"Whew—"
In the outskirts of the village.
A small river flowed gently.
The surrounding forest was filled with towering trees covered in lush leaves.
Having finally escaped from Anko's relentless harassment, Ren fled here somewhat awkwardly.
"She's really a complete female pervert…"
Ren wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead.
His handsome yet youthful face was covered with grease and saliva.
As for who the culprit was—
That didn't even need to be said.
Although Anko kept saying she liked him,
Ren knew very well—
Was that really liking him?
She was clearly just lusting after his body and coveting his peerless looks!
"If my little brother weren't still useless, and if I didn't have to hide my Wood Release, I'd show you what a real tentacle monster looks like, you female pervert…"
Feeling a bit depressed, Ren washed his face by the river.
"Come on, brother, make me proud…"
A stream of water shot out.
The little fledgling eagle about to take flight swayed back and forth, as if preparing to spread its wings.
"But you're already doing pretty well. The rest just needs time!"
In a few years, what would a mere Anko count for?
He could take on ten of her alone without any problem.
After finishing his "Urination Release," Ren felt refreshed.
Tilting his head, he thought for a moment.
"Since I've got nothing to do, maybe I should go find Sister Tsunade."
He slowly closed his eyes.
His powerful sensory ability instantly spread across the entire village of Konoha.
He quickly sensed Tsunade's chakra, which was both fairly strong and strangely familiar to him.
"Hm?"
Ren noticed something unusual.
His eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a hint of mockery.
On the surface, however, he remained calm.
"Heh heh… Akira Ren?"
Along with a chilling killing intent,
a figure suddenly appeared in front of him.
Holding a cold, gleaming ninja blade, the person slashed down toward Ren.
It was almost as if the attacker deliberately allowed Ren to notice the ambush—
As though he wanted to test his strength.
"Slash—"
In the blink of an eye,
Ren seemed to be frightened stiff, standing there unable to move.
The razor-sharp blade sliced straight through his shoulder.
In an instant, his entire body was split into two.
But not a single drop of blood splashed out.
Instead, his body turned directly into black mist.
In the next moment, the black mist gathered together again, and Ren reappeared several meters away.
"What!?"
A masked figure dressed in black appeared there.
Holding the ninja blade, he stared at Ren in shock.
He couldn't believe that the boy standing before him was completely unharmed.
"Damn it… It's Genjutsu!"
His expression changed.
He instinctively retreated while forming hand seals.
"Release!"
"Whoosh—"
Sure enough, the small figure vanished from his sight.
But it reappeared several meters to his right.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three shuriken tore through the air,
rushing toward him like lightning.
"So fast—when did that happen?!"
Seeing this, the masked figure felt a chill run down his spine.
"Clang! Clang!"
He hurriedly swung his ninja blade, deflecting the incoming shuriken.
Akira Ren grabbed a handful of well-maintained kunai from his ninja pouch.
He dashed toward the man while loudly demanding,
"Who are you?!"
"Heh, overestimating yourself…"
Seeing that Ren was charging straight at him with a kunai, the masked man sneered.
He had been careless earlier.
But this was just an eight-year-old kid who had never killed anyone before.
With no combat experience, how dare he fight him head-on?
Without hesitation,
he rushed forward to meet him.
"Ah—"
As if frightened by the terrifying killing intent,
the charging Akira Ren suddenly stopped.
His body trembled, his face turning pale.
"A kid is still just a kid. This little scene is enough to scare you…"
The masked figure secretly felt proud.
But the moment he rushed up to Ren—
He saw the boy, who had seemed frightened just a moment ago, reveal a strange smile.
Ren raised his finger and pointed around them, signaling him to take a look.
"Damn it… How is this possible?!"
The masked figure's pupils shrank.
When he glanced around subconsciously, a cold chill shot through his body.
All around him—
were Ren's figures.
Densely packed.
There were thousands of them.
"Another Genjutsu? Release—!"
He instinctively bit his tongue.
Pain and the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth.
As the countless figures around him disappeared from all directions,
a smile appeared beneath his mask.
He sighed in relief.
However—
In the next moment, his smile froze.
His limbs had somehow already been bound by massive vines emerging from the ground.
Behind him,
a gigantic carnivorous flower grew and bloomed.
It swallowed his entire body whole.
"AAAH—!"
Amid a terrified scream,
he lost consciousness and fell into endless darkness.
"Thud—"
A figure collapsed onto the ground, eyes rolled back.
Akira Ren—who had never moved from his original spot the entire time—stood there with his hands in his pockets.
"Seriously… this guy couldn't take a hit."
"A simple double-layered Genjutsu was enough to deal with you."
"Not professional at all."
As for the identity of the masked man—
Ren didn't care.
Even with his eyes closed, he could guess.
Either the Third Hokage or Danzo had sent someone to test him.
There was no need to think further.
After all, he was now Tsunade's disciple.
He had someone backing him up.
There was no need for him to stay as low-key as before.
"Huh?"
Meanwhile—
More than ten meters away, hidden on a tree trunk,
a white figure watched the scene in confusion.
"What just… happened?"
He had seen the entire process clearly.
From beginning to end, that eight- or nine-year-old boy hadn't moved at all.
Yet the masked man who had rushed at him
somehow screamed and collapsed on his own.
◇ Bonus Chapter Rewards ◇
◇ Every 10 Reviews = 1 Bonus Chapter
◇ Every 100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
◇ You can read 60 chapters ahead on Patreon if you're interested:
patreon.com/Luna023
Your support helps the story grow and motivates faster updates.