I, Uchiha Yu, am solely focused on cultivating immortality

Chapter 82 We're Going to Sunagakure to Do Something Big

The core of the dried fish recipe is the medicinal formula, which was carefully prepared by Uchiha Yu and obtained with great difficulty by having more than fifty ninja cats test the medicine on themselves.

Besides what was hidden in Uchiha Yu's heart, there was only a scroll recording the prescription. The small scroll was treasured by Neko Yu in the gap between his paws, and it was absolutely impossible to steal it without killing him.

Uchiha Yu demonstrated the preparation process to Nekoyu, from frying and crushing the dried anchovies, to preparing the medicinal herbs, to mixing in the main filling flour, and then shaping and deep-frying them.

Thirty-one transparent fish, weighing only 430 grams after frying, used a full 500 kilograms of flour, and the finished product was piled up like a mountain after the process was completed.

Cat Yu and the Ninja Cats divided the finished dried fish into small portions and carefully sealed them into 534 sealed scrolls, using up 80% of the inventory of Cat Castle, a long-established arms dealer.

The ninja cats didn't care at all. They knew that the value of dried fish far exceeded that of the sealed rolls. If it was not stored properly and caused spoilage and loss, even if only one kilogram was lost, its value would be several times greater than that many rolls.

But Nekoyu gave Uchiha Yu and Miwa Masayo a full 200 kilograms without even flinching, and none of the ninja cats felt anything was wrong; they even thought they could have given more.

The reason that Uchiha Yuu couldn't carry any more of the dried fish stored in the Cat Castle, which they could come back to enjoy anytime, convinced the ninja cats.

All the dried fish were packed away, and it was time to say goodbye.

Nekoyu personally escorted Uchiha Yu and Miwa Masayo for several kilometers before saying goodbye.

The enormous white cat had snow-white fur all over its body, without a single stray hair or a single scar, and the mane on its neck was particularly thick and lush, swaying gently in the breeze.

The majestic cat You is now beautiful and dignified, looking exactly like a real white lion.

Suddenly, he pulled out a small dried fish, popped it into his mouth, crunched it loudly, and then swallowed it with a blissful expression, feeling the satisfaction of digesting the extraordinary food, and laughed heartily.

"My little ones, keep up the good work! Whoever makes enough contributions can exchange them for dried fish from me."

"From today onwards, with enough effort, every ninja cat has the chance to master Sage Mode, and might even become a Cat Sage!"

The ninja cats, each according to their own strength, shared and ate small dried fish of varying sizes, deeply experiencing the wonder of this magical food.

Hearing Maoyou's words, and thinking about how the recipe was finally adjusted and made into 500 kilograms of dried fish, every ninja cat was full of confidence in the future of Cat Castle.

The ninja cats were full of fighting spirit and worked with great enthusiasm to complete the construction of the ninja cat fortress as soon as possible.

But the first thing to build is a lakeside villa that Lord Neko-sama promised, which is a reward for Miwa Masayo and Uchiha Yu. It is located on a prominent rock on the west side of the valley, and is the first corner of the entire valley to receive sunlight.

Uchiha Yu chose to go south with the current, taking advantage of the speed of the rapids in the Land of Rivers to save a third of the time during the long journey.

They soon passed the ruined Kyuusei Village and continued south for about a hundred kilometers. Uchiha Yu and Miwa Masayo parted ways, and according to their plan, they went to Kawano and Sunagakure respectively.

"Set the time. From now until 72 hours later, you will perform a reverse summoning on me in Sunagakure."

"Okay, meow. You also need to make sure to light the ever-burning lamp in time, meow."

"Rinka-chan, be careful in the Land of Wind. If there is any danger, escape immediately, whether it's back to the Cat Castle or to Konoha Village."

"You idiot, Yu, is there any ninja in the ninja world who can keep up with my Miwa Masayo's flame leap, meow?"

"In short, safety comes first."

"You too, meow."

Miwa Masayo casually took out some dried fish, chewed on it, and ran westward at top speed, quickly disappearing behind the hillside.

Uchiha Yu shook his head and smiled, then continued southward with the current.

After parting ways with Masayo Miwa, Yuu Uchiha activated natural energy. On the turbulent water, each step he took released a faint natural energy that shaped him, which he then infused with chakra to activate the effects of his ninjutsu.

This technique, so simple it could hardly be called a ninjutsu, bloomed into an orange-red flame on the water's surface.

This flower of flame was a derivative structure created by the evaporation of a large amount of water vapor from Fire Release, under the control of Wind Release, possessing extremely powerful thrust. With the assistance of this thrust, Uchiha Yu's speed suddenly increased, leaving behind a column of water several meters high before disappearing at the end of the valley.

With the help of water flow, ninjutsu, and reverse propulsion, Uchiha Yu's speed soared to 110 kilometers per hour. The various obstacles on the river became his biggest threat, and he could only rely on his Sharingan to maneuver and avoid accidents.

His biggest regret at this time was his lack of self-control.

If his control were ten times stronger, Uchiha Yu would be able to manipulate chakra through natural energy, using the power of Wind Release and Fire Release to create a vortex structure, transforming himself into a jet-powered cruise missile and soaring through the sky.

Flying is naturally faster than flying on the ground, and its tracks are more concealed. It also eliminates the need to avoid obstacles, making it the most worry-free way to travel.

After running for more than twenty hours, Uchiha Yu had covered nearly two thousand kilometers and was approaching his destination, the capital of the Land of Rivers.

This city is located on the alluvial plain in the south of the Land of Rivers, situated at the mouth of hundreds of rivers, blocking the main road connecting the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire.

The alluvial plains of the River Country have countless tributaries, and thousands of bridges have been built there, so the River Country is also known as the City of a Thousand Bridges.

During the samurai era, Kawanoji was a strategically important location that was easy to defend and difficult to attack. In addition, its flat and fertile land, abundant water resources, and convenient irrigation resulted in high grain yields, making it a coveted place for military strategists.

But in the age of ninjas, the river bridges could no longer stop the ninjas from passing through, and the city of the river became easy to attack but difficult to defend, to the point that no one would defend the city anymore.

During the two Shinobi World Wars, the City of Rivers changed hands no less than thirty times, and there was never a single siege.

The unexpected peace preserved the city's vitality, making it the largest commercial metropolis in the south.

After the last war, Konoha, Kirigakure, and Sunagakure signed a treaty, designating Kawanoka as a permanently neutral city and prohibiting the construction of any military facilities.

The three ninja villages jointly guaranteed that regardless of who actually occupies Kawano, the ninja organizations of the other two villages must be allowed to continue to exist.

Faced with the agreement of the three major ninja villages to control his capital, the ruler of the Land of Rivers didn't dare to utter a word. The original small ninja village obediently moved away to the mountains in the north and renamed itself the Valley Hidden Village.

Because it abandoned its mission to the capital, Tanigaku Village gradually declined.

However, the City of Rivers flourished and surpassed all the cities in the Land of Wind and the Land of Water. Even in the Land of Fire, which was the most economically developed, only Konoha Village and the City of Rivers could rival it.

By the way, the gambling mecca, Tanabata Street, is located in a satellite town on the outskirts.

As Uchiha Yu approached within 200 kilometers of Kawano City, passing through a desolate area of ​​piled-up boulders, he sensed a bustling scene. Villages lined the riverbanks, and boats ply the waters, creating a lively and busy atmosphere.

Uchiha Yu stopped using his ninjutsu, walked on water through the various boats, and continued southward.

When the silhouettes of city buildings came into view in the distance, the density of ships reached a congested level, with a large number of ninjas moving back and forth between them.

It took Uchiha Yu a full two hours to enter the Konoha Village base in Jingchuan Town.

The middle-aged ninja who greeted Uchiha Yu was an acquaintance; they were all subordinates of the old captain, and they got along fairly well.

During a mission, the squad clashed with Iwagakure ninjas. One of the middle-aged ninjas was injured by an explosion, and by the time he returned to the village, his arm was severely rotten and he had to be amputated to save his life.

Losing an arm means you can't perform hand seals, and an ordinary Chunin loses their ninjutsu and is forced to retire.

The middle-aged ninja chuckled and asked, "Why did you go south to turn in your mission? Wouldn't it have been faster to go back to the village?"

Uchiha Yu explained, "I came along the river; it didn't take much longer."

"Furthermore, I completed an extra urgent mission with the mission giver, and I received the certificate and mission reward. The mission in the Land of Rivers needs to be confirmed here; if I go back to the village, I don't know when that will be."

"Haha, you're right. The mission from the Land of Rivers will be tested here. The journey back and forth has caused serious delays."

The administrative ninja took the certificate issued by the village chief of Kusen Village, compared it with the previously stored secret marks in the database, confirmed the authenticity of Uchiha Yu's completion of the mission, and then collected part of the bonus as a fee to add the relevant mission record to him, which was considered to have completed the mission handover.

Before leaving, the middle-aged ninja asked, "How is Captain Fuchigami doing these days?"

Uchiha Yu glanced at him and replied, "Like you, I retired and became an administrative ninja at the Konoha Village mission center."

"I thought the captain would retire peacefully, but he has retired after all." The middle-aged ninja raised his right arm, which had disappeared at the elbow, and said with great regret, "Aside from the heads of those major clans, I haven't seen any retired ninjas."

"It will happen, it will happen eventually."

Seeing that he had stirred up painful memories for his old teammate, Uchiha Yu left quietly after offering a word of comfort.

……

With the city of Kawanojo's economy booming and a heavy workload, Uchiha Yuu quickly received a new mission: to hunt sailfish.

This is a unique species from the southern seas of the ninja world. It is fierce and powerful, and swims extremely fast. Therefore, its flesh is firm and rich in fat, making it a top-quality ingredient.

Sailfish are extremely difficult to catch, and they only live in ocean currents in the open sea. Even if they are caught, it is difficult to bring them back to land before they rot.

This made it the most common ninja bounty mission, but also the least popular among ninjas.

It's not that ninjas can't catch sailfish, but rather that completing such a mission relies on luck.

The intelligence about sailfish we obtained was all brought by the crew, usually several days ago, with coordinates hundreds of kilometers away. Since sailfish can move 90 kilometers per hour, the intelligence was worthless.

Ninjas typically don't take on such missions; instead, they hunt sailfish when they encounter them while on other missions in a group.

If the hunt fails, everyone will act as if nothing happened, and it will not affect the completion of the original mission.

If the hunt is successful, one member of the team will take the spoils back to the capital of Sichuan to complete the mission, which is considered an unexpected bonus for everyone.

Uchiha Yu initially didn't understand the intricacies of the mission, but because it offered a high degree of freedom and was difficult to be specifically monitored, he accepted it.

When he learned about the problem, he didn't care, since he didn't care about the money or the completion rate of the task.

The most important thing now is to get out to sea as soon as possible, find a sufficiently remote island, and prepare to go to Sunagakure.

……

Masayo Miwa wasn't exaggerating; the ninja cat is indeed a desert species.

The moment she left the canyon of the Land of Rivers and stepped onto the scorching yellow sand, the desert survival skills inherited in the ninja cat's bloodline were revived.

Masayo Miwa discovered that he could determine his direction in the desert by intuition, smell the scent of water from 100 kilometers away, walk steadily on the soft sand with his toes spread out, and that his thick, soft fur could block out the sun during the day and protect his body temperature at night.

Most importantly, she also naturally mastered the art of collecting dew, so she could meet her needs even if she couldn't find an oasis.

As a cat sage who has mastered fire-attribute sage chakra, she can withstand temperatures of 300 degrees Celsius, and the 70-degree Celsius daytime temperature in the desert is nothing to her.

The real problem troubling Miwa Masayo was that she didn't know where Sunagakure was.

The dried fish distracted her, and she forgot to ask her pet owner for relevant information before setting off.

Due to the need for secrecy and the inability to ask anyone, the tabby cat could only determine the direction of the desert water veins based on a series of oases and investigate the confluence of the water veins one by one.

Miwa Masayo raced through the desert day and night, relying on dried fish to maintain his stamina. By noon on the third day, he was lucky enough to find Sunagakure.

When the 72-hour time limit was up, she successfully summoned Uchiha Yuugi.

It was really tough.

After recovering from the dizziness of the time-space shift, Uchiha Yu couldn't help but exclaim, "Oh dear, my poor Rika-chan, what happened to you?"

The tabby cat in front of me had matted fur and yellowish sand covering its tabby stripes, making it look like a mud ball, extremely disheveled.

Miwa Masayo complained irritably, "You forgot to tell me where Sunagakure is! I had to search for it all over the desert for three whole days!"

"...Go to the South China Sea quickly, I have prepared hot water and food in the cave."

Uchiha Yu chuckled enticingly, "We have freshly grilled crab, grilled squid, bonito flake rice balls, and the coconut water you wanted..."

"That's awesome, meow."

"Once you go there, take a shower, eat a few rice balls to fill your stomach, and you can perform reverse psychic abilities again."

"So impatient, meow?"

"This is a vast desert. It's not difficult for me to dig a tunnel from underground to approach Sunagakure, since I don't need to go through rocks to get into the village. It will only take about fifteen minutes to set off fireworks towards Sunagakure from the outside."

"The entire Sand Village will be in chaos. Being surrounded and attacked by a ninja village, I won't be able to hold out for long."

Masayo Miwa looked her up and down and said, "So you were already prepared for a fight. No wonder you dressed up like you were when you were chasing Keisuke Umino."

"If I can't control spatial abilities, I have to consider the issue of redundancy. I don't want to fight, but I have to be prepared for battle."

"And I'm dressed differently this time; I'm not wearing goggles."

"...Aren't the goggles underneath the mask? How can I see them, meow?"

"I'm ignoring you, I'm leaving, meow."

Miwa Masase conjured a ball of flame, sensed the distance for a moment, and then muttered, "It really is quite far."

Then the tabby cat disappeared into the flames.

Uchiha Yu also sank underground and began his operation.

Ten minutes later, outside the natural rock wall of Sunagakure Village, five dark caves appeared as sand seeped through the endless sand.

In the pitch-black night, the Sand Village ninja on guard on the rocky mountain had no night vision and could not see the cave, which was no more than forty centimeters wide.

Until... a red light appeared inside the cave.

Upon receiving the alarm, the patrolling Sand Village ninjas immediately rushed over to investigate. However, before they could get close, five muffled explosions rang out, and five corpses flew out of the cave, carrying sparks of fire as they soared into the sky above Sand Village.

This display of hostility was palpable. Despite not sensing any chakra fluctuations, the Sunagakure ninjas still sounded the alarm.

"Enemy attack!!"

"alert!!"

As the ninjas sprang into action to prepare for the attack, five brilliant fireworks exploded in the sky, illuminating the entire Sand Village for a fleeting moment.

Released with a burst of 2/5

(End of this chapter)