"Nagishi, what's the status?"
Behind a massive rock, a black-haired Iwa ninja with a sword on his back squatted down, glancing back at his approaching comrade and whispered.
"No sign of Konoha's scouts around us. We're well hidden; it seems they haven't detected us."
Hearing his comrade's words, the black-haired Iwa ninja with the sword smirked proudly.
"Of course. Yours truly is the renowned Dark Ninja of Iwagakure. When it comes to stealth, those Konoha trash can't compare to me!"
As scouts, their primary goal was intelligence gathering, and they avoided direct combat. Engaging in battle meant their mission had already failed.
Thus, scouting wars between nations typically boiled down to:
1. I'm watching you, but you don't know I'm watching you.
2. I know you're watching me, so I'm watching you too.
3. I don't know if you're watching me, but my comrade is watching you watching me...
Iwa Tetsu naturally believed himself in the first scenario, making him very pleased.
"The Tsuchikage has finally decided to go to war. I've been waiting so long my body was getting rusty. This time, I'll make sure to kill plenty of Konoha ninjas."
Nagishi gave him a glance and whispered, "Konoha is strong; we must not underestimate them."
"What's there to fear?" Iwa Tetsu rolled his eyes at him. "Master Donetsu's vanguard is stationed in Windmill Town. Our main force will be here soon."
True...
Nagishi nodded. The Tsuchikage had planned for a long time, aiming to seize the initiative early in the war. Their main force should already be entering the Land of Grass.
A hasty response would force Konoha into a defensive stance.
"I see. So Iwagakure's vanguard is already stationed in the Land of Grass? Thanks for the intel."
A cold voice from behind startled them, making them spin around hastily.
A Konoha ninja with pure white eyes stood several dozen meters away, watching them.
"Damn it! When?!"
A mix of shame and fury erupted within Iwa Tetsu, flushing his face red.
He suddenly realized he was indeed in the first scenario, but he had misunderstood the subject.
"You brat, you should have run with the intel, but you dare face us instead? Yours truly is the legendary Dark Ninja of Iwagakure."
The Iwa ninja named Iwa Tetsu drew the sword from his back.
Satoru smirked, recalling the man's identity.
In the original series, during Jiraiya's journey with Naruto, they encountered two Iwa Chunin. One of them, calling himself the legendary Dark Ninja, boasted he would humiliate Jiraiya with a single move, only to be sent flying by a single Rasengan.
It seemed to be this guy.
Knowing his identity, Satoru could understand his reckless behaviour.
He didn't seem very smart.
Iwa Tetsu, oblivious to Satoru's thoughts, merged into the ground after his boast.
He reappeared behind Satoru, his sword flashing with a cold gleam aimed at Satoru's neck.
"Die!"
Nagishi watched excitedly. Was it happening?
Iwa Tetsu's signature move...
Then he saw Iwa Tetsu's sword lodged in his neck, his face filled with disbelief.
"You... brat..."
Blood bubbled from his mouth as he struggled to speak.
Satoru wasted no time. Controlling the sword with electromagnetic force, he twisted it, instantly ending Iwa Tetsu's life.
Nagishi, snapping out of his daze, turned to flee.
Satoru raised his right hand, a droplet of magnetic fluid forming into a bullet above his thumb. With a flick, it launched.
A blue arc of lightning wrapped around the silver bullet, turning it into a blue streak that shot through the air.
With a bang, a hole appeared in Nagishi's forehead, brain matter and blood spraying from the impact as his body collapsed backwards.
Satoru approached and retrieved the magnetic fluid from the body.
Given his current location, he needed to finish battles quickly to avoid detection by other Iwa scouts.
Activating his electromagnetic furnace, he incinerated the bodies in a flash of high heat, leaving little trace.
Since developing the electromagnetic furnace, Satoru found himself using it mostly for corpse disposal.
He began pondering his next move.
Other Iwa scouts were still nearby, but he had a distinct advantage with his abilities.
Byakugan's X-ray vision, large-scale electromagnetic scanning, and the Mokuton technique for stealth.
Not making use of these would be a waste.
He positioned himself atop the large rock, adjusting his stance.
Silver magnetic fluid flowed from his sleeve, forming a silver sniper rifle, with the muzzle resembling a silencer.
His left hand reached out, drawing metal particles from the ground, compressing them to enhance strength, and forging them into bullets.
Repeating the process.
Soon, a layer of bullets covered one corner of the rock.
An electromagnetic sniper rifle was far superior in terms of noise reduction and stealth to a conventional powder-based one.
The primary noise came from the bullet's sonic boom. Despite the unique design of Satoru's bullets, which minimized this, the muzzle silencer further reduced the sound...
A perfect sniping weapon.
Satoru loaded a bullet into the rifle.
Bullet loaded.
Target detected by the electromagnetic scan.
Byakugan lock-on.
Target acquired.
Satoru grinned wickedly.
"Let's show these sneaky Iwa scouts the terror of a rogue sniper."
The rifle's barrel began to glow with a blue electric light.
Satoru pulled the trigger.
With a soft whizz, a blue streak flashed by. Two kilometres away, an Iwa scout hiding in the grass had his head explode, blood splattering the surrounding grass.
The second bullet loaded.
Target locked.
An Iwa scout crouched in the bushes, too slow to react as his chest burst open, leaving a gaping hole. His body fell back in disbelief.
The third target, an Iwa scout hiding underground, became fertilizer.
Without needing to worry about recovering the magnetic fluid, Satoru didn't hold back on the bullets.
These makeshift bullets, forged from underground metal particles, despite compressing molecular gaps to enhance strength, had a maximum range of only three kilometres.
Beyond that, air friction would gradually burn them up, reducing their power.
Still, Satoru was satisfied.
Even in his previous life, a three-kilometre effective range surpassed the limits of conventional sniper rifles.
Satoru carefully chose his targets, either isolating lone scouts or finding angles for double kills.
Minimizing noise and maximizing kill efficiency...
...
That day, Iwagakure's scouts would remember the terror of a rogue sniper and the humiliation of facing an unseen enemy.