"Master Brother. Master Brother."
Li Chuan, who was about to experiment with a new Ninjutsu, suddenly heard a familiar voice from not far away. He immediately stopped forming hand seals and disappeared from his spot with a few leaps.
"Kong, what's wrong?"
Li Chuan jumped down from a tall tree trunk, landing directly in front of Kong, who had been shouting.
Seeing Li Chuan appear, Kong replied somewhat nervously:
"Master Brother, Sister Kinoe has come to the temple. She said she has something urgent to tell you."
"Alright, I understand. Thank you for making a special trip. Next time, I'll ask Kinoe to bring you some small pastries."
Li Chuan bent down and patted Kong's head, smiling gently. Then, with a few leaps, he ran towards the Fire Temple.
Kong stood rooted to the spot, watching Li Chuan's departing figure, a hint of admiration in his eyes.
Master Brother Chuan was the only person in the entire temple, besides Master Chiriku, who didn't look at him with disgust.
Moreover, his strength was formidable. He had only been learning Ninjutsu for less than a year, yet no Master Brother could defeat Master Brother Chuan in their daily sparring sessions.
"Kinoe, what's so urgent that you're looking for me?"
In the Fire Temple's backyard, Li Chuan, who had rushed back, saw Kinoe waiting there.
Kinoe first bowed respectfully before replying:
"Your Highness, Lady Zhizhi Mei's cat, Xiaohu, is missing. She is now preparing to go to Konoha to issue a mission to find him.
The Exchange Office has also posted a bounty for Tazuna of the Land of Waves, and it has already been accepted."
"Then let's begin the operation as planned!"
Li Chuan's eyes lit up upon hearing this news.
Lady Zhizhi Mei was the wife of the Daimyo, which meant she was his aunt. Her cat, Xiaohu, was missing, and combined with the mission that appeared at the Exchange Office, he could roughly deduce that Team Seven, led by Kakashi, was about to undertake the Land of Waves mission in Konoha.
The Land of Waves was a very small island nation with almost Zero Ninja, a poor economy, and impoverished people. It was currently controlled by the evil shipping merchant Gato.
Li Chuan's substantial family fortune had begun to dwindle due to his heavy spending on acquiring Ninjutsu. Although he had established a merchant team, it still hadn't reached a satisfactory level for him.
Furthermore, in his future plans, money was an indispensable asset.
Although the Land of Waves was a very small country, it was still a country. If handled properly, allowing his merchant team to establish a presence there would undoubtedly yield significant profits.
Controlling a country's economic lifeline was, in essence, not much different from controlling the country itself.
This opportunity could also provide him with valuable experience in fighting against powerful individuals, killing two birds with one stone.
After Kinoe left according to his instructions, Li Chuan also approached Chiriku.
"Master, I would like to go on a journey for a while to gain some experience."
"A journey, hmm, with your strength, you can indeed go on a journey now."
Hearing Li Chuan propose going on a journey, Chiriku was first stunned for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
He knew that to become a truly powerful Ninja, simply staying in the Fire Temple and training diligently was impossible. The Fire Temple didn't have a mission system, so traveling was a good way to gain experience.
In Chiriku's eyes, Li Chuan's Chakra had barely reached the standard of a typical Chunin, but because of his excellent combination of five-element Chakra Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, his strength was definitely top-tier among Chunin.
Therefore, if he went on a journey, as long as he didn't encounter a Jonin-level opponent, his safety was guaranteed.
Crucially, Li Chuan's identity was that of a Prince of the Land of Fire. If there were any major dangers, simply revealing his identity openly would ensure his protection.
It was a time of peace, and Li Chuan's noble status as a Prince of the Land of Fire served as a protective umbrella. Any incident occurring on anyone's territory would be very troublesome.
The Land of Fire was located in the center of the Five Great Nations, in the most fertile hilly region with abundant forests. Due to its geographical advantages, its economy was also the most developed among the Five Great Nations.
Konoha Village was located below the capital of the Land of Fire, not particularly far, so that the Village's Ninja could provide support at any time if the Land of Fire had an issue.
The Land of Waves was located to the east of Hidden Leaf Village.
Li Chuan did not go to Konoha. Instead, after Chiriku approved his journey, he changed into a standard Fire Temple monk's robe, put on a straw hat, and took the Zen staff that he had Kinoe spend a fortune to forge in the capital, heading directly towards the Land of Waves.
At the same time, the merchant team he had assembled also set off.
Knowing that Lady Zhizhi Mei would go to Konoha to issue the mission, and that it would take a few days for Kakashi's team to reach the Land of Waves, Li Chuan was not in a hurry to travel along the way.
He traveled at a leisurely pace, stopping and going, experiencing the scenery of different towns in the Land of Fire.
The Land of Fire had a vast geographical area, and besides the capital and Hidden Leaf Village, there were also many towns and Villages.
"The technological development of this World is truly strange."
On the third day after leaving the capital of the Land of Fire, in a town not far from the border, Li Chuan sat at a roadside stall eating snacks, looking at the neon lights diagonally opposite him and sighing.
You say this is a technologically backward World, yet you can see neon lights of various colors on the street, as well as coin-operated electronic slot machines, and even advanced items similar to computers.
But if you say it's developed, the architecture of the houses and the various aspects of people's lives here seem to be stuck in ancient times.
Anyway, it's quite puzzling.
"Don't run, stop, pay me back!"
Just as he was eating snacks and watching a shadow puppet show of Ninja battles on the street, a commotion at the street corner caught his attention.
He leaped onto a rooftop, took out his binoculars from his mission space, and quickly figured out what was happening.
It turned out that two women owed money and were being chased by a large group of people carrying sticks.
"Owing money and not paying it back, could it be…?"
Li Chuan, who initially didn't intend to pay attention, suddenly thought of something and raised his binoculars again to look.
The two women looked very young. One had long blonde hair, a purple diamond mark on her forehead, and a very exaggerated, good figure.
The other had short black hair and was holding a very cute pink piglet.
"Judging by their facial features, it really is Tsunade!"
Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin, the strongest Medical Ninja, granddaughter of the First Hokage Senju Hashirama, Princess of the Senju clan, and the future Fifth Hokage.
She loved gambling, had terrible luck, and almost always lost, earning her the nickname "Big Fat Sheep" in casinos.
Due to the deaths of her lover and brother in the war, she was severely traumatized, abandoned her Ninja identity, and left Konoha.
Recalling the information about Tsunade in his memory, Li Chuan thought for a moment, then put away his binoculars and jumped to the ground, running towards the source of the commotion.
Since he had encountered the future Fifth Hokage, he definitely had to make contact.
If he could establish a good relationship in advance, perhaps when Tsunade was invited back to be Hokage not long after, he could also gain some benefits from it.
According to Kinoe's eagle message this morning, Lady Zhizhi Mei had only just returned to the capital with her Xiaohu, so Kakashi's team should have just departed from Konoha. There was still time to delay a bit.
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