After making their preparations, Haruto rested a hand on the short sword at his waist and grinned.
“Let’s go, Kakashi-sensei. If this mission succeeds, I might finally get myself promoted to Chūnin tonight.”
“Not that I care about wearing a Chūnin vest,” he added, “but I am pretty interested in the S-rank forbidden techniques inside the Scroll of Seals.”
Kakashi let out a sigh.
“Those kinds of forbidden techniques are learned by paying with your life. They’re not worth it.”
His words caused Guy, Yamato, and Yugao to fall silent.
If they had a choice, they would rather steal a forbidden technique for Haruto themselves than let him risk his life for one.
Haruto merely smiled and brushed it off.
Truthfully, he was confident about this mission.
With the trump cards he currently possessed, dying would be difficult even if he tried.
Still, this time he solemnly picked up the short sword Kakashi had given him years ago.
This would be the toughest battle he had faced since arriving in this world.
Five figures vanished instantly, leaving only a gust of wind behind.
Inside the Hokage’s office, the Third Hokage stood by the window with his pipe in hand, staring toward the village gates for a long time without saying a word.
Meanwhile, far away on the border of the Land of Grass—
A once-thriving town with a population of thirty thousand had become a silent city of death.
Or more accurately—
A gigantic graveyard.
A visible blood-red mist hung over the entire city.
The air was filled with a nauseating metallic smell.
Dark red bloodstains covered the streets.
As for the bodies?
They were long gone.
Most had been burned to ashes by the monsters still wandering within the city.
After all, they weren’t foolish enough to allow rotting corpses to cause a plague.
Atop the tallest tower in the city center stood seven figures.
Three terrifying Jōnin and four bloodthirsty Chūnin gazed coldly across the ruins.
The three Jōnin were known only as A, B, and C.
They had no real names.
They lived like shadows.
The four Chūnin were no different, distinguished only by the directions East, West, South, and North.
Among all seven criminals, A was unquestionably the strongest.
Even before becoming a Jōnin, his ruthlessness had already rivaled that of a Special Jōnin.
He was a survivor who had crawled out of the mountains of corpses during the Third Shinobi World War.
He had seen true monsters before.
Back then, when the Legendary Sannin fought Hanzo in that earth-shaking battle, he had witnessed the entire fight from a distant corner of the battlefield.
That battle had shattered his worldview.
Only then had he understood what true top-tier strength looked like.
Later, when Pain seized control of the Land of Rain, A took advantage of the chaos to steal a secret technique before fleeing into the Land of Grass to hide.
Over more than a decade of lurking in the shadows, he had painstakingly built his group into its current strength—two Jōnin and five Chūnin.
Unfortunately, one of the Chūnin had died during a recent conflict.
At this moment, A stood atop the tower, gazing into the distance with cold eyes.
The disgusting scent of blood filled the air.
Yet to him, it smelled sweeter than flowers.
A cruel smile appeared on his face.
Konoha had only lost three ANBU operatives.
But judging by what he knew of the village, this matter was far from over.
Retaliation was inevitable.
The next force they sent would undoubtedly be stronger.
The countdown to their departure had already begun.
More than a thousand prisoners still remained alive inside the underground cells.
As long as East could obtain the blood of another thousand people, he would break through his bottleneck and become a Jōnin.
Without turning around, A issued his orders.
“The remaining prisoners all belong to East.”
“Raise your strength as quickly as possible.”
“Once you’re done, we’re leaving.”
“This place isn’t safe anymore.”
“We’ll move to another country and continue there.”
Within the group, A’s fist was the hardest.
Naturally, what he said went.
No one dared object.
B and C exchanged glances before nodding.
“Konoha just lost three ANBU.”
“They’ll need time to investigate.”
“We still have a chance to breathe.”
A clasped his hands behind his back.
“Delays invite trouble.”
“The sooner we leave, the better.”
Although B and C personally believed Konoha’s next attack wouldn’t arrive so soon, neither dared challenge their leader.
Behind them, East trembled with excitement.
The threshold of becoming a Jōnin was only a single step away.
And he was only twenty-five years old.
As someone who knew nothing but brute-force taijutsu training, he would’ve remained a Genin for life without the secret technique A had obtained.
But now fate had changed.
He was about to ascend into the ranks of the Jōnin.
The thought alone made his scalp tingle.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
Haruto and the others silently approached the dead city occupied by A’s group.
The five stopped atop a giant tree outside the city, concealing themselves among the dense branches.
Yugao pointed toward the sinister structure at the city’s center.
“That tower is their headquarters.”
“There’s a massive dungeon beneath it.”
“Almost every surviving resident has been imprisoned there.”
Haruto immediately expanded his sensory field.
A frown appeared on his face.
His expression turned strange.
Turning toward Yugao, he asked seriously,
“When you came here last time, were you discovered immediately after entering the city?”
Yugao froze.
Recalling the previous mission, she slowly nodded.
“That’s right.”
“We concealed ourselves perfectly.”
“We never exposed our position.”
“I still don’t know how they found us.”
Kakashi suddenly spoke.
“You’re saying there’s a detection barrier surrounding the city?”
Haruto nodded without hesitation.
“Exactly.”
“And it’s enormous.”
“It covers the entire city.”
The moment those words left his mouth, Kakashi’s expression changed.
Yugao and Yamato stared in disbelief.
“How is that possible?”
“The chakra cost alone would be ridiculous.”
“They’re only a few Jōnin at most.”
“Where would they get that kind of chakra?”
Even Konoha’s own large-scale barrier systems weren’t perfectly developed.
How could three rogue Jōnin possibly maintain something on this level?
Haruto’s gaze swept across the eight towers standing along the city’s perimeter.
The puzzle pieces were finally falling into place.
“They can do it.”
“Don’t forget what they’re best at collecting.”
“Ordinary people’s blood contains very little chakra.” This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
“But chakra still exists within every cell.”
“In other words…”
“This barrier is built from corpses.”
Everyone froze.
Haruto continued calmly.
“They must have created some kind of device.”
“One that’s constantly extracting residual chakra from dead bodies.”
Silence descended instantly.
Even Kakashi felt a chill run down his spine.
How many people would have to die to sustain a barrier of this scale?
A horrifying answer lurked beneath the surface.
Haruto took a deep breath.
Even though he’d already guessed the truth, he still felt disgusted.
He pointed toward the distant towers.
“Look carefully.”
“Do those structures seem unnatural?”
“They were created using Earth Release.”
“Each one sits exactly on a major chakra support point of the barrier.”
“If I’m right, those towers—or their foundations—are filled with corpses.”
The revelation struck everyone like a hammer.
Even Kakashi, who had survived countless battlefields, had never seen human bodies used as fuel on such a scale.
Yugao’s eyes instantly reddened.
Her voice trembled.
“Then… Moonbreak and the others…”
The ANBU team she’d lost during the previous mission.
Haruto nodded slowly.
“Most likely.”
“Ninja corpses contain far more chakra.”
“They’d make excellent fuel.”
Guy’s teeth ground together audibly.
The veins on his fists bulged.
His anger was reaching its limit.
Kakashi forcibly suppressed his emotions.
“If we want to save the prisoners or eliminate the enemy, we need a way around that barrier.”
That was the standard shinobi mindset.
Avoid the obstacle whenever possible.
Unfortunately, Haruto immediately crushed that idea.
“Impossible.”
“This barrier is just as ridiculous as Konoha’s.”
“It covers everything.”
“The sky.”
“The ground.”
“Every direction.”
“There’s no way around it.”
His eyes sharpened.
“Which means we only have one option.”
“We smash our way straight through.”
Kakashi disliked such a reckless strategy.
It wasn’t exactly ANBU style.
But under the circumstances, they had no alternatives.
The plan was approved.
Without hesitation, Kakashi led the charge.
The five-man squad shot toward the central tower like arrows released from a bowstring.
The moment their feet crossed the barrier—
B’s eyes snapped open inside the tower.
He immediately approached A.
“Boss.”
“We’ve got intruders.”
A frowned deeply.
“So soon?”
According to his calculations, Konoha shouldn’t have arrived for at least another week.
Were they not conducting reconnaissance?
Information was a ninja’s lifeline.
With sufficient intelligence, even a Jōnin could potentially kill a Kage-level opponent.
What A couldn’t possibly know was that Haruto had already uncovered nearly everything from Yugao’s brief description alone.
To someone skilled in medical ninjutsu, the principles behind the secret technique weren’t difficult to deduce.
After a moment’s thought, A gave an order.
“Gather everyone.”
“Let’s see what kind of prey has arrived.”
The barrier could detect intruders.
It couldn’t identify them.
B immediately departed.
Deep within the underground prison, East was greedily draining blood from his victims when he received the summons.
His face darkened instantly.
He was only moments away from breaking through.
Being interrupted now was infuriating.
Not long afterward, all seven criminals gathered atop the tower platform.
Three Jōnin.
Four Chūnin.
Their killing intent surged as they moved to intercept Haruto’s group.
Meanwhile, the moment Haruto and the others entered the city—
Their fury exploded.
Everywhere they looked, dried blood covered the city like black paint.
Guy roared in rage.
“How many people did these bastards kill?!”
Even someone who had survived a world war found the scene unbearable.
The stench of death filled the air.
It was as though countless vengeful spirits were crying out around them.
Kakashi’s gaze turned icy.
But he remained rational.
The priority was clear.
These criminals had to die.
Every single one of them.
If even one escaped, another tragedy would inevitably follow.
Should they reach the Land of Fire, the consequences would be unimaginable.
“Guy.”
“We wipe them out.”
“No survivors.”
Guy nodded heavily.
The fire in his eyes seemed ready to burst into flames.
The team continued forward.
Eventually, beside an artificial lake, they finally encountered their enemies.
A looked like a man in his early thirties.
In reality, he was already over fifty years old.
The stolen secret technique had preserved his youth.
The moment he saw the approaching group, he smiled mockingly.
“Well, well.”
“Konoha sent you.”
“Hatake Kakashi.”
His gaze shifted toward Yugao.
“And that woman actually came back to die.”
“Quite brave.”
As for the others—
He barely spared them a glance. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
In his eyes, they were insignificant.
After all, among Konoha’s current generation, Kakashi’s reputation was overwhelming.
The Copy Ninja.
The man known throughout the shinobi world.
Compared to him, Guy and Yamato were still relatively unknown.
Yamato spent most of his life hidden behind an ANBU mask.
As for Guy, he was merely a taijutsu eccentric with little fame outside the village.
Yugao and Haruto were even less noteworthy.
Then A’s gaze landed on Haruto.
He paused.
And burst into laughter.
“A Genin?”
“Has Konoha lost its mind?”
“You sent a Genin to a mission like this?”
The absurdity was almost funny.
A Chūnin would’ve made sense.
But a Genin?
That felt like an insult.
Faced with the ridicule, Haruto merely smiled.
His expression never changed.
Kakashi stared coldly at the seven criminals.
A kunai appeared in his hand.
“We’ve been ordered to eliminate you.”
“Of course… surrender is also an option.”
A laughed so hard tears nearly appeared.
“Surrender?”
“Have you lost your mind, Kakashi?”
“If I were afraid of Konoha, I wouldn’t have slaughtered an entire city.”
“You’ve been to war.”
“Don’t pretend to be some saint.”
His eyes became greedy.
“Besides…”
“Your blood must be delicious.”
“A Jōnin’s blood is worth more than a thousand civilians.”
He looked at Kakashi and the others as though they were a feast.
Aside from the annoying Genin, the remaining four were all precious nutrients.
If he absorbed their blood, he might not reach Kage level—
But his strength would increase dramatically.
This wasn’t a Konoha extermination squad.
It was a delivery service.
Behind him, B and C stared with similar greed.
Yet neither dared act recklessly.
No one challenged A over food.
Not if they wanted to live.
Normally, A already possessed elite Jōnin-level strength.
When he truly unleashed himself, he became even more terrifying.
Even B and C together weren’t his match.
Kakashi lowered his voice.
“These people are dangerous.”
“Stay sharp.”
“I’ll take A.”
“Guy and Yamato, take the other two Jōnin.”
“Haruto, Yugao.”
“The four Chūnin are yours.”
“Be careful.”
“Haruto, keep an eye on Yugao.”
Haruto nodded.
“Don’t worry, Kakashi-sensei.”
“I’ll keep the field under control.”
For some reason, his blood was already beginning to boil.
A faint excitement rose within him.
Hopefully they can force me to go all out.
Otherwise, this will be too boring.
Yugao wanted to claim she could handle it herself.
But the memory of her previous defeat remained fresh.
Those Chūnin possessed absurd taijutsu.
One mistake could cost her head.
Standing beside her, Haruto slowly drew his short sword.
Cold light flashed across the blade.
Looking at the four Chūnin opposite them, he spoke calmly.
“Yugao-nee.”
“Focus on killing them.”
“I’ll be watching.”
“No one will hurt you.”
He was helping her overcome the psychological shadow left behind by her previous failure.
Only then could she fight without hesitation.
Warmth rose in Yugao’s chest.
She nodded firmly.
“Those animals…”
“None of them are leaving here alive.”
As battle became inevitable, Haruto suddenly looked toward Kakashi.
“One more thing, Sensei.”
“If I use a special kekkei genkai today…”
“Can you keep it secret?”
Kakashi, Guy, and Yamato all froze.
Then they saw the confidence in Haruto’s smile.
Instant understanding dawned.
The kid actually succeeded?
After all, they had already given him the method for combining chakra natures.
The surprising part wasn’t the attempt.
It was that he’d actually succeeded.
Haruto grinned.
“Then watch closely.”
“Let’s see how good this new ability really is.”
“Assuming these guys can force me to use it.”
Yugao immediately nodded.
“No matter what kind of monster you’ve created, I’ll take the secret to my grave.”
Kakashi and Guy agreed without hesitation.
“Same here.”
Yamato struggled for exactly one second.
Then he looked at Haruto’s back and abandoned all professional principles.
“Don’t worry.”
“As far as I’m concerned, I didn’t see anything today.”
Haruto chuckled.
“Then let’s see whether they have the qualifications.”
Truthfully, exposure wouldn’t be a disaster.
He simply hated trouble.
Being studied by Konoha’s higher-ups—or forced toward becoming a missing-nin—sounded exhausting.
At that moment, Kakashi, Guy, and Yamato surged forward like three tigers.
Unlike ordinary battles between Jōnin, where both sides tested each other first—
The instant they collided, everyone fought with the intent to kill.