"I'm sorry. I was just blind."
Heyan was deeply shaken and quickly stood up, respectfully addressing Uzumaki Heiyan and the other companion, "It's truly an honor that you've accepted this mission. We entrust our caravan's safety entirely to you both."
As a senior merchant leader, Heyan naturally possessed extensive experience and knowledge. He immediately recognized that Uzumaki Heiyan's strength surpassed that of ordinary Jonin by far. Plus, his Lightning Release Jutsu would be extremely effective against the enemies they'd encountered.
Additionally, that female Medical Ninja was also formidable—capable of significantly reducing casualties among their merchants.
"That's very kind of you to say so."
Uzumaki Heiyan shook hands with Heyan before accepting his invitation to move upstairs into one of the private booths for detailed discussions about the mission.
"To be honest, I know you're all descendants of an ancient empire. I've also heard quite a few legends about it," Uzumaki Heiyan got straight to the point inside the booth. "Could I ask whether the recent troubles your caravan has faced are related to this?"
Upon hearing this, Heyan paused briefly before bitterly smiling. "Indeed, that's exactly the case."
Apparently, after the ancient empire fell, some of its people crossed the seas to build civilizations on another continent and eventually founded new nations.
Yet these descendants never gave up longing for the Gruel Stone, and the fertile continent of the ninja world, quietly accumulating power while harboring grand ambitions.
When the Great Ninja World War erupted, they finally returned across the seas aboard powerful warships.
Learning from past failures—such as Moryo from the Land of Demons, Qingming from the Land of Crafts, and attacks from the Sky Shinobi Village—they didn't launch open invasions into the world of shinobi.
Instead, they deployed elite forces that secretly landed in southern Land of Wind, tracking down Heyan's caravan to obtain intelligence about the Gruel Stone vein.
After suffering one ambush, Heyan barely managed to escape into Land of Fire with his caravan, heading toward Leaf Village along the way seeking protection.
The mission for Uzumaki Heiyan and Tsunade was to escort the caravan safely to Konoha, offering an impressive reward of one million ryō.
Once arriving at Konoha, the merchants planned to hire even stronger Konoha ninjas for revenge against those aggressors.
"Senior Heyan, not to brag..."
After listening carefully to Heyan's account, Uzumaki Heiyan spoke earnestly, "You guys seeking help from Konoha ninjas is nothing compared to simply relying on my wife and me directly. Truthfully speaking, I've fought many Konoha ninjas before, and none could match my strength. Don't you agree, honey?"
With that, he turned to look at Tsunade.
"You're the strongest, okay?" Tsunade rolled her eyes at him with mock exasperation.
"Hehehe."
Heyan gave a polite smile but clearly didn't buy it.
Not long ago, he'd watched the Hokage inauguration ceremony on TV and saw first-hand that battle between immortals that shook the ground itself.
Uzumaki Heiyan and Tsunade were simply beyond human limits—reaching the level of immortal sages.
In Heyan's view, even if that ancient empire revived itself using Gruel Stone powers once more, it still wouldn't amount to much against immortal sages.
Although the Goddess Tsunade had been captured by Uzumaki Heiyan, Konoha still remained a village brimming with powerful experts. Among them were the legendary warriors known as the Twin Heroes of the Leaf—Fugaku Uchiha and Hiashi Hyuga—both of whom possessed enough might to single-handedly destroy an entire nation.
Heyan's wish was to secure the service of a ninja unit from either the Uchiha or Hyuga clan to help his caravan completely eliminate the enemies from the west once and for all.
Of course, to save face for this couple before him, Heyan didn't make his refusal too obvious. Instead, he politely declined using subtle words.
"What a shame."
Heiyan shook his head with obvious disappointment, then returned to his room with Tsunade and went to sleep.
Nothing eventful happened throughout the night.
Early the next morning, after finishing breakfast, Heiyan and Tsunade officially joined the caravan, riding atop pink giant flamingos as they set off toward Konoha.
"Really going back to Konoha?"
Leaning close on the bird's back, Tsunade softly asked Heiyan in a low voice.
"I have a feeling the enemies will come looking for us soon. Our mission might end up finishing ahead of schedule."
Heiyan speculated.
As it turned out, his guess was correct.
Not long after leaving the town and entering a secluded forest, the caravan suddenly came under attack.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A group of tall enemies emerged from the woods wearing iron armor and wielding massive hammers, launching attacks against the terrified merchants.
These attackers looked very much like medieval knights from Heiyan's previous life, and their battle techniques were entirely different from those of ninjas.
Heiyan and Tsunade exchanged a glance before simultaneously striking at the enemy.
[Roar!]
A vivid lightning dragon soared forth from behind Heiyan. Under his control, it launched a fierce assault upon the knights.
Despite being clad in solid steel armor practically impervious to blades and arrows, these men had a fatal weakness—their metal armor conducted electricity easily, making them vulnerable to Lightning Release techniques.
Therefore, without the slightest doubt, one by one, the enemies fell beneath the dragon's wrath.
With a loud bang, Tsunade casually stepped forward and punched an oncoming knight straight in the chest. The man's armor buckled inward; his entire body collapsed to its knees, unable to rise again.
Before the wide-eyed horror of Heyan and the others, she effortlessly defeated over a dozen enemies with just one hand.
Just then—
"Awooooo!"
The enemy leader threw his head back with a wolf-like howl as his body rapidly swelled and transformed, ultimately becoming a several-meter-tall werewolf.
However, before it could even act, Heiyan descended from the sky and stomped onto the werewolf with one foot, pressing it down so hard that the beast couldn't even twitch its head upward.
"Just who exactly are you two?!"
Heyan stared wide-eyed in shock. Even if he was foolish, he wasn't stupid enough to think this couple were merely jonin from some minor ninja village.
Heiyan signaled Heyan and the others to wait for a moment.
Then, extending one hand, chakra gathered in his palm, quickly forming into a green glowing orb. Heiyan placed this green orb directly into the chest of the captured enemy leader.
Immediately, the enemy commander's gaze became vacant, turning as motionless as a puppet, answering every question Heiyan asked without hesitation.
From the enemy's words, Heiyan learned that these knights had indeed come to seize the Gruel Stones deposit. Their goal was to rebuild the ancient empire and destroy all nations and ninja villages, uniting the entire continent under their rule.
Their main force was hidden inside a steel fortress. This fortress could move across the surface and possessed formidable firepower, somewhat similar to the Wuge Fortress of the Sky Ninja Village.
Hearing this, Heyan was deeply alarmed and quickly spoke to Heiyan and Tsunade:
"Both of you, we must immediately go to Konoha and seek help from the Konoha ninjas—we must stop their conspiracy."
"No use."
The enemy leader interrupted Heyan with a mechanical tone. "We've already made a deal with Danzo of Konoha. He'll set up an ambush there to trap you the moment you arrive. In return, after we succeed, we'll share the Gruel Stones deposit with him."
"What?!"
When they heard the enemy leader's words, Heiyan, Heyan, and the rest of the caravan members stared at each other in horror, as if plunged into icy water.
They naturally knew who Danzo was—he was the advisor to the Hokage and one of the four candidates currently campaigning to become the next Hokage. His power within the Leaf Village was practically uncontested.
To be targeted by someone like him meant certain death—it was utterly despairing.
There was nowhere left for the caravan members to run.
After a long silence, Heyan bowed deeply to Heiyan and Tsunade, expressing heartfelt thanks on behalf of his clan.
If it hadn't been for the two of them, the caravan would have surely been destroyed. Even if any survivors managed to escape to Konoha, they'd be walking straight into Danzo's clutches like lambs into a tiger's den.
"You both now understand our current situation," Heyan continued. "Not only are we being hunted by the enemy's main forces, but we've also drawn Danzo's attention from Konoha. So, let us part ways here—we can't afford to drag you two down with us any longer."
As he finished speaking, one of his clansmen handed a box to Heiyan. Inside were a million cash.
In Heyan's eyes and those of his companions, although this kind-hearted couple was quite powerful—each capable of taking on ten men—their strength paled in comparison to Konoha's Danzo.
It would be like trying to stop a tank with your bare hands.
They couldn't bring themselves to involve them any further. That was Heyan's simple thought.
Hearing Heyan's words, Heiyan and Tsunade exchanged glances and smiled.
"Heyan Elder, I know of a ninja village located somewhere in the southern seas of the Land of Fire. It can not only protect your caravan from enemy pursuit but also serve as your new home. Actually, my wife and I are both villagers from there."
A sudden idea stirred in Heiyan's mind, and thus he spoke, extending an invitation to the people of the caravan.
At the same time, he silently thanked Danzo inwardly: Always involved in every dirty deed. What perfect timing.
"Don't accept! People in that village were all tricked and deceived there by him. I was one of them."
Suddenly, Tsunade interjected, intentionally disrupting Heiyan by pinching his arm hard.
"Uh..."
When he heard her words, Heyan felt his stomach twist—he couldn't begin to guess what scheme this couple was cooking up.
Smack.
Heiyan secretly patted Tsunade's butt, immobilized her, and then turned to Heyan. "Can we talk in private for a moment?"
With that, the three stepped away from the caravan and headed behind a cluster of nearby trees.
"Show your true form."
Heiyan said to Tsunade, then transformed back into his original appearance first. Tsunade shrugged and followed suit.
"What... what are you?"
Heyan's eyes went wide with horror. He dropped to the ground, trembling in fear.
Ten minutes later.
The three emerged from the woods again looking completely normal. But Heyan's legs were visibly shaking as he walked, like they might give out any second.
"Chief, what happened?!"
The caravan members hurried over and supported Heyan.
"Do exactly what Master Heiyan and these two great lords ordered," Heyan warned his clansmen, voice trembling so much his words nearly choked off mid-sentence.
Bang!
Heiyan created a Shadow Clone to remain guarding the caravan. Then he summoned thunderclouds, upon which he, Tsunade, and their guide Heyan rode into the sky.
Based on intel taken from the enemy leader during interrogation, Heiyan piloted the thunderclouds southwestward. About an hour later, they arrived at a remote valley.
Thick trees covered the area with streams trickling everywhere, making it look peaceful and completely normal.
As Heyan wondered what was going on, Heiyan flicked his finger. A chakra-infused glowing sphere descended toward the valley, detonating in a deafening explosion on impact.
Boom!
A massive section blew open from the towering cliffside. Following this deafening explosion, a gigantic steel fortress measuring hundreds of meters high emerged from underground.
"Intruder attack!"
"Who dares challenge us! Who's foolish enough to come seeking death!"
Shouting erupted as over a hundred armored knights charged out from inside the fortress.
But before they could even locate their enemies, an enormous hand made entirely of Chakra came descending from the heavens like divine judgment, smashing violently downward.
These men never had a chance to scream — they were squashed just like flies. Even the steel fortress crumbled to dust under the crushing force of the Chakra hand.
...
Heyan stood frozen in shock, unable to utter a single word.
He had originally assumed Heiyan and his companion would battle their way through the fortress defenses and defeat all the enemies inside. Never did he expect that one casual swipe from Heiyan would reduce the entire fortress and its main enemy forces to mere rubble.
Is this the power of an Immortal Sage?
Indeed, compared to such magnificent power, even the richest Gruel Stone ore veins seemed insignificant.
"Done deal. Let's head back."
After eliminating the enemies, Heiyan prepared to ride the thunderclouds back along their original path.
Just then, Heyan suddenly spoke up:
"Master Heiyan, Lady Tsunade, thank you both for saving our caravan and accepting us — refugees of a fallen kingdom."
"I know where the Gruel Stone vein lies. I wish to offer it as a humble token of gratitude for your honorable kindness, and make a small contribution to Penglai Ninja Village's future."
Tsunade shot Heiyan an ambiguous glance, her smile carrying the unspoken question: Did you plan all of this from the start?
What a sly fox.
She inwardly muttered to herself, berating him.
He could read Tsunade's thoughts clearly. Without hesitation, he reached out again, pinching her butt lightly—immediately making her face redden and glare at him furiously.
He then turned to Elder Heyan and said,
"Elder Heyan, you give me too much credit. In that case, once we arrive at Penglai, I will use [Land Reclamation Jutsu] to construct a new island as your dwelling place. I'll also bury part of the Gruel Stone vein underground, releasing its life energy to enrich the soil and nourish crops, transforming it into a thriving new home."
"Thank you, mighty lord!"
Elder Heyan excitedly knelt on the spot, shedding tears of joy. He knew that someone of Heiyan's caliber would never go back on his word, and only through the divine arts of an Immortal Sage could one truly harness the power of the Gruel Stone vein.
What followed was simple.
One day later, in a canyon located in the southeast of the Land of Wind.
With Heyan leading the way, Heiyan and Tsunade reached the location and quickly found the ancient imperial ruins.
After the three entered the ruins and activated the mechanisms to break the seal, they discovered the massive Gruel Stone vein.
Heiyan activated Kamui, sealing the entire glowing green vein into Kamui's space for storage.
Everything went extremely smoothly.
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