Flexing His Muscles

Rinto looked at the four Amegakure shinobi, their expressions hostile as they vaguely formed an encirclement.

The corners of Rinto's mouth curled up, revealing a mouthful of stark white teeth.

"You lot! You're seriously the worst undercover agents I've ever seen."

With that, Rinto shook his head with a laugh and continued.

"From the very beginning, you weren't vigilant at all. Didn't it strike you as strange that a seven- or eight-year-old child was wandering around outside the village?

Think with your brains. Would someone with that kind of nerve really let you subdue him so easily?"

Looking at the Genin beside Rain Frog, Rinto wore an expression of frustrated disappointment.

Then his gaze shifted to Rain Frog.

"And you. You couldn't even infiltrate the target village. It really makes me question your abilities.

Oh, right. You picked a cave for your temporary base, and one so close to Konoha at that. Are you choosing yourselves a nice burial site?"

"Enough!"

Before Rinto could finish, Rain Frog interrupted him with a frosty expression.

At the thought that his group still needed Rinto to infiltrate Konoha, Rain Frog desperately clenched his back teeth.

Just keep this brat steady for now. Once I successfully enter Konoha, it'll be your death day!

Thinking that, Rain Frog somehow forced a stiff smile onto his rigid face.

"Hei-kun, don't be angry. I... we're all carrying out Lord Hanzō's mission.

You... you should go back first. Once we're ready, come find us here."

Hearing that, Rinto clapped a hand over his forehead and immediately doubled over laughing.

"Ha ha! Are you trying to kill me with laughter?"

After laughing for quite a while, only when Rain Frog's face had turned as black as the bottom of a pot did Rinto finally let out a long breath and straighten up.

"Rain Frog, you're not only stupid, but naive too. At a time like this, you're still thinking about infiltrating Konoha."

At those words, Rain Frog's expression instantly turned cold, as if his eyes had frozen over with eternal ice.

"In that case, you're useless now. Die!"

As soon as he spoke, a Kunai shot toward Rinto.

Rinto pushed lightly off the ground and rapidly retreated toward the cave entrance, dodging the Kunai by a hair's breadth.

Seeing this, Rain Frog's pupils narrowed slightly as ruthlessness filled his heart.

In that case, Zhu Kangping, you can die!

Rain Frog already had a plan.

He would abandon this mission and kill that detestable brat who was fleeing.

Once he returned to the village, he would tell Lord Hanzō that Zhu Kangping had betrayed them and brought Konoha shinobi to hunt them down. They had been forced into battle, and because the battlefield was so close to Konoha, he had no choice but to lead his team in retreat.

In the end, the enraged Lord Hanzō would surely kill that so-called Sakuta Mizuguma to vent his anger!

Having devised his plan in an instant, Rain Frog pulled his lips into a cruel sneer.

"Attack together! Kill this damned thing!"

At his command, all four moved at once. Kunai and Shuriken flew toward Rinto's fleeing figure.

Rinto, who had just left the cave entrance, was immediately pierced by seven or eight Kunai, turning him into a sieve.

Just then.

Bang!

With a soft pop, Rinto instantly turned into a wooden log.

"Substitution Technique! Chase him! Don't let him get away!" Rain Frog frowned tightly and immediately chased after him.

The four rushed out of the cave.

Rinto was standing atop a high tree branch, looking down at them from above.

"Finish this quickly. Don't alert Konoha's dogs with their keen noses!"

"Water Release: Water Wave Jutsu!"

At the command, all four attacked once more.

On the tree branch, Rinto leaned against the trunk. Watching the Shuriken flying up from below and the Water Release that followed, he smacked his lips in boredom and recalled one of the reasons for this trip.

One purpose was to test the caliber of the Amegakure shinobi. If they were too incompetent, he would simply kill them.

As for the second purpose, it was what Rinto was about to do: show his fangs.

Of course, it was for the Konoha Anbu hiding in the shadows.

He had to raise his standing and importance in the hearts of the Konoha High Council from every possible angle.

And strength was part of one's status.

As thoughts flashed through his mind, Rinto's inner calculations clicked away as he muttered under his breath.

"First, ninjutsu."

The moment he finished speaking, Rinto was struck by the incoming Shuriken. Immediately afterward, a surging stream of water erupted from Rain Frog's mouth and swallowed Rinto's figure whole.

Hit!

Rain Frog's heart leaped with joy.

But in the next second, as a bang rang out, a thick wooden log emerged from the water.

"Substitution Technique again! Damn it, the intelligence was wrong. This brat forms hand seals so fast!"

According to Amegakure's intelligence, Rinto was merely a rookie who had received Dark Child training and had only just begun walking the path of a shinobi.

Yet what they saw before them was vastly different from their intelligence.

Rinto formed hand seals far faster than ordinary people.

The water flow vanished, and the tree branch was already empty.

"Where is he? Find him!"

Rain Frog frowned deeply, constantly scanning the surroundings as he issued orders in rapid succession.

Without needing further instruction, the three Genin he had brought also swept their gazes around, trying to find Rinto's trace.

In the shadows, the Anbu who had joined up with Hiruzen Sarutobi were searching for Rinto as well.

Hidden among dense branches, they had a clearer view than Rain Frog's group standing on the ground.

Yet even so, they could not find so much as a shadow of Rinto.

"Did you find him?"

"No!"

"Did he escape?"

"Probably. That was a rather self-aware choice."

The animal-masked Anbu quietly exchanged their opinions.

Hiruzen Sarutobi discreetly swept his gaze over the surrounding Anbu, feeling somewhat disappointed. Then he let out a long sigh.

"Above."

A nearly inaudible voice sounded.

The Anbu were startled and instinctively looked up through the dense leaves toward the sky.

Rain Frog's group on the ground also belatedly raised their heads and looked into the night sky.

In the air, beneath the enormous, bright moon, Rinto stretched out his body.

At that moment, time seemed to stop. The chilly moonlight coated him in a layer of silver radiance, while countless Senbon hovered around him, pointed downward with their tips gleaming coldly, poised to strike.

"The sound of wind and rain at night; how many flowers fell, who could know?"

As the chant-like words fell, Rinto suddenly pressed his hands together, a cruel smile curling across his lips.

"Magnet Release: Gentle Rain Falling Flowers Technique!"

In an instant, countless Senbon rained down like fine drizzle.

Rain Frog was utterly horrified. His pupils instantly shrank to pinpoints, and his heart sank.

Damn it, this brat intended to kill us from the start!

"Run!" Rain Frog let out a shrill roar.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

His figure and Rinto's Senbon fell at the same time.

Countless low, piercing whistles tore through the air.

In an instant, the incomparably sharp Senbon pierced through all four bodies without resistance, while they remained standing upright.

A single Senbon was not particularly lethal, but what about thousands upon thousands packed together?

The numbers were not quite that exaggerated, but Rinto was only dealing with four Amegakure shinobi.

Drip.

After the Senbon barrage, a soft sound suddenly echoed through the utterly silent forest.

A drop of vivid red blood fell to the ground, splashing into eight petals and seeping into the soil like a delicate, brilliant flower.

Then the dripping grew more frequent.

Beneath the dead but still-standing Amegakure group, flowers formed from congealed blood began blooming one after another.

The Anbu hiding in the shadows all felt their scalps go numb.

They had undergone professional training, but the eerie yet tragically beautiful scene before them quietly shattered their mental defenses.

Putting themselves in that position, if they had been facing Sakuta Rinto, they would have been the ones standing straight with flowers blooming beneath their feet.

Thinking of that, several Anbu looked at the figure in front of them with grateful admiration.

If not for Lord Hiruzen Sarutobi's reminder, they might not have discovered Rinto's technique at all.

After all, apart from a very small number of shinobi, most were not skilled at launching attacks from the air.

First, aerial targets were obvious, especially in open terrain.

Second, there was no point of leverage. Aside from shinobi who could fly, most found it difficult to adjust their bodies in midair. This meant shinobi who mainly relied on evasion would become especially vulnerable.

At the front, Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Rinto descend from the sky, his heart filled with amazement.

His insight far surpassed that of ordinary Anbu!

What amazed Hiruzen Sarutobi was not Rinto's ninjutsu, but his efficient and precise combat intelligence.

The air was a blind spot for most shinobi.

Yet Rinto had done the opposite. Using the dense forest terrain, he first stood on a tree branch and raised the enemy's line of sight.

Then he used the Substitution Technique and vanished.

At that moment, anyone's instinctive thought would be to guard against a sneak attack.

But in the enemy's minds, the sky near the tree branch was just like the branch Rinto had been standing on: a safe zone.

After all, that area had already been bombarded with ninjutsu. How could it not be safe?

So the enemy began searching the areas they considered unsafe, overlooking the sky instead. That gave Rinto the chance to calmly form his hand seals.

As Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered this, Rinto had already landed lightly.

Discreetly sweeping his gaze over the dark corner behind him, Rinto stepped forward and swaggered over to the Amegakure group. He casually picked his nose as he admired his handiwork.

In the shadows, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly sighed. Looking toward Rinto, he prepared to act.

The boy has strength, but he lacks experience badly!

Just then, among the four Amegakure corpses, Rain Frog's corpse suddenly turned transparent. It then transformed into a humanoid mass of water and violently exploded.

"Water Clone Jutsu?!"

Rinto raised an eyebrow and abruptly turned to look behind him.

In the forest not far behind him, Rain Frog, covered in blood and looking utterly bedraggled, had bloodshot eyes. His Senbon-pierced hands completed the final hand seal.

"Die! Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu!"