7: Maki: This generation of Genin is something!

The next morning, the sun was just right, and the Hidden Sand Village on the weekend rarely had a relaxed atmosphere.

Tang Yan stretched, feeling comfortable all over.

He had been refining several poisons all night.

Tang Yan's gaze swept over the corner of the laboratory bench in the secret room, where the fruits of his overnight labor were haphazardly placed—glassware of various sizes and shapes.

Some contained clear, transparent liquid, others were viscous, glue-like dark green paste, and a few bottles were bubbling faintly, emitting a subtle, strange odor.

The refinement of venom, using various bottles and jars, was not something an ordinary careless person could do.

Each poison's refinement required precision down to the millimeter in proportion and extreme control over temperature and time.

Not to mention the tedious steps, many of the medicinal materials themselves were highly toxic, requiring even more caution when handling; the medicinal smell permeating the air could make ordinary people dizzy and disoriented if inhaled for too long.

Tang Yan recalled last night, a poison named 'Bone-Erosion Water'; just extracting one of its core materials, 'Scolopendra Scorpion's Tail Gland Fluid,' took him a full three hours.

That stuff was violently toxic; even a tiny bit on the skin could make a person experience pain like bones being gnawed by ants.

Not to mention the subsequent fusion, distillation, and re-purification with seven other auxiliary materials in a specific order at different temperatures.

Throughout the entire process, one's mind had to be highly concentrated; a slight carelessness could result in the medicinal materials being wasted, all efforts ruined, or, worse, experiencing the power of one's own creation on the spot, which would be quite the 'fun.'

He reached out and picked up a narrow-necked bottle containing a light purple liquid, reflecting an enchanting luster in the morning light.

This was 'Three-Day Drunk,' a neurotoxin, light purple and odorless; those poisoned would initially only feel drowsy, and three days later, they would quietly pass away in their sleep, making it an essential medicine for home travel, murder, and silencing.

It was a venom he specifically used to cultivate cacti for Chiyo, to enhance her Genjutsu ability. Tang Yan shook the bottle with satisfaction; the liquid formed an even film on the bottle wall, indicating extremely high purity.

"Tsk," Tang Yan smacked his lips; although he had stayed up all night, his spirits were still good, even a little excited, "If this were some clumsy, naive kid, they'd probably be crying for their parents or just offing themselves during the first step of refining the Scolopendra Scorpion's tail gland fluid."

He carefully put these precious items away one by one, sealing the bottle mouths with special wax and attaching labels.

Looking at the bottles of deadly artworks taking shape, Tang Yan's lips involuntarily curved into a smile.

These things would all be his important trump cards in the future.

However, a new problem arose: these bottles and jars, and even more experimental equipment and medicinal reserves in the future, couldn't just be stuffed into any corner.

It seemed that the expansion of the cultivation base, especially the planning of the laboratory area, had to be put on the agenda as soon as possible.

He didn't want to accidentally knock something over one day and turn his painstakingly built secret room into a poisonous miasma.

He looked at his secret room, raising an eyebrow: "Still a bit small."

With a thought, he found Cang Qi, who was maintaining a kunai behind the counter of the Ninja tool shop.

"Sister, I have an idea," Tang Yan said, getting straight to the point.

Cang Qi didn't even lift an eyelid, continuing to polish the edge of the kunai: "Go on, do you want to demolish the house again or fly to the sky?"

"I want to dig... cough, build two more secret rooms under our house," Tang Yan cleared his throat.

Cang Qi's hand movements paused, and she looked up, scrutinizing him with a look that said, "Are you getting restless again, kid?"

"Oh? Planning to hide a beautiful woman? If Chiyo finds out, she'll probably break your legs, won't she?"

Several black lines appeared on Tang Yan's forehead: "Sister, I'm serious! One is for cultivating my precious poisonous insects, and the other is a greenhouse for cultivating rare medicinal herbs. Refining poisons and making puppets in one place is too inconvenient; these two workshops need to be separated."

Cang Qi heard this, put down the kunai in her hand, and stroked her chin, deep in thought.

"Sounds plausible. But, aren't you going to add a finished product warehouse? Won't your bottles and jars pile up into a mountain later?"

Tang Yan's eyes lit up, and he gave Cang Qi a thumbs-up: "Sister, you're simply my muse of inspiration! It's settled then!"

A warehouse would be great; in the future, his poisons and hidden weapons would have their own exclusive armory.

Cang Qi suddenly lowered her voice, a mischievous smile on her face: "Xiao Yan, how far have you and Chiyo progressed recently? Do you want me to create some opportunities for you? Like, accidentally locking you two in a secret room to cultivate your relationship?"

Tang Yan shuddered, waving his hands repeatedly: "Sister! Stop! We're still too young! Your idea is too dangerous, like a paper bomb!"

Cang Qi pouted and rolled her eyes: "Hmph, what do you know, kid? When your kids are old enough to buy soy sauce, you'll understand my good intentions."

A silence named 'generation gap' permeated the air, as Tang Yan was, after all, dominated by his past life's way of thinking.

After lunch, Tang Yan found Zi Luo, who was sweating profusely at the training ground.

"Zi Luo, how did it feel fighting Sugita last time?" Tang Yan asked.

Zi Luo stopped, wiped his sweat, and said in a muffled voice, "It felt good, but I feel my attacks are a bit too monotonous, though I like this attack method."

Tang Yan looked at Zi Luo's fist, which was as big as a cooking pot, and thought, if your fist gets any harder, you'll probably be arm-wrestling with a Tailed Beast.

"I've designed a new toy for you," Tang Yan pulled out a blueprint from his Pregnant and unfolded it in front of Zi Luo.

On the blueprint was a precisely structured armguard.

"This is a special mechanical armguard, for your left arm. Made of high-strength alloy, with retractable claw blades for both offense and defense," Tang Yan explained, "Do you like it? I'll custom-make one for you later."

Zi Luo's eyes instantly lit up; he snatched the blueprint, almost drooling as he looked at it: "This is great! This is great! What about my right hand? My right hand needs to be arranged too!"

Tang Yan's lips curled slightly: "For your right hand, I've prepared something—an 'Iron Hand.' I guarantee you'll experience what 'Sunagakure Iron Fist' feels like, though it's still in the design phase."

Zi Luo was confused: "Iron Hand? Sounds powerful!"

Tang Yan patted his shoulder: "Don't worry, you'll be satisfied. From now on, you'll be Sunagakure's 'Iron Hand'!"

Having finalized Zi Luo's 'equipment upgrade' plan, Tang Yan returned to his backyard.

He stood in the underground secret room, took a deep breath, and quickly formed hand seals.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Divide!"

As he pressed his hands to the ground, an invisible Chakra wave instantly spread out.

There was no earth-shattering roar, only a dull digging sound.

A moment later, two huge underground spaces appeared beneath Tang Yan's secret room.

He nodded with satisfaction: "Hmm, this construction efficiency is even better than an excavator from my previous life."

One of the spaces, Tang Yan planned to turn into his exclusive poisonous insect breeding ground.

In the future, poisonous insects collected from the Naruto world, as well as some mutated poisonous insects he cultivated himself, would all be placed here. Don't forget that the Tang Clan's Gu cultivation techniques were also very powerful.

"My little ones, this will be your new home from now on. Breed as much as you can for me, and strive to achieve poison freedom as soon as possible!" Tang Yan waved his hand at the empty cave, as if he could already see countless poisonous insects waving back at him.

The other space was planned as a herbaceous plant cultivation greenhouse.

As for woody plants like trees, due to their large size, they were not suitable for greenhouse cultivation.

However, Tang Yan already had a plan for cultivating woody plant poison strains, just waiting for the right time.

"Many herbs were previously collected for use; I must have my own cultivation base. And those rare herbs for detoxification, I need to stock up on more, just in case something goes wrong one day, I'll have some insurance."

After doing all this, Tang Yan was still not satisfied, and next to the main secret room, he used Earth Release to open up a third space.

"This will be my secret weapon arsenal and material warehouse," Tang Yan stroked his chin, revealing a smile.

With the initial expansion of the underground base completed, Tang Yan returned to the main secret room. He needed to assemble a mechanical door to the three spaces. Besides the main secret room workshop that his sister Cang Qi could enter, the other three locations needed to prevent anyone other than Tang Yan from entering.

This was not a lack of trust in Cang Qi, but simply because these three locations involved poisonous insects and dangerous substances, and risks needed to be avoided.

He spread out a fresh, blank blueprint.

In his mind, the outline of a completely new humanoid puppet gradually became clear.

"While 'medicine child' and 'Owl' are useful, their size is ultimately too small. I still lack a big guy, a big guy that can attack, act as a shield, and even serve as a mount! Just like Sasori's Hiruko."

His pen flew across the blueprint, sketching the humanoid torso, flexible limbs, and various weapon attachment points.

"The arms must be designed with replaceable mechanisms; eighteen kinds of weapons, change them whenever you want!"

The more Tang Yan thought about it, the more excited he became, as if he could already see himself controlling this 'Angel of Slaughter,' infused with the essence of the Tang Clan's mechanical arts and this world's puppetry, dominating the battlefield.

"Let's call it... 'Asura'!"

Over the next few days, the Fifth Squad, led by Maki, completed several more missions to clear out rogue bandits and escort duties.

The team's coordination became increasingly seamless. Tang Yan's 'medicine child' and 'Owl' shone in combat, Chiyo's Genjutsu power doubled thanks to Tang Yan's improved cactus seeds, and Zi Luo's combat ability reached a new level with the mechanical armguard Tang Yan had initially modified for him.

The successful completion of the missions also significantly fattened the squad members' wallets.

That evening, after a mission, Maki was uncharacteristically generous. He cleared his throat, his gaze sweeping over his three subordinates, and announced: "Tonight, I'm treating you to barbecue! It's to celebrate your excellent performance recently, and also... to strengthen our camaraderie."

Zi Luo's eyes instantly widened, almost thinking he had misheard: "Maki-sensei? You... you said you're treating? To barbecue?" He even instinctively reached out to feel Maki's forehead, to confirm if his captain was possessed by something.

Maki's face darkened, and he irritably slapped away Zi Luo's outstretched hand: "What, unwilling? Then forget it."

"Willing, willing! Of course willing!" Zi Luo immediately put on a brilliant smile, almost wagging his tail, "Anyone who doesn't want free meat is a fool!"

Chiyo's lips also couldn't help but curve into a faint smile, and she softly said, "Thank you, Maki-sensei."

Tang Yan was also a little surprised, but he always kept his emotions in check, merely looking calmly at Maki, thinking that this stingy guy had truly opened his purse today.

Inside the famous barbecue restaurant in Hidden Sand Village, the sizzling sound of grilling meat, accompanied by an enticing aroma, whetted one's appetite.

Zi Luo rolled up his sleeves, working with both hands, rapidly devouring the meat slices on the grill. His mouth was full, but he still managed to mumble praises: "Mmm... Maki-sensei, you're really too... too generous! This meat is amazing! Next time... can we come again?"

He was a pure taijutsu Ninja, and he naturally needed a lot of energy every day. Such a free meal ticket, of course, he wanted to have more often.

Maki, holding a cup of sake, twitched his lips: "Eat your food, why are you talking so much? This is a special case." Despite his words, seeing the three youngsters eat so heartily, his usually stern face softened slightly.

Chiyo tasted the grilled meat, occasionally glancing at Tang Yan with a hint of gratitude.

If not for the improved cactus seeds Tang Yan gave her, the power of her Genjutsu would not have increased so significantly in such a short time. "Tang Yan, those seeds you gave me... they're very effective. In the recent missions, I feel that the range and intensity of my Genjutsu control have improved quite a bit."

Tang Yan picked up a perfectly grilled slice of beef tongue and nodded at her words: "I'm still cultivating and improving them. Cacti take time to grow, so there should be even better ones next time. Zi Luo, how does your mechanical armguard feel to use? Is there anything that needs adjustment?"

Zi Luo finally swallowed a large mouthful of meat, his eyes shining: "It's great! It's simply too great! Yan, you didn't see it, but last time, when that rogue bandit leader swung his sword, I blocked it with my armguard, and his blade almost shattered! It's just..."

He smacked his lips, "I feel like it could be heavier and harder, then it would be even more perfect! Oh, and my Iron Hand? When will it be ready?" His expectant eyes seemed to already see himself in his magnificent form.

"The design for the Iron Hand is almost complete, and I've entrusted my sister to help collect some key materials. Don't worry, you won't have to wait too long," Tang Yan said unhurriedly, "However, Zi Luo, equipment is auxiliary; your own skill is the foundation."

Maki also spoke at the opportune moment: "Tang Yan is right. Zi Luo, your strength is an advantage, but your combat skills and adaptability also need to improve simultaneously. Observe more, think more, and don't waste the equipment Tang Yan custom-made for you."

Zi Luo scratched the back of his head and chuckled: "Got it, Maki-sensei, Yan, I'll listen to you!"

Tang Yan looked at Zi Luo's simple and honest demeanor, then thought of the 'treasures' growing vigorously in his underground base, and the blueprint for the puppet named 'Asura,' and a faint smile escaped his lips.

The future of Sunagakure, because of their existence, might stir up different waves.

While chewing the meat in her mouth, Chiyo ambiguously asked Tang Yan: "Yan, you've been so mysterious these past few days, rushing home right after missions. What good stuff are you tinkering with now?"

Tang Yan slowly used tongs to flip a sizzling piece of pork belly, and said casually: "Nothing much, just expanded the dorms for my 'little friends' and designed some new toys."

Upon hearing 'little friends' and 'toys,' Zi Luo immediately became excited and leaned over to ask: "What little friends? What toys? Bring them out next time to show us!"

Tang Yan picked up a grilled piece of meat and smiled slightly: "There will be an opportunity. But I'm afraid my 'little friends' are too enthusiastic and might give you an unforgettable 'surprise.'"

Maki silently looked at the three energetic subordinates in front of him, then glanced at the grilled meat in front of himself, suddenly feeling a bit bloated.

Maki, who couldn't eat much more, looked at the three vibrant young people in front of him, and a sense of relief also welled up in his heart.

This squad was growing and gelling at a visible pace.

"The extra reward for this mission will be approved by the Village very soon. Your performance has been noticed by the higher-ups," He put down his sake cup, his tone becoming more serious, "But don't become arrogant because of this. Sunagakure still faces many challenges, and the future will only be more severe."

"Yes!" The three responded in unison, their eyes shining with determination.

The aroma of barbecue intertwined with the youths' enthusiasm, adding warmth and vitality to this night in Sunagakure.