Chiya reached out and gently rubbed his head.
He had gained another disciple!
'System, where is my reward?'
A thought crossed Chiya's mind, and he asked the System.
[The Host has temporarily failed to meet the mission requirements. Please keep working hard!]
'Failed to meet the requirements?'
Chiya looked at the mission again.
Only then did he realize what was wrong.
[System Message]
[Mission Requirements: Accept Haku as a disciple and guide him in mastering the power of Ice Release.]
He still needed to help Haku master Ice Release!
That earlier use of Ice Release should have only been the awakening of his Kekkei Genkai.
He had released Ice Release unconsciously and had not truly mastered it himself.
It seemed this was another development type mission!
However, with Haku's abilities, helping him truly master the power of Ice Release should not take long.
Chiya's mind returned to reality, and he looked at Haku's small figure.
Haku was still too young.
At this age, making him undergo a ninja's training too early would be too much for his body to handle.
It was better not to force his growth and simply take things slowly.
Chiya immediately abandoned that idea.
"Haku, let's go!"
"Yes, Lord Chiya!"
Haku obediently followed behind Chiya.
Just as they were about to leave, a name flashed through Chiya's mind like a bolt of lightning.
Kirigakure had another genius ninja!
Kaguya Kimimaro!
That extremely pure young boy!
In the original story, he possessed the Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai and was known as the strongest weapon of the Kaguya Clan, yet he died young because of a bloodline disease.
His loyalty, pure combat talent, and dedication to his own mission had left a deep impression on Chiya.
Especially when it came to taijutsu and the use of his Kekkei Genkai, Kimimaro was a true genius.
If not for his illness, his achievements would have been limitless.
'Shikotsumyaku...'
Chiya pondered.
He had never been stingy about giving opportunities to truly talented people.
Moreover, the Kaguya Clan was now on the verge of destruction, making this the best time to discover Kimimaro.
Just as Chiya made up his mind and was about to change direction to search for Kimimaro...
[System Message]
[Ding!]
[Mission Triggered.]
[Mission Requirements: Accept Kaguya Kimimaro as a disciple, guide him in mastering the power of Shikotsumyaku, and cure his bloodline disease.]
[Mission Reward: One random Kekkei Genkai or one clan secret technique.]
The System's notification sounded again.
It seemed that the System, just like him, was very optimistic about this genius of the Kaguya Clan.
"We're changing direction."
Chiya stopped, turned around, and looked down at Haku behind him.
Haku raised his little face with some confusion, but he obediently did not ask any questions and nodded seriously.
Toward the man who had saved him, Haku's heart was filled with dependence and trust.
The two left this area and headed toward the Kaguya Clan's settlement.
Along the way, the scenery became increasingly desolate.
Kirigakure's purge of the Kaguya Clan was clearly relentless.
Several villages along the way had been reduced to scorched earth if they had even the slightest connection to the Kaguya Clan, and the smell of blood lingered in the air.
Occasionally, small groups of Kaguya ninjas could be seen resisting stubbornly, but they were quickly surrounded and wiped out by the larger number of Kirigakure ANBU.
Even when these Kaguya ninjas were trapped in desperate situations, there was no fear in their eyes.
There was only a狂 desire to fight and a vicious determination to die together with their enemies, fully displaying the battle craziness engraved into the bones of this clan.
After several days of travel, crossing several villages that had either been reduced to ruins or placed under heavy security, Chiya finally arrived with Haku at one of the Kaguya Clan's main settlements in a mountain gorge.
The atmosphere here was completely different from the murderous tension outside.
The settlement had been built from rough boulders and wood, with a wild style, and traces of combat training and mottled bloodstains could be seen everywhere.
Although the settlement was rapidly shrinking under Kirigakure's suppression and the clan had suffered heavy casualties, the Kaguya members gathered here showed no signs of depression or fear.
Instead, each of them had an excited look in their eyes, filled with bloodthirsty fighting spirit.
Inside the largest stone house in the center, the atmosphere was even more fanatical.
"Kill! Fight our way back! Let those cowards know what our Kaguya Clan is capable of!"
"What the hell is this Fourth Mizukage! A woman who rose to power because of her Kekkei Genkai is worthy of leading Kirigakure? When it comes to Kekkei Genkai, our Kaguya Clan is inferior to no one!"
"Kill Terumi Mei! Wash away our humiliation with her blood!"
"..."
A group of Kaguya Clan leaders and elite ninjas were roaring as they planned what appeared to be a suicidal counterattack.
They intended to fight their way directly back into Kirigakure, with their target being the newly appointed Fourth Mizukage, Terumi Mei.
To them, retreat and endurance were humiliations.
Only battle and slaughter gave their existence meaning.
At that moment, a Kaguya ninja responsible for guarding the outer perimeter came rolling and crawling into the room, panic written across his face.
"Report! Outside... outside, a man has arrived with a child! They're... they're heading this way!"
The noisy stone house instantly fell silent.
Then even louder laughter erupted.
"Hahaha! A man and a child? And that scared you this badly?"
"Useless! You've completely disgraced our Kaguya Clan!"
"Probably some blind wandering ninja who accidentally stumbled in here. Perfect. My hands are itching for a fight. I'll use them to warm up!"
"..."
Everyone sneered, completely unconcerned.
In their eyes, this was nothing more than entertainment delivered straight to their door.
However, before their laughter had completely faded...
"Boom!"
With a deafening explosion, the heavy wooden door of the stone house suddenly burst inward!
Amid the flying splinters, a figure was thrown inside like a discarded sack and crashed heavily onto the floor in the middle of the crowd.
Blood poured from his mouth, and it was obvious that he would not survive.
The crowd took a closer look.
It was actually another Kaguya ninja who had been patrolling outside earlier.
The laughter abruptly stopped.
The eyes of every Kaguya member instantly became vicious and violent as they all turned toward the doorway.
The dust slowly settled, revealing a black haired man dressed like a traveler, holding the hand of a pale faced little black haired boy with a timid expression.
The man stood there quietly, his expression indifferent, as if he had merely thrown away a piece of trash.
"You bastards! How dare you come here and cause trouble!"
"Kill him!"
"..."
Several Kaguya ninjas closest to the doorway roared as savage bone spikes instantly erupted from their bodies, and they charged toward Chiya and Haku like mad dogs.
A violent killing intent instantly filled the room.
Haku's little face turned deathly pale with fear, and he instinctively shrank behind Chiya.
Chiya did not even form a hand seal, nor did he look directly at them.
The Rinnegan instantly appeared in his eyes, and he softly spoke.
"Shinra Tensei."
An irresistible force of repulsion erupted from him with a thunderous boom!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The Kaguya ninjas charging forward were struck head on by an invisible giant hammer and were sent flying back even faster than they had charged forward.
They slammed violently into the walls of the stone house, and the sound of bones breaking could be heard clearly.
They passed out without even making a sound.
The entire stone house once again fell into silence.
The remaining Kaguya members finally put away their contempt, their eyes becoming solemn and wary.
They slowly spread out and surrounded Chiya and Haku in a semicircle, but none of them dared to approach recklessly again.
The strange and powerful technique just now was beyond their understanding.
"You... who exactly are you?"
A Kaguya Jonin who appeared to be their leader shouted in a deep voice.
Chiya did not answer his question.
His calm gaze swept across the wild and murderous faces around him.
"Where is Kaguya Kimimaro?"
As soon as those words were spoken, the expressions of every Kaguya member changed dramatically.
Kimimaro!
Within the Kaguya Clan, this name represented a special existence.
He was a once in a century genius and the perfect inheritor of the Shikotsumyaku.
However, because of the special nature of his power, the clan had always treated him as a weapon and kept him under strict guard.
How did this mysterious ninja know about Kimimaro?
And why had he come directly asking for him?
"Why are you looking for Kimimaro?"
Another hot tempered elder questioned him sharply, a sinister glint flashing through his eyes.
Although the clan members had complicated feelings toward Kimimaro, they absolutely would not allow an outsider to covet their weapon.
Chiya could not be bothered to waste words with them and simply repeated himself.
"Tell me, where is Kimimaro?"
His dismissive attitude completely enraged the already violent Kaguya members.
"No matter who you are! Even if you're Uchiha Chiya of Konoha, if you dare set your sights on Kimimaro, you'll die!"
"Attack! Kill him!"
"Shikotsumyaku, Ten Finger Bullets!"
"Willow Dance!"
"..."
In an instant, dozens of Kaguya ninjas launched their attacks at the same time!
Bone spikes shot forward like a storm, while figures moved like ghosts, charging forward and swinging bone blades toward Chiya's vital points.
Facing an attack that would have been enough to leave even an ordinary Kage level fighter struggling, Chiya merely moved Haku slightly farther behind him for protection.
A trace of indifference flashed through his Rinnegan.
"Looks like I won't be able to get an answer unless I clean up these noisy trash first."
He raised his hand and aimed his palm at the Kaguya ninjas rushing toward him.
Facing the Kaguya ninjas surging forward like a tidal wave, Chiya's expression did not change at all.
He did not even move his feet.
He simply pulled Haku farther behind him to a safer position.
The next moment, the air in front of his raised palm seemed to compress and distort under an invisible force.
"Banshō Ten'in."
A powerful force of attraction suddenly appeared, completely opposite to the repulsive force from before!
Several Kaguya ninjas at the front suddenly stopped in midair, then were forcibly dragged forward against their will as if an invisible giant hand had grabbed them.
They were about to reach Chiya.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Another powerful repulsive force followed.
With one pull and one push, a series of sounds of blood being spat out and screams instantly rang out.
Several of them were tossed around like broken dolls.
The forces of attraction and repulsion were like toys in Chiya's hands.
He changed between them at will, completely suppressing the Kaguya Clan's most prized Shikotsumyaku and close combat techniques.
Bone spikes?
They were repelled before they could even get close.
Taijutsu?
They could not even approach him.
A numerical advantage?
It was meaningless against this kind of ninjutsu.
"What kind of ninjutsu is this?!"
"Be careful! Don't get close to him!"
"..."
The Kaguya members behind them were filled with shock and hurriedly stopped their advance.
Chiya's eyes flashed, and his Rinnegan swept across the entire battlefield.
"Super Shinra Tensei."
Boom!
An even stronger repulsive force instantly erupted outward from Chiya's body.
The ninjas who tried to attack from the sides and rear were sent flying, and even the surrounding buildings were blown away.
Screams, the sounds of breaking bones, and the collapse of buildings continued without end.
The originally aggressive Kaguya elites were wiped out in an instant, leaving a cleared area with a radius of twenty meters.
The Kaguya members suffered heavy casualties, while the survivors were all injured and looked at Chiya with boundless fear and respect.
This was not a battle.
It was one sided crushing and slaughter.
Even this level of power was merely Chiya holding back his Chakra.
He had not even used ten percent of his strength.
In the original story, this technique alone could cover an area large enough to destroy the entire Konoha Village!
Haku hid behind Chiya, tightly gripping the hem of his clothes.
His large eyes were wide open, and his little mouth was slightly agape as he stared in complete shock.
He had never imagined that a person's power could become this strong.
Those Kaguya members who had seemed as terrifying as demons to him were actually so helpless before his teacher.
An indescribable shock and longing for power quietly began to grow within his young heart.
Chiya stood in the middle of the ruined area, surrounded by groaning Kaguya members and broken bones and limbs scattered across the ground.
His gaze swept over the survivors.
Everyone he looked at lowered their heads in fear, no longer showing even the slightest trace of their former arrogance.
"Now, can you tell me where Kimimaro is?"
His voice remained calm, but to everyone listening, it was more terrifying than the whisper of the Grim Reaper.
The Kaguya Jonin's face was deathly pale, his lips trembling.
He no longer dared to hide anything and answered in a trembling voice.
"He... he's in the dungeon at the very back of the village... He's always been kept there..."
Having obtained the information he wanted, Chiya did not spare another glance at these defeated remnants.
He took Haku's hand and turned toward the depths of the settlement.
Every surviving Kaguya member along the way consciously stepped aside.
Not one of them dared to make a sound.
The Kaguya Clan's dungeon was dark and damp, filled with the smell of mold and a faint scent of blood.
Chiya easily broke the lock on the cell door and walked inside.
Haku followed closely behind him, looking around with both curiosity and fear.
In the innermost cell, they found their target.
A child who looked slightly older than Haku, yet whose body was just as thin and small.
He was curled up in the corner on a pile of dry grass, hugging his legs.
Kimimaro had white hair and green eyes that stared blankly into the distance.
Behind him was a faceless stone statue.
Even after the cell door was opened, he only moved slightly and showed little reaction.
Because he had been here for as long as he could remember.
People came and went through the dungeon, but in the end, no one ever took him away.
"Kimimaro."
Chiya called his name.
Kimimaro's body trembled slightly, and he slowly raised his head.
When he saw Chiya and Haku standing at the cell door, a faint trace of confusion appeared in his empty eyes.
He did not know these two people.
"Come with me."
Chiya did not waste any words and spoke directly.
Kimimaro froze.
Go with him?
Where?
Why?
He was used to being imprisoned, ordered around, and ignored.
The sudden choice and attention left him at a loss.
Haku looked at the boy who was slightly older than him.
He could see that there was something in his eyes that was the same as what he had.
Loneliness.
A feeling of shared suffering arose in his heart.
He gathered his courage, stepped forward, reached out his little hand, gently tugged at Kimimaro's clothes, and whispered.
"Let's go, Teacher is a good person."
Kimimaro looked at Haku's clear yet timid eyes, which were still trying their best to express kindness.
Then he looked at the unfamiliar man standing at the doorway.
He hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he used Haku's strength to stand up with some difficulty.
When he followed Chiya and Haku out of the dungeon and into the sunlight outside, he narrowed his eyes as they adjusted to the bright light.
The warm sunlight fell upon his body, and the feeling was very comfortable.
Once his eyes adjusted, he was immediately stunned by the scene before him.
The settlement was in complete ruins.
Among the broken walls and shattered buildings, the clan members who normally ordered him around or treated him with fear and rejection were now all cowering in the distance like quails.
They looked at the man standing before him with a mixture of fear, awe, and even pleading.
Not one of them dared to look at him for long.
'The clan members... are afraid?'
'Afraid of this man?'
Kimimaro's heart suddenly pounded.
He had never seen his clan members show such expressions.
Within his limited understanding, his clan members had always been crazy, warlike, and arrogant.
Yet now, their pride and madness had been completely crushed before this man.
He could not help raising his head and looking at Chiya's tall back.
An indescribable shock and an instinctive worship of absolute power hidden deep within his bloodline began to grow wildly in his heart.
Kimimaro no longer hesitated and silently followed beside Haku.
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