Strength needs no excuse (There is a video Easter egg chapter at the end of this chapter)

In the distance, the sudden shift in the situation left the Scarred Sand Ninja briefly stunned, but he quickly snapped out of it.

"When did this happen?"

His expression shifted as his gaze swept over the corpse of his companion—who had been arrogantly swaggering just seconds ago but was now decapitated—then over the other body that had long since gone cold.

That brat...

Had he been waiting here all along?

Treating himself as the predator, using his companion's corpse as bait, and the two of them as prey?

But that fool was a genuine chūnin, a ninja with potential to become a jōnin, not some mass-produced cannon fodder.

At that close a distance, even if the idiot had been careless, there was no way he wouldn't have heard an extra breath or heartbeat!

Unless... that brat's breathing and heartbeat were so faint that they synced perfectly with one of the corpses.

At that thought, the Scarred Sand Ninja's expression turned ugly. Staring at the figure, he said in a cold tone, "Kirigakure?"

The ability this brat displayed reminded him of those bastards from Kirigakure and their "Silent Killing Technique."

But hadn't Kirigakure decided not to join the war?

"Hm?"

The Scarred Sand Ninja suddenly furrowed his brow, scrutinizing the figure's face. A flicker of inexplicable familiarity struck him, and he asked in confusion, "Have I seen you somewhere before?"

Unfortunately, his question went unanswered.

The figure simply stood with his back to him, watching the two dazed children.

This made the Scarred Sand Ninja wonder: in that guy's eyes, these two brats seemed more important than himself.

"Most people in this world are like falling leaves—helplessly drifting, tumbling, trembling in the air, until they finally sink to the ground in resignation, becoming fertilizer for the next generation..."

The voice echoed in his ears, and Yahiko asked dazedly, "So you're saying... they turned the Land of Rain into this not because they wanted to, but because they had no choice?"

His question received no reply.

He only heard what sounded like a soft chuckle from the figure.

Then he felt the presence before him crouch down, holding an umbrella as he met the eyes of the two children sitting on the ground.

Behind him, the moonlight was stained with blood, casting a faint glow on his still-youthful profile. A gentle smile lingered at the corners of his mouth, outlining a deep, shadowed silhouette.

It was then that Konan finally got a clear look at him.

He seemed to be around ten years old, his appearance as gentle as his voice—like a very mild-mannered person.

—If one ignored the sharp short sword in his hand, still dripping with blood after having just beheaded someone.

"Oh, sorry, did I scare you?"

As if noticing Konan's gaze, the boy blinked, flicking the short sword lightly.

A crescent of blood droplets splattered through the air before he casually sheathed it at his waist.

"My name is Yun Chuan. Tsukimiri Yun Chuan."

Looking at the two children before him, the boy called "Tsukimiri Yun Chuan" smiled meaningfully. "Can you tell me your names?"

"Tsukimiri"—a surname that in Japanese means "a place where the moon can be seen," literally translating to "no mountain."

Because there is "no mountain," one can "see the moon."

And paired with "Yun Chuan," it becomes "a vast river reflecting clouds and moonlight."

Under that gentle gaze, Yahiko still hesitated, but Konan blurted out instinctively, "I, I'm Konan."

"Konan..." Hearing this, a faint curve appeared at the corner of Yun Chuan's lips. He reached out and ruffled the girl's messy blue-purple hair, tilting his head with a warm smile. "You've come a long way, haven't you?"

Feeling the warmth of the hand on her head, Konan froze for a moment, then lowered her head and gave a slight nod.

"I see." Yun Chuan seemed amused by the girl's reaction. He withdrew his hand and turned his gaze to the dazed-looking Yahiko beside her, his interest growing even stronger.

Buzz! Buzz!

The moment his words fell, several sharp whistles suddenly rang out!

Yahiko felt a chill at his brow. In his pupils, the image of several shuriken flying toward them from behind Yun Chuan reflected, enveloping him in a suffocating cold that even made his heart stop.

The Sand Ninja had chosen what he believed to be the best moment to break the fragile balance between himself and Yun Chuan.

"B-behind..."

Yahiko's throat let out a garbled sound, but his limbs couldn't move faster than the impending death.

Yet before the words could leave his mouth—

The short sword, its blade as clear as autumn water, slid from its sheath, tracing several arcs through the air.

Flash Sheath: Eight Point Assault!

Clang! Clang! Clang!!

The short sword swept through the rain and wind, producing a series of crisp ringing sounds. Several dazzling sparks burst to life in front of Yahiko, flaring and scattering in the dim alley.

The silently flying, poison-coated shuriken were knocked away, sending stone chips flying from the ground near Yahiko's feet and behind him. One grazed his forehead, carrying away a bead of cold sweat that had yet to fall, while more stone chips stung his face with a fiery pain.

"..."

Snapping back to reality, the lingering tremor of the blade echoed clearly in Yahiko's ears.

As he made out the short sword held across him, his unfocused pupils gradually widened to their fullest.

Yun Chuan before him had simply thrust out the short sword in his hand, cutting short the fate of his brains splattering across the rainy night.

"You just said, 'forced by circumstance'?"

Yun Chuan withdrew the short sword and reversed his grip on it, murmuring as if to himself, yet also as if answering Yahiko's earlier question: "People who are deceived aren't just fools—they're also willing to believe."

"Rather than being forced by circumstance, it's more like reaping what you sow."

"What I mean is, many things aren't decided by the things themselves, but by what lies outside them."

For some reason, Konan sensed a kind of emotional resonance in his tone.

"..." Yahiko shook his head in a daze. "I... don't understand."

Were these words still too early for a brat like him?

Even if he was a brat with the potential to be a leader.

"Then just remember one thing."

Yun Chuan sighed softly and said in a low voice: "Strength needs no excuse; weakness is reason enough."

"When you're weak, even crawling to survive is a mistake."

In this world, weakness was the original sin.

Crack! Clatter!

In the distance, another figure had appeared beside the Scarred Sand Ninja—a figure completely shrouded in a black robe, face hidden.

"Brat."

His ten fingers curled slightly, chakra threads extending out to connect to the black-robed puppet. Veins bulged on his forehead as he stared fixedly at the figure in the alley, each word cold and deliberate: "I'm asking you—can't you hear me?"

The murderous, icy tone made Konan and Yahiko shiver. Especially when they saw that puppet, fear surged in their hearts.

Sunagakure was the weakest among the major nations participating in this war in terms of overall strength.

But the "Puppet Corps" they had established had caused endless suffering for the other villages.

Puppeteers were a bunch of insidious bastards skilled in poison and hidden weapons. They installed bizarre, countless hidden mechanisms inside their puppets, and coated those weapons with poison.

The civilians of the Land of Rain caught in a puppeteer's path always died in the most gruesome ways—rotting so badly that even stray dogs would give them a wide berth.

"Quite the presence, huh?"

Yun Chuan raised an eyebrow. With a thought, a panel appeared in his mind.

The panel was empty, save for a single character card glowing faintly white.

code
[Villain Template System]

[Sub-Template (1/4)]

[Name: Shiki Nanaya [Murderer]]

[World: Type-Moon Universe]

[Quality: White]

[Advancement: Advanceable → Tohno Shiki [Mystic Eyes of Death Perception] (Gold)]

[Abilities:
① Presence Concealment: Possesses powerful stealth capabilities, able to hide one's own presence like a cold-blooded viper lurking in the gaps of darkness, waiting for prey.
② Pure Eyes: Low-level mystic eyes, granting extraordinary perception and dynamic vision. Can easily distinguish between humans and non-humans, and perceive the instant an ability is activated, enabling reaction speeds several times beyond normal human limits, defying common sense.
③ Seven Nights Assassination Art: A martial art honed beyond human limits, featuring footwork that defies common sense, speed surpassing human capability, and spider-like movement. Its hallmark is swift action and unpredictable, bizarre yet graceful techniques.
④ Mystic Eyes of Death Perception (Unlocked): All things originate from the Root; where there is birth, there must be an end. The end of things is called "death." These are eyes that connect to the Root and can perceive the "death" of things.]

[Advancement Requirements:
① 0/100,000 Mission Points;
② Establish a connection with the Root and comprehend "death" (Achieved)]

[Points Held: 210]

This was the reliance that allowed Yun Chuan to silently kill those two Sand Ninja, and it was also how he had quickly gained a foothold in this dangerous, unfamiliar world.

The [Villain Template System] was something he had obtained after arriving in this world a year ago. By defeating or killing a character with certain traits, he had a chance to acquire a [Template] with similar traits.

As the name suggested, the [Templates] he obtained were all "villain" templates—villains from various worlds were all possible.

With good luck, even drawing a "planet-busting" level villain template was perfectly normal. With bad luck, he might end up with some pervert from a certain adult anime...

[Shiki Nanaya [Murderer]] was the template he had drawn from the "Newbie Gift Pack."

The pitch-black environment, which would be a struggle for ordinary people, was the perfect hunting ground for Yun Chuan, who possessed Presence Concealment and the Seven Nights Assassination Art.

With sufficient preparation, he could easily kill some chunin.

However, he had not yet transcended the realm of "human." He couldn't summon lightning, spew fire, or spit water; he couldn't casually swing out a sword beam.

Unless he could meet the advancement conditions for this template...

Looking at the advancement requirements for the [Shiki Nanaya] template, Yun Chuan once again felt a wordless speechlessness toward the template he had drawn from the "Newbie Gift Pack."

Establishing a connection with the Root and comprehending the essence of "death" was undoubtedly the most difficult condition to fulfill.

"For someone who has died once like me, unlocking this template was only to be expected, but I never thought the hardest condition would be met so easily, only to get stuck at the advancement points hurdle..."

A pair of "Mystic Eyes of Death Perception" had elevated this template's ceiling to an unimaginable degree.

Skipping straight past gray, green, blue, and purple, advancing from a blank slate to a gold tier second only to red quality—the points required were clearly not something he could easily satisfy right now.

To approach head-on and take down a puppet soaked in poison and hidden weapons, the unadvanced [Shiki Nanaya [Murderer]] was still not up to the task.

After all, open attacks are easy to dodge, but hidden strikes are hard to defend against. In a battle against a puppeteer, you never know when that crude puppet might suddenly sprout an extra arm and give you a light scratch.

One lapse in attention, one tiny graze, and the specially crafted poison would spread from the skin wound, seep into flesh and blood, and instantly rob you of all fighting ability.

This was precisely why Suna's puppeteers gave so many people headaches.

"But my luck has always been pretty good."

Yun Chuan looked at the gray card that dropped from killing the Yellow-haired Sand Ninja, a strange glint gradually surfacing in his eyes.

Killing a ninja skilled in thrown weapons and getting this card was perfectly reasonable.

So then...

"What would drop from killing a puppeteer?"

With that thought, Yun Chuan's eyelids curved slightly, a flicker of interest stirring within him.

This sense of surprise from opening a blind box was actually kind of pleasant.

"Hide for now."

Sensing the tug at his sleeve, Yun Chuan gently patted the girl's head, lifted his gaze toward the two figures in the rain, and said in a joking tone, "The rain's getting heavier. You'd better hurry home, or someone will start worrying."

Konan's dry, brittle hair wasn't exactly pleasant to the touch.

Yun Chuan's hands weren't as soft as his age would suggest either; instead, they were rough and covered in calluses.

But that was what snapped the pale-faced Konan back to reality.

"Yahiko, let's go, don't just stand there!" Konan jolted, quickly tugging at the still-dazed Yahiko, half-dragging him behind a trash can.

Yahiko was usually sharp—what was wrong with him today?

Was it because of what that boy had said?

"Wait, hold on, he's alone..." Yahiko's voice came out rushed, but by the time he frantically looked up, the figure in front of him had already vanished.

And, somehow, the ninja tool pouch in his hand was gone, replaced by a black umbrella.

Yun Chuan's form shot forward like a crossbow bolt—from drawing his blade to launching himself, it happened in an instant, without the slightest warning, too fast for anyone to react.

"Hmph!"

Watching the figure charging straight at him, the Scarred Sand Ninja caught on to his intent to close the distance and sneered coldly.

Click-clack!

With a slight flex of his fingers, the puppet draped in a black robe stirred, the sound of mechanisms triggering as it suddenly fired several purple pellets at the oncoming figure.

Poison Secret Art: Poison Smoke Bomb!

Bang!

In an instant, an eerie purple poisonous mist exploded, engulfing the space between them and blinding Yun Chuan's vision.

That wasn't all—as the puppet raised its arm and swung its black robe, countless "needles" shot forth with killing intent, like an unending torrential downpour.

Poison Secret Art: Thousand Needle Rain.

Poison-laced hidden weapons sealed him off from all sides.

Yun Chuan watched the scene with a smile, his left hand reaching into the ninja tool pouch at his waist.

The next moment, his rapidly advancing form didn't slow in the slightest as the purple poisonous mist swallowed his figure whole.

"Courting death!" The Scarred Sand Ninja narrowed his eyes, his expression cold, but he didn't let his guard down in the slightest.

If that brat had just stayed put, with the reaction speed he'd shown earlier, even if he couldn't protect the two behind him, he might have saved his own skin.

But he'd chosen the stupidest option.

Charging headfirst into a blinding poison mist meant he couldn't possibly come out unscathed.

As long as he was hit by Lady Chiyo's poison, he'd lose all combat ability in no time.

But then, the next moment.

The entire poison mist was torn apart by a "force," and a figure leaped out from the bisected haze.

That figure was nothing like the Scarred Sand Ninja had imagined—not battered in the slightest.

Perhaps because of the sheer speed, mist rose from Yun Chuan's body, the moonlight draping behind him like a half-moon, swirling around him until his form seemed almost translucent.

It made it impossible to tell whether the expression on his face was a smile or indifference—all that could be seen was the moon at his back and a pair of blue eyes.

"...Body Flicker Technique?"

The Scarred Sand Ninja was dazed for a split second, unable to tell if it was real or an illusion—how had it not even grazed his clothes?

Did he dodge it with the Body Flicker Technique?

But as he looked at the drifting poison mist, he immediately withdrew that guess.

Because beneath Yun Chuan's feet, poisoned and unpoisoned senbon lay scattered in disarray—some chipped, some snapped clean.

"Please don't misunderstand."

Under the night sky, Yun Chuan's palm turned slightly, the sharp senbon between his fingers glinting coldly. He looked down at the Scarred Sand Ninja below and chuckled softly. "I'm not the kind of ninja you think I am."

What he had used was the Jōgan, the Seven Nights Assassination Art: Flash Sheath—One League Crossroads, and...

[Sub-Template [2/4]]

[Name: Bullseye [Chief Assassin]]

[World: Marvel Universe]

[Quality: White]

[Upgrade: Upgradable—Bullseye [Adamantium] (Gray)]

[Abilities: ① Lethal Projection—Projectile accuracy and lethality beyond human limits, turning any ordinary object into a deadly bullet, while also skilled in various firearms and thermal weapons. ② Assassin Mastery—Perfect hand-eye coordination and athletic talent, able to quickly learn weapon usage, knowing every weak point on the human body, capable of silently killing enemies in an instant. ③ Adamantium Skeleton (Locked)—Most bones fused with adamantium; spine, skull, and knuckles become indestructible.]

[Upgrade Required EXP: 0/10]