"The world's really going to hell..." Nara Kazuki sighed, crouched on a rooftop as he watched Tsunade and Shizune fleeing in a panic, with a gang of thugs chasing after them. He let out a helpless breath.
He'd been deep in thought, still unsure how to convince Tsunade to return to Konoha with words alone—only for her expression to suddenly change, grabbing Shizune and bolting.
Kazuki had thought maybe she was feeling guilty and decided to flee.
But then he realized... Tsunade was being chased by debt collectors—plain old street thugs, not even ninja.
The future Fifth Hokage of Konoha, being hounded by common thugs.
Kazuki honestly suspected she was doing it on purpose.
"Forget it," he exhaled. Convincing Tsunade wasn't going to be easy. He decided he'd use this time to think up a new approach. For now, better to focus on finishing his mission—to grow his chakra reserves.
That way, if the words didn't work with Tsunade...
Well, there was always the classic shonen solution—settle things with fists, then talk about the ninja way afterward.
It wasn't a school brawler anime, but maybe beating someone half to death would still forge mutual understanding.
"Troublesome... so troublesome." Kazuki shook his head, heading off in search of Konoha's intel division. The casino could wait. It wasn't going anywhere. He could come back later and clean them out.
Following the discreet ANBU markers, Kazuki located the intel team's safe house. Inside, a middle-aged man was arranging some vegetables.
Kazuki knocked according to protocol and was let in. He was handed a new report.
"They might've moved to another village?" Kazuki read, brow furrowing. The intel was vague.
"Yes," the man said with a grin. "There's someone in their group suspected to be jōnin-level. We couldn't follow too closely." He handed Kazuki a small bag of vegetable seeds as well.
"Got it. Thanks." Kazuki rubbed his temples. "Possible" intel was a pain—it meant uncertainty. He'd just have to track them down himself.
He paid for the seeds and turned to leave.
"Wait a moment," the man called. Kazuki tensed, wary.
"It's my daughter's birthday soon. Do you have anything from the village? Something small?"
Kazuki rummaged through his pouch and tossed the man a notepad he'd picked up earlier in a shop—just a souvenir, printed with the Third Hokage's famous motto:
"Where the leaves dance, the fire will burn."
...
"'Where the leaves dance, the fire will burn'... yeah right, what a load of crap," Kazuki muttered under his breath as he crouched in the trees near a rundown little village. Ahead, two self-important guards stood watch like they were legends—strutting like they'd fought Hashirama himself.
"These big villages... none of them give a damn about regular shinobi anymore," one of the guards complained bitterly.
Here, in this backwater place, ninja could still act like kings.
"Right? I lost my left eye on a mission, and all the village gave me was ten thousand ryō. Like they were tossing scraps to trash," the other added, angrily rubbing his blinded eye—pale and clearly useless.
Kazuki said nothing. These guys were cannon fodder.
His real target was the jōnin.
Rogue ninja squads were usually selfish and quick to scatter when in danger. But some had a twisted sense of loyalty. Kill the leader, and the rest would fall.
He moved to circle around, but as he crept forward—
Trap wires.
"…Seriously?" Transparent filament, nearly invisible. Kazuki's keen eyes had just barely spotted them. Another strand, even lower, was hidden just behind the first.
A chain trap.
Kazuki scanned the area. He didn't use Wind Pulse Detection—better not to give himself away with chakra.
Then he saw them: two hidden sentries.
"So paranoid..." he murmured, amused. This rogue ninja team was suspiciously professional. Could the defectors from those two villages be responsible?
He'd read the report. Two chūnin who'd survived multiple battles in the Third Shinobi World War. No injuries. No dead family. No persecution. And yet, they defected.
Minato hadn't understood it either. Most defectors had some trauma or grievance. Orochimaru, for instance, had to leave or face trial—and he left to destroy Konoha.
But this? It didn't make sense.
Kazuki moved to try a different angle.
Before he could make his move, something drew his eye: a scuffle breaking out in the village below.
Two ninja dragging a woman by her hair. Another ninja, with a distinctive look, walked ahead of them.
That one.
He turned to glance in Kazuki's direction.
Kazuki froze. Good thing he was hidden—barely avoided detection.
"Sharp senses, huh?" Kazuki licked his lips. That guy had to be the strongest. To notice someone just from a stare? Not bad at all.
Strong shinobi trusted their instincts. The best ones could dodge attacks with reflex alone.
So this was the one.
Kazuki created a shadow clone and sent it to flank the area. He surveyed the layout. There were four sentries—two obvious, two hidden. He'd take them first, then go for the kill.
"Let's make this quick," he muttered.
The two guards kept chatting, whining about how no one respected them. Misery truly loved company.
Then—
A massive Fireball Jutsu roared toward them.
"Darling! Run! Don't look back!"
"My eye's gone and you want compensation? You talk about policies? Compensation laws? What a joke!"
Two voices echoed in their ears.
The ninja staggered, caught in a genjutsu.
One of them flinched, turning back. His wife's death still haunted him. He'd fled once, never looked back, and she died because of it.
He'd numbed himself with booze ever since, pretending to be a broken man mourning her.
But now—
He clenched his jaw, held back, resisted the illusion.
Then came the heat.
Searing pain consumed his body. His screams filled the air.
His wife had been gone for years. If he truly felt remorse, he would've ended it long ago. The alcohol was just an excuse. A lie he told himself.
"Bastard!" A wave of water surged toward Kazuki, but it evaporated before it could stop his enhanced Fireball Jutsu—steam flooding the battlefield.
But it gave the enemies a chance to scatter.
A small Fireball Jutsu flew at Kazuki, followed by a Wind Release technique.
Wind feeds fire. Fire fuels wind.
The combo aimed straight at his face.
Kazuki didn't blink.
He drew his blade and sliced—dispersing the attack in an instant.
Then he formed seals.
Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!
A torrent of flame surged forth. Two sentries preparing to cast more jutsu were caught off guard—vomiting blood. A third went pale, a foul stench betraying his loss of control.
"Damn. Did I really scare the shit outta you?" Kazuki waved a hand in mock disgust.
"YOU DARE!" someone roared.
Thick mist spread like a flood, cutting off vision and sound. Even the screams of the burning ninja vanished.
Kazuki narrowed his eyes.
That wasn't ordinary mist.
Mist Hiding Jutsu? Probably. But this level of density?
Only Kirigakure specialists could conjure fog like this.
Then—cold steel against his neck.
A kunai sliced clean through his throat. Blood—
Burst from a wooden log.
Substitution Jutsu. The log split in half.
But Kazuki still hadn't seen the attacker.
Not even a glimpse.
Whoever it was hadn't revealed even a flash of presence. Not while striking. Not even while retreating.
Damn. Definitely an elite.
Kazuki suspected Kirigakure's assassination corps.
Still, he had ways to deal with this.
A fireball flared to life in his hand. Heat surged, burning away the mist. Light illuminated his body—casting long shadows.
Kazuki's shadow twitched. Then darted.
Shadow Possession.
He locked onto a direction.
Without hesitation, he hurled his Fireball—now imbued with Lightning Release.
Faster. Hotter. Deadlier.
He was about to press the attack when something felt wrong.
Kazuki drew his blade instinctively, slashing to the side—
Two shuriken glowing blue deflected to the dirt.
But from below—spikes erupted from the ground.
A taijutsu user charged from the flank, kicking toward Kazuki's chest.
"If you weren't glowing like a damn firefly, I might've flinched," Kazuki muttered.
Then, calmly:
"Jinyo."
A strange syllable left his lips.
The charging enemy's eyes went blank.
He missed completely, flying past Kazuki like a ragdoll.
"Wait for your buddies in the Pure Land." Kazuki drove his blade down, impaling the ninja through the heart.
But behind him—
A torrent of water was rushing in fast.
Another one coming to repair the dam.
"Such a damn pain..."
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