The battle inside the Hokage Building raged on.
"Damn it—how dare these Sand shinobi go this far!"
Kurenai Yuhi gritted her teeth, her face flushed red with fury.
Mitarashi Anko's expression was just as dark.
"Kill them! Don't let a single one escape!"
The two had been nearby when the fire erupted, and they rushed to the scene immediately.
What they saw made their breath freeze—
The Hokage Building surrounded by flames, corpses littering the entrance.
The political heart of Konoha… attacked?
It was unthinkable.
Without hesitation, the two chunin charged inside, kunai in hand.
But at the end of the day, they were still only mid-level shinobi.
Their jutsu were limited, their experience even more so.
Facing Sand shinobi who had gone mad and fought without fear of death—they were struggling badly.
Especially Kurenai.
Her illusions were effective, but each technique drained her mental focus.
Soon, her chakra and concentration were faltering.
A Sand jonin broke her genjutsu easily and lunged at her.
"Pretty little girl… die for me!"
The man's face was streaked with blood, kunai gleaming under the firelight as he pounced.
"Red!"
Anko noticed, but she was caught fighting two shinobi at once—she couldn't get to her in time.
Kurenai's heart tightened.
Too late.
She raised her arms on instinct to shield her head.
Then—
a powerful force snatched her waist.
She was pulled sharply aside.
"Die."
A deep, commanding voice rang out.
The Sand shinobi's body jerked—
a line of blood spurted from his throat—
and he collapsed without understanding how he died.
Kurenai blinked, stunned.
Only then did she realize—
she was held against someone's chest.
A strong arm wrapped tightly around her waist.
And a hand was—
Her face turned scarlet.
She looked up—
A handsome, cold face stared down at her through the smoke.
"E-Evan?!"
Kurenai gasped.
But before she could think further,
the hand holding her waist gave a slight squeeze.
Not painful—
but enough to make her whole body stiffen and flush hot.
She opened her mouth, about to question him, when he let go.
And then—
his voice rang out loud and righteous:
"Who dares attack Konoha? Do you think our village has no one to defend it?!"
The same man who had held her seconds ago
now rushed forward with righteous fury—
as if he hadn't just grabbed her by the waist.
"Evan-sama!"
"He's here! We're saved—kill those Sand bastards!"
"He's so strong!"
"He's that Evan? Amazing!"
"My god, I actually doubted him before… I was blind…"
Cheers erupted from every Konoha shinobi present.
Morale skyrocketed.
Sword in hand, Evan tore into the battlefield.
The strange long sword in his grasp danced like a streak of lightning—
no Sand shinobi survived more than a single strike.
Bodies fell one after another.
"So strong…"
Kurenai stood dazed, heart pounding.
So that hand on her waist earlier…
Surely it wasn't on purpose…
Right?
Right?
Anko rushed to her side. "Red! Are you okay?!"
"I—I'm fine…"
But Kurenai's eyes were fixed on Evan's silhouette, her voice trembling.
She'd heard the rumors about his strength.
But seeing it in person…
She could barely handle one Sand shinobi.
He defeated several with a single swing.
Anko's eyes sparkled like stars.
"He's here! We're totally safe now!"
Evan's blade swept through the air—
the Nine Swords of Dugu blooming into deadly arcs.
His Lingering Wave Footwork let him glide through attacks like mist—
truly, ten steps and one kill.
Ninjutsu, taijutsu, kunai, shuriken—
none of it mattered.
Everything broke before his sword.
Within moments, every Sand shinobi inside the Hokage Building was dead.
DING! Killed Koharu Utatane & Homura Mitokado. EXP +18000
DING! Killed 68 Konoha shinobi. EXP +163000
DING! Killed 26 Sand shinobi. EXP +52000
Evan stood amid the corpses, drenched in blood—
all intentionally splattered, of course.
He leaned on his sword, face grim, drenched in heroic tragedy.
But deep in his eyes—
Mockery gleamed.
As long as I grow stronger, there's no one I won't kill.
Konoha doesn't dare kill certain people? I will.
Konoha doesn't dare trigger a war? I will.
If he was destined to be the villain—
he would embrace it fully.
Konoha, Sand—
they were all the same.
The more they died, the more experience he gained.
More fame.
More power.
During the Fourth Shinobi War, the world admired the saviors—
but who remembered the countless dead beneath their feet?
This world already had its chosen protagonists.
Everyone else was fodder.
Evan refused to be fodder.
He refused to be buried, remembered only as a casualty.
He would live.
Always.
And anyone who tried to block his path—
even gods—
would be cut down.
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