Kagami was, in truth, a little proud of his performance just now.
But he wasn’t about to let such an inflated victory go to his head.
Looking at the facts objectively, Zabuza had already fought a brutal head-on battle with Guy.
Both his fighting spirit and stamina had been significantly depleted, and most importantly, several of his ribs had been broken.
The injury might not have been obvious from the outside, but it actually had a considerable impact on his ability to fight, especially in taijutsu.
That was also one of the main reasons Zabuza had chosen to force Kagami back before abandoning his sword and forming hand seals to use ninjutsu.
With injured ribs, engaging in a taijutsu battle would clearly have put him at a disadvantage.
In other words, Kagami had not only benefited from his opponent already being injured, but had also caught Zabuza off guard and seized the initiative.
On top of that, he possessed the tremendous advantage granted by the Tenseigan’s unparalleled powers of perception.
It was only through all these factors coming together that Kagami had been able to secure such a swift victory.
Of course, from another perspective, this also showed that Hyuga Kagami was undergoing a transformation.
The mediocre, unremarkable man he had once been was gradually disappearing.
In his place, a new powerhouse was emerging—decisive, perceptive, and exceptionally skilled at seizing every opportunity.
Guy asked curiously, “Kagami, you didn’t seem afraid of those Kirigakure ninja at all.
But shouldn’t they all have been jonin?”
Kagami replied, “They were probably only special jonin.”
Although special jonin were technically considered jonin, there was still a distinction between them and true jonin.
After all, “jonin” was an extremely broad classification, and there were plenty of monsters hidden among their ranks, including no shortage of Kage-level powerhouses.
Special jonin, on the other hand, occupied a much more clearly defined tier.
Those who were particularly strong would usually be promoted to full jonin before long.
As a result, ninja who remained at the special jonin rank were, for the most part, slightly weaker than ordinary jonin, and the chances of a Kage-level powerhouse being hidden among them were extremely low.
Besides, Kagami’s attitude toward the Kirigakure ninja earlier had partly been an act.
In fact, the moment he encountered the Kirigakure assassination unit facing off against his own village’s ANBU, Kagami had already begun putting on a performance.
He wanted to shed his previous image of being mediocre and unremarkable, but he couldn’t go too far or change too abruptly.
That made choosing the right opponent especially important.
Zabuza, whose strength had already reached the level of a special jonin but whose experience was still somewhat lacking, was undoubtedly the perfect stepping stone.
As for his arrogant attitude, that too had been deliberate.
For one thing, members of prestigious clans with kekkei genkai tended to possess at least some degree of arrogance.
Acting that way was actually the most natural thing for someone of his background.
Secondly, arrogance also sent the message that he wasn’t someone to be trifled with.
When faced with someone arrogant and cold-blooded, most people would think twice before plotting against them.
And that alone could save Hyuga Kagami a great deal of trouble.
However, there was another reason that had truly prompted Kagami to start establishing a new image for himself so soon.
Yesterday, he had learned something from Rei.
And Kagami was determined to seize this opportunity.
Once he became a special jonin, his status and standing would undergo a complete transformation.
After all, he was currently nothing more than a chunin who had been promoted en masse during wartime.
In terms of status, he couldn’t compare to chunin who had earned their promotions through the normal evaluation process.
So if he became a special jonin, it would effectively be the same as jumping two ranks at once.
He would immediately rise above every chunin, completely escape the fate of being cannon fodder, and become one of the village’s high-level combatants.
Moreover, after becoming a special jonin, he could accumulate merit and use it to submit requests to the village for the opportunity to learn advanced ninjutsu—or even secret techniques.
Back then, the Fourth Hokage had exchanged the military achievements he accumulated on the battlefield for the opportunity to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique, thereby laying the foundation that ultimately allowed him to reach the Kage level.
After following the trail for several hours, Kagami and Guy finally found the group of wandering ninja.
There were five of them in total, all dressed as Kirigakure ninja.
Their leader wore his hair tied in a topknot and had a vermilion-red dot above each eyebrow.
He appeared to be a member of the Kaguya Clan, a rather notorious clan within Kirigakure.
Kagami whispered, “Looks like he’s from the Kaguya Clan—the clan with the Shikotsumyaku.
Be careful!”
Guy nodded solemnly.
Nearly every famous kekkei genkai clan was dangerous to deal with.
Having experienced war firsthand, Guy understood that perfectly well.
And Kirigakure’s Kaguya Clan was infamous for both its ferocity and insanity—they were the kind of monsters everyone tried to avoid on the battlefield.
The Kaguya ninja on the other side burst out laughing.
“Konoha only sent two brats to hunt us down?”
The other wandering ninja joined in the laughter.
One of them mocked, “I heard Konoha’s Hokage was killed right inside his own village not long ago.
Looks like Konoha really is finished.”
Kagami swept his Tenseigan across the surroundings.
After confirming that there was no one else nearby, an idea formed in his mind.
Combined with the Kaguya Clan’s exceptional taijutsu, the Shikotsumyaku gave them nearly flawless offense and defense.
Ordinary taijutsu and weapons were largely ineffective against them.
Even the Gentle Fist might not necessarily be able to penetrate the bone armor created by the Shikotsumyaku.
Because of this, the Kaguya Clan was a natural counter to taijutsu specialists.
Unfortunately, both Kagami and Guy happened to be taijutsu specialists.
For precisely that reason, Kagami decisively chose to launch a surprise attack with Wheel of Will, pulling the leading Kaguya ninja directly toward him before swiftly sealing his chakra with the Gentle Fist, preventing him from using the Shikotsumyaku.
With his plan decided, Kagami deliberately feigned weakness. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
“This is the territory of the Land of Fire.
Leave immediately!”
Hearing this, the wandering ninja laughed even more brazenly.
One of them even took a flask from his waist and began drinking as though Kagami and Guy weren’t even there.
Kagami took another few steps forward, deliberately putting on an air of someone trying to hide his fear behind empty bravado.
He shouted, “If you still refuse to leave, don’t blame us Konoha ninja for what happens next!”
The Kaguya ninja also took a few steps toward Kagami and grinned.
“Brat, do you know who I am—”
Before the Kaguya ninja could even finish speaking, he suddenly felt an enormous attractive force seize his body and violently drag him toward Kagami.
At the same time, Kagami leapt forward, charging straight at him like a pouncing tiger!
There had only been a little over ten meters between them to begin with, so in the blink of an eye, the two collided.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
A series of muffled impacts rang out as Kagami’s palms struck home.
Before the Kaguya ninja could even activate his kekkei genkai, all the major chakra points throughout his body had already been sealed by Kagami’s Gentle Fist.
His entire body crashed to the ground like a sack of sand.
But merely sealing his chakra points wasn’t enough.
Kagami immediately followed up with a full sequence of Eight Trigrams Palms against his completely defenseless opponent, every strike aimed at a vital point.
In mere moments, he finished the man off and destroyed his brain in the process.
These people were rogue ninja and the designated targets of the mission.
They were different from Zabuza earlier.
There would be no mercy.
At the same moment Kagami made his move, Guy shot forward as well, intercepting the other four wandering ninja.
Aside from the Kaguya ninja who led them, the other four were nothing impressive.
Before Kagami could even come over to assist him, Guy had already taken care of every last one of them by himself.
After sealing the Kaguya ninja’s corpse inside the mission scroll, Kagami and Guy wasted no time and immediately headed back to the village.
Along the way, Guy finally couldn’t contain his curiosity.
“Kagami, what exactly happened back there?”
Kagami smiled.
“Don’t tell me you thought you were the only one with a secret technique?
That move just now was my secret technique.”