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Three years of missions, three years of masks.
By day, Kirito was still a forgettable genin of Konoha, fumbling through C-rank missions and playing the role of the weakling.
But at night—or rather, when he vanished beyond the village walls—he wore another face.
A hunter's face.
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Birth of the Second Identity
He knew that to truly grow, he needed opponents stronger than wild animals and drunk bandits. He needed real ninjas—rogues, killers, shinobi who had abandoned their villages and carried bounties on their heads.
So he crafted a second identity.
He stole a plain mask from the black markets near the border and stitched a cloak from dark cloth, embroidered with sealing scripts along the inner hem to conceal his chakra signature. His weapons were nameless, his forehead protector hidden away.
No one would connect the quiet Konoha genin to the masked bounty hunter whispered about in the underworld.
The name spread slowly. They called him "The Shadow Hunter."
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The First Hunts – Genin Prey
He started small. Rogue genin.
Most were little more than thugs with chakra—children who had failed their villages and turned to banditry. They were reckless, sloppy, and unprepared for his precision.
The first one fell in a forest ambush. Kirito's kunai severed his tendons, and a sealing tag locked his chakra points before he could weave a hand sign.
The second tried to escape with speed techniques, but Kirito's shadow clone cut him off, while his own fist—enhanced with compressed chakra—drove into the rogue's chest, shattering ribs.
Each victory added ryo to his pouch, but more importantly, experience to his soul.
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Escalation – Chūnin and Jōnin
Genin were too easy. He moved on.
Chūnin tested his skill. They used tactics, worked in pairs, and forced him to adapt. He learned to counter trap seals with his own fuinjutsu, to anticipate flanking maneuvers, to conserve chakra mid-battle.
The first Jōnin he hunted was a rogue from Kusagakure—a man who wielded poisonous mist. The fight nearly killed him. For the first time, Kirito's core flared dangerously, his body strained as he filtered toxins with seals etched across his ribs.
But he won. Barely.Due to low fighting experience.
His cloak reeked of poison for days afterward.
Each victory carved lessons into him, lessons he could never learn as the "weak genin" of Konoha.
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The Final Test – An Elite Jōnin
It was only a matter of time before he aimed higher.
The bounty was enormous: an elite Jōnin from Iwagakure, a deserter known as Retsu of the Quaking Earth. His crimes were countless—massacres, betrayals, selling secrets to foreign lords. His bounty was enough to buy land, estates, and silence.
Kirito tracked him to a canyon carved by old wars, a place where the stone walls echoed with forgotten screams.
The man was waiting.
"Another rat sniffing for gold?" Retsu's voice was gravel, his eyes sharp beneath a mane of gray hair. His chakra surged, heavy as a mountain.
Kirito said nothing. He pulled his mask tighter and drew a kunai.
The air cracked as the battle began.
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The Fight – Shadow vs. Earth
Retsu slammed his hands together. "Doton: Yama Kuzushi! (Earth Release: Mountain Crusher!)"
The ground buckled. Massive slabs of rock shot upward, threatening to crush Kirito.
Kirito darted forward, chakra pulsing through his legs. His seals flared, enhancing speed. He weaved signs quickly—
"Katon: Hōsenka! (Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!)"
A scatter of flaming projectiles lit the air, smashing into the rising boulders, breaking just enough gaps for him to slip through.
Retsu's laughter rumbled. "Fast little rat. Let's see you survive this!"
The elite Jōnin slammed his fist into the earth. Spires of stone erupted, slicing upward like spears.
Kirito rolled, flipped, his body moving with taijutsu honed in secret. He landed on a spire, sprinting across its surface. His chakra core pulsed, feeding him limitless energy.
He closed the distance, kunai flashing. His strike aimed at Retsu's throat—
But the man's skin hardened instantly. "Doton: Domu! (Earth Release: Earth Spear!)"
Kirito's blade scraped harmlessly against armor-like flesh. The counterpunch was brutal, a hammer of stone-coated muscle. Kirito barely crossed his arms in time, seals on his bracers glowing as they absorbed the impact. The force still launched him backward, slamming him against a canyon wall.
His ribs ached. His blood pounded.
And yet—he grinned behind the mask. Finally. A real fight.
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Elemental Dance
He flew through hand signs again.
"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu! (Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!)"
The canyon's moisture surged, coiling into a roaring serpent of water that smashed toward Retsu.
The man snarled, planting both palms.
"Doton: Doryūheki! (Earth Release: Earth Wall!)"
A massive barrier of rock rose, the water dragon crashing into it, sending steam and shards flying.
Kirito didn't stop. He layered signs—
"Raiton: Gian! (Lightning Release: False Darkness!)"
A spear of lightning cut through the steam, piercing cracks in the wall. It grazed Retsu's shoulder, leaving smoke and scorched flesh.
The elite Jōnin roared, charging through the debris. His taijutsu was monstrous, fists like stone mallets.
Kirito met him head-on.
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Taijutsu Clash
The canyon echoed with the sound of flesh against stone. Kirito's strikes were sharp, precise, powered by compressed chakra bursts at the moment of impact. His movements were honed through three years of clone-enhanced training, body flowing like water then striking like fire.
Retsu's fists shattered rock where they landed, each blow capable of breaking bones.
Kirito ducked, spun, drove an elbow into Retsu's gut. The man barely flinched, but Kirito followed with a knee strike to the jaw, chakra flaring at the moment of contact.
Blood sprayed from Retsu's lip.
The man's eyes widened. "You're no ordinary rat…"
Kirito didn't answer. He drove forward again, weaving between stone-armored blows, his strikes a dance of speed and precision.
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The End
Retsu, frustrated, gathered chakra for one final technique. The ground beneath them rumbled, the canyon itself trembling.
"Doton: Chikyū no Hakai! (Earth Release: Earth's Destruction!)"
The canyon floor split, massive tremors shaking the land. Boulders collapsed from above, threatening to bury them both.
Kirito moved. His seals flared across his body. His core pulsed like a sun.
He shot forward through falling stone, his kunai wreathed in compressed lightning. With a final strike, he drove it into Retsu's chest, bypassing the earth armor with sheer piercing force.
The man staggered, eyes wide. Blood poured.
"You… what are you?"
Kirito leaned close, whispering through the mask.
"Your end."
The elite Jōnin collapsed, the canyon stilling as his chakra faded.
Kirito stood among the ruins, breathing steady, his mask untouched.
Another bounty claimed. Another lesson learned.
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Reflection
As he dragged the corpse toward the hidden bounty station, Kirito's mind replayed every moment. Every weakness, every flaw in his techniques.
He wasn't satisfied. Not yet.
But he was closer. Stronger. Sharper.
By day, the world still saw a quiet, unremarkable Konoha genin.
By night, the underworld whispered of a shadow who hunted missing-nin, a specter who struck with fire, water, lightning, and fists of steel.
And both identities were his.
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