A lone figure flashed along a road surrounded by dense forest.
Behind him came a vast, dark tide of shinobi, transforming the once-quiet woodland into a scene of frantic motion.
Any traveller unfortunate enough to witness this spectacle would have stared at the fleeing man in disbelief.
Just how much hatred had this man provoked to have so many enemies chasing after him?
Despite the enormous force pursuing him, Shigure was not particularly worried.
Because—he had finally seen hope.
World Points!
Without the slightest hesitation, Shigure spent ten World Points on his Strength cap and ten on his Constitution cap, raising both caps from 160 to 260.
He then pulled two Body-Strengthening Flowers from inside his clothes and wolfed them down.
Almost immediately, he felt something change within his body.
His previously depleted stamina was restored in an instant.
Vast waves of power surged through every muscle and bone, filling Shigure with strength unlike anything he had ever experienced.
At the same time, a faint tingling sensation spread from the wound on his shoulder.
The injury was already showing signs of healing!
When Shigure opened his system panel, his heart filled with delight.
[Host: Senju Shigure] [Age: 39+] [Strength: 251/260] [Constitution: 251/260] [Spirit: 357/360] [Unlocked Attributes] [Earth Affinity: 133/150] [Wind Affinity: 420/420] [Fire Affinity: 120/150] [Water Affinity: 1/101] [Lightning Affinity: 1/101] [Fūinjutsu: 20/100] [Basic Fūinjutsu Fragments: 5] [Mental Ability: Wide-Range Sensory Perception] [Power Rating: Kage Level] [World Points: 0] For one wild moment, Shigure felt tempted to stop running and fight the entire pursuing force.
“I’ve finally reached Kage level too!
Now let’s see how much fun I can have with you bastards!” In his excitement, Shigure’s speed suddenly exploded.
Within moments, he had left his pursuers so far behind that they could no longer see him.
Meanwhile— Shariki and the others, who had been pursuing him with all their strength, stared in disbelief as Shigure abruptly vanished into the distance.
“How is that possible?
Why did his speed suddenly increase so much?” Shariki’s pupils contracted sharply.
He had been roughly a kilometre behind Shigure, yet the man had disappeared from sight almost instantly.
Shariki was certain that Shigure had been wounded.
So how could his speed suddenly increase so dramatically?
It was almost as though he had swallowed some miraculous performance-enhancing drug.
And in truth, that was exactly what Shigure had done.
He had consumed two incredibly precious Body-Strengthening Flowers.
“He must have activated one of the Senju Clan’s secret techniques,” one of the shinobi declared with absolute confidence.
“If we catch up with him, there’s no way he’ll escape again!” “That’s right!” “Move faster!” The six swordsmen immediately activated forbidden techniques of their own.
Their speed surged as they raced after Shigure.
Shigure had been monitoring their movements through his sensory ability the entire time.
The moment the six men accelerated, a smile appeared on his face.
“Heh… The fish have taken the bait.
Time to draw them a little farther away.” Maintaining just enough of a lead to keep the six men following him, Shigure gradually lured them away from the main body of pursuing shinobi.
He continued moving at an unhurried pace and even took the opportunity to properly bandage the wound on his shoulder.
After advancing to Kage level, Shigure’s combat power had increased severalfold.
The tremendous rise in his Strength and Constitution had granted him immense chakra reserves.
More importantly, he felt that he was now only a step away from completely mastering wind-nature transformation.
“Why did my Wind stat suddenly reach its maximum value?
Is it connected to my overall strength increasing?” Shigure rubbed his chin, unable to understand the reason.
In truth, mastering or developing a ninjutsu depended on more than talent and technical skill.
A shinobi’s overall level of strength was equally important.
Previously, the limits on Shigure’s Strength and Constitution had prevented him from perfectly integrating everything he had learned about wind-nature transformation.
Now that those two attributes had risen significantly, many of the imperfections that had hindered his progress naturally disappeared.
In other words, if Shigure resumed his research into the Rasenshuriken now, his progress would be several times faster than before.
As he continued leading the six swordsmen through the forest, a blue Rasengan began spinning within his palm.
… Senju Akira felt as though both his legs had been filled with lead.
His steps had become unsteady.
He had pushed himself beyond his limits throughout the entire journey.
Even when the Senju compound’s gates finally appeared ahead of him, his vision had already begun to blur.
It was a sign that he had exhausted every last trace of stamina.
Akira knew that he could not stop.
He had to cling to consciousness long enough to deliver news of Shigure’s situation to the clan.
Swaying on his feet, he stumbled towards the nearby gates.
His face had become deathly pale, without the slightest trace of colour remaining.
“Quick… Notify the clan!
Elder Shigure… He’s surrounded… Hurry and save him…” The instant Akira crossed through the gates, he grabbed one of the guards by the arm and forced out the warning between ragged breaths.
Seeing one of the clan’s young geniuses return in such a condition, both guards immediately understood the gravity of the situation.
One of them hurriedly caught Akira before he could collapse, while the other sprinted into the compound to report the news.
“Quick… Take me to the clan head!” Akira refused to allow himself to lose consciousness.
He bit down hard on his tongue, using the pain to restore a sliver of clarity, and urgently repeated his request to the clansman supporting him.
Before long, a vast force of Senju shinobi had assembled in the clan’s central square.
Only after seeing them did Akira finally relax.
A faint smile appeared on his face before he collapsed into the arms of the clansman beside him.
Elder Shigure, I told the clan everything that happened!
You have to hold on!
That was Akira’s final thought before darkness consumed his consciousness.
More than a hundred Senju shinobi stood within the square.
Among them was the Second Elder, Senju Kima.
His expression was filled with overwhelming regret and hatred.
He would avenge his younger brother!
Kima was certain that Shigure had almost no chance of surviving this ordeal.
If Kima had not made that suggestion in the first place, how could Shigure have ended up surrounded by several hundred enemy shinobi?
Worse still, Shigure had chosen to face those enemies alone so that a younger member of the clan could escape!
“This is all my fault!” Kima clenched his fists.
“The Hōzuki and Kaguya Clans will pay for this!” … Author’s Note : Want to keep reading?
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