from the Sand Village.

However, Zeren had already prejudged the three as Sunagakure ninja, and was even somewhat convinced that they were the Anbu members of Sunagakure.

These powerful ninjas lurking in the darkness are the most difficult to deal with. Zeren felt his hands were slightly numb, as if he was experiencing insufficient blood supply. Fortunately, his companions arrived one after another, which reassured him a lot.

"Gentlemen, we've simply wandered in by mistake. How about we all step back?"

Seeing that there were more and more Rain Ninjas, Jiraiya spoke up. With confidence, Zeren did not retreat. If he were alone, upon hearing of such an opportunity, he would have gone through all the trouble to leave, pretending that he had never met these people.

But not now. He had too many comrades with him. He mustered his courage and said, "You're Sand Ninja, right? State your purpose."

Seeing that his identity had been exposed, Jiraiya did not deny it, but simply shrugged and said, "We just came to pick some wild vegetables to replenish our supplies."

Everyone could tell that Jiraiya was lying. Zeren's face darkened, and he said sternly, "Tell us your true purpose, or you'll stay here!"

As he spoke, he made a hand gesture, and the Rain Ninja quickly changed formation, enveloping the three of them in a semi-encirclement. Tatsuma took a slight step closer to Jiraiya, placing his right hand on a scroll.

But Jiraiya immediately brushed his hand away and then whispered, "Use ninjutsu."

"Tch~"

Tatsuma scoffed in dissatisfaction. Although the conversation was not loud, Zeren could still barely hear it. He guessed that the guy named Katakuri was planning to use puppetry, but it seemed that their team leader did not want to leave any concrete evidence.

The guy named Yoshikage Kira also left the shadows. With his slightly wavy golden hair and a light pink cat mask, he looked out of place with his surroundings, more like an ordinary office worker attending a masked ball after get off work.

Seeing the three begin to gather, Zeren ordered, "Move!"

"Bang bang bang~"

In an instant, kunai, shuriken, explosive tags, and ninjutsu flew toward the three of them. Zeren was also on guard against the three of them, wary of their escape, but the three of them did not move.

After a round of attacks, Katakuri's voice came from within a cloud of smoke.

"Captain Linlong, can we kill them?"

"No, our purpose here is not to kill the Rain Ninja; this would hinder our subsequent operations. Let's use Lady Chiyo's new creation, and control the dosage carefully."

The two were plotting loudly, and Zeren's face darkened completely. However, he also gleaned a piece of information: it seemed that the Sand Village did not want a full-scale war with the Rain Village. Upon hearing this news, Zeren couldn't help but smirk.

So the Sand Village is just as cowardly as the Leaf Village. The Five Great Nations—no, they should be called the Five Great Nations of Crickets—when it comes to strength and deterrence, we have to look to the Land of Rain!

At this moment, the smoke gradually dissipated, revealing the three figures, who were unharmed. However, the surrounding land seemed to have undergone significant changes, which reminded Zeren of the sand control ninjutsu of Sunagakure.

His gaze unconsciously fell on the man named Katakuri, after all, this man looked the least like an ANBU member, and he had led them, the Rain Ninja, to their side without suffering much reprimand.

Could it be that there's some powerful backing? Combining the traces of sand control ninjutsu, this thought popped into Zeren's mind. After all, while sand control ninjutsu and puppetry were part of Sunagakure's recruitment, not just any Sunagakure ninja could learn them.

"continue!"

But no matter how high the status of the Sand Ninja is, what does it have to do with his Rain Ninja? What Zeren likes most is torturing these foreign ninjas who dare not resist, watching them dodge and defend helplessly, and then die.

Thinking of the battles with Konoha during this period, Zeren's face broke into a wicked smile. As he raised his hand, another command was issued, and more ninja tools and ninjutsu were sent toward the three of them.

Upon seeing this, the three of them stopped using sand control ninjutsu for defense. Or rather, there was no sand control ninjutsu at all; it was just that Jiraiya and Tatsuma had used Earth Release to disguise themselves, taking advantage of the firelight from the exploding tags.

This attack used far fewer explosive tags and far more offensive ninjutsu. If they were to repeat their old tactics, their weakness would likely be exposed.

The three of them instantly left their original positions, dodging the attacks while simultaneously using Wind Release ninjutsu to cover themselves. Tatsuma even went straight for Zeren, who was leading the team. Upon seeing this, Zeren's eyes showed a hint of disdain.

He had a pretty good grasp of Katakuri's level. His speed was not as good as Kira Yoshikage's in the same team, let alone that ninja named Rin-taki. As for other aspects, his ninjutsu just now was also very average.

Perhaps Katakuri is skilled in sand control ninjutsu and puppetry, but puppetry is forbidden, and the two of them are suspended in mid-air. Sand control ninjutsu is not as flexible. Under these circumstances, Zeren did not think that Katakuri could pose any threat to him.

"Bang!"

Zeren even used his arm to block Chenma's kick, but Chenma deliberately did not unleash his full power, otherwise even if it was Zeren, he would have suffered a loss if he had been caught off guard.

Tatsuma was blocked and then pushed backward, but this suited him just as well. He had somehow managed to grab several vials of reagents with his hands, and while in mid-air, Tatsuma forcefully threw the reagents into the sky.

"Wind Release! Great Breakthrough!"

As Chenma fell, he formed a hand seal, and then a hurricane arose, shattering the test tube and quickly turning the venom into poisonous mist, which spread in all directions.

"Damn it! Retreat from the area affected by the poisonous fog!"

(End of this chapter)