บท 97: Chapter 97: Konoha's Little White Fang, 'Crimson' Ink!

Very soon, Natsuro arrived at a door and pushed it open to enter.

"You're here."

In the empty room, a man in white clothing wearing a mask sat at a desk, staring at Natsuro. His voice carried no emotion as he spoke.

"You still have the choice to back out. You should know that this path is dangerous. I suggest you train more under Tenzo before returning."

"Since I'm here, I have no intention of backing out," Natsuro responded directly. He also knew the identity of the person in front of him—the highest-ranking individual in the ANBU, the ANBU Commander!

"Very well. Based on the Third Hokage's instructions, starting today, you will directly receive missions from me." The ANBU Commander nodded without wasting words and threw a scroll to Natsuro.

"I also heard from the merit office that you've been selecting sword techniques recently. This scroll contains a sword style left behind by one of our most outstanding ANBU members. We've all studied it and found it quite ordinary, with little gain. However, we believe there might be more to it. Hopefully, you can discover something valuable from it."

Natsuro was momentarily stunned, but he nodded and accepted the scroll with a word of thanks.

"There happens to be a mission suitable for you right now. Would you like to take it?" the ANBU Commander suddenly asked.

"Of course!" Natsuro's eyes lit up.

"Hmm." Seeing this, the ANBU Commander threw another scroll to Natsuro and said, "Go to the side to collect your identity proof and then head back. The mission should be completed within ten days, but the sooner, the better. I will assign you missions based on your performance."

In short, it was a performance-based task. Natsuro nodded in understanding.

"Understood."

After that, Natsuro left the room, leaving the ANBU Commander sighing. He already had plenty on his plate, and now there was more to deal with—but the Third Hokage's orders couldn't be refused.

Natsuro quickly returned home with his identification and the two scrolls. Although the ANBU Commander had told him to hurry, he didn't need to rush just yet. He decided to examine the scroll first.

Natsuro didn't expect too much, as there weren't many outstanding sword techniques in Konoha.

Soon, Natsuro frowned. As the ANBU Commander had said, the technique seemed quite ordinary, even less refined than the sword techniques he had previously exchanged for. But the ANBU Commander's words left him doubtful. Could that really be all?

Natsuro pondered, took a deep breath, and entered a state of deep focus. He reviewed the scroll again, mentally calculating and visualizing the techniques.

The result was still disappointing—it seemed to be just a regular sword technique, lacking in refinement.

Indeed, not all renowned individuals leave behind remarkable sword techniques. Natsuro thought about the identity of the ninja who left it behind. ANBU? Swordsmanship? The outstanding ninja mentioned by the ANBU Commander? Based on his vague memories from his past life, who fit these criteria?

Could it be... Hatake Sakumo, the White Fang?

At that thought, Natsuro paused, a spark of inspiration flashing in his mind, his eyes lighting up. It wasn't impossible!

This time, he went over the scroll again, and quickly admitted he was wrong earlier. The swordsmanship in the scroll did seem ordinary at first glance, but if the ninja aspect was integrated into it...

Then, only simplicity and efficiency could describe this sword technique! There was no unnecessary flair—it emphasized the perfect combination of stealth and sword!

Natsuro took a deep breath, his eyes glowing with excitement. He had struck gold, and struck it big!

However, he had a performance-based mission to complete, so it wasn't the right time to start practicing.

Suppressing his urge to experiment, Natsuro put away the scroll and prepared healing ointments, antidotes, and military rations pills before setting off alone.

Yes, from now on, Natsuro would be carrying out missions solo. While most ninjas worked better in teams, He was different. With the Flying Thunder God Technique, he didn't rely much on his teammates.

In fact, most teammates would hinder his mobility, which was why Natsuro had chosen this path for himself.

One person was enough to form a team!

And today would be the day he completed his first solo mission. He was given ten days?

Heh, one day would be enough!

...

In a dim forest, two Konoha ninjas were hiding behind a large tree, panting heavily.

"Have you called for backup? How much longer until they arrive?" one of the Konoha ninja, the more hot-tempered of the two, asked impatiently. "We're barely holding on!"

As he spoke, he couldn't help but sneak a peek outside. These rogue ninjas were unbelievably bold—each one of them was the kind to live by the sword, even daring to intercept supplies from Konoha.

And their numbers... there were about ten or so, all at the Chunin level, and one whose rank was hard to determine but seemed stronger than the others...

"How did these guys manage to gather together like this?" the hot-tempered ninja cursed.

"They're probably not together," the calmer ninja responded. "They likely caught wind of the intelligence and banded together temporarily. They're probably bounty hunters, and now they're chasing us to eliminate witnesses so Konoha doesn't come after them."

"So what do we do now? We're still far from Konoha, and backup... " The hot-tempered ninja trailed off, his face darkening as he realized what that meant...

"Not necessarily. The signal's already been sent. If the one who responds is that person, we might make it in time," the calm ninja gritted his teeth as he spoke.

The hot-tempered ninja froze for a moment, his eyes lighting up. "You mean... that person?"

"Yes." The calm ninja nodded. "I heard that person is on a mission nearby, so they might've seen the signal..."

Before he could finish speaking, his face changed, and he pulled the hot-tempered ninja back with him as they retreated.

In the next instant, several shuriken landed where they had just been standing.

"Oh, impressive reflexes. But this is where it ends."

At that moment, over ten figures landed on the surrounding trees. All the rogue ninjas wore cruel smiles as they looked down at the two Konoha ninja like predators eyeing their prey.

"We already gave you the supplies! Why are you still chasing us?!" the hot-tempered ninja couldn't help but ask.

"Heh." The lead rogue ninja licked his kunai with his tongue and sneered, "We want the supplies, and we also want the ninjutsu you know!!"

Indeed, for these rogue ninjas, obtaining ninjutsu was incredibly difficult. Now that an opportunity had presented itself, how could they let it slip by? Even though their targets were from a large village like Konoha, the world was vast. After pulling off this heist, they could just flee far away!

"You've run out of options now." The lead ninja spoke to crush their will to resist as he and the other rogue ninjas, temporarily assembled together, descended to the ground.

Was this the end? Cold sweat dripped from the calm ninja's forehead as he tightly gripped his kunai.

However, in the next moment, he seemed to hear the sound of thunder...

Before he could react to what the sound was, he saw the lead rogue ninja—who had just spoken—suddenly was thrown back into a large tree behind him with a kunai seemly through his heart...

Judging by the smile still lingering on the rogue's face, it was clear he hadn't even realized what had happened.

What... just happened?

The remaining rogue ninjas widened their eyes in shock. None of them had seen what transpired. How had their leader been instantly thrown back to the tree by a kunai, straight through the heart?!

The next moment, a figure appeared in front of the fallen ninja. The newcomer casually pulled out the kunai, disdainfully flicking off the blood as if unaware of the others present.

He seemed a bit frustrated by the nick on the kunai, surprised that the rogue had some form of protection over his heart. Otherwise, the kunai would've gone straight through, instead of the force throwing him to the tree.

None of the rogue ninjas dared to move or speak. Cold sweat dripped from their foreheads as they watched a sword-wielding figure, no older than fourteen, acting completely indifferent, as though no one else existed.

The calm ninja, in a daze, finally realized who it was and broke into a joyful grin.

"We're... saved!"

"Run!" one of the rogue ninjas finally shouted, and the group scattered in all directions, fleeing in sheer terror as if death itself were on their heels.

"Run? You think you can escape?" Natsuro—the newcomer—chuckled softly as his figure vanished.

The hot-tempered ninja stood frozen, unable to process how their dire situation had been resolved so swiftly. Why did everything feel so unreal?

Meanwhile, the calm ninja, trembling with excitement, spoke as though he were meeting his idol. His voice was filled with pride, "This is Konoha's Little White Fang—Lord Ink!"

"Huh? I thought it was Crimson Ink?" the hot-tempered ninja asked in confusion.

"What do you know?! Lord Ink's codename is simply Ink! The 'Crimson' part comes from his habit of leaving no enemies alive during his missions—he cuts them all down on the spot! That's just a nickname people gave him!"

"Most enemies flee at the sight of Lord Ink now! But even so, no one has ever managed to escape from him!"

The calm ninja, far from calm, glared at the hot-tempered ninja.

"Oh." The hot-tempered ninja didn't dare provoke him any further. After all, Lord Ink was his comrade's greatest idol, and saying the wrong thing would be a big problem.

Meanwhile, Natsuro had already caught up to one of the fleeing ninjas, beheading them with ease before moving forward, his figure flashing like lightning.

With another burst of speed, he closed in on another rogue ninja, who seemed ready to fight back.

Natsuro paid him no mind and swung his blade again. The rogue raised his kunai to block, but...

He only managed to widen his eyes in disbelief as the blade passed right through his defenses...

His final thought before death was—why couldn't I block it?

If anyone asked why, Natsuro would simply say, it was because the rogue was too slow. Though it seemed like he had raised his kunai in time to block, Natsuro's blade had already bypassed that position and was cutting into his unprotected body.

And why was Natsuro so fast? It was simply the result of Lightning-release chakra enhancing his speed. His mastery of it was so high that when he accelerated, his blade almost seemed to vanish.

The image of his sword left behind in the air was nothing but an afterimage, while the real blade had already moved in closer to strike.

As the rogue's lifeless body fell to the ground, Natsuro didn't stop. He continued pursuing the next enemy...

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