Slayer: Look directly at the Seraph, standing on the sun

Chapter 773 Rasengan

Zhang Hai looked at the Rasengan in Minato's hand and pointed out, "The war has never stopped, and you haven't had a moment's rest for many years. I roughly estimate that you have completed at least five hundred missions in the past few years, which means that you have worked almost all year round, and therefore enjoy extremely high prestige in the village."

Minato sighed and said with a smile, "After this war ends, Jiraiya-sensei will take me to Mount Myōboku to learn Sage Mode. At that time, I will be able to find the time to complete the development of the Rasengan."

Zhang Hai was not optimistic. He shook his head and said, "I'm afraid it won't be that easy. After the war, you will likely become Hokage. At that time, you will have even less time and will be as busy as the Third Hokage."

Upon hearing this, Minato simply smiled and remained silent. He took out a document from his pocket, handed it to Zhang Hai, and said, "This is what the Hokage asked me to deliver."

Zhang Hai opened the file with a puzzled look, but when he saw its contents, he was pleasantly surprised. It was a transfer order! He thought to himself, "This is just the right time!"

The document shows that the Third Hokage believed that with Minato joining the Cloud Village battlefield, it would be a waste to keep Zhang Hai there, so he transferred him to the Sand Village to gather intelligence.

It turned out that when Minato was carrying out the mission at the Loulan ruins, he discovered that Sunagakure, which had suffered the pain of war, had recovered considerably. They were preparing for war every day, and seemed ready to launch another attack.

The current actions of Sunagakure are very strange. Because Sunagakure once again repelled Kumogakure's second wave of attacks, they should logically use this opportunity to recuperate and recover. However, they are now showing signs of wanting to start another war, which greatly puzzles the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage sent Zhang Hai to gather intelligence in order to determine who Sunagakure's target was. Although the Konoha leadership unanimously agreed that Sunagakure was seeking revenge against Kumogakure, they couldn't be completely certain until the very last moment.

Zhang Hai felt this was perfect; it was exactly the opportunity he had been waiting for! Without hesitation, he accepted the order and said to Minato, "Minato, I'm leaving this to you."

Minato looked at Zhang Hai and asked, "Do you need to bring the team members with you?"

Zhang Hai hesitated for a moment, knowing the special nature of this mission. He finally said, "Respect their decision, but they can only bring two people at most. After all, it's an intelligence mission; the fewer people, the better." Shui Men nodded in agreement.

Zhang Hai turned around and explained the mission to the team members, emphasizing that no more than two people should accompany him.

Bai stepped forward without hesitation. Her eyes were firm, indicating that she would follow Zhang Hai. However, Zhishui, Xiyan, and Haiyi seemed somewhat hesitant, believing that their strength was more needed on the battlefield.

Zhang Hai didn't take it seriously. Just as he was about to leave with only Bai, Xi Yan suddenly stood up and said firmly that she wanted to go too.

Zhang Hai glanced at Xi Yan with some surprise. He thought to himself that the battlefield would be more effective for Xi Yan in honing her swordsmanship, and he actually preferred the composed Yamanaka Inoichi.

Since Xiyan had taken the initiative, Zhang Hai said no more. He nodded and agreed, "Then let's set off together. Shishui, Haiyi, anything can happen on the battlefield. Remember, survival is the priority, don't be reckless."

Zhi Shui and Hai Yi replied simultaneously, "Yes!"

Zhang Hai then summoned a puppet eagle, which carried Bai and Xiyan, and flew towards Sunagakure.

……

“This is a mark left by the undercover agent codenamed ‘Gardenia’,” Zhang Hai explained, handing the small mark to Bai. “Through this, you can contact Gardenia. She’s located in Amegakure and should know a lot about Sunagakure. This mission is entrusted to you.”

Bai took the mission token, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes. She asked, "Captain, what about you? Where are you going?"

Zhang Hai gazed into the distance with a distant look in his eyes and said calmly, "I'm going to Sunagakure." He paused, then added, "No matter how detailed the information, it's not as accurate as seeing it with your own eyes."

Bai seemed to want to say something more, but Zhang Hai shook his head and ordered, "Alright, carry out the order. No matter how well the intelligence work goes, we'll meet here in five days."

The three split up. Zhang Hai rode the eagle puppet straight towards the Loulan ruins.

Zhang Hai never intended to actually gather intelligence on Sunagakure, which is why he assigned the team to do so. He also had a personal motive: he believed that intelligence gathering was far less dangerous than the battle in Kumogakure.

Following the directions in the scorpion's letter, Zhang Hai arrived at the ruins within half a day. The area was covered by a transparent barrier, indicating that the scorpion was still inside absorbing the dragon vein's power.

After breaking through the barrier, Zhang Hai quickly went inside.

"Who?!" a wary voice called out, and at the same time, several kunai flew out from the darkness.

Zhang Hai easily blocked the kunai, removed his mask, and said in a deep voice, "It's me." The person who came was Mabuyi. When she saw Zhang Hai, she still harbored resentment and glared at him irritably, saying, "It's you, Baiyun."

Seeing Mabuyi's angry expression, Zhang Hai found it somewhat amusing and couldn't help but tease her, "Since we've already joined the organization, let's address each other by our code names, Secretary."

Mabui put on a look of utter despair and replied, "Yes, yes, Lord Megatron, is that enough?"

Zhang Hai stopped there, his smile fading, and asked, "Where's Red Spider?"

Mabuyi replied, "The scorpion is still sitting on the dragon vein seal and hasn't moved at all these days."

Zhang Hai leaped to the very center of the ruins. The area was filled with dilapidated buildings, some half-buried in the sand, as if they had been completely destroyed by a massive sandstorm.

Scorpion was sitting in the center of a massive sealing array, his face contorted in pain and grimace, clearly enduring immense power. Sensing someone's arrival, Scorpion opened his eyes, which gleamed with divine light, and smiled happily, saying, "Brother Black Earth, you've come."

Zhang Hai observed through his Sharingan that a massive chakra aggregate had accumulated within Sasori's body. This power surpassed that of any tailed beast he had ever seen before, and it was extremely chaotic. As the chakra increased, Sasori's internal chakra was gradually becoming uncontrollable.

Fortunately, Scorpion had enough puppets, so the overflowing energy could be distributed among them, preventing him from exploding and dying.

Seeing this, Zhang Hai couldn't help but sigh, "Hey, I'm not trying to be mean, but you're too greedy."

Scorpion chuckled but did not refute.

Scorpion chuckled, but a glint of shrewdness flashed in his eyes. He said, "Since Zhang Hai is here, let him have the rest of the dragon vein power. I'm nearing my limit; if I absorb any more, I'll probably explode and die."