💎 WEEKLY POWER GOALS 💎🔥 30→2ch | 60→5ch | 100→8ch | 200→15ch | 400→25ch⏰ Resets Monday!
After concealing the completely exhausted, combat-incapable clansmen deeper within the forest, the three decoys moved swiftly toward their designated directions, making no attempt at concealment.
The enemy's pursuit was imminent. Shin Hagūgen intended to divide and conquer them sequentially, while the other two prepared to sacrifice themselves, hoping their deaths might purchase marginal safety for the surviving clan members.
Regarding whether the enemy would choose dispersed pursuit, Shin Hagūgen felt virtually certain they would. Beyond the immediate tactical considerations, this confidence stemmed from the current nature of warfare itself.
Presently, shinobi conflicts occurred primarily between clans. Clans served as the fundamental war organizations; most shinobi trusted only their blood relatives, viewing all others as either hostile forces or, at best, sources of "neutral antagonism."
In such an environment, every clan's survival remained precarious, demanding they prioritize complete eradication of threats—leaving no future troubles.
The Hagūgen Clan was merely a flickering candle nearing extinction. Forget deliberate extinguishing—even normal breathing could snuff it out. Under these circumstances, dividing pursuit forces posed neither concern nor risk.
They were simply a minor clan—no Kekkei Genkai, no secret techniques, perpetually surviving in the margins. If they possessed any distinction, it was modest proficiency in Fire Release.
However, Fire Release represented a jutsu category with enormous variance between its lower and upper limits. The Hagūgen specialized in Fire Release, as did the Sarutobi and Uchiha Clans—but was there any meaningful comparison between them?
The Hagūgen Clan's enemies belonged to the Tsugawa Clan, a medium-scale organization capable of mobilizing over one hundred shinobi. Their overall strength completely overwhelmed the Hagūgen—indeed, the Tsugawa had obliterated the Hagūgen village.
Concerning historical grievances between the factions, none particularly existed. The Tsugawa's expansion was purely territorial survival.
Large fish devour smaller ones; the Tsugawa could never realistically challenge major clans for living space. They could only direct their cruelty toward weaker targets.
After establishing sufficient distance from his clansmen's hiding place, Shin Hagūgen began leaping openly through the forest canopy, almost as though ensuring enemy visibility.
Events unfolded exactly as intended—enemy reconnaissance soon detected them.
From the forest's northwest sector, Tsugawa shinobi arrived precisely on schedule.
"Captain, three enemies spotted. They're fleeing in separate directions—one appears to be the young clan chief who recently escaped. Beyond these three, I've detected no additional survivors... Their deliberate exposure likely aims to draw us away, buying escape time for others."
The lead scout rapidly assessed the intelligence Shin Hagūgen had intentionally revealed, immediately reporting to the squad captain following behind.
The captain—a tall, powerfully-built ninja in his thirties—maintained his pace while listening to the report. "Decoy tactics. The same old cleverness."
The scout nodded. "Precisely, Captain. They've employed this trick once before."
"As expected, most survivors are concealed somewhere within this forest. They lack rapid relocation capabilities. These three decoys represent their remaining combat strength—perhaps even the only mobile fighters left. Once we eliminate them... this forest, vast though it may be, will become their collective grave."
The captain's assessment was sound. So-called decoy operations were merely death throes; the Hagūgen Clan's destruction was inevitable. Decoy or not, it merely determined whether death came sooner or later, nearer or farther.
"That young chief—I remember him. A somewhat clever individual whose abilities can't support his minor intelligence... a pitiable figure. Listen carefully: divide into three five-man teams for pursuit. I'll handle the little chief personally; reconnaissance assets will accompany the most distant squad."
"Yes, Captain!"
The Tsugawa shinobi responded without hesitation, immediately splitting into three groups to prioritize eliminating the enemy's remaining combat forces.
Exactly as Shin Hagūgen anticipated, the enemy divided their strength. Even more fortunately, the most formidable opponent—the enemy captain—personally led the team charging toward his position...
This choice was entirely logical. Regardless of circumstances, Shin Hagūgen remained this clan's leader—the entire organization's symbol. His death would mark the clan's extinction; he absolutely could not be permitted escape. Therefore, the enemy captain would handle him personally.
Among these fifteen enemy shinobi, one was a comprehensive Jōnin—the captain; two were Tokubetsu Jōnin serving as sub-squad leaders; the remainder consisted of eight Chūnin and four support Genin. Their strength was unquestionable—absolutely sufficient to annihilate the Hagūgen Clan.
"Captain, he's directly ahead."
As the distance closed, an enemy ninja called out loudly.
The enemy pursued relentlessly while Shin Hagūgen occasionally reduced his pace, making capture inevitable.
"Encircle him," the captain ordered.
Five enemies approached Shin Hagūgen from different directions, quickly bringing him within attack range.
A piercing whistle cut the air—a kunai streaked directly toward Shin Hagūgen's torso. Airborne, he could only pause momentarily, twisting his head and contorting his body to evade the strike.
The enemy's attack missed, but Shin Hagūgen's evasive maneuver cost him his landing point. His footing vanished, sending him plummeting into the undergrowth below.
Yet something extraordinary occurred—the fallen Shin Hagūgen simply vanished.
"What happened? He disappeared?"
"A clone? No, impossible."
Shin Hagūgen's disappearance briefly confused the enemy shinobi, but the experienced captain remained unperturbed. With complete composure, he stated: "Everyone retreat to higher ground, then cease unnecessary movement. Maintain vigilance and observe carefully. Don't second-guess yourselves—the rat is hiding somewhere in this area. He cannot escape."
Under normal circumstances, provided they maintained formation discipline, Shin Hagūgen truly had no escape route. However...
The Mayfly Technique represented one of White Zetsu's most distinctive abilities. This jutsu allowed White Zetsu to merge their bodies with earth and vegetation, completely severing all traces of presence. By interfacing with organic networks existing within soil—plant root systems, underground water flows—they could travel at high speed to any location. It was an assassination technique of godlike potency.
Such an outrageous jutsu, yet White Zetsu typically employed it solely for reconnaissance. Even more absurd—this technique required no hand seals; it activated instantaneously!
At this moment, regardless of proficiency level, Shin Hagūgen could already deploy this ability in combat.
The enemy captain stood upon a horizontal tree branch, patiently observing the situation below. As an elite ninja who had survived dozens of battles, he wouldn't be deceived by surface appearances. No matter how expertly the opponent concealed himself, maintaining static vigilance would soon reveal flaws.
Whether in combat strength, experience, or battlefield judgment, the captain far exceeded Shin Hagūgen. In his perception, the latter was merely a child playing ninja games.
But what he didn't know was that conventional experience only addressed conventional combat. Precise battlefield judgment had its limitations. What use was superior combat strength if it couldn't be properly applied?
War grants no one opportunities for trial and error.
Shin Hagūgen's figure appeared soundlessly behind the captain—ghostlike, clearly visible yet possessing no excess presence. The enemy's acute senses detected not the slightest anomaly.
In this moment, time seemed suspended.
Shin Hagūgen's heart appeared to cease beating. In that brief interval before his cardiac chambers resumed pumping blood, he could create an eternal division between life and death.
Gripping a kunai in his right hand, he stabbed without hesitation into the enemy's lower back from behind, driving the blade completely into flesh. Simultaneously, his left hand wielded a short sword, striking directly into the opponent's posterior neck. The slender, razor-sharp blade severed spinal vertebrae without resistance, piercing diagonally downward through the throat like puncturing paper.
Even though the Mayfly Technique possessed unparalleled assassination capabilities, due to proficiency limitations, Shin Hagūgen could only guarantee success on his first deployment in this battle. Therefore, he targeted the strongest enemy.
And he succeeded.
This assassination was flawless—the enemy made no sound from beginning to end, offered no resistance whatsoever. Yet a nearby ninja, maintaining intense concentration while observing the ground, immediately turned his head the instant Shin Hagūgen completed the kill!
"Enemy attack!"
He shouted loudly.
As his voice fell, countless shuriken and kunai streaked toward this position in indiscriminate volleys.
Shin Hagūgen immediately positioned his body behind the captain's corpse. His assassination had been perfect—why was he discovered so quickly?
Soon, he understood the reason.
It was breathing. After being stabbed, the enemy captain's breathing became erratic. Such irregular respiration was easily detectable in a quiet environment.
These were indeed battle-hardened shinobi.
Finding opportunities to assassinate a second person seemed unlikely, but that was acceptable—Shin Hagūgen felt no disappointment. He had already achieved his primary objective. By eliminating the strongest enemy captain, he had already won half this battle.
Kunai and shuriken continuously penetrated flesh with relentless thudding sounds. The remaining enemies displayed remarkable rationality and ruthlessness—upon observing the captain's inevitable death, they conducted violent indiscriminate attacks without psychological barriers.
Actually, Shin Hagūgen was overestimating them. The enemies' current attacks were merely mechanical reactions—even a form of stress response.
The sudden assassination of their battlefield commander profoundly shocked them. Even more difficult to accept—they neither understood how Shin Hagūgen had moved behind the captain nor why the captain had shown absolutely no reaction when facing assassination.
Water Release: Water Bullet Technique!
An enemy formed hand seals and cast jutsu—a massive water sphere crashed toward this position.
Witnessing this, Shin Hagūgen finally released the kunai piercing the enemy's kidney. Chakra burst from his feet, propelling his body into rapid leftward evasion while his raised right arm hooked the hilt of the short sword still embedded in the enemy's neck.
The arm's impact force caused the sword hilt to rotate lightly, completely severing the enemy captain's neck.
Finishing off opponents was an excellent habit—only this way could one guarantee complete enemy elimination.
Shin Hagūgen rotated his body mid-air, then landed gracefully on the ground.
The captain's head swayed slowly several times before finally, with apparent reluctance, separating from its neck and dropping beside Shin Hagūgen's feet like a heavy ball.
Thud.
The head struck the leaf-strewn ground, producing a soft yet somewhat muffled sound.
In that instant, all enemies ceased their attacks.
Shin Hagūgen grinned, his tongue pressing forcefully against his somewhat cracked lower lip. His facial expression made him appear utterly deranged.
In his previous life, raised in a peaceful environment, he hadn't fought anyone since elementary school graduation. Treating others with kindness, gentleness, and honesty had always been his behavioral style—never once had he displayed such brutal aspects.
Yet never displaying something didn't mean it didn't exist. Humans are ultimately products of their environment; different circumstances reflect different facets of a person.
Ninjutsu possessed various forms—even deserving the description "brilliantly colorful." Genjutsu was pervasive, secretive, treacherous, and lethal. Taijutsu could be either fierce or gentle—the purest means of inflicting harm. However, beneath these surface appearances, any war under any power system would eventually reveal its coldest essence:
Iron and blood.
Whether in the Shinobi World or elsewhere, war was nothing but iron and blood.