The Konoha shinobi were chatting idly, reminiscing with mixed emotions.
No one noticed that, amid the alarm triggered by the barrier system reacting to a rabbit's intrusion, a figure had already slipped past the perimeter of Futata Village, breaching its defenses in complete silence.
"Too bad. Flash Step may be decent, but since it's not a space-time ninjutsu, passing through barriers like these is still a bit of a hassle."
Glancing at the white rabbit slain by Guremaru, Yoru, cloaked by Light-Bending, curled his lips.
The Shunpo of the Soul Reapers was indeed fast, but unlike space-time movement techniques, it was not true teleportation. Rather, it was a technique to accelerate one's physical movement to extreme speeds by releasing spiritual pressure—akin to chakra bursts in this world.
Its principle was strikingly similar to the Body Flicker Technique used by shinobi or the Soru used by marines in that other world. Among the three, Flash Step was the fastest and most practical—it almost looked like teleportation to the untrained eye.
But such techniques, while overwhelming to the naked eye, were ineffective against barriers or detection seals.
"If only I had Sonído… Flash Step still lacks something."
Unfortunately, Sonído came at a hefty price—fifty thousand system points. For Yoru, it was a luxury far out of reach at the moment.
Futata Village was drenched in moisture. Humidity clung to the air, rain occasionally fell, and the muddy ground squelched underfoot. Many of the village's buildings were damaged—walls marred by blade cuts and soot stains from explosions. Konoha shinobi darted through the streets, and the tension was thick in the air.
Yoru moved silently through the streets, quickly locking his eyes on a large warehouse.
"One jōnin, four chūnin…"
"Looks like Konoha's running low on manpower."
He smirked slightly at the sight of the posted guards. Under normal conditions, a supply depot like this would be protected by at least two or three full squads—meaning two or more jōnin and a dozen or so chūnin. But now, just one team.
Clearly, after battling Wind, Earth, and Lightning, and now Mist as well, even a powerhouse like Konoha was stretched thin.
With Flash Step and Light-Bending, Yoru appeared behind the jōnin in an instant. His Asauchi pierced through the man's heart with surgical precision.
The sudden pain caused the jōnin's eyes to bulge, but before he could cry out, Yoru's hand was already clamped over his mouth and nose.
"Mmm! Enem—"
"Take a deep breath. Dizziness is normal."
With a twist of his wrist, the blade shredded the jōnin's heart entirely. The man twitched briefly, then fell still.
[Ding! Successfully killed one Jōnin. Reward: 1,000 points.]
According to the system, a jōnin was worth 1,000 points, a chūnin 200, and a genin only 50.
That irked Yoru—weren't genin technically the strongest in this world? Why were they worth so little?!
"What's that smell?"
The faint scent of blood drew the attention of the surrounding chūnin. As they turned instinctively toward the source, the world spun violently before them.
Thud.
Four lifeless bodies collapsed to the ground. Yoru casually flicked the blood from his blade and collected another 1,600 points before slipping into the warehouse without a second glance.
It was a large facility filled with military equipment—piled supplies protected by simple seals and detection barriers.
Kunai, shuriken, soldier pills, explosive tags, weapons…
Although sealing scrolls had already been in use by this stage of the Third Shinobi World War, they were costly to produce. With the war dragging on and resources depleting rapidly, even Konoha couldn't afford many.
Yoru, however, had plenty.
He retrieved two sealing scrolls from a hidden pouch at his waist and began loading up the soldier pills, explosive tags, and anything else of high value.
What, you think he'd bother with kunai and shuriken? Please. He wasn't here for chump change. He was here to loot the good stuff.
After all, the goal was destruction—not confiscation. Whatever he could carry was his to keep.
But then he realized a problem.
The most valuable items were the explosive tags. But if he took all of them, there would be no chain explosions to level the warehouse district.
"Forget it. Chakra replenishes with rest. Missing out on these would be a real waste."
Kirigakure was an island nation far removed from the mainland. Resources were scarce, and the economy was threadbare. Even as a squad captain in the ANBU, Yoru's salary was pitiful.
Don't blame him for being petty—poverty leaves deep scars.
He tucked the now-full scrolls back into his belt and turned to look once more at the warehouse.
With a slight sigh, he raised his right hand toward the armory and began to chant in a low voice:
"O Lord who reigns! Mask of flesh and blood, all creation, fluttering wings—named in humanity's stead! Truth and restraint, clawed talons upon the wall of dreams that do not sleep!"
"Hadō #33…"
"Sōkatsui!"
Blue flames erupted from his palm, slamming into the warehouse with a deafening explosion.
To compensate for the lack of a chain reaction from explosive tags, Yoru had used a fully incanted Sōkatsui—the explosive force of which instantly engulfed the warehouse in fire.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!
Explosions tore through the air as smoke and flame billowed skyward.
Konoha shinobi stared in stunned silence, then rushed toward the blast site.
"What happened?! Did the warehouse catch fire?!"
"No—every supply crate has alert seals! This is an enemy attack!"
"Damn it! How could an enemy have infiltrated?! What were the Barrier Division doing?!"
"Go! Inform Lord Fugaku and Lord Shinnosuke!"
Chaos erupted, but Yoru's destruction wasn't over.
The warehouses were spaced close together. With Flash Step, it only took a blink to reach the next.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The second blast had barely been registered when another warehouse exploded—this time with explosive tags still inside!
Crackle…!
KABOOM!!!
Hadō #33 ignited the explosive tags, and a monstrous explosion rocked the village. A roaring shockwave flattened everything nearby. Flames shot dozens of meters into the sky.
The entire Futata Village trembled.
As shinobi scrambled toward the scene, Yoru, hidden once more by Light-Bending, silently slipped into the Konoha command center.
Another jōnin guard fell to his blade—another 1,000 points.
Inside, scrolls lay neatly arranged atop the desk.
"Supply route maps…"
"Frontline layout for the Kirigakure front…"
"Official decree appointing Jiraiya-sama as frontline commander…"
"Personnel master list…"
Without hesitation, Yoru swept up every valuable document and prepared to leave using Light-Bending.
But just as his figure vanished—
Whoosh!
A kunai sliced through the air, aimed straight at his throat!
Clang!
Yoru parried it with his Asauchi.
A low voice rang out as a figure materialized before him—roughly his own size.
"You're the one who infiltrated and caused this chaos, aren't you?"
His gaze met a pair of glowing, blood-red eyes.
Three-tomoe Sharingan.