Chapter 234: Uchiha
"A Kekkei Genkai?!"
Ayai's face twisted. The shattered bones in his hand had already pierced the muscles and meridians of his wrist. He knew he was crippled. Even if he made it back alive, without a top-tier medical-nin, his hands would never be able to perform a ninja's work again.
Kaito Shirogane had no interest in him. These story characters, when facing Reincarnators, were at an absolute informational disadvantage, making it difficult for them to comprehend many of a Reincarnator's methods.
He lifted his right foot, and the next moment, two cracking sounds were heard.
"Aargh!"
Ayai cried out in pain. Both of his knees had been stomped and shattered. His entire body instantly went limp, but he was held up by a single hand.
In the distance, the other Iwagakure shinobi, seeing their Jounin had been killed by that terrifying storm, exchanged glances and immediately chose to retreat. The group of ninjas used the Body Flicker Technique in unison and vanished.
It had to be said, the Naruto world's power system was incredibly comprehensive. Even the most Three Basic Jutsu (Transformation, Clone, Substitution) were of considerable help to Reincarnators, whether in the real world or in other mission worlds.
And on top of that, the Body Flicker Technique these ninjas were using now gave this system the [High-Speed Movement] essential for most high-tier powerhouses. Compared to [Rokushiki: Soru] from the One Piece world, or [Shunpo], [Sonído], and [Hirenkyaku] from the Bleach world, the barrier to entry was extremely low.
The Body Flicker Technique was only a D-rank basic ninjutsu. This was practically the simplest high-speed movement ability a Reincarnator could access, and it also had immense room for improvement.
From ninjutsu-based Body Flicker to taijutsu-based, one could even later incorporate various chakra nature transformations to enhance it further.
Catherine and [Rampage] saw that Mercenary Tao didn't give chase, and they didn't pursue the ninjas either. Their mindset had rapidly changed. From wanting to go on a killing spree at the start, to seeing [Fengbo] fall into a trap and die instantly, and now, to Mercenary Tao finally displaying his overwhelming strength, all while having a bizarre alignment.
The two-person team was now on full alert.
"Tsk. Isn't it a little late to be on guard now?"
Kaito Shirogane was a little disappointed in these Reincarnators. But this time, he didn't attack and kill them. Or rather, he decided he wouldn't kill them right now.
From the battle just now, it was clear both of these Reincarnators were the type who were very good at sensing.
That guy who used alchemy hadn't sensed the anomaly, but these two had vigilantly noticed something was wrong ahead of time. And during the fight, they had been able to track the ninjas in the dark with perfect clarity.
In this world, these two were likely useful.
Catherine and Rampage's bodies stiffened slightly. For a split second, they wanted to turn and run, but the speed Mercenary Tao had just displayed was too terrifying. He had crossed over ten meters in an instant, simultaneously killing multiple ninjas while bringing the KumogakureJounin under control before he could even finish his hand seals.
A bead of sweat trickled down Rampage's forehead. His heart was hammering as if it was spasming. He was calculating: if he transformed, could he escape while carrying Catherine? But no matter how he ran the numbers, the probability of survival wasn't high enough.
Catherine's face was also pale, but she managed to clear her thoughts. She squeezed out a smile and said:
"If you were going to kill us, you would have done it already. Since you're willing to talk, you must have a use for us?"
Damn it, I haven't smiled in so long, my facial muscles are completely stiff. Catherine knew her smile must look incredibly forced right now, but she couldn't help it. In their usual missions, they had never encountered a guy like Mercenary Tao.
His reputation was monstrous, and his thoughts were impossible to guess.
Just his performance in that last fight made Catherine feel a needle-like sharpness. The other party was a beast, radiating the pressure of a predator at every single person around him, at all times.
Kaito Shirogane beckoned to them, the smile still on his face. Catherine and Rampage looked at the smile on Mercenary Tao's ugly, red face, and their scalps tingled.
They were in a bind. If they went over, they risked being killed. But if they disobeyed him now, they would most likely infuriate him.
The two looked at each other and finally, taking a deep breath, they slowly approached Kaito Shirogane.
Kaito, carrying the dark-skinned Kumogakure Jounin, walked toward the woman who still couldn't quite grasp the situation. Suddenly, Kaito frowned. His hand shot up and pinched the ninja's jaw.
With a crack, the man's jaw was completely dislocated, his mouth falling open uncontrollably.
The poison pill hidden in his tooth was now clearly visible to Kaito.
These shinobi were truly humanoid weapons. Not only did they treat others' lives as worthless, but they could also easily discard their own.
Kaito couldn't derive any pleasure from this kind of death. He flicked a finger, and a jolt of force struck the man's jaw. The poison pill instantly dislodged from his tooth and rolled out.
"Don't be in a hurry. I'll kill you later. But before that, I need you to decode this cipher for me."
"Since your Kumogakure wants Konoha's intelligence so badly, you naturally have a way to read this cipher, don't you?"
Ayai was even more confused about this terrifying man's alignment. He seemed genuinely interested in Konoha's top-secret intel?
Was he from Kirigakure or Sunagakure?
SLAP!
Kaito Shirogane gave him a light slap. Ayai's cheek immediately swelled, and his train of thought was broken. Kaito didn't like his captives to think.
Seeing that Ayai still wasn't talking, Kaito Shirogane slapped him again.
Catherine's eyelid twitched. She had a feeling that if this story character kept his mouth shut, he would probably be slapped to death by Mercenary Tao. She coughed and offered:
"I can use my mental power to probe others' thoughts. Of course, this requires their mental power to be lower than mine."
Rampage glanced at his partner. In all their time working together, this was the first time he'd seen the formidable Catherine be so... reasonable.
Kaito Shirogane glanced at Catherine. The [Transparent World] saw her muscle density and respiratory rate with perfect clarity. Her constitution was quite a bit stronger than an ordinary person's, but she was still far from the Limit.
Catherine instinctively turned her body sideways. Mercenary Tao's gaze... it felt like it could see right through her.
"Very good. It seems you are a useful Reincarnator."
Kaito Shirogane gave Catherine a fairly high evaluation. In truth, in his eyes, many Reincarnators were completely unqualified—just a bunch of idiots who got a little bit of power through good luck and immediately lost their minds.
They attacked carelessly, died carelessly. From life to death, their fates were entirely in the hands of chance.
Just like that guy who used alchemy.
Kaito Shirogane gave a light push with his left hand. Ayai stumbled toward Catherine. Rampage immediately reached out and, with one hand, also held up the adult male, who weighed about 150 pounds.
The people of the Naruto world didn't have exaggerated physiques. Their height, weight, and muscle density were mostly at a normal person's level. It required long-term, arduous training, relying on the Chakra energy system, to reach a level that surpassed mortals.
Kaito Shirogane realized once again the benefit that worlds with a complete, inheritable system offered to Reincarnators. Simply put, after crossing the first tier, the [Energy Strength] and [Energy Control] required for the second tier were not that difficult for Reincarnators who enhanced Chakra.
Catherine focused, pressing one hand to Ayai's head. Intense mental power began to assault his mind.
Kaito Shirogane merely glanced at them before looking away. He still had the [Truth Serum] that had dropped from [Hades] in his inventory. He had originally planned to use that, combined with violence, to make him submit.
At this point, Hana Hiranaka also came to her senses. These Konoha reinforcements had repelled the enemy ninjas. She clutched the intel, terrified of it being snatched again. But as she looked at the corpses around her—almost all of them people she saw every day—she knew she would never see those ordinary faces again.
The woman lowered her head, trying to hide her seething hatred. But a hand lifted her chin. She looked up and saw the tall man, his face still bearing that false smile. It was completely different from the smiles people usually gave. It had no warmth at all.
"If you want to hate, then hate."
Hana Hiranaka felt that the curve of his lips was like that of a great serpent, flicking its tongue, about to devour someone.
But what could she do? The Land of Fire was not in a good state. It was said that the Konoha village had suffered a terrible disaster several years ago and still hadn't recovered.
Without the protection of her country's ninjas, even if this happened, what could an ordinary person like her do?
Or perhaps... she should blame her husband for listening to that woman's poison and bringing this thing back...
Kaito Shirogane watched the woman's conflicted expression with great interest. It contained so many emotions.
But perhaps because she was weak, she ultimately suppressed all those emotions deep in her heart. She took a deep breath and put on an expression of cold indifference.
"Thank you for the rescue, Lord Ninja. However, I promised my husband this intel can only be given to Konoha..."
Suddenly, her hand was empty. The [Intel], which she had been gripping so tightly, was once again taken by the man in front of her.
Her expression changed several times, and she finally lost her composure. Her face twisted, her eyebrows pulling down.
"You shinobi... does having power just mean you can take everything from us?!"
"No matter how tightly we hold on, no matter how precious it is, you just take it all away..."
The woman's voice was so low and forceful it was terrifying. Her fingernails had already pierced the palm of her hand, and blood was flowing.
Rampage, standing to the side, couldn't bear to watch and looked away. Catherine, however, took the intel from Kaito Shirogane and began forcing Ayai to try and decode it.
Kaito Shirogane looked at the furious woman, his smile widening.
"This expression is, at last, a little better looking than that ugly, forced composure from before."
Kaito Shirogane's voice was mocking. As long as this woman didn't kill herself, he didn't care how much she hated him. In fact, Kaito was intentionally guiding her anger.
[Rampage] didn't understand why Mercenary Tao kept provoking this story character. Making her hate shinobi would probably make her hate Konoha, too. What good could come of that?
Suddenly, Catherine's pupils shrank. Although she couldn't decode the full report, the ninja she had hypnotized was extremely sensitive to certain parts of the cipher, almost translating them subconsciously.
It was a name he feared...
"Uchiha..."
"This intelligence... is related to the Uchiha Clan!"
(End of Chapter)
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