Stepping into the main camp of the Sunagakure forces, Shang Qi’s eyes gleamed with excitement. This battle had yielded a bountiful harvest for him.
As a Kage-level expert, Hatake Sakumo provided Shang Qi’s True Sight Eye with numerous insights worth learning from.
The material of that White Fang short blade was primarily chakra-conducting metal, making its texture somewhat brittle.
Yet, bolstered by Hatake Sakumo’s wind-release nature-transformation chakra, it had become exceptionally sharp, almost slicing right through Shang Qi’s meticulously modified alloy armor.
That lightning-fast movement technique and swordplay as practiced as muscle memory had repeatedly placed Shang Qi in mortal danger.
Channeling his chakra, Shang Qi infused the short sword and steel wires on his vambraces with wind-release chakra. The faint white glow they emitted seemed to possess the sharpness to sever everything.
Shang Qi mastered all five nature transformations of chakra. He even attempted to channel earth-release chakra into his armor; the faint, earthy-yellow glow made the armor increasingly indestructible.
After testing his movement techniques, Shang Qi retrieved various metals and materials from a sealing scroll to repair and modify the tiger puppet.
When he finished all of this, night had quietly fallen. Akasuna Uchao, having settled the food supplies and the supply transport team, came to find Shang Qi.
As soon as he spoke, he left Shang Qi dumbfounded: "Make sure you rest up and get your energy back tonight. Yusa, Emi, and two others will come to your tent. You can choose one, or you can have all four."
Shang Qi said incredulously: "We are in the middle of a war, still right here in the camp. How can we do such a thing? Aren't you afraid of violating military discipline?"
"Where on earth did you get such strange discipline? We've just finished fighting, so of course we need time to relax. Anyone who doesn't touch a woman after a battle has something wrong with them. Don't you dare refuse all of them; otherwise, once word gets back to the village, you'll have a hard time finding a partner." Uchao explained earnestly.
Sunagakure had barren land and a sparse population, so after every battle, men and women would couple up to contribute to population growth.
Moreover, this had become a standard by which the women of Sunagakure chose their partners.
Because those who refused to seek out a woman after fierce combat either had psychological issues or physical problems, neither of which made them ideal partners.
According to what Akasuna Uchao said, Sasori of the Red Sand was conceived when the Red Sand Couple united after a battle to beat back desert bandits.
Shang Qi’s brilliance among the puppeteers was already renowned, and this time he had further demonstrated the strength to push back the White Fang of Konoha, fully showcasing the superiority of his genes.
The four women—Yusa, Emi, and the others—were even willing to unite unconditionally without needing Shang Qi to take responsibility. They would raise their offspring on their own, gambling purely on the child's innate talent.
Hearing Akasuna Uchao’s explanation, Shang Qi felt his worldview take a massive blow.
Thinking of how he had never heard a single mention of Akasuna Uchao’s father, he asked a question on a whim: "Big Brother Uchao, then who is your father?"
"There are rumors that it is the Second Kazekage, Shamon..." Akasuna Uchao answered instinctively, before snapping back to reality and patting Shang Qi on the shoulder. "Don't go asking about things like that."
Sure enough, different lands with different national conditions always gave rise to unique customs and habits.
Shang Qi had no choice but to do as the locals did, and suddenly remembered what the old man in the red hat back home had once said: "I want them all."
………………
The Sunagakure and Konoha forces were locked in a fierce battle within the Land of Rivers. As a buffer zone, the mountains and rivers of the Land of Rivers were shattered, and the tragedy of a small nation was laid bare before Shang Qi.
Shang Qi was also gradually making a name for himself. His trick-filled transport methods and animal-shaped puppet designs tailored for various situations placed immense pressure on the Konoha forces.
For example, a squad of Konoha ninja was patrolling the jungles of the Land of Rivers when a wild boar appeared to be leisurely searching for food.
Eager to supplement their rations, the Konoha ninja used kunai to take down the boar. Just as they approached to harvest it, disaster struck.
The wild boar’s hide tore open, revealing menacing mechanisms that instantly fired a barrage of hidden weapons, heavily wounding every single member of the Konoha squad. The hidden weapons were coated with potent poison, and not a single Konoha ninja escaped; they all perished.
In another instance, several bats flew over the Konoha forces' granary under the cover of the dark night.
From beneath their bellies, these bats sprayed massive amounts of lamp oil, and then, using flint held in their mouths, ignited the entire granary.
Various beast-mimicry puppets employed hit-and-run tactics that dealt heavy losses to the Konoha forces.
The Konoha ninja forces retreated step by step, at one point pushed right to the border of the Land of Fire.
Konoha Village urgently mobilized large numbers of ninja from the Hyuga, Aburame, and Inuzuka clans to rush to the Land of Rivers before finally halting this rout.
Shang Qi’s name began to spread among the ninja villages of various nations, earning him the moniker of "Beasts".
Konoha placed a bounty of 35 million on Shang Qi’s head in the underground black market.
Meanwhile, the Third Kazekage Retsuji summoned Shang Qi alone one day for a private conversation.
"You know I once sent people to assassinate you, don't you?" Retsuji stated bluntly.
"I know." Hearing this, Shang Qi instantly tensed up, the short sword on his vambraces ready to be drawn at any moment.
"You don't need to be nervous. The assassination was merely to test your caliber. If you couldn't even evade an assassination, you wouldn't be worth investing in. But you were too merciful, never once retaliating against my attempts," Retsuji said of his own accord.
"Mercy is a weakness of human nature. Your transport beast puppet designs are of immense significance to Sunagakure and can benefit the village, but they also exposed your kind-hearted side.
I am very pleased to see that in this war, you used beast puppets to kill—that is the vicious side of your human nature. I hold high hopes for you, which is why I wanted to talk to you."
Retsuji's iron sand shifted in front of Shang Qi, turning at times into a spider and at times into a ferocious wolf.
"With your intellect, it shouldn't be hard for you to see through the internal friction between our two Sunagakure factions."
"It is indeed completely unreasonable, as it easily provokes infighting." Shang Qi stared intently at Retsuji, wanting to figure out what he was truly driving at.
"Worried about infighting? It seems you really are a hothouse flower nurtured and pampered by everyone. Let me guess, you're an only child in your family, aren't you?" Retsuji smiled, as though he had seen right through Shang Qi.
Shang Qi thought of his parents from his past life and fell into deep contemplation.
"It appears your family protected you far too well. In Sunagakure, internal strife is a crucible; only those tempered by the raging fires and who stand out from the rest are qualified to wield supreme authority and lead the village to secure a firm foothold among the Five Great Shinobi Nations.
Did you think Elder Chiyo is kind? My eldest disciple, Kafuku Hanguu, died in battle on the Land of Rain battlefield, and if it weren't for your assistance, the Red Sand Couple would have perished long ago in the Land of Rivers.
We are all tacitly screening the next leader. Only those ruthless and vigilant enough can become the next Kazekage, and the winner takes all.
Your intellect is sufficient, but you are too sentimental. Elder Chiyo has precisely seized upon your personality, using affection to shackle you, making you willingly build up the foundation for them.
Emotion is the weakness of the strong, and mercy is the epitaph of the loser.
Shang Qi, I look forward to you casting aside your shackles, transforming into a cold, sharp blade, and cutting through the thorns on the path ahead.
If one day you are able to replace me, stepping over my corpse to the summit of the throne, I would feel deeply honored."
Retsuji paused, and smilingly said to Shang Qi: "As long as you defeat me and defeat Chiyo, the entire Sunagakure will belong to you."