"Thank you, I know what I need to do now. Sakura, Hinata, Kiba, we should go back." Sakura stood up, thanked Li Xing, and prepared to return to Konoha.
"No, no, no, you don't need to thank me. Thank Tsunade. However, it's not that simple to leave now!"
Li Xing's demeanor changed instantly. He stood up and sent Sakura, Hinata, and Kiba flying dozens of meters with a single punch.
"Come on, let me test your strength. To accomplish certain things, you must possess absolute strength. All three of you, attack me together! If you can damage my clothes today, you win!"
Li Xing took a step forward, assuming a ready stance, and a powerful aura emanated from him, making it difficult for the three to breathe.
Sakura exchanged glances with the other two and nodded. They then turned and fled in the direction of Konoha. A person who could instantly heal fatal wounds was someone they couldn't possibly defeat. Running away was the best course of action.
However, Li Xing's interest had been piqued, and he had no intention of letting them go. With a Shunshin, he appeared directly in front of them. Li Xing's speed was so great that Sakura, who was in the middle, almost collided with him.
As Sakura stopped, reacting to his presence, a sinister grin spread across Li Xing's face as he adopted the Hyuga clan's Eight Trigrams style. Hinata, seeing this familiar stance, was greatly surprised. How could this man know the Hyuga clan's techniques?
"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms! Eight Trigrams Empty Palm!"
Li Xing unleashed sixty-four palms in an instant, all of which struck Sakura's body. Finally, he used the Eight Trigrams Empty Palm to send Sakura back to her original position.
Next was Hinata. Li Xing approached her and delivered a punch that sent her flying, landing on top of Sakura.
Finally, Kiba. Li Xing didn't want to fight like a dog, so he casually punched Kiba away.
In reality, Li Xing had beaten the three of them in mere moments. They were struck before they could even prepare their defenses.
"The Hyuga clan's Eight Trigrams style, Master's monstrous strength… he's truly a monster! Hurry, Hinata, Kiba, I'll hold him off here!"
Sakura couldn't understand why Li Xing, who had been conversing harmoniously just moments ago, had suddenly transformed. However, she knew that if all three fought together, they would likely be annihilated. Without a second thought, she urged the other two to escape first.
Hinata and Kiba were naturally unwilling to abandon their comrade. If they fled like this, they wouldn't be worthy of being Konoha ninjas. They immediately stood by Sakura's side, indicating their intention to fight together.
Li Xing nodded and said, "It seems you've truly grown. Attack me together!"
"Fang Over Fang!"
"Gentle Step, Twin Lion Fists!"
Hinata and Kiba charged at Li Xing simultaneously, each aiming for vital points. However, Li Xing easily dodged their attacks.
The dodged attacks did not stop but followed the momentum, tracing a wide arc and striking at Li Xing again.
"Is Fang Over Fang all you know? Are you that thick-skulled? As a ninja dog handler, you don't even use your claws to attack. What a waste!"
Li Xing dodged Fang Over Fang with a spin and then extended his hands, sharpening his fingernails.
"Come on! Let me show you what claws are!"
Before Li Xing could finish his boast, Sakura descended from the sky, raising one leg and slamming it down forcefully towards him.
Li Xing looked up. "Painful Heaven Kick? Too bad you're not wearing a skirt; nothing to see." He didn't need to dodge the Painful Heaven Kick. He simply raised his hand and grabbed upwards, creating wind blades in the air that slashed across Sakura's thigh. Li Xing also tore Sakura's pants, but there was no 'bonus' to see, only dripping blood.
"Don't underestimate me, you bastard!"
Sakura endured the excruciating pain and kicked down with all her might. Li Xing was surprised that Sakura could persist and honestly took the full force of her attack on his head.
Li Xing's head tilted to one side. He grabbed Sakura's leg with one hand and slammed her forcefully onto the ground, creating a deep crater.
Before Li Xing could speak, Hinata and Kiba's combined attack had already reached him. Kiba attacked from behind, while Hinata punched Li Xing's chest.
In less than a second, Li Xing had taken the full force of all three of their attacks.
"Not good enough, Sakura, you could make my head tilt a bit, but your strength isn't enough! Especially you, Miss Hinata, your strength is too small. It would be better to focus on speed."
Yugito Nii, standing nearby, nodded in agreement. She believed Li Xing was right; speed was crucial. Speed equals strength.
"And you, dog handler. Didn't I just say that? You truly didn't listen at all!"
"Eight Trigrams Palm, Rotation!"
Li Xing then used Rotation to repel both of them and walked towards Sakura, who lay in the crater.
"Your strength is sufficient, but rigidity breaks easily. If my head were any harder, your leg would be crippled. Simply put, you lack defense. Just like your leg that I injured earlier, a taijutsu user creates openings when injured."
Li Xing slowly crouched down and used his medical ninjutsu to channel the power of the wicked ghost into Sakura's thigh, rapidly healing her wound. The previous cut had already reached the bone. If not treated promptly, she would be crippled for life.
"Alright, you're fully healed. Consider today's tea on me. Teaching plus medical fees, it's not unreasonable for me to take something, right?"
Saying that, Li Xing, regardless of Sakura's willingness, reached out and took all the money from Sakura. He then confiscated the wallets of Hinata and Kiba as well.
"It seems Konoha ninjas make quite a bit of money on missions! Goodbye! Karin, Yugito, I'm treating you to a feast!"
Just as Li Xing was packing up to leave, Tsunade and a group of Konoha ninjas returned from the Land of Iron, encountering Li Xing walking away and counting money.
"You bastard! Li Xing! What do you think you're doing!" Tsunade, remembering Obito's declaration of war, her temper flared upon seeing Li Xing. Traveling was one thing, but provoking a war? Didn't he know how many lives would be lost?
"Oh? Tsunade, and a bunch of Konoha ninjas, and the Nine-Tails jinchuriki. Are you trying to rob me? That won't do! This is my hard-earned money."
Li Xing hugged the money to his chest, adopting a weak, pitiful, and helpless posture, which made Yugito Nii unable to resist lightly hitting him. He was so unprincipled, claiming it was hard-earned money when he clearly robbed them.
"Li Xing, are you really alright? How did you escape from that sphere? Huh? Isn't that my necklace? Oh, Sakura, Hinata, Kiba, why are you all here? And why are your clothes so tattered?"
Naruto saw that Li Xing wasn't sealed and breathed a sigh of relief. Upon seeing Li Xing's earring, he was surprised, and then seeing Sakura and the other two behind him, his mind couldn't keep up. He couldn't fathom what had happened.
"That's perfect, let's continue to move our bodies. Since landing in this world, I haven't had many chances to fight, and even when I do, it's over in an instant, which is too boring. All of you, attack me together!"
Li Xing drew the sword from Yugito Nii's back and pointed it at Tsunade and the others, preparing for another fight.
"You brat! You're pointing a sword at me now!" Tsunade gritted her teeth and glared at Li Xing fiercely.
Li Xing realized he had made a mistake. How could he point a sword at his wife? He immediately put the sword back and summoned a bouquet of flowers.
"Is this okay now, Lady Tsunade…"
Seeing the flowers in Li Xing's hand, Tsunade immediately recalled what Li Xing had said earlier. At the time, the situation didn't allow her to think much about it. Now, calmly reflecting, she realized Li Xing might have had this intention from the beginning.
"Are you crazy, Li Xing? I'm your master!"
Li Xing was certainly not crazy; he was very serious about this matter. Just as he was about to announce it in front of the Konoha ninjas, Tsunade quickly yelled for him to stop. If her subordinates found out, how would Tsunade manage Konoha?
Suddenly, Li Xing received a communication from Kabuto, who said he had discovered something very important and asked Li Xing to come over.
"Sorry, I can't play with you anymore. I have something to attend to."
Then, the petals of the flowers in Li Xing's hand began to fall. As more and more petals drifted down, Li Xing and the two others vanished before Tsunade and the others.
(As mentioned earlier, Xing can summon money using summoning jutsu, but money has serial numbers, so it can only be used one bill at a time. Gold and silver treasures are more troublesome.)