"Urgent report! Urgent report! An urgent report for the Raikage-sama!"
The Kumogakure's Jonin ran in flustered, his tone anxious as he said: "We just received intelligence. Kirigakure has achieved an overwhelming victory in their battle with Konoha! Konoha's Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki is severely wounded, their thousand-strong Ninja force suffered over eighty percent casualties, and they were utterly defeated and routed!!!"
Hearing this, a look of pleasant surprise suddenly appeared on the Fourth Raikage's dark face, 'It seems luck is on my side! Have Konoha and Kirigakure actually fought to such an extent?'
'Even Konoha's Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, which had been kept hidden for so long, was deployed and even severely wounded?'
'Plus a thousand-strong Ninja force suffering over eighty percent casualties? This is a truly massive blow to their vitality. If even Konoha suffered this badly, then Kirigakure's losses must be even greater, right!??'
Thinking that his opponent, Kirigakure, had been so greatly weakened, the Fourth Raikage couldn't help but feel overjoyed. But after being happy for a moment, his expression suddenly changed. He frowned and said, "You just said Kirigakure achieved an overwhelming victory? Overwhelming!??"
"Yes, Raikage-sama!"
The Kumogakure's Jonin quickly nodded, then said, his voice trembling slightly: "Kirigakure's frontline forces did not suffer any significant damage. According to scouts' intelligence analysis, their casualty number might only be twenty or thirty people. Meanwhile, Konoha suffered a major rout, with just the confirmed killed exceeding six hundred. The casualty ratio between the two sides should be over ten to one!"
"Ten to one...????"
The Fourth Raikage first fell silent, then his whole demeanor soured. He grabbed the Kumogakure's Jonin by the collar, lifting him into the air, and said ferociously: "Are you joking with me? Konoha lost several hundred people, and Kirigakure only lost twenty or thirty? Were the Kirigakure's forces all Jinchuriki or something!??"
Although he was sure his subordinate wouldn't dare lie to him, the Fourth Raikage's subconscious still refused to believe what he had just heard, because it was simply too outrageous.
You must know, Konoha's title as the Strongest Ninja Village wasn't blown out of thin air… it was earned on the battlefield with lives.
Generally speaking, in battles of equivalent level, Konoha's Ninjas were invincible one-on-one. So in war, other villages often had to pay with two or even more lives to take down one Konoha's Ninja.
To crush Konoha in a head-on decisive battle with a casualty ratio of over one to ten was fundamentally impossible.
Such a thing, let alone the soft target like Kirigakure, even Kumogakure would find it very difficult to achieve.
"Raikage-sama, it wasn't that they were all Jinchuriki."
The Kumogakure's Jonin said timidly: "It's that Kirigakure produced a monster Ninja who, single-handedly, brutally cut through the Ninja Army led by Namikaze Minato and the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki..."
"One person? Who?"
"Yuki Sora!"
"Data?"
"Yes, Raikage-sama, it's right here."
Soon, the Fourth Raikage took the documents and began reading with a serious expression. The more he read, the more intense the shock in his eyes became.
"Even Konoha's Namikaze Minato lost?"
"That dead fatso Yuki Tomoyuki's clan has such a monster!??"
…
Kirigakure.
When the news of the great victory at the front lines reached the village, the higher-ups of Kirigakure were also greatly shaken.
As for the common people, upon learning that the village's forces had defeated a Konoha's Ninja Force, they completely plunged into celebration.
Satisfying!
So satisfying!
The Village of the Bloody Mist sounded impressive, but in reality, its entire history was one of being crushed by Konoha.
Without exaggeration, this great victory at Tenfu Gorge was an extremely significant and brilliant stroke in the entire history of Kirigakure's wars against Konoha.
Both Ninjas and villagers, after a brief period of shock, fell into wild revelry.
Many commoners even spontaneously began to praise the name 'Yuki Sora'. More and more people learned that this youngest commander in Kirigakure's history had led the village to an unbelievable great victory.
However, compared to the popular celebrations, the reaction of Kirigakure's highest echelon was calm to a degree that was somewhat puzzling.
Both the Third Mizukage and the Elder Genji kept to themselves, rarely appearing in public.
Even when they occasionally attended public events, they remained tight-lipped about matters related to Sora. Their bizarre attitude made many high-ranking officials in the village scent something ominous.
'This...'
'Could it be that the top two in Kirigakure were worried about a subject's merits eclipsing the ruler's and were having some... unfavorable thoughts?'
Such speculation instantly made many Kirigakure's higher-ups also closely guard the secret, afraid of being swept into some deadly dangerous vortex.
…
In short,
It didn't take long for the news of the Tenfu Gorge battle to spread throughout the entire Ninja World, attracting the attention of countless people.
The story of how Konoha deployed their top aces like the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki and the Yellow Flash Namikaze Minato, yet were still defeated by Kirigakure, also spawned many different versions, spreading like a plague across the Ninja World.
Some said Kirigakure had produced a demon king who killed without blinking, ate three children per meal, and when fighting didn't eat food, but quenched his thirst by drinking the blood of Konoha's Ninjas and sated his hunger by eating their flesh.
Others spread that Kirigakure's commander was actually the reincarnation of the God of Ninja, Senju Hashirama, who just accidentally ended up in Kirigakure. When he turned eighteen, he suddenly awakened the Ninja Spirit in a ring, performed a blood sacrifice of his fiancée, and thus obtained a terrifying power seemingly capable of shattering all creation.
Others analyzed more rationally, speculating that this Kirigakure's Yuki Sora was actually a Tailed Beast wearing human skin.
His true identity was a monster even more fearsome than the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, the Ten-Tails, with five large horns on its head, fifteen eyes, ten tails, a ferocious and horrifying visage, a natural enemy of humanity that would sooner or later eat everyone and destroy this world.
The stories in the rumors became more and more convoluted and bizarre.
The identity of the story's protagonist, Yuki Sora, also became more and more terrifying. Actually, many people didn't believe it at first, but then thinking about the ways of the Bloody Mist, they felt these stories seemed somewhat credible.
Terror.
Fear.
Awe.
The more it spread, the stranger it became. As a world possessing Tailed Beasts, toads, slugs, giant snakes, and various other monsters, Ninjas had a high acceptance for bizarre creatures.
In a short time,
The entire Ninja World feared Sora's existence.
As for those Konoha's Ninjas who luckily escaped the battlefield, although they hadn't heard these rumors, the mere thought of that figure clad in the white haori still filled them with dread, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
Nightmare!
A true nightmare!
Sora's existence had become an inescapable nightmare for these Konoha's Ninjas.
One person suppressing a thousand.
Such a Ninja was either a monster or a god!
The name Yuki Sora had become a taboo for countless Konoha's Ninjas. Just hearing it would make them feel creepy, fearful from the depths of their souls.
At this moment, Sora, who is at the center of the storm, stood alone atop a waterfall.
He tread on empty air, gazing at the empty lake surface before him.
In his ears, a series of system notification sounds rang out.
[Ding!]
[Special Challenge Mission 1: Defeat Konoha's Ninja, Uzumaki Kushina. Completed. Reward: Reiatsu +50,000 points, Hado #90, Kurohitsugi]
[Hado #90, Kurohitsugi: When activated, forms a giant black cube that envelops the enemy, subjecting them to the assault of gravity and Reiatsu from thousands of swords and blades.]
[Special Challenge Mission 2: Defeat Konoha's Ninja, Namikaze Minato. Completed. Reward: Reiatsu +50,000 points, Special Kido: Reishi Manipulation]
[Special Kido: Reishi Manipulation: As the Kido level increases, allows the host to freely control, create, and destroy Reishi.]
[Special Challenge Mission 3: Defeat Konoha's Ninja, Jiraiya. Reiatsu +50,000 points, Random Reward (Not Completed)]
[Special Challenge Mission 4: Kill 2000 Konoha Ninjas. Current Progress (886/2000). Reward: Reiatsu +100,000 points, High-Level Kido Reward x1, Random Zanpakuto Reward x1]
[Special Note: Rewards for Special Challenge Mission 4 will only be calculated upon completion of prerequisite Challenge Missions 1, 2, and 3.]
…'
'Hado #90: Kurohitsugi!'
'And a special Kido...'
'Reishi Manipulation?'
A flicker of surprise appeared in Sora's eyes.
The next second, with just a thought, a mysterious pattern glowing with golden light appeared on his brow. After appearing, the pattern quickly spread across his entire body.