Within the thick white mist, the Kirigakure jōnin watched—horrified—as both his subordinates' arms and legs separated from their bodies in an instant.
Splash—splash.
Two bodies toppled onto the water's surface.
His throat tightened.
A cold bead of sweat rolled down his cheek as he grabbed the hilt of his blade.
"W–Who's there?!
Konoha shouldn't have anyone like you!"
Below the surface, Kaito clicked his tongue in irritation.
He had planned for Kurenai to defeat her opponent alone.
His shadow clone would then return and match her story perfectly.
But no—
Kirigakure had been ridiculously cautious.
Instead of sending just one assassin, they'd deployed a whole jōnin-led auxiliary squad—
as if they were scared Kurenai wouldn't die fast enough.
"ROOM · Slaughterhouse!"
A second invisible slash tore through the mist.
The jōnin moved on pure survival instinct—using Water Clone and Water Substitution simultaneously.
Splurt—
"Tch."
Kaito clicked his tongue when the strike hit only a clone.
Sure, he could increase the slash's speed to the point even a jōnin couldn't dodge…
But wasting that much stamina on a mere jōnin?
Not worth it.
The Ope-Ope no Mi's "ROOM" could alter speed, angle, even physical values inside its domain.
But it consumed stamina—and in Naruto's world, stamina was life force.
Better not overspend.
The Two Chūnin
"AAAAHHHH—!!" ×2
"MY HANDS—MY LEGS!!" ×2
The two chūnin screamed on the water's surface, unable to crawl, unable to form seals.
Not a threat anymore.
Bubbles rose gently between Kurenai's unconscious body and the chūnin.
The water slid down the translucent dome of the ROOM.
The two chūnin froze.
A young man stepped through the mist—
his long hair tied in a traditional ponytail, a rabbit-patterned mask hiding his face, a long coat draped over his shoulders.
But his eyes—cold and merciless—were visible behind the mask.
"What a troublesome bunch."
Since ROOM covered the entire mist zone and hadn't extended outward, nothing outside could see what was happening.
No witnesses.
No leaks.
Perfect.
Kaito's ears twitched.
A faint sound—almost imperceptible.
A killing intent surged behind him.
A blade flashed, reflecting off silhouettes in the mist.
"DIE! Remember the one who killed you!
Jōnin of the Mist—Momochi Sai—!!"
SHINK!
"So noisy."
Hot blood sprayed across Kaito's mask and cloak—
only to evaporate instantly into white steam.
The two chūnin froze mid-breath, eyes wide.
The masked youth had appeared behind the jōnin—
his blade piercing straight through the man's throat.
No spatial trick.
No invisible slash.
A pure, clean assassination.
Kaito withdrew the blade with a sharp shhk and sheathed it.
Blood erupted like a fountain, painting the mist crimson before raining down over the three of them.
The Kirigakure jōnin collapsed, floating lifelessly at Kaito's feet as the water turned red.
"…W–What…"
Both chūnin stiffened, unable to even feel pain because their minds were too numb.
Kaito ignored them and stepped toward Kurenai.
He lowered himself, eyes scanning through ROOM's spatial overlay.
"With the ROOM, nothing inside escapes my view."
"All right… 38 external wounds.
Internal damage from that kick too."
He frowned.
"If I knew, I would've just finished this earlier."
He pulled the shuriken from Kurenai's shoulder and flicked it backward.
Thwip—crack.
It embedded itself cleanly into Chōta's forehead.
"CHŌTA!!!"
"You're noisy too."
The moment Saodō cried out, the shuriken twisted out of Chōta's skull and shot cleanly through Saodō's brow as well.
Thud.
Both bodies slackened, floating lifelessly.
Kaito exhaled sharply.
He began applying bandages and stabilizing Kurenai's bleeding.
ROOM allowed him to pull out the senbon lodged in Kurenai's waist, but healing her internals?
Impossible.
"Too many injuries.
I can't patch these up alone."
He muttered:
"Internal damage like this needs real medical ninjutsu.
Surgical incision, cell activation…
Palm Sage Technique, or Regeneration Jutsu…"
None of which he could perform.
His stamina was already too taxed to convert ROOM output into healing.
Reinforcement Arrives—Kaito, Again
A ripple traveled across the water.
A black-haired teenager swam through the mist—Kaito's shadow clone.
"How's the situation?"
"He won't die. But he's heavily injured."
"I see. And the two Mist chūnin outside?"
"Whatever. Our priority is getting Kurenai back to Konoha."
Kaito canceled his disguise, returning to his normal height and frame as he removed the cloak and rabbit mask.
His youthful yet sharp features returned—calm and cold as always.
"After you're done, deal with their hearts and brains. No evidence."
"Yesssirrr."
The clone grumbled as it walked toward the corpses—
Then stopped.
A drenched figure was rising shakily from the water.
"You damned Konoha jōnin…"
Hōzuki Chō.
He had awakened—just barely—from the suffocating genjutsu.
His limbs trembled.
His eyes—filled with terror—locked onto Kaito.
"You… What are you…?"
Kaito ignored him and kept bandaging Kurenai.
"Handle it," he said flatly to his clone.
"I gave you plenty of chakra. You should be able to finish him."
ROOM remained active.
The clone sighed dramatically.
"For a main body who acts so cool, you sure love dumping the messy work on me."
He turned, grin widening beneath Kaito's face.
"Okay then.
Let's play."
Hōzuki Chō stumbled back, fear overriding reason.
"You—You can't be from Konoha! They don't have monsters like you!
I still have dreams—I can't die here—!"
The two Mist chūnin maintaining the fog were reaching their limit; the mist began to thin.
As it parted, the three corpses on the water became visible to Hōzuki Chō.
"No… No…"
His pupils contracted violently.
"I'LL FIGHT YOU!!!
Water Release: Great Water Arm Technique!!!"
Muscles bulged grotesquely along his right arm.
Clutching his blade, he charged with raw desperation—
"DIEEEEE!!!"
The clone crouched down, picking up Chōta's fallen blade.
"Heh. Not bad. Mist's weapon quality is almost as good as my custom one."
He vanished.
Behind Hōzuki Chō.
"Unfortunately—
our difference is just too big."
He moved faster than the Mist-nin's eyes could follow—amplified by ROOM's manipulation.
Hōzuki Chō's slash ripped through an afterimage.
The last thing he heard—
"Ciao."
Then—
Thump.
His head separated from his shoulders.
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