I am the most popular character in Naruto!

Tsunade, also covered in wounds, gritted her teeth and healed Jiraiya's injuries.

Just then, a pink light suddenly shone in the space inside the Needle Temple. There, Qianqiu clasped her hands together, her fingers tightly clenched in prayer, and said softly, "Sharing of life."

Hula

A burst of pink light erupted, and more than a dozen pink chakra lines emerged, each connecting to a different person. No one was left out, whether it was Jiraiya, Tsunade, Minato, or the craftsmen of the Land of Iron.

"Uh……"

"It...it doesn't hurt anymore?"

"I feel great...?"

The artisans from the Land of Iron who had been lying on the ground slowly awoke, staring in astonishment at the pink chakra threads on their bodies.

Their wounds healed quickly, as if they had never been injured at all.

Jiraiya and Tsunade were equally surprised to find that their wounds were healing rapidly. Strangely, they could feel that their own life force and the other's life force were at the same level.

The horizon is rising, though not very fast, but the feeling is... quite peculiar.

It was as if the two people were tightly connected together.

"This...is this?"

Minato looked at Chiaki in surprise, only to see that Chiaki's previously intact body had suddenly developed wounds, her face turned pale, and she even coughed up a mouthful of blood.

However, she soon began to recover slowly under the influence of the pink life force, and as she recovered, Minato also felt his condition improving.

"No!"

Jiraiya's expression changed as he shouted, "The second tear of Needle Jizo is coming!"

The explosion was indeed instantaneous, but that instant was also continuous.

Unable to withstand the impact of the explosion, the Needle Jizo tore apart again, and the force of the explosion surged into the Needle Jizo.

"Humph……"

Jiraiya was the first to be hit, but to his surprise, the impact of the tear was far less than he had imagined.

He was about to say something when he heard everyone behind him groan in unison. At the same time, through the pink chakra lines, he felt his own life force and Tsunade's life force both drop.

"This is... life force sharing?"

Tsunade, realizing what was happening, turned back to Chiaki in shock, "Is this even possible?"

Within the area connected by chakra threads, everyone shares life force, shares the damage they suffer, and shares the life force they recover simultaneously.

However, while the injuries are shared, the recovery relies solely on Qianqiu. No matter how much vitality she has, she cannot withstand such a large amount of output.

"puff……"

Qianqiu coughed up blood and collapsed to her knees, her beautiful eyes wide open as if she had lost all life.

"Chiaki!"

Minato rushed over and helped Chiaki, who had suddenly knelt down. Her face was extremely pale, and her body began to shrink.

"...Hold on...The explosion should be over soon..."

hiss……

Qianqiu regained her senses, her eyes regained their light, and she breathed heavily, her pink life force constantly fluctuating, healing everyone's life state.

"you……"

Minato didn't know what to say. At this moment, Chiaki, who was protecting everyone almost single-handedly, didn't seem like a mere genin who had only studied for a month and a half. Instead, he seemed like a kage capable of protecting everyone.

She was risking her life, fighting at all costs!

And what about myself...?

"Lady Tsunade is right...you might be the savior of medical ninjas..."

Minato silently supported Chiaki, trying to give her strength and support, even if all he could offer was a tiny bit of insignificant strength.

……

As the heat of the explosion gradually dissipated and the mushroom cloud disappeared, the world fell silent.

The blasted-through clouds in the sky reappeared, and as the heatwave rose, the clouds deepened, and the rain poured down as if it were free.

That could no longer be called rain; it was a waterfall.

"Quick! Over here!"

swish swish

Dozens of figures quickly surrounded the open space created by the explosion, staring in shock at the huge crater and countless shattered fragments.

"Master Orochimaru!"

A group of ninjas escorted Orochimaru as he quickly arrived. The reconnaissance ninjas who had been in position earlier immediately came forward to await further instructions.

Orochimaru looked grim. Beside him was Mifune, who hadn't gone far. Mifune was also completely bewildered; he had only been gone a short while, and now this place was in an uproar.

"Send three squads from the reconnaissance team. Don't let Yu Ren get close to this place. It means that something is wrong on our side."

"The remaining three squads will search the site to see if anything else is left behind."

"action!"

"Yes!"

The ninjas scattered, and Orochimaru was accompanied by Mifune. The two looked at the center of the pit with complicated expressions.

It was a white wall, dilapidated and broken, with large areas of darkness and damage visible.

In the dim light, one could make out the shape of the white fortress with hair, which was awe-inspiring.

"To survive an explosion of this magnitude..."

"Just who is this person?"

Mifune muttered to himself, "I am also a leader of a country, and my strength has reached the Kage level."

But if he were to face an explosion of that magnitude, there would be absolutely no chance of survival, no other possibility.

Who is he?

Orochimaru sighed and strolled toward the white fortress, with Mifune following closely behind, seemingly realizing something.

"He's just a bottom-of-the-class student..."

Orochimaru reached out and pushed aside the white barrier, revealing a face that he could not describe in words.

Jiraiya.

"Oh...you're so slow..."

Jiraiya forced himself to lift his head and gave Orochimaru a smile.

"……Ah."

Orochimaru twitched his lips, dismantled the white barrier, and supported Jiraiya's exhausted body as he collapsed. He asked in confusion, "You don't seem to be seriously injured?"

Mifune stared at Jiraiya in shock; he had clearly recognized Jiraiya's identity.

"There's a whole bunch of people behind them... You handle it..."

Jiraiya trembled, answering irrelevantly, "Especially that pink-haired child... Without her... we would all be dead..."

bang

The white barrier collapsed completely, revealing everyone who had been protected by Jiraiya.

The unconscious Tsunade, Minato, a dozen or so craftsmen from the Land of Iron, and...

A pink-haired girl kneels on the ground, praying with a look of pity on her face.

To Orochimaru's shock, apart from the pink-haired girl, none of the others had any obvious wounds...

Chapter Thirty-Seven: A Casual Introduction

It was probably around the 30th year of the Konoha calendar.

Anyway, no one bothers to check the exact year if I carefully label it, so let's just be casual about it.

In that year, the Land of Rain, under the leadership of Hanzo the Salamander, a leader known to the world as a demigod, launched a predatory attack on the Land of Iron.

However, the predatory attack ultimately failed under the attack of Jiraiya's team.

The Land of Iron successfully recovered its looted military equipment and artisans, and began a deep arms trade cooperation with the Land of Fire.

Aside from the deaths and injuries in the battle, the only loss was probably Jiraiya.

They gained nothing, lost 10,000 explosive tags, and had to rest for a few days due to depletion of their health.

From then on, the Land of Iron changed from absolute neutrality to relative neutrality, leaning towards the Land of Fire, just like a certain country called Rui on Earth.

Meanwhile, the Land of Rain, unable to swallow this insult, officially declared war on the Land of Iron. Other countries in the ninja world were completely baffled: why are you two countries fighting when you are thousands of miles apart?

The Land of Iron immediately sought assistance from the Land of Fire, which happened to be stationed on the border of the Land of Rain. Upholding humanitarian principles, the Land of Fire provided some assistance to the Land of Iron.

For example, they blocked the ninjas from the Land of Rain from setting out and passing through. Even more outrageous, relying on their superior numbers and their seemingly secure position as the number one ninja in the world, the Land of Fire directly sent troops to surround the border of the Land of Grass.

If the Land of Rain wants to attack the Land of Iron, it can only pass through the Land of Grass or the Land of Fire, but both of these routes are blocked by the Land of Fire. The only option is to go north through the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning before reaching the Land of Iron.

Isn't that just courting death?

The Land of Fire is alright; it's mostly forested terrain with lots of moisture in the air, making it a semi-home ground for the ninjas of the Land of Rain, so they have nothing to fear.

The Land of Earth, haha, it's all mountains, all rocks and yellow earth, and the chakra natures are even incompatible, so it's doomed.

Although the Land of Lightning is rich in water resources, the Cloud Ninja are all hot-tempered guys who will explode at the slightest provocation and will not listen to reason.

Moreover, the current Third Raikage is incredibly ferocious. He can withstand tailed beasts with his bare body and his speed is comparable to lightning. The strongest artillery tactics of the Land of Rain simply cannot penetrate his lightning armor, let alone Rain Body Flicker Technique!

If the Rain Ninja passes by the Cloud Ninja and their own people are killed, they'll have nowhere to complain.

In short, coward!

Hanzo, a demigod, is still a demigod. He is not the god of the ninja world who dominated the world. He can bully the rich Land of Fire, and stealing some resources and land is already a win. But if you send him to attack the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning, not only will he not have many resources, but he will also get beaten. Isn't that just sending him to his death?

In conclusion, Hanzo touched his respirator, slapped his forehead, and made a decision.