Thud! Thud!
"Kaito" landed on the ground.
Takeya—who had already closed his eyes, fully prepared to die—felt someone stop right in front of him.
The hand seals in "Kaito's" fingers were already formed.
"Water Release: Water Turbulent Wave !"
Hiss—!
The incoming Fire Release attack was abruptly intercepted.
The black-clad chūnin's face twisted in disbelief.
Impossible… the direction he came from still had five people guarding it!
And Lord Naoto should've arrived by now!
The two well-equipped wandering samurai also frowned.
The light-red-haired youth rested his hand on his blade.
"Unexpected backup?"
The black-haired man with two scars on his face did the same.
"Doesn't matter."
"As long as the two of us are together—"
"We're invincible!"
The black-clad chūnin wanted to warn them not to underestimate the enemy—
—but a kunai flashing with reflected moonlight shot straight toward him.
He dodged.
At the same time, the red-haired youth's eyes sharpened.
Even in the warm mist from the water technique, he drew his blade and deflected the kunai.
"Kaito" noted it silently.
Not fodder. Chakra-trained wandering samurai—probably able to contend with weak chūnin.
Too bad.
He glanced inwardly.
Wonder when the real me is done playing. I kinda want a turn too.
"You alright, Takeya?" the clone asked calmly.
Takeya shook his head, trying to stand—but the clone pressed him back down.
"That's enough."
"I brought the kid out to play in the first place."
"And he's already called me 'teacher' and 'big brother.'"
"No matter what—"
"I'm responsible for protecting him."
The clone turned to Enshin.
The boy's face was streaked with tears; he wiped them again and again, nodding fiercely.
"I knew it! I knew Big Brother Kaito would be fine!!"
The clone didn't explain.
He simply turned toward the group ahead, counting casually.
"One, two, three, four…"
"…Fifteen people."
"That's a lot."
The black-clad chūnin finally saw clearly.
"An—an actual Konoha jōnin!"
"Retreat! Now!!"
But just as he tried to flee—
He realized the two wandering samurai weren't moving.
Instead, their faces lit up with excitement.
The black-haired man licked blood from his blade.
"A jōnin…"
"We've wanted to kill a Konoha jōnin for ages."
"Today, the names of the Red-Black Twin Fiends will echo across Fire Country!"
The red-haired youth stepped forward.
His feet slid.
His body accelerated—
basic Body Flicker.
"Red Demon—Draw Slash!"
The clone stared blankly.
"…."
Too obvious.
Just a standard Body Flicker plus iaijutsu combo.
The fancy name didn't make it special.
He stepped back half a pace.
Tilted his head.
The blade skimmed past his face.
If he'd used Wind chakra to extend the blade—like Asuma's Flying Swallow—this might've worked, the clone thought idly.
"What?!" The red-haired youth's eyes widened.
My recovery lag is too long!
As the blade swung sideways—
The clone tossed a kunai upward, kicked off, and slammed a foot into the man's chest.
The red-haired youth flew back.
At the same time—
Clang!
The second samurai had already coordinated, knocking aside the kunai and aiming for the clone's head.
"Die!"
The clone flickered forward.
The black-haired man's pupils shrank.
Too late.
Thud!
His blade buried a quarter of its length into the dirt.
"C—"
Slice.
A kunai flashed across his throat.
The body collapsed.
Way too linear, the clone complained mentally.
Zero training value.
Dust settled.
Seeing his brother dead, the red-haired youth froze—
Then turned and ran.
Everyone else stood stunned.
The entire fight had lasted two to three seconds.
"A monster!!
"I knew Konoha jōnin were insane!!!"
The black-clad chūnin bolted.
The rest panicked.
"Run!!"
But then—
The chūnin ahead stopped.
Frozen.
They followed his gaze.
Under the moonlight—
The red-haired youth was already dead.
The real Kaito stood there, arms spread, lowering the corpse gently.
"What a good kid," he sighed.
"How did you end up on the wrong path?"
"You—YOU—!"
Chakra threads snapped out.
Thirteen people were yanked off their feet.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
They slammed down.
More threads followed, binding them midair like puppets pulled apart.
"Let's start with two," Kaito smiled.
Training finger-specific force control.
"Wait! I have intel! I know who ordered this—!"
Snap.
Two screams.
The rest fainted on the spot.
Kaito walked toward the remaining chūnin.
"Please! I have money—years of savings—"
Pierce.
A sharpened chakra thread punched through his skull.
Kaito's tone was flat.
"Money's nice."
"But talking about money hurts feelings, don't you know?"
Blood rained.
The clone approached, mildly disturbed.
Isn't the real me going a bit hard…?
Takeya and Enshin could barely see the scene ahead.
Takeya swallowed.
No elemental jutsu… and he butchered them all.
"He… he…"
Before Enshin could finish—
The masked man vanished.
The "Kaito" ahead chased after him.
Moments later—
"Kaito" was blasted back.
The masked man appeared, stepping on his abdomen.
"Don't think being Konoha means I won't kill you."
"Follow me again."
"I'll cripple you."
He vanished into the forest.
"Kaito!" Enshin cried.
Moments later, Utane An arrived—with two Uchiha chūnin.
She took one look at the battlefield—
And nearly vomited.
The two Uchiha did vomit.
A night later—
Kaito "woke up" in a luxurious residence near Fukuyama Estate.
Stretching, he stepped onto the balcony.
Izumi, an officer from the Military Affairs Bureau, joined him.
"When can I leave?" Kaito asked casually.
"At least a week."
"Slow."
"I did save the future Daimyō."
Izumi twitched.
If not for you, the kid wouldn't have left the city at all…
"Be patient."
"If we were detaining you, you'd be in prison."
"Fair."
Izumi added, "You might even be rewarded."
Kaito's eyes instantly turned into currency symbols.
Daimyō reward… gold… gemstones…
A hundred million at least, right?!
One week later—
The royal purge ended.
Prince Enchiu was crippled.
His children exiled.
Succession secured.
In the throne hall—
Kaito stood stiffly.
"…Your reward is…?"
The Daimyō closed his fan.
"I grant you marriage to Fukuyama Sawa."
"My son Enshin will preside."
"Gifts will be prepared."
Kaito's soul left his body.
I should've let the kid die.
Back home, he saw the gift list.
"…Bastard."
Properties. Shops. Shares. Mines.
Cash: 666,666,666 ryō
Gold: worth one billion ryō
"…So much money."
"…I've never seen this much."
Then—
He put the list down.
Took out paper.
And wrote a farewell letter.
Before becoming the strongest…
I cannot fall for money.
(He wrote it while bleeding internally.)
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