Chapter 198: Bamboo Grove Stone Panda Clan
“I’m back!”
In the late night three days before the New Year, Yoru returned to Tsuruzuki Izakaya.
Qiao Yi was closing the izakaya’s door when she suddenly saw Miqu and happily ran over.
“I heard the final war, the War of the Land of Whirlpools, has ended! Miqu, did you come back from the Land of Whirlpools Battlefield?”
Yoru picked up Qiao Yi, hooked the door shut with his heel, and whispered:
“Qiao Yi, you’re no longer a spy, so why are you still inquiring where I went and what mission I carried out.
The most important thing for you now is to receive my full instruction!”
“Haha.” Qiao Yi’s eyes were full of light. The war had ended, finally ended. She said, “Full instruction? Is your sack a proper sack?”
“For you, I’ve been holding back for several months…”
Yoru thought to himself that if he didn’t count the few times with Koizumi Chisa and with Purple Cat, it had indeed been several months.
After investigating for more than ten minutes, Yoru discovered that Qiao Yi had started training again, and her physical strength had improved quite a bit compared to before.
This was exactly to Yoru’s taste.
Purple Cat was too focused on Yamanaka Clan Secret Jutsu, and was still lacking in physical strength.
The next day, Yoru arrived early at the Anbu Base in Death Forest.
He learned from Kiiroinu that the Anbu’s streamlining would take place after the New Year, and all surviving Anbu Ninja would have a relaxing New Year.
Before the New Year, Anbu would have no actions.
Yoru completely relaxed.
He left Anbu and came to the dense forest behind Hokage Rock.
He used Shadow Clone for reconnaissance of the surroundings, waited for half an hour, and after confirming no one was around, he used Summoning Jutsu.
He summoned one large and one small Stone Panda. Yoru said to Bai Ci:
“Bai Ci, you stay here. Summon me back tonight. Bai You, first return to the Land of Rain and reverse summon me to the Land of Rain.”
Bai Ci said: “Are you going to our Stone Panda Clan’s bamboo forest? Great, I was just wanting to ask you to go to the bamboo forest to see our living conditions. In the future, if our Stone Panda Clan encounters danger, you can help us.”
Yoru actually wanted to go see Yuka, but the words had come to this, so he agreed: “Alright, let’s first go take a look at your bamboo forest.”
Bai Ci said to Bai You beside them: “Bai You, you go reverse summon Lord Fox. Lord Fox is a Konoha Jonin with great strength.”
Bai You nodded and said: “Then I’ll head back first and go reverse summon.”
Not long after, Yoru felt the contract’s throbbing. Somewhere, a summoning beast had used Reverse Summoning Jutsu on him.
Yoru said: “Bai Ci, you must be careful to hide.”
Bai Ci said: “Don’t worry, I can deeply petrify, just like stone, very hard to detect.”
Yoru relaxed his body and responded to the reverse summoning.
After a puff of white smoke, Yoru disappeared deep in the dense forest.
The next instant, Yoru appeared in the southwest of the distant Land of Rain.
Before his eyes was a dense green bamboo forest.
A light drizzle was falling, the bamboo leaves fresh, the bamboo stalks green—this environment was pretty nice.
There were many bamboo houses built on stilts in the bamboo forest.
Upon discovering an outsider had entered, many Stone Pandas came out of the bamboo houses and stood on the platforms curiously looking at Yoru.
Stone Panda, the summoning beast that Nagato’s Animal Path had once contracted in the original story.
In this bamboo forest, the number of this summoning beast group exceeded
Bai You explained beside him: “Lord Fox, Bai Ci is our clan head. Our Stone Panda Clan hid deep in the bamboo forest and originally didn’t want to participate in the wars between ninjas.
More than a month ago, a young woman entered the bamboo forest and signed a contract with us using powerful Sealing Jutsu.
Lord Fox, you have become the second contracted ninja of our Stone Panda Clan.
Clan Head Bai Ci said that the Stone Panda Clan cannot forever hide in this remote bamboo forest; sooner or later, ninjas will find us, so we might as well try to understand ninjas.
Lord Yuka didn’t make us do anything; she just taught us Summoning Jutsu and Reverse Summoning Jutsu.”
Yoru asked: “Bai Ci said that when you encounter danger, you want me to help you. Do you have any natural enemies?”
Bai You didn’t speak, just stared at Yoru.
“Alright, I get it. Your first natural enemy is ninjas, so what’s your second?”
Bai You said: “Yellow-throated Marten, a kind of ninja beast with incredibly fast speed and skilled in Clone Jutsu.
Our Stone Panda Clan has strong defense, but we’re slow. Against Yellow-throated Martens, we can’t catch them and can’t outrun them.
The Yellow-throated Marten’s teeth are extremely sharp, always finding opportunities to bite the insides of our joints, and the insides of the joints cannot be petrified.”
Yoru lifted Bai You’s arm and saw that Bai You’s upper arm and forearm were wrapped in stone as hard as porcelain.
But the elbow, wrist, armpit, and other joints were not covered by the stone porcelain for ease of movement.
Yoru asked: “Bai You, what ninjutsu do you master?”
“We instinctively know Hardening Technique: body hardening, ground hardening, bamboo hardening. Normally we use hardened bamboo as weapons,” Bai You said.
“Clan Head Bai Ci also knows Bamboo Needle Technique, shooting sharp bamboo like flying needles.”
“Sounds like Bai Ci has decent strength. Come on, take me to see the Yellow-throated Marten, and why it concerns Bai Ci so much.”
A look of fear appeared on Bai You’s face, but thinking of the ninja beside them being a Konoha Jonin, they led Yoru to find the Yellow-throated Marten.
Not long after leaving the bamboo forest, Yoru suddenly turned his head and saw a black shadow flash past from the nearby bush.
“The Yellow-throated Marten has spotted us!”
Seeing Bai You a bit scared, Yoru said: “Don’t worry, just one ninja beast.”
Bai You said: “Not one, a group!”
After arriving at a slightly open area, Yoru stopped advancing. He would handle the Yellow-throated Martens here.
At the edge of his vision, a one-meter-long Yellow-throated Marten slowly revealed its slender form.
Yoru thought Bai You was making a fuss; how strong could a ninja beast of this size be?
Until more than twenty Yellow-throated Martens emerged one after another from the bushes.
The numbers were a bit much; this was troublesome.
These Yellow-throated Martens each arched their backs, and surprisingly, every Yellow-throated Marten used Clone Jutsu.
“Be careful! Those clones are also real entities and can easily bite through bone!”
Shadow Clone?
These Yellow-throated Martens had actually mastered Shadow Clone Jutsu; unknown which ninja who contracted with them taught it.
In the Ninja World, besides ninjas, there lived many ninja beasts modified by chakra, and powerful ninja beasts even formed their own unique civilizations.
More than fifty Yellow-throated Martens suddenly charged at Yoru and Bai You.
These Yellow-throated Martens constantly swapped positions on the way, dazzling the eyes, impossible to distinguish real bodies from shadow clones.
Bai You nervously held a bamboo, while hoping the ninja could defeat these Yellow-throated Martens.
“Earth Release: Earth Spear!”
Yoru slammed his hands on the ground, and thorns covered the surrounding ground, with over a hundred Earth Spears thrusting out.
The Yellow-throated Marten’s slender body was unexpectedly agile.
Earth Spears pierced some shadow clones; the Yellow-throated Martens on three or four Earth Spears didn’t burst but bled after being gutted.
With this level of agility, no wonder Bai Ci found it headache-inducing.
The Yellow-throated Marten’s hard front teeth bit through the obstructing Earth Spears along the way and continued rushing toward Yoru.
“You fall back.”
Hearing Yoru’s order, Bai You quickly retreated.
The Yellow-throated Marten rushed close to Yoru and viciously bit Yoru’s ankle.
Bai You watched in terror as the Yellow-throated Marten’s teeth shattered!
That wasn’t a clone; it was a real Yellow-throated Marten body!
Yoru formed a seal, and all the surrounding Yellow-throated Martens were bound by the Karma Seal of Retribution.
The remaining Yellow-throated Martens, seeing this, quickly turned and fled.
Shadow clones burst open, and Yoru captured a total of 11 Yellow-throated Martens.
Seeing this, Bai You came over with the bamboo and smashed a struggling Yellow-throated Marten to death in a few blows.
Bai You felt refreshed: “Little Stone Pandas fear Yellow-throated Martens the most; many of our clan’s little Stone Pandas have died under their sharp teeth!”
Yoru said: “I understand who your enemies are now. Next, I can spend a few months helping you train methods to deal with Yellow-throated Martens.”
Hearing this, brightness shone in Bai You’s small black eyes.
“Today I need to go see Yuka. Bai You, you head back to the bamboo forest first. I’ll find you later about the training.”
