And Shinichi's speed was no slower.
The exact moment Kosuke Maruboshi finished his hand seals and launched his attack, Shinichi shot forward like a dark gale sweeping low across the ground. He followed the surging, roaring waves, darting straight toward the enemy ranks that had just been shattered by the torrent.
During their rushed journey, the two had already briefly discussed several emergency tactical responses. The lightning-fast hand signal Shinichi flashed earlier meant exactly one thing: clear the field.
Although Kosuke didn't completely understand why Shinichi made such a drastic call the moment they met the enemy, his absolute trust in this exceptional junior made him act without hesitation. He instantly unleashed the most expansive Water Style ninjutsu in his arsenal—Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu!
Squelch! Squelch!
The muffled sound of a blade tearing through flesh rang out in quick succession. Shinichi was the first to reach two cultists who had been smashed to the ground by the waves and were still struggling to stand.
His movements were clean and ruthlessly efficient. His katana precisely pierced one man's heart. With a twist of his wrist, he smoothly withdrew the blade and thrust it into the second man's chest at an almost identical angle.
However, the two cultists whose hearts had just been pierced only stiffened slightly. It was as if they couldn't feel the agonizing pain or the rapid weakening that should accompany a fatal wound.
Letting out a feral roar, they lunged directly at Shinichi!
Shinichi's brow furrowed slightly, a cold flash of realization crossing his eyes.
He slid half a step back, simultaneously flicking his wrist. The katana in his hand blurred into a chilling arc of light.
Schwing!
Two heads flew into the air. The headless corpses stumbled forward for two steps before collapsing heavily into the mud, finally ceasing all movement.
By now, Kosuke had arrived at his side, moving like a phantom. Shinichi spoke rapidly, "Senior, there's something wrong with their bodies. Their vitals seem different from ordinary people. Try to decapitate them or completely destroy their bodily structure to neutralize them."
The moment Shinichi saw that blood-red symbol—an outer circle enclosing a triangle—alarm bells had blared in his head. He immediately connected it to the "Way of Jashin," the cult belonging to Hidan in the future. It made perfect sense that these cultists might possess a similar, albeit weaker, form of anomalous vitality.
Since he couldn't explicitly state what he knew, he used this aggressive, preemptive close-quarters strike to directly test his theory and pass the crucial intelligence to his highly experienced teammate.
Just as he suspected, these cultists did possess the ability to bypass certain fatal wounds, but decapitation still worked perfectly fine.
It seemed that Hidan, the man who would eventually possess true "immortality," was a one-in-a-million anomaly among them. Hidan was likely the "Holy Son" they kept raving about!
Kosuke's gaze sharpened, his voice dropping low. "Understood! Leave it to me."
The battle ended swiftly, almost abruptly.
This group of black-robed cultists had completely misjudged their opponents' strength. Right out of the gate, they were severely crippled and thrown into total disarray by Kosuke's massive Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu.
Subsequently, their heavily relied-upon "divine physical resilience"—which allowed them to ignore standard lethal blows—was entirely useless against two highly prepared shinobi specifically targeting their heads and limbs.
Before the majority of the cultists could even reorganize their formation, they were methodically slaughtered amidst the turbulent waters and the flawlessly precise strikes.
Among them, Elder Takahashi, the strongest of the bunch, possessed strength roughly equivalent to a Tokubetsu Jonin (Special Jonin). Unfortunately for him, his opponent was Kosuke Maruboshi, the legendary "Eternal Genin".
A mere Tokubetsu Jonin was naturally no match for this particular "Genin."
Especially a Genin from the Hidden Leaf.
Realizing the terrifying power of Kosuke's Water Style, Takahashi attempted to turn the tide with a counter-elemental strike, weaving signs for Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet.
However, Kosuke seamlessly unleashed Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet—a technique passed down directly from the Second Hokage. The roaring water dragon instantly shredded the earth dragon to pieces, its momentum completely unhindered as it viciously slammed into Takahashi.
This specific Water Dragon Bullet seemed to carry a chakra-draining property. Upon being struck, Elder Takahashi wasn't just heavily injured; his body rapidly went limp, instantly robbing him of any capacity to resist.
"Y-You...!" Yasumasa Kurokawa sat paralyzed in the mud, a trembling finger pointing at the two shinobi slowly approaching him. His face was entirely stripped of his usual City Lord authority, replaced by boundless terror and absolute disbelief.
He wanted to say something else—perhaps a threat, perhaps a plea for mercy.
But Shinichi didn't give him the chance. The boy's eyes were pools of absolute calm. His figure blurred, reappearing directly behind the City Lord. With a clean, brutally efficient chop to the side of the neck, he ended the conversation.
Yasumasa's eyes rolled back, his words cutting off instantly as he crumpled to the ground. Shinichi casually produced a length of rope and bound him securely.
"I've already dispatched a messenger hawk with a situation report to the nearest Konoha intel outpost," Kosuke said, walking over with a steady voice. "They'll use radio and fax to relay the information to Lord Third as quickly as possible."
"We need to wait here for Lord Third's further instructions... The subsequent cleanup for this mess is likely going to be quite tedious. Still, I never expected the City Lord himself to show up in person. That actually saves us a lot of legwork tracking him down."
He glanced at the unconscious Yasumasa Kurokawa, a faint smile touching his lips.
---
It was unknown exactly what kind of negotiations took place between the village and the Land of Fire's administration. However, a day later, the messenger hawk returned, carrying clear directives from the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The orders were concise and explicit: The two were to immediately proceed to Narumi Town, hand the captured former City Lord, Yasumasa Kurokawa, over to the local security office for temporary detention, and wait to officially hand over the situation to a temporary City Lord arriving in three days.
Following that, they were to escort the captured Elder Takahashi and immediately begin their journey back to the Hidden Leaf Village.
Three days later, amidst the highly formal, bureaucratic farewells of the new City Lord and the endless, tearful gratitude of the families who had their children returned to them, the two shinobi set off on the road back to Konoha.
The road stretched out beneath their feet, gradually leaving the border town behind them.
After walking a fair distance, Shinichi suddenly stopped. He turned around, staring silently at the hazy, distant silhouette of Narumi Town.
The morning light traced his calm profile. Not a single ripple of emotion showed on his face, but his eyes reflected the distant horizon, deep and impossible to read.
Seeing this, Kosuke let out a soft sigh. He stepped up beside the boy and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You've already done an excellent job, Shinichi. Try not to dwell on it."
Kosuke knew exactly what the boy was thinking about. Through separate interrogations of Elder Takahashi and Yasumasa Kurokawa, they had located the hidden facility holding the abducted children and managed to rescue a portion of them.
However, the other half of the children had already been secretly transferred before they even arrived in Narumi Town. They had been shipped across the border into the Land of Hot Water—straight into the primary stronghold of the Church of the Holy God.
Because the matter now crossed international borders, any subsequent action would require immensely complex diplomatic negotiations between Konoha, the Land of Fire, and the Land of Hot Water.
"I understand, Senior. I'm fine," Shinichi shook his head, a tranquil smile surfacing on his face.
He cast one final, piercing look toward the distant skies of the Land of Hot Water before pulling his gaze back and remaining silent.
But Kosuke knew better. He could tell that beneath this young boy's perfectly composed exterior, a profound, unshakable resolution had just been forged in secret.
In that moment, Kosuke finally, truly understood why the Third Hokage had labeled this child the "Inheritor of the Will of Fire".
His overwhelming talent, his terrifyingly meticulous mind, his decisive ruthlessness—all of these were secondary.
What truly mattered was that beneath his gentle exterior... beat a pure heart, driven by an intense sense of responsibility and profound empathy!
---