At this moment, Ayane didn’t care to figure out why a wandering rogue ninja had shown up deep within the borders of the Land of Rain.
She only knew one thing.
She wanted to kill someone.
When your heart is overflowing with rage, how do you vent it?
You kill.
Without a shred of warning, Ayane took a forceful step forward.
Arashikiri tore through the veil of rain, carrying a freezing flash of steel.
The rogue ninja hastily raised his kunai to block.
Clang!
The weapons clashed, but the kunai in his hand shattered on impact, cleanly sliced in two by Arashikiri!
Ayane didn’t give him an inch to breathe.
She pressed the assault, advancing relentlessly.
The faint hum of chakra emanating from her blade wove a deadly, inescapable net of light with every swing.
The rogue ninja had no choice but to retreat again and again, until his heels hit the threshold of the thatched hut.
He was cornered.
But instead of panicking, a smug grin crept onto his face.
“Young Anbu…
you fell for it!” He threw the broken hilt of his kunai as a momentary distraction, then his hands flew together, rapidly forming the Dog hand seal.
The earth trembled and churned!
The already muddy ground beneath her feet suddenly thickened into a viscous, glue-like consistency, the yellowish sludge crawling rapidly up the young girl’s ankles.
Earth Style: Earth Flow Wave!
He had set up this trap jutsu in advance and triggered it perfectly with a single hand seal!
Of the five basic nature transformations, Earth Style was notoriously the most insidious when it came to traps!
And in a Chunin-level skirmish, getting caught in a trap like this was essentially a death sentence.
“This little game of ours ends here.” The rogue ninja chuckled lowly.
“I must say, getting to kill an Anbu is quite thrilling.” Believing he had absolute victory in the bag, he couldn’t resist gloating.
“You know…” “From the very beginning, this entire fight has been completely under my control.” “How could such a magnificent performance not have a fitting stage?” The ninja laughed heartily.
“So many people look down on us wandering rogues.
You think we aren’t as capable as you elite village shinobi…
But little do you know, in front of me, you’re nothing!
Hahahaha!” Ayane’s gaze remained freezing cold.
She ignored his arrogant insults completely.
The girl said flatly, “You’re right about one thing.
This farce is over.” She lowered her head slightly and gripped the hilt of her chakra blade with both hands, her pale knuckles turning white from the force.
Then, she thrust Arashikiri violently downward, burying the blade straight into the mud!
“Hahaha!
What are you doing?!
Trying to cut my jutsu with a sword?!” The rogue ninja laughed so hard he bent over, as if he had just seen the funniest joke in the world.
Was she insane?
Even those stubbornly traditional samurai in the Land of Iron wouldn’t attempt something so ridiculous!
Ayane turned a deaf ear to his mockery.
Using the blade as a shield to hide her hand movements, she brought her thumb and index finger together, clumsily forming a one-handed seal.
Lightning Style: Electromagnetic Murder!
Crackling blue electricity erupted from her palm, racing down the conductive metal of the sword directly into the mud…
Zzzt!
Zzzt!
The electrical current surged outward like a tidal wave from beneath Ayane’s feet!
The Earth Flow Wave that was meant to bind her movements had now become the perfect conductor for her lightning.
Serpents of brilliant blue electricity scattered in all directions, illuminating the dark night like a web of cracking ice!
“Jutsu without hand seals?!” The rogue ninja’s smug composure shattered instantly.
His pupils contracted in horror.
His battle-hardened muscle memory screamed at him to dodge, but it was already too late.
The electricity transmitted through the mud completely paralyzed him, locking him firmly in place!
By combining two D-rank jutsu—Lightning and Earth Style—and supercharging them with the massive damage multipliers from Ayane’s Titles and Traits…
The resulting destructive force essentially mimicked Kumogakure’s B-rank Lightning Style: Ground Flash!
“How can you use jutsu without—” The rogue ninja tried to spit out a final question.
But a chakra blade plunged straight into his heart, bursting cleanly out through his back!
His question died in his throat.
The only sound left was the sickening gurgle of boiling blood spilling from the corners of his mouth.
Ayane, who had easily freed herself from the mud trap using the Body Flicker technique, slowly pulled Arashikiri out of his chest.
The blade remained as pristine as flowing water.
The few drops of blood that clung to the steel were instantly washed away by the rain.
“Did you honestly think a petty trick like that could hold me?” With a sharp click, the girl sheathed her blade and stated coldly, “But you were right about one thing.
This fight has been under my control from the very beginning.” Realization finally dawned on the dying ninja.
‘So…
everything I saw…
was exactly what you wanted me to see…’ He wheezed heavily, his arm twitching as if he still wanted to resist.
But death had already claimed him.
No matter how unwilling he was, his life ended right there in the mud.
Watching the corpse collapse heavily, Ayane took a moment to glance at the new prompt that had popped up on her system panel.
[You have killed a Rogue Ninja (Chunin)!] [Achievement Points +85!] [You have acquired a new Trait!] A new Trait?
Ayane’s heart skipped a beat.
Acquiring Traits wasn’t easy.
She had trained diligently at the Academy for over two years just to unlock the three basic Traits she had recently upgraded.
And now she had generated a brand new one just from a single kill?
Just as she was about to check the details, a frantic shout echoed from behind her.
“Swan!” “Run!
We have to run!” The voice belonged to Woodpecker, who had supposedly vanished!
He was currently in horrific condition.
His Anbu uniform was torn to shreds, and he was bleeding heavily from multiple deep wounds.
His mask was completely scorched black, as if someone had slapped an explosive tag directly onto his face…
Ayane was genuinely shocked.
“Woodpecker?
What happened to you—?” “Save the questions!
We need to move!
Now!” “That Puppet Master…
he’s an Elite Jonin from Sunagakure named Mashu!
I saw him once when I accompanied Lord Hanzo for peace talks with the Sand Village!” Woodpecker didn’t stop moving, hurriedly leaping onto a rooftop.
“A ninja of that caliber appearing on the battlefield usually requires a Battalion Commander or Lord Hanzo himself to deal with!
Otherwise, we’d have to pile up mountains of corpses just to stall him!
We stand absolutely no chance!” An Elite Jonin-level Puppet Master…
Hearing this, Ayane’s expression immediately tightened.
The ranking system for shinobi was actually quite straightforward, even brutally simple.
Genin, Chunin, Jonin, Elite Jonin, and Kage.
Those were the five universally recognized ranks across the ninja world.
Of course, this ranking system wasn’t entirely foolproof…
For example.
A certain blonde Genin who saved the world but technically failed his Chunin Exams…
A certain unknown Chunin who started the Fourth Great Ninja War in a fit of rage because his crush died…
A certain red-eyed Jonin who loved dancing, grabbing people by the throat, and throwing down with the God of Shinobi for three days straight…
But in the current era—decades before the absurdity of Shippuden—anyone titled an ‘Elite Jonin’ was a legitimate, undisputed powerhouse!
Even if they hailed from Sunagakure, arguably the weakest of the Five Great Nations!
She grabbed the unconscious boy by the collar and executed several rapid Body Flickers to keep up with Woodpecker, asking as they ran, “Woodpecker, why would a ninja of that level be all the way out here?” Think about it.
Any shinobi at the Elite Jonin level with even half a brain would be serving as a Deputy Commander on the frontlines!
Why would someone like that be wandering around slaughtering a random village in the middle of nowhere?
“I don’t know.” Woodpecker’s voice was ragged, interrupted by sharp inhalations of pain.
“But my best guess?
Suna’s frontline assault on Konoha failed spectacularly, and this bastard is a deserter fleeing the battlefield!” He elaborated, “His puppet arsenal was severely depleted, and he seemed to be injured.
If he wasn’t, there is no way in hell I would have escaped with my life!” Ayane blinked in surprise, catching a massive piece of intel.
“Suna is attacking Konoha too?” “Of course they are.” Perhaps due to his injuries, Woodpecker was significantly more talkative than before.
“Why do you think Lord Hanzo pivoted our forces to attack Konoha?
We hadn’t even finished dealing with Suna yet.” Among the Five Great Nations.
Konoha was universally recognized as the absolute strongest.
Their dominance was unquestionable.
Ayane pieced it together.
“So…
we essentially struck a backdoor deal and allied with Sunagakure?” “Hmph…
‘Allied’ is a strong word.
It’s mutual exploitation.” Woodpecker explained grimly.
“We launched a massive offensive on Konoha’s border to draw their main forces and attention.
In exchange, Suna deployed their elite Puppet Brigade to launch a covert, devastating surprise attack deep within the Land of Fire.” Hearing this, Ayane didn’t even have to think before declaring confidently, “Well, they’re doomed.
Whoever came up with that strategy is an idiot.
That’s a suicide mission.” Woodpecker fell silent for a moment before replying, “It was Chiyo, Suna’s Elder and Advisor to the Kazekage.” Actually, there was one piece of the puzzle he hadn’t mentioned.
Amegakure and Sunagakure had just been slaughtering each other on the battlefield; both sides had suffered heavy casualties.
How could they suddenly agree to cooperate so smoothly?
It was because Chiyo had pulled strings on a massive scale.
Not only had she personally lobbied the Suna elders, but she had also personally delivered a newly developed antidote to Amegakure, allowing Hanzo to refine and upgrade his salamander toxin.
The Ame Anbu’s internal assessment was simple: Chiyo was trying to secure enough military prestige from this campaign to push her son onto the Kazekage’s seat as the Fourth.
Bingo, Ayane thought.
Everything lines up perfectly.
How did Kakashi’s dad, Sakumo Hatake, become a legend?
Wasn’t it exactly during this battle?
Chopping down Puppet Masters left and right until the name “White Fang of the Leaf” struck terror across the entire shinobi world!
She looked at the battered Woodpecker running ahead of her and suddenly asked in an overly casual tone, “By the way, when we get to the frontline camp, when do we requisition the explosive tags?” Woodpecker stumbled slightly.
Requisition explosive tags?
Didn’t we already do that?!
But then he realized what she was doing.
Black Swan was quietly verifying his identity to ensure he hadn’t been replaced by a puppet or a transformation jutsu.
Woodpecker felt a sudden mix of relief and exasperation.
He turned his head and spat out the passcode: “During the end-of-the-month clearance sale, obviously!” Ayane smiled.
All of her suspicions vanished, and she sprinted after him at full speed.