join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr
Since that day, Sawara Kiri had suddenly changed his previously lazy and scattered routine, becoming an early riser and late returner, as if preparing to restore his condition before a competition. This earned him quite a few complaints from Yuki.
She always felt that he was on a date somewhere with that bad woman from the Uchiha.
However, Sawara Kiri was completely unaware of Yuki's unfounded worries, as he was busy with his own affairs.
Evidently, new talents and abilities are not something that can be mastered immediately upon acquisition.
Konoha, Forest of Death.
At this moment, Sawara Kiri had already blindfolded himself, and even completely shut off his habitually activated Six Eyes, putting himself in a completely defenseless state.
He quietly strolled through this deep, dense forest, seemingly aimlessly wandering.
Just as he was about to take another step forward, his pace suddenly halted.
He stopped just short of a thin steel wire stretched between two giant trees, only a step away.
The next moment, a dense whooshing sound suddenly rang in his ears.
Several Kunai suddenly shot out from deep within the bushes and from the treetops, like black spinning disks cutting large arcs through the air, aimed directly at his head and neck.
Sawara Kiri's body abruptly tilted forward, narrowly avoiding the Kunai that swept past the back of his head.
The wind stirred by the spinning Ninja tools ruffled his hair, but Sawara Kiri seemed completely unaffected. He suddenly raised the Kunai in his hand and blocked upwards.
"Clang!"
Almost the instant he reacted, a figure holding a Ninja blade suddenly appeared from the tree trunk, just as a strike came down.
If viewed from an outsider's perspective, it would seem as if the figure intentionally struck his Kunai.
The crisp clang of metal on metal was accompanied by sparks.
The Ninja blade, having missed its first strike, immediately followed up, pressing against his body. The speed of the blade was astonishingly fast, each strike aimed at Sawara Kiri's vital points.
However, Sawara Kiri, with his eyes blindfolded, seemed completely oblivious to the approaching danger, still strolling leisurely. Only the Kunai in his hand moved with lightning speed, parrying up and down, so fast that it almost created a thin mist in front of him.
The principle of short-range weapon combat, where an inch longer means an inch stronger, seemed entirely absent between these two. The Ninja blade in the figure's hand was clearly astonishingly fast, almost forming an impenetrable silver blur, yet it could never touch Sawara Kiri's body.
Instead, the Ninja blade in his own hand was repeatedly struck in the same spot by a series of blows, and under the continuous impacts, a large gash was cut into it.
"Ding!"
Finally, the upper part of the blade suddenly snapped, spinning as it fell to the ground.
Just a momentary pause in action was immediately caught by Sawara Kiri. In a state where his vision was completely unusable, he suddenly reached out, immediately grasping the figure's slender wrist, and pulled her forward.
But the figure showed no intention of giving up resistance. As she released the hilt of the blade, she immediately climbed onto Sawara Kiri's body using Uchiha-style grappling techniques.
However, before her grappling technique could fully form, Sawara Kiri's arm suddenly erupted with immense power. Like turning a windmill, he directly lifted her from the ground and flung her towards the direction from which the whooshing sound had come.
"Poof—"
The sound of a Ninja blade swinging from behind and the burst of smoke occurred almost simultaneously.
Sawara Kiri's figure, however, moved faster than the sound, passing completely through the smoke, and thrust his Kunai towards the figure that had been hidden behind him for so long.
"Thud."
The next moment, that figure was already firmly pinned against the tree trunk by him.
At this point, the battle ended.
Sawara Kiri let out a long sigh, removed his blindfold, and looked at the girl in front of him.
Lady Megumi, pinned against the tree trunk, had the sharp Kunai pointed at her pale neck's carotid artery, but the three-tomoe Sharingan in her eyes seemed to look at him with anticipation.
"You worked hard, Megumi."
Sawara Kiri lowered his Kunai and extended his hand to her with a smile.
A hint of disappointment flashed in Uchiha Megumi's eyes, but she immediately grabbed his hand, as if wanting to put her entire weight on him, and straightened up with his pull.
"So, is the training considered a success?"
The girl brushed the dust off her body and turned to ask the young man.
"Yes, a great success!"
Sawara Kiri was actually lying.
Although Megumi now had 'Sawara Kiri's Absolute Defense' as a preliminary protection, her hard power in taijutsu and reaction speed was still some distance from the level of Sakumo and Sarutobi Hiruzen, making it impossible for him to simulate that life-or-death, hair-thin sense of mortal danger.
However, this didn't mean Megumi was weak; rather, the current Sawara Kiri was too strong.
'Mind's Eye (False) (A)'
Although this ability seemed unremarkable, it was a transcendent ability that countless legendary heroic spirits did not possess, allowing one to develop a strong, beast-like intuition. Even without probing the surrounding environment or the enemy's movements, one could perfectly respond purely based on instinct.
Although it was passive, only by experiencing it carefully could one realize how much this ability had enhanced him.
On the other hand, 'Domain Expansion: Infinite Void', after several tests in the past few days, left Sawara Kiri with a strange sense of difficulty.
It wasn't that it was not useful.
On the contrary, precisely because it was too useful, the corresponding consumption was too great for him.
At the same time, this was also an area-of-effect attack that disregarded friend or foe.
If there were allies within the domain, he needed to quickly awaken them to prevent them from also being turned into ravings idiots by his soul-striking technique.
If he had to say, perhaps only a human-shaped divine tree like Senju Hashirama could use this ability freely?
Therefore, this ability could only be used by him as a true one-on-one trump card.
He thought to himself, secretly summarizing the discoveries from this battle.
He didn't notice that Lady Megumi had quietly closed the distance between them.
The girl's little finger hooked forward, silently crawling onto the back of his hand.
Then she gripped it.
Seeing no reaction from Sawara Kiri, the girl's cool and elegant face subtly narrowed her long, slender eyes, revealing a happy smile like a fox biting into meat.
Only then did Sawara Kiri glance at her.
As the bond level increased, Megumi's desire and initiative to get closer to him also became increasingly direct and intense.
If he didn't find a way to restrain it...
He thought silently to himself. The two walked back into the village together, until they stopped at the gate of the Uchiha compound, where they parted ways.
After returning home, Sawara Kiri summarized his day as usual, ate fruit, had dinner, then took a warm bath, and prepared for bed.
Just before going to sleep, he opened his panel.
'Personal Information'
'Name: Sawara Kiri'
'Age: 16'
'Talents: Kekkei Genkai (A), Mind's Eye (False) (A), Photographic Memory (B), Energetic Beast (B)'
'Abilities: Limitless - Fourth Stage (S+), Kyōka Suigetsu (S), Fire Release (A+), Lightning Release (A+), Water Release (A), Genjutsu (A), Taijutsu (B+), Crimson Blade - Hinokami Kagura (B), Ninja Tool Manipulation (B), Sealing Technique (B)'
'Overall Rating: S+'
'Emotion Points: 1'
'System Evaluation: Our journey is the sea of stars! Kiri-kun, you are now qualified to charge towards the Sage of Six Paths's old home! Where is Ōtsutsuki Kaguya? Look at my Energetic Beast, ha ha ha!!!'
Ignoring the crazy talk in the system evaluation, Sawara Kiri began to observe the changes on the panel.
The biggest change was that abilities that originally only required one Emotional Entanglement point to upgrade all increased by one point after the 'First Complete Ability Fully Developed' prompt appeared.
Due to too few observable samples, and all of them being abilities that could be upgraded with just one point, Sawara Kiri also didn't know whether it only increased by one point, or if it doubled.
If it was the latter, then it meant he would need to be more cautious in his use of Emotion Points in the future.
Unless absolutely necessary, abilities that were not S-rank basically had no need to be upgraded further.
More importantly, he also needed to continue to explore other individuals who could provide him with Emotion Points.
"Tsk."
Sawara Kiri lay on the bed, his mind cluttered with various thoughts, his brows slightly furrowed, muttering in dissatisfaction: "Isn't this forcing me to be a scumbag?"
"I'm a pure love fan."
Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly heard a rustling sound from outside the door.
Sawara Kiri's spirit jolted, and at the same time, he subconsciously felt that this scene inexplicably gave him a sense of déjà vu.
However, before he could react, Lady Tsunade quickly burst in from outside.
Sawara Kiri's expression froze, and he looked at the mature woman with picturesque eyebrows and graceful charm in front of him with a very subtle gaze—this exquisite grace and lithe figure would even continue for several decades—and he inadvertently recalled the wonderful little stories from the various 'married woman apartment' comics he had read in his previous life, subconsciously wondering if Lady Tsunade had finally reached the age of a 'wolf and tiger.'
But the next moment, reason made him feel that such a thing was unlikely.
Sure enough.
Almost the instant she burst into his room, he noticed the anxious look on Lady Tsunade's face.
"Something happened, come with me!"
"Next, we need to rush to the front line as quickly as possible."
Sawara Kiri was startled by the words, but noticing Lady Tsunade's anxious movements and extremely urgent tone, he immediately realized the seriousness of the problem.
"I'll get ready now."
But the next moment, as if he suddenly realized something, he abruptly looked up at Lady Tsunade, asking in confusion:
"Wait a moment, you're going too?"
Lady Tsunade's face was grim, and she nodded slightly: "I'm going too."
Sawara Kiri immediately looked up at the light blue halo above her head.
"Sawara's Book of Friends"
"Tsunade's Burden (Mid-level)"
"Details: When she wakes, she can still recall the endless mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and her loved ones and family lying in pools of blood—why is everything in her memory the color of blood?"
Clearly, her hemophobia still hadn't been cured.
So, if she went to the battlefield with this body...
"If you don't act, she's definitely done for!"
"I told you to listen to me, hurry up and hang her!"
"I want to see the table—!!!"
A voice always appeared very frequently when it shouldn't.
Sawara Kiri completely ignored the voice that popped into his mind, and as if remembering something, he immediately jumped out of bed, went into the study, and said to Lady Tsunade:
"Lady Tsunade, please wait for me for a moment."
"Huh?"
Tsunade was startled.
Only then did she notice Sawara Kiri's back, clad only in a pair of boxer shorts.
She subconsciously turned her head away, then suddenly felt that her action seemed immature, not at all like a reliable adult who had seen all sorts of things.
So she turned back to look at him.
This kid, his physique isn't bad at all.
Time rewound to one day ago.
Land of Hot Water front line.
"What did you say?"
Mura Ibari looked at the Anbu-dressed Ninja in front of him with a stunned expression, shouting in disbelief, his eyes wide.
"Immediately withdraw the three squads from the C3 position and open a gap for the Hidden Cloud Village front-line army."
The Anbu-dressed Ninja merely repeated the order coldly, completely disregarding Mura Ibari's emotions, his tone as cold as a machine.
Mura Ibari, however, found it completely incomprehensible, his voice hoarse: "That's what I mean!"
"Do you know how many people our unit has died to defend this crucial passage from the Land of Hot Water to the Land of Fire?"
"Kumogakure's seventeen consecutive waves of charges haven't broken through our defenses, and now you're telling us to open a gap for them?"
"Whose order?! Whose order is this?!"
The Anbu-dressed Ninja placed the order document he held onto the dirt block serving as his desk, motioning for him to read it himself.
On that order form, Homura Mitokado's name was signed.
Mura Ibari stared blankly at the signature on the order form, feeling a fierce rush of blood surging in his forehead, which had been awake for four nights, as if it would burst his blood vessels, and his vision even uncontrollably darkened.
To defend this pass, hundreds of them had fought for fourteen days straight, and because they knew the people of the Land of Fire were behind them, almost everyone had risked their lives to block every tiny trap and barrier that the Cloud Ninja had broken through, doing their utmost to ensure the safety of the Land of Fire's rear and its supply units.
As a result, with one order from above, all their efforts of these past days would be in vain?
One must know, they were defending the lifeline of this entire front line.
"Why?!"
Mura Ibari's anger surged, and he almost uncontrollably grabbed the collar of the Anbu-dressed Ninja, roaring and shouting, the images of his comrades fighting to the death one after another until they were torn apart still in his mind, his eyes bloodshot.
"Jonin Mura Ibari."
The Anbu-dressed Ninja's tone suddenly became a few degrees colder, and he said calmly:
"You are a Konoha Ninja; obeying your superiors is everything to you."
"Execute the order."
After a long pause, Mura Ibari's hand, which had been gripping his collar, slowly dropped.
At the same time, further back within the Land of Fire.
Shimura Danzo quietly watched the Root Ninja busy setting up temporary camps around him, his expression indifferent.
Among the other Ino–Shika–Chō Ninja allocated by Homura Mitokado and others, some veteran Jonin had already recognized this former Hokage Advisor who should have been in the Konoha prison, but for various reasons, no one said anything more.
In this era of Ninja, to get by, one must have influence and background.
Can fight? What's the point of being able to fight?
Could he possibly compare to Senju Hashirama?
On the contrary, Shimura Danzo's influence and background were far too great, so great that even those at the very top of Konoha were vouching for him.
Naturally, even if these people saw him, most pretended not to.
However, among the Konoha Ninja in this command center, there were, after all, still those with enough sense of responsibility and enough meticulousness.
Upon seeing the overall plan for the anti-ambush battle that was about to begin, a young Ninja's face immediately showed a stunned expression, looking at the people around him with an incredulous look.
It was only when his gaze rested on Shimura Danzo that he immediately realized the problem.
He stood rooted to the spot for a long while, then suddenly made a decision, striding towards Shimura Danzo, trying to remind him:
"Acting Commander, the approach in this anti-ambush plan is truly inappropriate."
"Regardless, attracting the Third Raikage and hundreds of Cloud Ninja into an ambush circle all at once carries too great a risk."
"Furthermore, this position we are using as bait not only leads directly to the Land of Fire but also has a high probability of threatening the main artery of the entire front line's rear supply unit; if anything goes wrong—"
The staff Ninja explained the risks to this mysteriously appearing adult as calmly and quickly as possible.
But his arm was gently tugged by a Nara Ninja behind him.
However, the staff Ninja's voice still did not stop.
How such a plan, which could endanger the safety of an entire front line, was approved by the higher-ups, he did not intend to know about such petty machinations; he only wanted to fulfill his duty.
However, Danzo did not have the patience to listen.
He turned to look at the staff Ninja, staring at him with a sharp gaze, and said calmly:
"Ninja, your duty is to execute missions."
"You may leave."
"Please wait, Acting Commander!"
However, before he could say anything more, the staff Ninja had already been dragged out by two Root Ninja guarding Danzo's side.
Shimura Danzo still looked at the plan in his hand expressionlessly.
This operation was his comeback battle on the Konoha stage.
For this reason, this battle had to be clean, beautiful, and yield sufficiently significant results.
The Third Raikage was a suitable prey.
After this period of adaptation, he had largely mastered the limits of the Wood Release ability of this Senju arm.
For this reason, Shimura Danzo now had abundant confidence in himself.
Moreover, besides himself, he had also prepared a total of five hundred Konoha Ninja as an encirclement for that Third Raikage.
With his current power and five hundred Ninja, what else could he not accomplish?
Shimura Danzo was full of confidence!
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr