章節 99: Chapter 99: Uncontrollable Killing Intent

"Congratulations... you've chosen the worst possible direction!"

As Natsuro spoke those words, his body had already shot forward, moving so fast that the special Jonin across from him was startled. There wasn't even enough time to warn his underlings, so he could only retreat swiftly.

The remaining three subordinates realized what was happening but were too late to escape, as Natsuro had already closed in on them.

One of the rogue ninjas saw Natsuro rushing toward him at a speed that filled him with despair. He wanted to defend himself, but before he could act, Natsuro's blade was already right in front of him.

In front of him? Something in his mind seemed to flicker, but it was only a brief.

Without giving the rogue ninja any time to react, Natsuro swiftly drew his blade and moved toward the next enemy.

Having seen his comrade fall, this second rogue ninja finally managed to react and raised his kunai to block Natsuro's incoming strike.

Natsuro smiled. If you block in the right spot ahead of time, the acceleration Lightning Release gave wouldn't help much since it only makes him seem invisible—the trajectory is still there.

But Natsuro wasn't only skilled in lightning-based techniques. Judging by the shuriken's crude make, he doubted the kunai would be of much higher quality.

As expected, Natsuro's sword didn't alter its course, and when it clashed with the kunai, it cut through it as if slicing tofu.

The outcome was inevitable. The sword continued on its path, slashing both the kunai and its wielder in a single motion.

Blood splattered before Natsuro's indifferent gaze. The wind-element-enhanced sword had such power. If chakra wasn't infused into the kunai to block, unless it was made from exceptional material, it wouldn't even stand a chance.

This was especially true for Natsuro's current blade, which he had crafted with great care. Though it was said that blacksmith Craftsman Tetsuya forged the weapon, much of the credit belonged to another master.

Natsuro's sword was unlike a traditional katana. The handle wasn't particularly special, wrapped in black cloth by Natsuro himself, and the guard was much smaller than usual, barely enough to protect his hands.

The most unique part of the sword was the blade. It was perfectly straight, with no curve at all, and had a blood groove running along its length, now stained red—clearly indicating its sharpness and danger.

By now, the last rogue ninja was utterly terrified. His pupils contracted, and sweat poured down his forehead. Who could tell him why both his comrades had died in just a matter of moments? Was this something a human could even do?

Fight back? That would be suicide!

So, he turned to flee, trying to form hand seals for the Body Flicker Technique. But in his panic, even the once-familiar seals became difficult to complete.

Natsuro noticed the rogue ninja's movements and smiled. His hand caught the broken blade of the kunai still spinning in the air. A flash of lightning arced along his arm, and the broken kunai was flung forward.

The rogue ninja's hands froze. He was one seal away from completing the Body Flicker Technique, but it would never be finished. Blood dripped from his forehead, as the broken kunai blade had pierced straight through, embedding itself into a nearby tree.

His eyes gradually dimmed, and eventually, his body collapsed to the ground.

The special Jonin, who had been retreating, halted and stared in shock at the scene. How long had it been? All three of his subordinates were already dead?

Someone, tell him—what just happened?

The special Jonin looked at Natsuro as if seeing a demon walking the earth. Especially when their eyes met, even though Natsuro's pupils were black, the Jonin felt as though they were burning red.

Natsuro stood there with his sword in hand, tapping his forehead with a finger. He was struggling to contain himself. The killing intent that he usually suppressed was now on the verge of breaking free, demanding that he slaughter the remaining enemy in the most brutal manner.

That was his current issue—he had been killing too frequently. The more he killed, the more he craved it, and his methods were becoming increasingly savage.

Normally, his Void State could suppress these urges, but continuing like this wasn't sustainable. Natsuro knew he needed to take a break to calm himself down.

But… his eyes locked onto the special Jonin in front of him, and his bloodlust surged.

"There's… just one left. So, would you kindly… die already?"

In the next moment, Natsuro charged again, sword in hand.

The special Jonin was too stunned to even think about whether Natsuro's words were polite or not. There was no time for that. Every time he saw Natsuro move, he was shocked by the speed—this was the kind of speed that only speed-type Jonin could achieve!

Ninjutsu? There wasn't time to cast anything complex.

The special Jonin hurriedly formed a few seals.

"Clone Technique!"

It was just a simple Clone Technique, but with the number of seals required for anything else, there wasn't enough time.

The clones would at least buy him a few moments to finish his seals.

As the special Jonin strategized, his eyes widened in shock.

Natsuro didn't even bother with the clone, swinging his sword directly at the real body.

A Clone Technique? If it were a Shadow Clone, his chakra sensing might have been tricked, but a regular clone contained so little chakra that it was impossible to fool him.

Why? The special Jonin's mind was in turmoil. How did he instantly know which one was real? Even if there was a way to tell, most people wouldn't even bother sparing attention for the clone, right?

But Natsuro's strike wasn't holding back at all!

The special Jonin raised his kunai in desperation. He had seen how his subordinates' kunai had been cut in half, so he quickly channeled chakra into his own.

"Clang!!"

The next moment, Natsuro's sword clashed with the special Jonin's kunai. After years of training, twelve-year-old Natsuro was no longer physically weak. Even in a clash of strength, he wasn't at a disadvantage. Natsuro smiled, and as lightning danced along his sword, a kunai silently floated into the air.

The special Jonin's eyes widened in shock as he saw his kunai begin to crack. Even with chakra reinforcement, the kunai wouldn't last much longer—no wonder his subordinates' kunai had been cut through so easily!

However, at that moment, he saw lightning crawling up the kunai toward him. His eyes narrowed again—was there more? But his chakra was able to block it. While his arm felt a bit numb, he could still fight.

That's when he noticed a kunai flying at him at high speed. His whole body tensed. Where had that come from? Wasn't Natsuro holding a sword in both hands? How was there still a kunai?

Natsuro smiled as he watched the special Jonin twist his body to narrowly avoid the kunai. Impressive—this really was a special Jonin. Even after being numbed by lightning, he could still dodge.

But it ends here.

Natsuro let go of his sword with one hand, and in the next moment, he vanished.

"Flying Thunder God!"

He teleported to the location of the kunai. In his hand, a blue chakra sphere had formed.

The special Jonin, eyes wide, had contorted his body to avoid the kunai, leaving him unable to defend against this next attack.

So Natsuro thought to himself: how will you dodge this?

"Rasengan!"

Without hesitation, he slammed the Rasengan into the special Jonin's face.

"Boom!!"

The special Jonin's body, particularly his head, was driven into the ground, sending up a cloud of dust.

When the smoke finally cleared, the force of the Rasengan had created a large crater in the ground. The Jonin's head was buried deep in the earth, completely out of sight.

In fact, it was probably for the best that his face wasn't visible. If it were, it would of looked gruesome.

Natsuro stood beside the crater, staring down at the body. His eyes narrowed. The killing had affected him. At the very end, the special Jonin had lost all ability to resist. He could have easily ended it with a sword, but instead, he had given in to the violent urge and used a Rasengan—directly to the face.

At this moment, Natsuro's expression was complicated If he kept killing at this rate, even his Void State might not be able to suppress his urges anymore.

He thought it would be best to leave the ANBU before the situation would affect him too much, since he had already accomplished what he needed to do. It was something he'd been planning for a while now. Over the past year and a half, how many missions had he taken? How many rescue operations had he participated in? It was hard to keep track, but on average more than one or two shinobi must have died at his hands every day.

The accumulated killing intent had unconsciously started to affect him. He originally had thought that his mental fortitude and Void State would protect him. But now, it seemed he had overestimated himself.

Of course, it wasn't surprising. Natsuro had been raised with modern education. The values and beliefs he had developed over more than twenty years couldn't be changed in just a few years.

What he was doing now—killing constantly and without remorse—was against his previous worldview. So it wasn't surprising that he was approaching his psychological limits.

After taking a few deep breaths, Natsuro disappeared from where he was, once again using the Flying Thunder God Technique.

This time, he returned to the location where the two Konoha shinobi were waiting.

"Lord Ink!" The two shinobi immediately greeted Natsuro with respect as soon as they saw him.

"It's all taken care of. You just need to clean up the bodies in those three directions. Konoha has additional reinforcements coming. Wait for them, then proceed with transporting the supplies. I'll be leaving now."

After giving the two shinobi directions, Natsuro departed without the slightest hesitation.

"It's over already?"

The two Konoha shinobi were stunned. The calm one couldn't help but look excited.

"As expected of Lord Ink!"

The hot-tempered shinobi couldn't help but add, "Yeah, but why was it so fast? At this rate, we can't even keep up with him. But… why does Lord Ink always keep his eyes closed?" The hot-tempered shinobi questioned after a small ray of light briefly illuminated the slits of Lord Link's mask.

"Hmph, Lord Ink surely has his reasons for keeping his eyes closed. Don't you think it looks incredibly cool?" the calm shinobi said passionately.

"Y-yes..." The hot-tempered shinobi wiped the sweat from his forehead as he glanced at the calm one's excitement. It almost felt like the mention of Lord Ink turned him into a completely different person…

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