The air fell silent for a long while.
Seeing the two women who had lost combat capability and fallen unconscious, Shiranui Genma helplessly raised both hands and tossed his kunai onto the ground.
"Alright, alright. I surrender," he said.
"Besides, you're clearly a Konoha ninja too. Ryuun only acted impulsively because of that thing you did to her. I hope you'll be magnanimous enough to forgive her."
Kaito: "?"
The next second—
An extremely unpleasant memory surfaced in Kaito's mind.
His expression darkened instantly.
"I'm a doctor," he said coldly.
"Do you think I can't perform?"
Shiranui Genma, having just witnessed Kaito shift his heart to avoid a fatal blow, then single-handedly use chakra threads for suturing combined with medical ninjutsu without hand seals, naturally understood just how terrifying Kaito's medical level truly was.
"T-this was just a misunderstanding," Genma laughed awkwardly.
At that moment, the less severely injured Hyūga Suzuka woke up.
She hurriedly checked Ryuun's condition, and after confirming she was alive, finally let out a breath of relief.
Then she gritted her teeth and glared at Kaito.
"You bastard! This is the Land of Fire!"
"You dared to attack Konoha ninja inside national borders—have you prepared yourself to become an enemy of the entire Hidden Leaf Village?!"
Hearing such familiar words, Kaito thought briefly about another ability he had learned after mastering Magnet Release and Crystal Release.
He inwardly sighed.
Suzuka, you're such a considerate girl… even giving me the chance to show my ultimate move.
"Heh."
"Hehehe."
"Hahahahahahaha—!"
Kaito first let out a low chuckle, then burst into wild laughter.
Gradually, the laughter faded.
The rabbit mask tilted upward toward the sky, falling silent.
Everyone froze, stunned by his behavior.
"Enemy?"
"Who?"
"Where?"
"Why!!!"
Terrifying chakra erupted violently from Kaito's body.
In an instant, a massive pale-blue energy dome expanded outward, enveloping a one-kilometer radius.
At that moment—
Whether inside Enka Uzushio City or passing through the forest, people could clearly see this strange phenomenon surrounding the city.
Hyūga Suzuka's Byakugan bulged wide open, her pupils trembling uncontrollably.
What monstrous chakra…!
And more importantly—
the structure of the technique was complete.
Which meant that once activated, it could annihilate everything within its range.
Black Zetsu and White Zetsu: "..."
Black Zetsu suddenly felt like kicking Madara straight out of the plan.
Look at this guy!!
No bloodline limit and he still developed something this terrifying!!!
Black Zetsu could clearly tell—
This was pure chakra, completely unrelated to any kekkei genkai.
"…Wait," White Zetsu muttered.
"Are we inside the range too?"
"Should we retreat…?"
White Zetsu nodded frantically—
—but Black Zetsu suddenly realized something.
"No. His people are still inside. He wouldn't—"
At that moment, Shiranui Genma snapped back to reality.
Kaito was already floating in midair.
Dark clouds gathered above, the sky turning gloomy, as if rain were about to fall.
"Hahahaha—!"
"Look up."
"Then you'll understand."
"Rend the earth."
"Pierce the heavens."
"My ultimate, invincible, strongest strike~!"
Chakra overflowed visibly, stable yet overwhelming.
This was only possible due to the properties of Magnet Release chakra and Crystal Release chakra, ensuring that even a Rinnegan user standing at the center wouldn't be able to absorb enough chakra to destabilize it.
In fact—
The chakra density within the compressed one-kilometer radius was so vast that even the Rinnegan couldn't drain it all.
One more thing—
The moment this technique finished forming, it could already detonate.
"I."
"Am."
"ATOMIC~"
Kaito aimed at the cloud-filled sky and unleashed his strongest blow.
BOOM—!!!
A deafening explosion echoed.
Blinding white light erupted.
Violent shockwaves and hurricane-level winds descended from above.
Even Black Zetsu, hiding over five hundred meters away, regretted not retreating earlier.
...
Time passed—how long, no one knew.
When the light finally faded, silence returned.
People inside and outside the area cautiously looked toward where the chakra dome had been.
It was gone.
Inside the city, residents argued heatedly.
Some claimed it was just for show—
only to be refuted by a red-haired man pointing at the sky.
"Didn't you notice? The clouds in that area are completely gone!"
"That's proof the ninjutsu succeeded!"
"The user simply controlled the attack range!"
"If it really exploded, the city would've been affected too! Use your brain!"
"Th-this…"
Kaito knew none of this.
After landing, he only saw three stunned Konoha ninja…
along with his own disciples and subordinates.
Unlike Shadow's Eminence-style nonsense, Kaito knew his organization couldn't operate as a hidden joke faction.
His subordinates weren't all genius princesses,
and he couldn't instantly grant them overwhelming power.
"This time," he said calmly,
"was just a demonstration."
Then he remembered something and turned toward Fukuyama Sawa.
"By the way, I have a business proposal for you."
"Are you interested, Miss Sawa?"
Fukuyama Sawa nodded blankly—
Then her body went limp as she began to fall.
Kaito appeared instantly, catching her.
"Tsk," he muttered.
"Weren't you confident just now, girl?"
Even after being set down, Sawa still hadn't recovered.
Kaito waved a hand in front of her face.
"Moshi moshi?"
"Is Miss Sawa home?"
"You—!"
She nearly exploded, then immediately corrected herself.
"…Fine. Whatever cooperation you want, I'll agree."
"Mm~ not bad."
"Don't worry. You won't lose money."
"Oh, right. Where should I find you in the future?"
"Konoha Village," Sawa replied internally screaming, Try doing THAT there!
"Got it. Let's go."
Kaito turned to his four companions.
He planned to let the three continue their field study for a few more days, then return to the Land of Rain, resign as ninja, and build a trading company first.
As for the name—
After the battle, news of a terrifying powerhouse appearing in the Land of Fire spread outward from Enka Uzushio City.
Over the next month, merchants and corporate leaders frantically inquired about this figure, hoping to hire him as a long-term guard.
Even the Daimyō and officials considered recruiting him.
Only Konoha remained eerily silent.
"A super-scale ninjutsu exceeding two kilometers…"
"If used inside the village…"
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't dare imagine it.
Why won't such a strong person show himself?
Konoha can offer anything!
Meanwhile—
In Amegakure, Land of Rain.
Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato decisively submitted their ninja resignation.
"What?!"
"You're quitting?!"
"You said you wanted to become ninja before—!"
The Rain Village chūnin registrar looked numb.
We barely recruit idiots as it is, and now three more are leaving…
Do you have pig brains? People usually defect quietly!
"Yes," Yahiko said firmly.
"We're establishing a trading company."
"We'll bring the people of the Rain more room to survive—
and peace, through another path!"
The chūnin was momentarily moved.
Then he looked at the bleak streets of the village and sighed.
"The village doesn't offer loans."
"That's fine! We'll find a way!"
In truth—
After the Enka Uzushio incident, they had already signed a cooperation agreement with Fukuyama Sawa.
Once they obtained Rain Village's merchant certification, they could borrow from the Konoha Ninja Bank—
Up to ten million ryō.
Rain Village didn't obstruct them.
These unofficial genin weren't even on record.
They received no missions anyway.
Merchant registration was even easier.
Businesspeople were rarer than ninja.
Renting worthless land still generated income.
But when officials saw the Konoha Ninja Bank cooperation contract, they panicked.
Are these kids spies?!
The documents were sent to Hanzō.
"Akatsuki…"
"A trading company aimed at hope and peace…"
A Rain ninja reported:
"They're said to be Jiraiya's students."
"Jiraiya?"
"One of the Three Ninja?"
"Yes!"
"I see," Hanzō murmured.
"This is atonement through teaching."
"They realized that being ninja alone isn't enough."
"Remarkable youths."
"Approve it."
"Rain has nothing left to lose."
"I trust them."
"Yes!"
After receiving certification—
The three immediately returned to their small home and shared the good news with Kaito.
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