"You really are something. Toroi, as a bloodline shinobi, would have been more valuable to us if you had left his body intact."
Shisui, looking at the completely burned ashes of Toroi before him, also wore a face of helplessness.
The battle had come to an end, and Kaito and Shisui had dealt with the entire Cloud Hidden Team, including Toroi with his Magnet Release!
In truth, the fighting prowess of this team was truly formidable. If they had faced two different opponents, they might not have had such an easy time dealing with them.
Even if it had been a standard fully manned combat group, it wouldn't have been an easy task. Normally, the best choice would have been to turn around and leave.
However, luck had been extremely poor for this Cloud Hidden Team. They had encountered Kaito and Shisui, both members of the Uchiha clan.
Everything they excelled at was completely countered by these two individuals. In such circumstances, they naturally had very little opportunity.
The battle came to a complete end in less than ten minutes. The reason it took that long was mainly because someone chose to escape, and Shisui had to pursue them.
In the process, a considerable amount of time was wasted. However, to Shisui's surprise, when he returned, he found that the guy named Terekin had already been incinerated by Kaito.
"That's how you Anbu operate, but I'm not one of them. I don't have the habit of bringing back bodies for research."
Kaito didn't feel that his actions were wrong. In fact, over the years, when he carried out missions, he would choose to incinerate the enemies once he had taken them down.
Although this approach may seem evil, bluntly speaking, it's a way to completely eliminate any traces.
Kaito was well aware that there are techniques in this world that can revive the dead to continue fighting, and such techniques exist within Konoha.
He didn't want to encounter individuals he had defeated coming back to life in the future, so he preferred to be cautious and reduce them to ashes. This way, he wouldn't have to worry about them in the future.
"You, my friend, really..."
Kaito's words caught Shisui off guard, but he quickly shook his head and let go of the issue. Instead, he looked at Kaito with a hint of curiosity.
"Just now, I saw you use the Body Replacement Technique and fly up into the sky. Your flying speed was impressive, and your movements were extremely agile. When did you learn such a technique?"
"Not too long ago."
Kaito smiled faintly, then calmly replied.
"In fact, ever since I heard about the Third Tsuchikage having the ability to fly, I started pondering on how to achieve it myself."
He possesses Earth Release, and so do I. Therefore, I started studying how to make the body lighter through Earth Release, thus achieving the ability to fly.
I was fortunate enough that, although it took a considerable amount of time and effort, I managed to accomplish it."
Although Kaito's Dance of the Sky and Earth Release had no connection whatsoever, it didn't hinder him from using it as an excuse. Moreover, presenting it this way made it more convincing.
After all, there was the example of Onoki, and Kaito himself carried the reputation of being a prodigy. Therefore, it was only natural for him to have achieved something significant through his research.
As expected, upon hearing Kaito's words, Shisui nodded lightly and refrained from asking further questions.
Every ninja has their own expertise, and they may even have some secret techniques that they wouldn't easily discuss with others.
If someone keeps pushing for answers relentlessly, they can be treated as idiots or, in extreme cases, even as spies.
"I understand. Let's clean up the scene."
Shisui looked at the bodies scattered on the ground and couldn't help but sigh before taking the lead and walking towards them.
Kaito naturally followed along, but at the same time, he couldn't resist the urge to check his system interface.
After eliminating Teralyon, his system had provided him with some notifications, piquing his curiosity.
[Skill: True Evolution (0/1)]
[Activation Condition: Requires one hundred Strength Fragments for activation]
[Strength Fragments: Special Jonin obtain twenty-five, Chunin obtain twenty, Genin obtain ten, regular enemies drop one to five]
[Current acquired Strength Fragments: Eighty-five]
[Friendly reminder, ninja rank is unrelated to ninja strength. Please strive harder, host.]
"Hmm?"
When Kaito saw the information displayed on his system interface, he was completely stunned.
He never expected to have so many Strength Fragments, which left him perplexed.
He didn't have any double critical hit boosters, so there was no possibility of any multiplication of rewards.
Moreover, he had only defeated Special Jonin Toroi, and by the time he turned to assist Shisui, Shisui had already taken down two enemies and was chasing after the last one.
This situation left him somewhat helpless because even a Chunin or a Genin would have at least ten to twenty Strength Fragments.
"Could it be that it's because of our team-up with Shisui? And even if I didn't contribute to their defeat, it still counts as mine, so I received the Strength Fragments as well?"
Upon careful consideration, Kaito realized that there was indeed a possibility. Eighty-five Strength Fragments meant the equivalent of one Special Jonin and three Chunin.
The numbers matched perfectly, which instantly filled Kaito with great joy. It meant that he only needed to defeat one more Special Jonin or even just one Chunin to complete the mission!
"This is a real jackpot. If it weren't for Shisui joining me, I wouldn't have dared to confront these four guys head-on!"
Kaito's mood improved significantly at that moment. Although he was initially annoyed by having his kill stolen, taking down Toroi reassured him that he hadn't lost out.
And now he realized that he had struck it big. This dramatic change naturally brought him immense happiness.
However, it wasn't the time to celebrate just yet. Looking at the corpses scattered on the ground, Kaito couldn't help but sigh.
The corpses of the Cloud Shinobi didn't concern him; he could even face them coldly. However, he found it difficult to accept the bodies of the civilians.
Although civilian casualties were a common occurrence in ninja battles, the Cloud Shinobi had slaughtered the entire village just to deal with a rogue ninja. This kind of act was no different from the savagery of the Uchiha.
Kaito felt justified in eliminating them, and their deaths were well-deserved!
Silently, he and Shisui gathered the bodies from the entire village. In the end, they used Fire Release to give them a collective burial.
The roaring flames ignited the entire village, and dark billowing smoke rose slowly in the night sky, accompanied by the flickering of firelight.
Kaito and Shisui stood in the distance, silently watching it all, their shadows elongated by the flickering flames.
However, in the midst of the roaring inferno, when the fire burned most fiercely, Shisui suddenly broke the somewhat oppressive silence.
"Kaito, why do you think there are so many wars?"