Anime Card System

In no time, the iron fence turned bright red. Zhang Ye released his hands from the iron fence, allowing the river water to envelop it.

Sizzle!

The once bright red iron fence suddenly turned pitch black, and Zhang Ye's lips curled up slightly.

He then clenched his fist and slammed it onto the iron fence.

Click!

The originally sturdy iron fence suddenly broke apart, revealing a hole just big enough for one person to pass through.

Hinata and the others sensed the commotion below and dived into the water as well. The three of them stared in astonishment at the broken iron fence.

They stared at Zhang Ye with an expression of utter disbelief, as Zhang Ye had actually managed to break such hard steel.

Zhang Ye nodded to the three of them and went inside first, followed closely by the other three.

After swimming for a while, they saw a faint light above them, and the four of them immediately surfaced, breathing in the air.

"Captain, what did you do? Why did you break such hard steel?" Kazama Taiga asked hurriedly.

"This is a simple physical phenomenon: thermal expansion and contraction!"

Chapter Fifty-Eight Thunder and Water

The layout of Yuanjing was very simple, not at all like that of a capital city. Even the place where the daimyo lived in the very center was not as nice as the houses where some rich people lived.

If Zhang Ye hadn't known beforehand that this was the capital, he probably would have thought it was just an ordinary small town.

It's four in the morning now, and the night is gradually fading away. The streets are deserted, and even some of the guards from the security bureau are leaning against the wall, resting with their eyes closed.

Hinata Himine handed Zhang Ye a layout map of Yuanjing, pointed to a red dot on it, and said, "This is the house where Amemura Ryūfū lives, less than 300 meters from here!"

"Alright, let's go scout ahead!"

They arrived at Yucun Liufeng's residence, which was decorated mainly in red with yellow and black accents, making it look magnificent.

This place is completely different from where the daimyo lived. People from other villages would probably think this is where the daimyo lived.

"Tsk tsk, the people around this daimyo are too extravagant!" Kazama Taiga said, looking at the gate of the mansion.

The door is made of very precious wood, and it emits a faint fragrance that is quite pleasant to smell.

"Rosewood?" Hyuga Himine suddenly exclaimed, the surprise in his voice clearly audible to the three. "It's still very new, looks like it was just replaced!"

It should be noted that Hyuga Hyumine is a member of the prestigious Hyuga clan in Konoha, so anything that could surprise him must be something very precious.

Many people probably know what rosewood is, but rosewood is just a general term and it is divided into many kinds. Even the famous sandalwood belongs to the rosewood category.

Asana Cang walked to the vicinity of the gate, closed her eyes, and smelled the fragrance emanating from it. She said, "How did this guy get his hands on this kind of wood? I heard from my elders that all the redwoods in the world went extinct decades ago. Now, redwood is very expensive on the black market, many times more expensive than gold!"

"No! This isn't just redwood; it contains metal and is poisonous!" Kazama Taiga exclaimed in alarm. "Everyone, get out of this door!"

Hearing Kazama Taiga's call, Asana quickly stepped back, looking at Kazama Taiga in surprise. Asana was dealing with drugs every day, yet she hadn't noticed anything amiss with the door. How did Kazama Taiga manage to smell it?

Sensing Asana's questioning gaze, Kazama Taiga explained, "My nose has been very sensitive since I was a child. At first, I was also attracted by the fragrance of the mahogany, but after the fragrance faded, a pungent feeling lingered in my nostrils."

"Ghost Hand, do you know what kind of poison it is?" Zhang Ye asked solemnly.

Asana Cang shook his head. He slowly walked towards the gate, held his breath, took out a kunai, cut off a piece of redwood from the gate, and put it into a sealed bottle.

“I need to investigate this further. After all, the smell is very faint and is masked by the fragrance of redwood. It will probably take me some time to figure out what this toxin is!” Asana Cang said seriously.

"Captain, what do we do next? Assassinate Yumura Ryufu?" Kazama Taiga asked.

Meanwhile, Hyuga Himine added, "I just checked the place. There's only one Chunin and a few Genin inside. With our strength, taking down Amemura Ryūka will be a piece of cake!"

Zhang Ye stared at the quiet house in front of him, remaining silent for a long time.

"withdraw!"

"What!?"

Hyuga and his two companions looked at Zhang Ye in surprise, hoping he could give them a clear answer.

"It's too quiet here, so quiet it's frightening. There are probably more ninjas here than you've sensed. Let's observe it patiently before making a plan. I don't want our team's first mission to end in failure!"

Zhang Ye's tone was solemn, carrying an unquestionable air.

“But…” Asana Cang wanted to say something more, but Zhang Ye interrupted her!

"I am the captain of this squad. Do you intend to disobey my orders?" Zhang Ye shouted.

"No, I dare not!"

Ninjas have a very strict hierarchy, and subordinates are often not allowed to disobey their superiors, except for one later exception, Naruto, who had no concept of hierarchy at all.

Luxury homes always have one drawback: unlike residential houses, they often have their own underground sewer system.

Zhang Ye and his three subordinates hid in the sewers beneath Liu Feng's house in Yucun.

As the sun peeked out a little, the once empty streets slowly began to see a few pedestrians.

Strangely, they were all very quiet, as if they didn't know each other, and simply walked quietly to the shop to buy ingredients.

When Hinata Hiramine revealed this news to Zhang Ye, everyone fell silent.

It was so quiet, so eerily quiet, as if the town were a ghost town, and the people on the streets were all walking corpses.

"What are your thoughts?" Zhang Ye asked the three people in front of him.

Hinata Himine's face showed a heavy expression, and he shook his head. Asana and the others did the same.

"I'm afraid a huge conspiracy is about to unfold here!" Zhang Ye said slowly.

Then he said to Asana Cang, "Come with me for a walk this evening. I want to experience the atmosphere here for myself!"

Actually, Zhang Ye wanted to use his True Sight to observe the state of everyone here, since it was really too strange.

"Understood!"

……

In the evening, Zhang Ye and Qian Naicang changed their clothes and walked out of the sewer. This area belonged to Yucun Liufeng's territory and was rarely visited. Zhang Ye and his companion were not noticed when they came out.

They arrived at the commercial district, where merchants sat expressionless on chairs at their stalls, mechanically answering questions.

After Zhang Ye activated his True Sight, he was completely stunned.

This place is densely packed with people; the weakest among them are elite genin, and the strongest are jonin.

Moreover, the people here are ninjas from different ninja countries, including the Land of Lightning, the Land of Water, and some smaller ninja countries.

Zhang Ye then feigned nonchalance and quickly disappeared down the street.

He returned to the sewers, his face grim.

"How's the situation outside?" Hinata Himine asked, his eyes stinging from using his Byakugan for the past few days.

"Mission abandoned!"

"What!?"

Everyone exclaimed in surprise, even Asana Cang, who had gone out with Zhang Ye, looked at Zhang Ye with a look of astonishment.

"Why?" Asana Cang asked quickly.

“Although I don’t know how those people managed to evade the Byakugan’s reconnaissance, this town is full of ninjas; there isn’t a single ordinary person among them!” Zhang Ye said solemnly.

"And they weren't ninjas from the Land of Rain, but ninjas from the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water!"

Chapter Fifty-Nine: Abandoning the Mission

Sakumo Hatake stared grimly at the intelligence scroll on the table, then set it ablaze, destroying it. He sat down in his chair and fell into deep thought.

Suddenly, Hatake Sakumo opened his eyes, and the sharp glint in them made the Konoha ninja in front of him tremble.

"The Land of Water... the Land of Thunder... truly amazing!"

He finally understood what the previous aerial prisoner deal meant.

It turns out that the so-called deal was for the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning to send ninjas to help Amegakure resist the invasion from the three great ninja nations.

Originally, all that was needed was to defeat the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth, and this strategic military location would fall to the Land of Fire. However, unexpectedly, so many variables were introduced along the way.

The Land of Rain is sandwiched between the three great ninja nations of Fire, Earth, and Wind. If any one of the three nations were to seize this land, invading the other two nations would be as easy as taking candy from a baby.

The Land of Lightning and the Land of Water are 108,000 meters apart, so their struggle for this place is completely unnecessary.

It's unclear what agreement the Land of Rain reached with them that would lead these two countries to assist it.

"White Fang, what do you want from us?"

A loud, boisterous voice came from outside the tent. Pulling back the curtain, one could see a man with white hair, with a man and a woman standing behind him.

"Tsunade, Orochimaru, you two have come at the perfect time. I've just received some very important information!"

Sakumo Hatake relayed the message that Zhang Ye and the others had conveyed to the three of them in detail.

After hearing this, the three of them were stunned. This news was too explosive. A war for control of the Land of Rain had directly involved the five great ninja countries.

This is the prelude to a world war that could break out at any moment!

"White Fang, don't say anything yet, let me sort things out!" Jiraiya plopped down in the chair that had originally belonged to White Fang, picked up the tea and gulped it down.

"Holy crap, is this the start of the Second Shinobi World War?!"

Suddenly, Jiraiya shouted, his face filled with terror.

It should be noted that there had been no major wars for twenty years since the end of the First Shinobi World War; at most, there were only minor skirmishes between the five shinobi nations.

However, judging from all indications, this situation is already enough to set the stage for a second Shinobi World War!

"fool!"

"idiot!"

Tsunade and Orochimaru looked at Jiraiya with disdain, subconsciously moving a few steps away from him to indicate that they did not know this guy.

"I've already informed the village. Now all we can do is wait for reinforcements from the village. How's the battle situation on the front lines?" White Fang asked.