84: The Eight Gates of Dunjia became the fuse, and Tang Yan's layout detonated the storm in the ninja world

“A living material that can give birth to a ‘god.’”

“A god? Living?” Zi Luo stopped picking his ear, scrutinizing Might Guy with a look of utter disbelief. “This bushy-browed kid? Which part of him can create a god? His eyebrows? Or this green jumpsuit?”

Beside him, Qian silently retreated half a step. His gaze, behind his glasses, swept back and forth between Tang Yan and Might Guy, finally settling on his leader’s almost fanatical profile. He wisely remained silent. He knew that when Tang Yan showed such an expression, any persuasion was futile.

Might Guy didn’t understand the “god” and “material” they spoke of, but he could read their eyes.

It was a gaze that stripped him of all identity, emotion, and will, seeing him only as a pile of rare ore. It chilled him to the bone more than the killing intent of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had before.

They weren't trying to kill him; they were trying to shatter and grind him down, from his flesh to his bones, and even his soul, for research.

“What… what do you take people for?!”

The anger of trampled dignity completely ignited his last shred of reason. Might Guy let out a roar like a trapped beast, his leg muscles bulging. He shot out again like a cannonball, aiming directly for Tang Yan’s head.

This time, Tang Yan didn't even lift an eyelid.

A small figure, dressed in plain cloth, glided like a ghost in front of him.

It was [Apothecary - Diligence].

Facing Might Guy’s desperate, all-or-nothing charge, the six-year-old puppet calmly raised its right hand, joining its index and middle fingers, and lightly met the attack.

There was no sound of bones shattering as expected.

Might Guy’s fist seemed to plunge into a bottomless vortex. The full force of his body, upon contact with those two porcelain-cold and hard fingers, felt as if his punch had sunk into the sea. It was layers of dense, tricky, ubiquitous rotational force that disintegrated, flowing along the puppet’s arm, shoulder, and torso, finally dissipating into the earth.

Zhuge Mu Niu Liu Ma’s exquisite force-dissipation technique had reached perfection in this mechanical creation.

Might Guy’s mind went blank. His attack was spent, his old strength gone, and new strength yet to emerge.

[Apothecary - Diligence]’s two fingers, however, clung like a persistent disease, moving upward with a speed beyond the limits of visual capture, precisely touching several acupoints on his arm, such as Quchi and Shousanli.

A sharp, tingling sensation exploded like an electric current, instantly spreading throughout his body.

Might Guy felt as if all his bones had been instantly removed. Control of his body was completely stripped away, and he couldn’t muster an ounce of strength, collapsing limply to the ground like a puddle of mud.

“You…” He looked at the expressionless young puppet in horror, unable to utter a complete sentence.

“Don’t be nervous.” Tang Yan stood up and walked to him, looking down at him with a tone so gentle it was almost kind. “The Eight Gates Released Formation, which your father activated at the cost of his life, has caused quite a shock to your bloodline. I’m just helping you check it to prevent you from losing control of your power and following the same path later.”

This excuse was grand and impeccable.

Not far away, Shiranui Genma and Ebisu were both shocked and angry. They were about to rush forward but were pinned in place by a detached glance from Tang Yan. That gaze seemed to have substantial weight, making them gasp for breath.

The puppet’s fingertip silently extended a surgical blade as thin as a cicada’s wing. To Guy’s horror, it lightly grazed his arm. An almost invisible bloodline appeared, then vanished.

In a flash, the blood sample had been collected.

At the same time, a nanometer-scale biological probe, made from a mixture of “Absorption Technique Amber” and “Tang Clan Hidden Thread,” was silently implanted into his blood vessel.

Having done all this, Tang Yan pulled out an exquisite jade bottle from his embrace and poured out a pill emitting a fresh herbal scent.

“Don’t be afraid, this is good stuff.” He personally squatted down, ignoring Guy’s struggles, pinched open his jaw, and slipped the pill in. His movements were so practiced it was as if he had rehearsed countless times. “My specially made ‘Essence Solidifying Pill’ can stabilize the surging life force in your body caused by emotional agitation. Otherwise, it would be too regrettable to die young.”

The pill melted upon entering his mouth, and a warm current instantly flowed through his limbs and bones.

Might Guy felt the soreness throughout his body lessen considerably, but the fear of being completely dominated, like a persistent disease, grew deeper.

This so-called “Essence Solidifying Pill” was actually a “Greenwood Catalyst” specially made by the Tang Clan. It would gently induce and amplify the unique “hyperactive regeneration factor” within Guy’s body, making its energy fluctuations appear in Tang Yan’s sensory network like a thousand-watt searchlight in the dark, no longer able to hide.

Just then, dozens of figures flashed out from the forest, instantly surrounding the three, their dark blades and kunai aimed at them.

The leading Wood Leaf Hidden Village ANBU, wearing a monkey mask, spoke coldly: “Put down that child! Who are you?!”

Konoha’s reinforcement unit had finally arrived.

The leader, wearing a monkey mask, landed silently. His gaze swept over the scattered corpses in the center of the battlefield, finally settling on Tang Yan and the two others surrounded in the middle. The smell of blood and char in the air was thick and unyielding.

“Put down that child! What do you Hidden Sand want?!” an Anbu shouted sharply, the short sword in his hand reflecting the dappled light of the forest.

Nara Shikaku removed his mask, revealing a face that always carried a hint of weariness, but was now incredibly solemn.

He didn’t rush to question, but first quickly assessed the situation. Four corpses of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, their deaths tragic, clearly indicated a fierce battle beyond imagination.

And the child lying on the ground was Maito Dai’s son, Guy.

Tang Yan clapped his hands, as if dusting off non-existent dirt, and stood up, a perfectly calibrated look of regret on his face.

“Just a Hidden Sand medical Ninja passing by.” He pointed to Might Guy on the ground. “Attracted by the huge commotion here, I witnessed a hero’s demise and took the opportunity to treat his son’s injuries to prevent any lingering after-effects. You should thank me.”

This explanation was flawless, even subtly conveying a hint of blame.

“Medical Ninja?” Nara Shikaku’s gaze fell on [Apothecary - Diligence], who stood quietly to the side. “Your puppet, sir, is not a common model in the Ninja World. Hidden Sand Village’s puppet jutsu also doesn’t seem to follow this path.”

“An unknown nobody, with a mixed lineage, not worth mentioning.” Tang Yan was watertight, even proactively steering the conversation towards their pain point. “Speaking of which, friends of Konoha, don’t you find it strange?”

He looked around, his gaze as if analyzing a case for them.

“Such a powerful forbidden jutsu, used here at the cost of burning life… How terrifying was the enemy this hero faced? And how slow was Konoha’s intelligence network to let its comrades fall into such a desperate situation?”

Tang Yan paused, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching the ears of every Leaf Ninja.

“Or perhaps, what you should truly investigate is the internal problems of Konoha. I heard this hero was just a Genin. A Genin instantly killed four elite Jonin here. Since when did your Konoha Genin have such strength? Or is it that your high command’s assessment of your combat power has such a ridiculous deviation?”

A series of rhetorical questions made the surrounding Anbu instinctively tighten their grip on their weapons. Nara Shikaku’s heart sank; every word the other party spoke precisely struck his doubts.

Once the seed of doubt is sown, it will grow wildly.

Under the wary and complex gazes of the Leaf Ninja, Tang Yan, accompanied by Qian and Zi Luo, calmly turned and walked out through a gap in the encirclement. Not a single person dared to stop them.

“Hey! Just leaving like that?” Zi Luo followed behind, lowering his voice, full of complaints. “That Eight Gates Released Formation kid is a treasure! Aren’t you going to tie him up and research him?”

“The bait has been cast.” Qian, who had been silent, said in a low voice. “It’s better to startle a whole pond of fish than just catch one. Now, all of Konoha will be our observation dish.”

...

After moving away from the battlefield, Tang Yan flicked his fingertip lightly.

A [Mechanical Hummingbird] quietly descended, projecting the intercepted intelligence before his eyes. It was the battle report sent by the surviving Raiga Kurosuki and others to Hidden Mist Village through special channels, with exaggerated and embellished content.

“Urgent battle report! Encountered Konoha’s Green Devil! Taijutsu Secret Art – Eight Gates Released Formation, one strike caused mountains to collapse and earth to crack, four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen instantly vaporized! Suikazan Fuguki almost turned to gas on the spot! Repeat, Konoha possesses a Tailed Beast-level human nuclear bomb!”

“It’s done.”

Tang Yan looked at this battle report, which could be called disaster literature, and smiled with a look of successful planning.

“A storm sweeping across the Five Great Nations is coming.” He looked at the intelligence in his hand and said to the two beside him, “And we don’t need to stir up the storm.”

Qian interjected: “We just need to give it a gentle push from the eye of the storm.”

Tang Yan’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Order all units to begin spreading the intelligence.”

“For the version disseminated to Iwagakure, emphasize how the high-temperature steam of the Eight Gates Released Formation instantly melted through their Earth Release defenses, turning even their Ninja swords into molten iron.”

“As for Hidden Cloud Village… just tell them that Konoha’s Taijutsu speed has surpassed the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, and its power is even more violent than their Lightning Release Armor.”

The corner of Tang Yan’s mouth curved into a mischievous grin.

“Dinner is served; everyone get moving.”