A few nearby Goblins were also discussing intensely, "Goo-goo, goo-goo."
Some thought he wasn't dead, some thought he had escaped, and some thought their companion had hidden him privately, but no matter how cunning their nature, they couldn't have imagined that Naruto was just a Shadow Clone.
"Humans, weak."
"Tonight, attack the village, many people, much food!"
"Men, eat, women, breeding stock!!"
"Goo-ji-ga-ga-ga-ga…"
The Goblins, who were almost about to fight, thought of Iron Water Village nearby, so they put aside their grievances and started dancing with excitement.
Saliva dripped from the corners of their mouths, and their beastly and ugly eyes narrowed, filled with lewd gazes.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh."
Just then, a sound of tearing air rang out.
Three black shuriken, cutting through the air like high-speed rotating saw blades, flew out from between the branches and leaves, striking sharply and swiftly.
"Pfft!" A few sounds.
The spinning shuriken hit their targets, embedding themselves in the forehead, shoulder, and chest of one Goblin, and blood spurted out with a "hiss," as the corpse fell backward to the ground.
Before the remaining Goblins could react, several more shuriken shot out.
A swift afterimage darted out from the bushes, following closely behind.
He swooped down, his right hand gripping a kunai. The moment the shuriken took down the second Goblin, he had already closed the distance, and the sharp kunai, like a viper's fangs, accurately and viciously stabbed into the neck of the nearby Goblin.
Instant death!
His left hand reached for his belt, pulled out a kunai, and backhanded it towards the last Goblin.
This Goblin, startled by the sudden change, opened its mouth in shock.
As a result, Naruto's Shadow Clone's kunai directly pierced into the Goblin's mouth, with the tip emerging from the back of its head.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss—"
It was unclear where the Goblin's body held so much blood and pressure to allow it to spray out.
But the scene before him indeed made his blood surge, bringing a thrill of combat and the pleasure of slaughter!
Clean and decisive, without any sloppiness.
The battle ended before it even began.
Naruto's Shadow Clone pulled out the kunai and shuriken one by one, retrieving them, and muttered coldly, "Killing you really dirties my ninja tools."
"Next, continue killing Goblins to level up."
"With the previous experience accumulated, plus 8 points of Agility, even if a Goblin ambushes me, I can easily dodge."
Border Town, Adventurers' Guild.
The beautiful and dignified Counter Lady, with her golden-brown hair braided into a side plait resting on her shoulder, looked out the window with worry.
The town's buildings were already lit, so it wasn't completely dark.
"Ashina, are you waiting for someone? There shouldn't be any more adventurers settling quests, let's clock out."
Her colleague, sitting behind the counter, stretched with a big yawn and stood up, rubbing her numb bottom.
Ashina withdrew her gaze and tilted her head, replying, "There's a new adventurer today who caught my attention."
"He looks quite young, with short blonde hair and very blue eyes, like the sky back home. What's most striking are the whisker-like markings on his cheeks."
"Eh~"
"Our Ashina has fallen for him? Love at first sight?"
Another Counter Lady scurried closer, unable to resist teasing.
"W-what nonsense are you talking about!"
Ashina's cheeks flushed slightly, and she gave the other person a glare.
"Naruto is at most twelve or thirteen, and I'm already an adult, okay!"
"Oh—"
"You say you haven't taken a liking to him, but how many adventurers do we serve daily? How could you remember his name if you didn't care?" The Counter Lady retorted persistently.
"It's mainly because he took on the Goblin extermination mission alone."
"He didn't join an adventuring party, nor did he have an experienced adventurer to guide him. Can he really handle cunning and dangerous Goblins by himself?"
Ashina lowered her eyes, her tone betraying her concern.
Although Goblins are known as one of the 'Three Novice Monsters' along with the bloodthirsty Rats in the sewers and the Slimes of the grasslands, Goblins also have another nickname: 'Newbie Killer.'
Many novice adventurers have fallen at the hands of Goblins.
Even some seasoned adventurers can suffer unexpected setbacks.
Can Naruto truly complete the Iron Water Village quest alone?
Logically speaking, if he could complete the mission, he should have returned to the Adventurers' Guild to settle it by now.
Seeing Ashina's low spirits, the Counter Lady patted her shoulder, smiling as she comforted her, "You haven't been working here long, so you might not be used to it yet. In our line of work, you have to get accustomed to life and death, you know."
"An adventurer who was just chatting and laughing with you in the morning might be dead in some ruins by the afternoon, you never know."
"Alright, let's go home!"
"I'll take you to a hidden gem of a tavern to drink away your sorrows. A good night's sleep will fix everything~"
The Counter Lady slightly increased the force as she patted Ashina's back.
Ashina understood what her colleague meant, nodded silently, and prepared to leave with her.
"Creak."
The tightly closed Adventurers' Guild door suddenly pushed open.
A blonde, spiky-haired young man poked his head in, looking around the guild hall. Seeing Ashina still at the counter, he couldn't help but sigh in relief, rubbing the back of his head and chuckling, "I saw the Adventurers' Guild lights were dim from outside just now, and I thought it was closed."
"Naruto!"
The disheartened Ashina became overjoyed.
"It's not closed, we haven't clocked out yet!"
"Hahaha, looks like I made it."
Naruto's Shadow Clone quickly walked to the counter and pulled a crumpled quest slip from his pocket.
"Here, mission complete."
"You killed the Goblins by yourself?"
Ashina's eyes sparkled with surprise as she unfolded and smoothed the crumpled quest slip. The old village chief's signature was clearly visible.
As for the possibility of a forged signature, it was actually quite low.
Firstly, before taking on their duties at the Adventurers' Guild, Counter Ladies receive professional training, which naturally includes handwriting identification.
Additionally, the Adventurers' Guild places great importance on the 'character' of adventurers, especially new ones. After they complete a mission, a specialist will visit the quest giver to verify its authenticity.
Once confirmed to be fake or a lie, that adventurer will be permanently blacklisted.
"Hmm, the quest slip is fine."
Ashina nodded, bent down, and took out a cloth bag from under the counter, pouring out the silver coins inside.
"The mission reward is 14 silver coins. Please check them."
Ashina smiled as she spoke to Naruto.
"No, no need. It's fine that the mission is complete. As for the money, I'll come back for it tomorrow."
As soon as he finished speaking.
With a "poof," the Shadow Clone dispelled, turning into a misty white smoke and vanishing.
This sudden disappearance magic startled Ashina and the other Counter Lady, making their eyes widen and their lips slightly part as they stared at each other.
Ashina whispered, "It must be a 'miracle' granted by some deity."
Her colleague nodded in deep agreement, "Mhm, mhm! Ashina, it seems the young sprout you're interested in isn't simple, huh~"
"!!"
Ashina's face instantly flushed red.
"I don't want to chew on young sprouts."
"Bah, I'm not an old cow!"
"Mhm, mhm, that's right, you're not an old cow, you're a dairy cow."
The Counter Lady stroked her chin with one hand, her eyes glancing at Ashina's bulging guild uniform.