At this moment, Ayane had no time to ponder why such a wandering rogue Ninja would appear in the heart of the Amegakure.
She only knew one thing.
She wanted to kill!
Filled with rage, how could she vent it?
Only by killing!
Without any warning, Ayane stepped forward abruptly, the arashikiri slicing through the thin curtain of rain, bringing up a biting, cold light.
The wandering Ninja hastily raised his hands to defend.
Clang!
As the blades collided, the Kunai in his hand shattered upon contact, cut into two pieces by the arashikiri!
Ayane did not let up.
She kept moving, pressing forward repeatedly, the faint light brought forth by her Ninja blade with every swing almost weaving into a net.
The wandering Ninja could only retreat again and again until his heels hit the threshold of the thatched hut, leaving him nowhere to go.
But he did not panic; instead, he revealed a smug smile.
“Young Anbu, you’ve fallen for it!” Throwing the Kunai fragments to provide a slight defense, he flipped his hands and quickly formed the Ram seal.
The earth shook and surged upward!
The already soft ground beneath her feet seemed to turn into sticky glue at this moment, and a muddy yellow swamp climbed up along the young girl’s ankles.
Earth Release: Earth Flow Wave!
The trap Ninjutsu that had been set in advance was now easily triggered by him with a simple Ram seal!
Among the five types of release techniques, Earth Release is the most stealthy!
And in this level of Chunin combat, once caught, it is tantamount to a death sentence.
“This game ends here.” The wandering Ninja let out a low laugh: “Being able to kill an Anbu, I am quite satisfied.” Feeling that victory was in his grasp, he couldn’t help but start criticizing.
“Do you know?” “From the very beginning, this battle has fallen into my rhythm.” “How can a wonderful performance not have a suitable stage?” The Ninja let out a hearty laugh: “Many look down on wandering Ninjas like us, thinking we are not as good as the Ninjas from the Ninja Villages…
but little do they know, in front of me, you are nothing!
Hahahaha!” Ayane’s gaze was cold, and she remained noncommittal to his insults.
The young girl said indifferently: “You are right, this farce should end.” She lowered her head slightly and gripped the Ninja blade with both hands, her white, delicate fingers showing clear knuckles.
Subsequently, the arashikiri pressed down violently and stabbed suddenly into the ground!
“Hahaha, what are you doing?
Are you trying to cut my Ninjutsu with a blade?” The wandering Ninja was amused by the sight, as if he had seen some kind of joke.
Are you kidding?
Even those Samurai from the Land of Iron who indulge in past glories wouldn’t have such absurd fantasies!
Ayane turned a deaf ear to his mockery.
Taking advantage of the moment provided by the blade’s cover.
She closed her thumb, flipped her index finger, and barely formed a seal.
Lightning Release: Shockwave!
Blue electrical currents sparked, emitted from her palm, traveled down the Ninja blade, and dropped into the mud…
Zzzzt~ The electrical current surged out from under Ayane’s feet like a tide!
The Earth Flow Wave originally used to restrain her movements now became the medium for the thunder to spread.
Bolts of deep blue electric snakes scattered in all directions, and for a moment, the blue light flared brilliantly, like ice flowers falling to the ground!
“No-seal Ninjutsu?!” The wandering Ninja’s previous composure instantly shattered.
His pupils dilated.
His body, seasoned by many battles, tried to make an evasive move out of muscle memory, but it was already too late.
The current transmitted through the mud completely controlled him in place, unable to move!
Under the combination of two D-rank Lightning and Earth Release techniques, plus the power bonus from Ayane’s titles and traits.
The resulting effect was surprisingly similar to the B-rank Lightning Release technique from Kumogakure, ‘Lightning Release: Ground Flash’!
“How could you perform no-seal…” The wandering Ninja still wanted to question her.
But a Ninja blade stabbed directly into his heart, then passed through his chest!
The questioning voice was instantly silenced.
Only hot blood gushed out from the corners of his mouth!
Ayane, who had easily stepped out of the Earth Flow Wave using a Body Flicker Technique, slowly withdrew the arashikiri from the opponent’s body.
The blade remained as lustrous as water.
The slight bloodstains left on it were washed away by the raindrops and quickly disappeared.
“Did you think this little trick could trap me?” The young girl sheathed her blade with a ‘clang’ and said indifferently: “But you are right, this battle has been under my rhythm from the very beginning.” The Ninja suddenly realized.
‘So everything I saw was just what you wanted me to see…’ He wheezed, his arms trembling, as if he still wanted to resist.
But death had arrived; no matter how unwilling he was, his life could only end here.
Watching the corpse collapse feebly.
Ayane took a moment to glance at the new prompt that popped up on the panel.
[You killed a wandering Ninja (Chunin)!] [Achievement Points + 85!] [You have obtained a new trait!] A new trait?
Ayane’s heart skipped a beat.
Traits were not easy to come by; she had studied at the Ninja Academy for so long just to get those three upgradeable traits she already had.
And now she had actually obtained a new one?
Just as she was about to check the details, a shout came from behind her.
“Swan!” “Run!
Run quickly!” The person speaking was none other than the Woodpecker, who had disappeared just moments ago!
He was in terrible shape right now; his combat uniform was tattered, and several wounds were bleeding non-stop.
His mask was even blackened in one area, as if he had taken an explosive tag right to the face…
Ayane said in shock, “Woodpecker?
How did you…” “Stop talking!
Let’s go!” “That Puppeteer…
is Sunagakure’s Elite Jonin, Mashu!
I saw him back when I went to Sunagakure for negotiations!” Woodpecker didn’t stop moving, hurriedly leaping onto a roof: “A Ninja of this caliber appearing on the battlefield usually requires a Battalion Commander or Lord Hanzou himself to handle!
Otherwise, we’d have to throw lives at him!
He’s not someone we can deal with!” An Elite Jonin-level Puppeteer…
Ayane’s expression also tightened upon hearing this.
The classification of Ninja ranks was actually not complicated; it could even be described as simple and clear.
Genin, Chunin, Jonin, Elite Jonin, and Kage—there were five ranks in total, universal across the entire Ninja World.
Of course, this classification wasn’t necessarily one hundred percent accurate.
For example.
A certain blonde Genin who clearly saved the Ninja World but hadn’t even passed the Chunin Exams…
A certain unknown Chunin who, in a fit of rage over a failed romance, started the Fourth Shinobi World War…
A certain red-eyed Jonin who could fight the God of Shinobi for three days and nights, and who loved dancing and grabbing people by the collar…
But in this era, decades away from the Shippuden period, anyone who could be rated as an Elite Jonin was definitely no fraud!
Even if they came from Sunagakure, the weakest of the Five Great Ninja Villages!
She picked up the still-unconscious boy nearby and followed him with a few hurried Body Flickers, asking as she kept pace, “Woodpecker, why would a Ninja of that level appear here?” One had to know.
Any Ninja at the Elite Jonin level.
As long as they had a bit of capability, they were basically at the level of a battlefield Vice-Commander!
Why would they wander out here for no reason?
“I don’t know.” Woodpecker’s voice was intermittent, punctuated by sharp intakes of breath: “But I suspect there’s a high probability that the Sunagakure front failed in its attack on Konoha, and this guy fled from the battlefield!” He explained, “That guy didn’t have his full set of puppets, and he seemed to be injured; otherwise, I definitely wouldn’t have escaped!” Ayane was stunned, catching a key piece of information: “Sunagakure is actually attacking Konoha too?” “How else?” Perhaps due to his injuries, Woodpecker’s emotions were much more animated than before: “Why do you think Lord Hanzou changed course to attack Konoha?
We hadn’t even finished fighting Sunagakure yet.” Among the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Konohagakure was recognized as the strongest Ninja village, its status beyond doubt.
Ayane realized: “It seems we took the initiative to turn our enemies, Sunagakure, into friends?” “Hmph…
hardly friends, just mutual exploitation.” Woodpecker said indifferently, “We launch a major offensive on Konoha’s borders to draw their attention, while Sunagakure sends their most elite Puppeteer units to secretly raid the Land of Fire.” Hearing this, Ayane concluded without a second thought, “Then it’s over.
Who came up with this strategy?
It sounds like a failure from the start.” Woodpecker was silent for a moment before answering, “It was the Sunagakure high-ranking official Chiyo; she is a Kazekage Advisor.” Actually, there was something he hadn’t said.
At that time, Sunagakure and Amegakure had just had a skirmish with casualties on both sides; how could they have reached a cooperation so easily?
It was only because Chiyo had put in a massive effort.
She had not only personally lobbied the Sunagakure high-ranking officials but also proactively approached Amegakure to gift them a newly developed antidote, allowing Hanzou to improve his Salamander venom.
Regarding this, the Amegakure Anbu’s speculation was…
Chiyo wanted to use this military achievement to push her own son into the position of the Fourth Kazekage.
Ayane thought to herself, ‘Wonderful, everything aligns.’ What was Kakashi’s old man famous for?
Wasn’t it this very conflict?
Killing Puppeteers left and right—from then on, the name Konoha’s White Fang became known to the whole world.
She looked at Woodpecker, who was hurriedly fleeing ahead, and suddenly asked as if casually, “By the way, once we reach the battlefield, when do we go to collect the explosive tags?” Woodpecker froze for a moment.
Collect what explosive tags?
Hadn’t they already been collected?
But he then realized that Black Swan was quietly testing his identity.
For a moment, Woodpecker was both gratified and helpless.
He turned his head and spat out a few words: “During the end-of-month clearance sale, of course!” Ayane smiled, and only then did she stop hesitating and quicken her pace to catch up.