Chapter 387: The End of An Lushan (7k)

To verify his idea, Muzuki used an excuse to change the proportion of investigation and training time.

Starting from the third day, he trained all day during the day and conducted investigations at night.

No one had any objections; both Muzuki’s disciples and Uzumaki Naruto and Yamato followed Muzuki’s arrangements.

The information they currently possessed was already sufficient for them to complete their respective missions; further investigation was only to ensure a more stable completion of the mission and to reduce the impact of the An Lushan incident on Loulan.

Therefore, reducing investigation time was quite reasonable.

“Everyone’s been training for so long, they must be tired. How about we go for a late-night snack?” Muzuki suggested, looking at the weary group.

“Late-night snack? Are we going to eat ramen?” Uzumaki Naruto’s fatigue vanished, replaced by an excited expression as he asked.

If he could have a hot bowl of Ichiraku Ramen after a tiring training session, it would be the happiest thing ever.

Actually, Uzumaki Naruto could also accept instant ramen, but eating instant ramen alone required a boring three-minute wait, while going to eat ramen together, though not served immediately, allowed for chatting during the wait.

Yamato looked up at the sky; it was already late at night, with bright and clear stars twinkling above.

“It’s so late, I feel like only izakayas would still be open,” Yamato said honestly to Naruto, withdrawing his gaze.

Although a bit out of place, it was indeed the truth; how could an ordinary ramen shop still be open past midnight?

Yamato was happy to go to an izakaya with Muzuki, but he thought about it and realized it wasn’t quite appropriate. Even Uzumaki Naruto wasn’t an adult yet, and Kakashi and the others were even further from the age for izakayas.

“Then it seems you, Big Brother Naruto, are in for a treat today,” Obito immediately thought that Muzuki would personally cook the late-night snack.

After all, this was Senpai Muzuki; how could he not have considered something even Yamato had thought of?

“We’re not eating out; I’ll cook for you,” Muzuki explained.

Before starting training, Muzuki had already completed all the preparations.

Obito showed an ‘as expected’ expression, while Kakashi and Rin Nohara began to anticipate tonight’s late-night snack.

Muzuki was their teacher, not their chef, and it had been some time since they had eaten Muzuki’s cooking.

While waiting and seeing how excited Kakashi and the others were, Yamato curiously asked, “Is Senpai Muzuki very good at cooking?”

He had originally wanted to go to the kitchen to help Muzuki, as he was learning Muzuki’s Ninjutsu, so he felt bad about freeloading.

But Muzuki refused him, saying that if he wanted to help, he could clean up the dishes after eating, and he could handle the cooking alone.

“More than just good, Teacher Muzuki’s cooking is like some kind of super high-level Ninjutsu has been applied to it; there’s absolutely no other cooking in the Ninja World that can compare,” Obito replied exaggeratedly.

Although he also loved his grandmother’s cooking, based on facts, the deliciousness of Muzuki’s cooking was indeed unparalleled by any other cuisine.

Yamato’s expression was a bit hesitant. If Obito had just said it was very delicious, Yamato would have believed him directly, but with Obito exaggerating so much, the credibility was much lower.

It wasn’t that he thought Obito was lying, but rather that there might be an idol filter at play, and it had a lot to do with the person doing the cooking.

“Teacher Muzuki’s cooking skill is no less than his Ninja strength,” Kakashi said seriously.

Kakashi even thought that Muzuki might earn money faster and more as a chef than as a Ninja.

After all, Muzuki’s cooking was truly so delicious it could cause hallucinations. Those feudal lords and nobles would surely be willing to spend a lot of money to taste such unique cuisine in the Ninja World.

Yamato’s expression was a bit surprised. If Kakashi said it, the credibility was very high, as Kakashi wasn’t the type to exaggerate too much and was relatively rational.

“I’m really looking forward to it!” Uzumaki Naruto, listening to Kakashi and the others praise Muzuki’s cooking, curiously peered towards the kitchen. He was very much anticipating the upcoming late-night snack time.

“By the way, who was the Fifth Hokage again?” Obito asked curiously.

Obito wanted to become Hokage, but at his age, the Fourth Hokage would be difficult, so Obito directly set his sights on the Fifth Hokage, and the Fifth Hokage in the normal course of history would naturally be his competitor.

“It’s Granny Tsunade,” Uzumaki Naruto replied.

“Ah, Lady Tsunade actually became the Fifth Hokage?” Rin Nohara’s mouth slightly opened, somewhat disbelieving.

Rin Nohara didn’t think Tsunade lacked the ability to become Hokage; in fact, at this time, all three Sannin were popular candidates for the Fourth Hokage, and no Konoha Ninja would find it inappropriate for any of them to become Hokage.

Rin Nohara was now considered half of Tsunade’s disciple, having spent a considerable amount of time with Tsunade at close proximity, and had some understanding of her. She knew very well that Tsunade had no desire to become Hokage.

Tsunade was too lazy to even research Medical Ninjutsu, let alone become Hokage and deal with the various affairs of Konoha.

Rin Nohara couldn’t imagine what Tsunade would be like as Hokage. Would she work on time? Would the Hokage Office before the afternoon even have a Hokage?

A look of worry uncontrollably appeared on Rin Nohara’s face. She hoped that Konoha would be fine in the future and that Tsunade could endure the heavy workload.

“Granny Tsunade? Isn’t that Rin’s Medical Ninjutsu teacher? I didn’t expect the Fifth Hokage to be her,” Obito scratched his head. He remembered Tsunade seemed to be from the same generation as the Toad Sage. Was she a bit too old to be the Fifth Hokage at that age?

“Rin, do you know what Granny Tsunade’s strength is like?” Obito asked Rin Nohara for information.

Because Obito called Uzumaki Naruto “Big Brother,” Obito subconsciously used Uzumaki Naruto’s address for Tsunade, overlooking the issue of Naruto’s time travel.

“She can probably punch you, Obito, so hard you won’t be able to get up. Also, Obito, you’d best not call Lady Tsunade ‘Granny,'” Rin Nohara warned out of concern for Obito’s safety.

Since he had to prepare a late-night snack for six people, and they were all Ninjas who had just finished training, Muzuki spent a lot of time. During this period, Uzumaki Naruto, Yamato, and Kakashi and the others continuously chatted and deepened their understanding.

Obito then learned that Naruto was also a complete dead-last during his Ninja Academy days, both in theory and Ninjutsu.

“I knew you felt familiar! You’re so much like Guy!” Obito felt he had discovered the truth.

Kakashi’s mouth twitched. Someone really had no self-awareness.

Yamato, after hearing about Kakashi and the others’ mission experiences, sighed, thinking how difficult it must have been for Senpai Kakashi to survive. C-Rank Missions, which shouldn’t involve Ninjas, somehow led Kakashi and his team to encounter Ninjas of various ranks, and even the Chunin Exams had unexpected incidents.

“Wow, it’s so lavish! There are so many dishes I’ve never seen before!” Naruto’s eyes widened as he looked at the plates of enticingly fragrant dishes brought from the kitchen. It was much more lavish than he had imagined.

Considering that Uzumaki Naruto and Yamato hadn’t eaten his cooking before, half of the dishes were local cuisine found in the Ninja World, so Uzumaki Naruto and the others wouldn’t see a whole table of unfamiliar dishes.

Many of the ingredients were stored by Muzuki in scrolls, as they might not even be available in Loulan.

Facing such a sumptuous late-night snack, everyone very ceremoniously said, “Itadakimasu” before beginning to eat.

Naruto picked up a piece of Tempura and put it into his mouth. As his teeth bit through the crispy fried outer layer, the soft and incredibly moist shrimp meat inside made Uzumaki Naruto’s eyes widen. Before eating, he truly hadn’t expected a simple piece of Tempura to be so delicious.

What happened next surprised Uzumaki Naruto even more: he suddenly felt a dizzy spell, and when he opened his eyes again, he was in a mysterious and magnificent blue world, with countless fish and shrimp swimming around him.

Uzumaki Naruto wanted to reach out and touch them, but found that what he extended was a claw; he had actually turned into a shrimp. Then, Uzumaki Naruto forgot all his worries and swam freely in the ocean.

When he came to his senses, Uzumaki Naruto found himself sitting at the dining table again, the ocean and the fish and shrimp all gone..

“Big Brother Muzuki, amazing!” Uzumaki Naruto gave Muzuki a thumbs-up. He really couldn’t think of any other adjectives.

Uzumaki Naruto remembered Obito saying before dinner that eating Muzuki’s cooking would make him see forests, oceans, and volcanoes. So, that description was actually realistic.

Yamato took a bite of the dish and also looked at Muzuki with a shocked expression; for that moment, he had thought he was under a Genjutsu.

Obito’s exaggerated descriptions were actually all true, which truly astonished Yamato.

“Hurry up and eat,” Muzuki reminded them.

Yamato and Uzumaki Naruto then realized how exaggerated the eating state of Obito and the other two was; their chopsticks were even blurring.

Noticing the dishes on the plate rapidly decreasing, Uzumaki Naruto and Yamato also quickly got into combat mode and started devouring their food.

“This late-night snack was the best I’ve ever had,” Naruto said, still wanting more after finishing.

He felt he hadn’t performed well; if he had another chance, he could definitely eat more dishes.

“You’ve gone to so much trouble, Senpai Muzuki,” Yamato felt it was truly wonderful to have met Muzuki.

He helped them complete their mission, taught them powerful secret Ninjutsu, and now personally made them such delicious food.

Muzuki smiled and said nothing. For him at the moment, these were all just small favors.

The next day.

Due to Muzuki changing the training time, Uzumaki Naruto and the others began training early in the morning.

And Muzuki officially began his test.

“Today we won’t practice Taijutsu. I’ll teach you Yang Release Breathing,” Muzuki said before starting the lesson.

“This will be very difficult, so Naruto, try to be as serious as possible.”

The teaching reward wasn’t just given for Muzuki teaching; it also depended on whether the students learned.

Since Yang Release Breathing was a secret Ninjutsu under development, Muzuki specifically emphasized its difficulty.

“I will study seriously,” Uzumaki Naruto nodded earnestly.

Whether it was defeating the Akatsuki Organization or bringing Sasuke back, strength was needed, and he was serious about training.

Moreover, Muzuki was so good to him, Uzumaki Naruto wanted to train even harder so as not to disappoint Muzuki.

“Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!”

Naruto quickly formed hand signs, burst with Chakra, and created dozens of Shadow Clones.

He knew he wasn’t a genius when it came to learning, so if one brain wasn’t enough, then dozens of him would think together.

“Before learning Yang Release Breathing, you must first understand two concepts: Yang Release Chakra Nature Transformation and Breathing,” Muzuki began his lecture.

He knew Uzumaki Naruto’s basics were generally weak, so he started explaining from the fundamentals, first introducing Yang Release Chakra.

Dozens of Uzumaki Naruto clones listened intently. He indeed didn’t understand Yang Release; the only time he had heard of it was when Yamato briefly mentioned it while learning Wind Release Chakra Nature Transformation.

After lecturing for about forty minutes, Muzuki paused, giving Uzumaki Naruto some time to digest the information.

Realizing this, Uzumaki Naruto dispelled the Multiple Shadow Clones to organize his memories, and when Muzuki started lecturing again, he created dozens more Shadow Clones.

Over the course of the morning, Muzuki successfully enabled Uzumaki Naruto to understand Yang Release Chakra Nature Transformation and Basic Breathing.

Muzuki had to admit that the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu was really effective; Uzumaki Naruto’s learning speed was very fast.

However, this kind of cheat-like learning method was only possible for Naruto; it demanded too much from both the body and mind.

Ordinary people, let alone dozens of Shadow Clones, might not even be able to handle training with a few Shadow Clones; it could genuinely lead to problems.

In the afternoon, Muzuki officially began teaching him his still-developing Yang Release Breathing.

Since it hadn’t been fully developed, Muzuki spent most of his time explaining the theory.

“When using Yang Release Breathing, physical energy will be enhanced, and techniques related to Yang Release Chakra Nature Transformation will become stronger. To maximize the power of techniques, the final training must be to integrate Yang Release Breathing into other techniques.”

Although he had not obtained the localized Sun Breathing, this did not prevent Muzuki from speculating on the effects of the system’s localized Sun Breathing based on existing Breathing Techniques.

Both Sun Breathing and Flame Breathing are fire-based, and in the original Demon Slayer, Sun Breathing was much stronger than Flame Breathing. Based on the principle of localizing skills in this system, the flames of Sun Breathing must be much stronger than those of Flame Breathing.

To achieve this effect in the Ninja World, it is highly probable that Yang Release Chakra Nature Transformation or natural energy has been introduced, turning the flames of Sun Breathing into Yang Release plus fire, or natural energy fire, or possibly both, as these two are not mutually exclusive.

Muzuki has not yet come into contact with senjutsu knowledge related to natural energy, so he started by experimenting with Yang Release.

For Muzuki’s development purposes, the biggest difference between Yang Release Breathing and other Breathing Techniques is its great potential.

Currently, Yang Release Breathing is very weak. In terms of early-stage effectiveness, it is only slightly stronger than Basic Breathing, but the difficulty compared to Basic Breathing is like heaven and earth.

However, Yang Release Breathing has many paths it can take. By continuously progressing, when Yang Release Breathing is cultivated to a profound level, it can make the body’s energy incredibly powerful, making healing without hand signs not just a dream.

At the same time, Yang Release Breathing can also be fused with suitable Breathing Techniques as Muzuki envisioned, for example, helping Yang Release Breathing evolve into Sun Breathing.

Besides teaching Uzumaki Naruto, Muzuki also taught Yamato a bit of Water Release.

He felt that with Yamato’s Chakra, learning some powerful Water Release Ninjutsu might not be much worse than Wood Release in actual combat.

Of course, Wood Release has its unique functions, such as suppressing Tailed Beast Chakra; no matter how much one trains Water Release, it cannot achieve such an effect.

Lecture Completed

Rating: S

Reward: Yang Release Chakra Nature Transformation +9, Basic Breathing +12, Yang Release Breathing +2, Water Release Chakra Nature Transformation +1

As the rewards were settled, some related cultivation memories appeared in Muzuki’s mind.

A slight smile appeared on Muzuki’s face. This was indeed a very pleasant surprise. If he continued like this, he should be able to complete the preliminary development of Yang Release Breathing within a month.

After cultivation, Muzuki, in a good mood, prepared another sumptuous dinner to reward his students.

Before the dishes were served, everyone was laughing and talking, but once all the dishes were on the table, no one spoke.

After learning their lesson from the first time, Yamato and Uzumaki Naruto knew that they could chat freely before and after meals, but during the meal, they had to give it their all.

After finishing dinner and resting for a while, it was time for the investigation mission. Muzuki sent out a Shadow Clone to follow Kakashi and the others, while his main body continued to research the Ryūmyaku.

After a week of this routine, Obito and the others, who had gathered enough evidence, suggested to Muzuki that they capture An Lushan that night.

“This Guy not only imprisons innocent civilians in an underground factory to make puppets for him day and night, but he also conducts human experiments. Does he not feel disgusted with himself when he smiles at the civilians?” Obito said indignantly.

During their investigation, they discovered that An Lushan was involved in multiple disappearances of civilians in Loulan. With the help of Muzuki’s Byakugan, they quickly found An Lushan’s underground factory and uncovered his wicked deeds.

“This time, we absolutely won’t let this despicable Guy escape,” Uzumaki Naruto said, clenching his fists.

He was already eager to treat An Lushan to some Rasengan.

“Release this evidence. Forget about protecting An Lushan, those civilians would probably want to execute him immediately,” Kakashi felt that the preparation stage was already perfectly complete.

“Then let’s make our move tomorrow. I’ll contact the Queen later and have her arrange a meeting with An Lushan tomorrow,” Muzuki said after thinking for a moment.

An Lushan is a puppeteer, and his combat power relies entirely on his puppets. If they fought him in An Lushan’s stronghold, he would definitely have many backup puppets.

Having the Queen of Loulan arrange a meeting with An Lushan outside for the battle would mean An Lushan could only use the puppets he carried in his scrolls, which would weaken him to a certain extent.

Although the enemy’s strength was not particularly high, Muzuki adhered to the principle of a lion using its full strength to catch a rabbit, striving to avoid any accidents.

“Keep these Kunai safe. If there’s danger, I can instantly appear by your side,” Muzuki took out two Flying Thunder God Kunai from his Ninja tool pouch and gave them to Uzumaki Naruto and Yamato.

This was not only to protect Uzumaki Naruto and Yamato but also to protect An Lushan.

If An Lushan died, Uzumaki Naruto and Yamato would directly travel back, so Muzuki would not let An Lushan die. He would seal An Lushan first.

Uzumaki Naruto hasn’t learned Yang Release Breathing yet, and Jiraiya hasn’t been met, so it’s not time to go back.

Muzuki’s plan seemed very reliable and reasonable, and everyone had no objections. As it was getting close to bedtime, they disbanded and returned to their respective rooms.

…

“Did she finally come to her senses and decide to continue cooperating with me?”

This was An Lushan’s first thought when he heard that the Queen of Loulan had invited him to discuss development issues in western Loulan.

After all, this impoverished land of Loulan had nothing to develop besides the Ryūmyaku.

An Lushan was in a very good mood about this. He had even planned to assassinate the Queen of Loulan and support Princess Sara to take the throne.

According to the information he received, Sara also possessed the same abilities as the Queen of Loulan.

Compared to the cunning Queen of Loulan, the naive Sara was undoubtedly easier to control; she might even help him count the money if he sold her.

However, An Lushan’s goal was ultimately only to absorb the power of the Ryūmyaku, not to control Loulan, so for him, as long as this goal was achieved, everything else was irrelevant.

The western part of Loulan was the least developed area, with large open spaces and abandoned houses.

An Lushan, led by Loulan soldiers, found the Queen who was conducting an inspection.

An Lushan forced a smile and said, “Your Majesty, I have a good development idea here. I believe someone as intelligent as you should be able to guess it.”

Because of the intended cooperation, An Lushan did not directly mention the Ryūmyaku but hinted at it to the Queen.

“Even though it’s all Loulan, the environment in the west is so much worse than other places. We should develop this area, even if it requires a small price,” An Lushan continued, seeing no reaction from the Queen.

Just then, the handkerchief on the Queen’s body suddenly fell.

Whoosh!

The four Loulan soldiers standing next to An Lushan immediately drew their swords and attacked An Lushan.

But something surprising happened to them; it was as if they were not cutting a person, but rather striking steel with their swords. The blades cut through An Lushan’s clothes but could not penetrate an inch further.

An Lushan’s expression quickly darkened. A few ordinary people dared to attack him.

To withstand the power of the Ryūmyaku, he had long since transformed himself into a puppet. Ordinary swords were at most a tickle to him.

“It seems I’ll have to arrange an unfortunate assassination for the Queen of Loulan, and then Princess Sara will succeed to the throne in this time of crisis,” An Lushan prepared to kill everyone here and then support Sara’s ascension.

But before he could act, several wooden bars suddenly grew out from the ground beneath him, quickly binding him.

The four Loulan soldiers used this opportunity to retreat quickly, while Uzumaki Naruto and the others, who had been hidden nearby, rushed out.

Uzumaki Naruto condensed a large amount of Chakra in his hand, constantly compressing and rotating it, finally forming a high-speed rotating Chakra Ball.

Uzumaki Naruto, without hesitation, raised his Rasengan and smashed it towards An Lushan’s chest.

“Flash!”

Kakashi also seized the opportunity to highly concentrate his Thunder Breathing, enhancing his explosive power, then rapidly swung his lightning blade towards An Lushan’s legs.

An Lushan frowned slightly, trying to break free from the wooden restraints, but found that the wooden bars were much harder than he had imagined.

Whoosh!

Kakashi’s White Fang Short Blade directly severed An Lushan’s legs.

Boom!!

Naruto’s Rasengan tore through parts of An Lushan’s clothing and body, revealing the puppet components within.

“This enemy seems surprisingly easy to deal with,” Obito thought, seeing An Lushan suffer such heavy damage, believing the battle was already over.

“Don’t be careless until the enemy is completely dealt with,” Muzuki said, shaking his head as he walked over to the Queen of Loulan.

Although the Queen of Loulan chose to terminate her cooperation with An Lushan, An Lushan had still absorbed quite a bit of Ryūmyaku power, so he wouldn’t be defeated so easily.

Naruto’s Rasengan, while heavily damaging An Lushan, also shattered the wooden bars binding him. An Lushan rolled over, quickly pulled out a scroll, and activated the Ryūmyaku Chakra power within his body.

Inside An Lushan’s scroll was a puppet, which, under An Lushan’s control, quickly transformed into components to repair An Lushan’s body, making him appear even stronger than before.

“You’re like a persistent ghost, I didn’t expect you to follow me here,” An Lushan cursed while dodging.

Initially, An Lushan thought Uzumaki Naruto and the others had also followed him, so he acted very cautiously in Loulan, using aliases and Transformation Technique. It was only after a long time without Uzumaki Naruto appearing that An Lushan was sure he was the only one who had traveled through time.

He truly hadn’t expected Naruto to appear at this critical moment, and bringing along several unfamiliar helpers.

An Lushan quickly took out two more scrolls and released six tall puppets.

“Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!”

Obito, with his Flame Breathing highly concentrated, immediately spat out a large amount of flames forming a giant fireball.

Rumble!

A massive explosion sounded, and one of An Lushan’s puppets was instantly destroyed.

“Rasengan!”

Uzumaki Naruto used Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu to create many Shadow Clones. The Shadow Clones and his main body attacked together with Rasengan, quickly destroying two puppets.

“Wood Release: Impaling Wood!”

Yamato calmly manipulated the wooden bars extending from his body, piercing and destroying one puppet.

“Lightning Release: False Darkness!”

Kakashi finally condensed a large amount of Lightning Release Chakra and then spat out a large lightning spear. The lightning spear was very fast and had extremely strong penetration, destroying another puppet.

Rin Nohara swung the Chakra short blade given by Naruto, severing the Chakra threads on one of the puppets, causing An Lushan to lose control of that puppet.

At the beginning of the battle, all six puppets An Lushan had just released were defeated.

An Lushan’s face became incredibly grim. Those were most of the puppet reserves he carried on him. He only had ten puppets in total, and now only three remained.

An Lushan didn’t hesitate, immediately released his remaining three puppets, and then frantically ran towards the location of his underground base.

Although the puppets he carried were of higher quality, there were enough puppets in the base to wear down and kill those Ninja.

“As long as I can reach that place, there will be no problem!” An Lushan seemed to see hope for a counterattack.

But the battleground was chosen by Muzuki and his team. If they didn’t set some traps, it wouldn’t be worthy of their Ninja status.

Just as An Lushan rushed out, Kakashi silently detonated dozens of pre-buried explosive tags.

Boom! Boom! Boom!!!

A thunderous explosion suddenly erupted, and a blinding Flash of light appeared, engulfing An Lushan and the three puppets covering his retreat in the massive explosion.

Seeing An Lushan swallowed by such a powerful explosion, the Queen of Loulan completely relaxed.

Originally, she had planned to bring Sara to gain experience, to let her understand the wickedness of human hearts, but for safety reasons, the Queen of Loulan ultimately abandoned this decision.

Thick explosive smoke obscured An Lushan’s figure. Uzumaki Naruto and the others stared intently at the smoke, unsure of An Lushan’s condition inside.