The mask seemed to be smiling, giving off a bone-chilling feeling.
At this moment, Akira Sarutobi was only three meters away from the other side.
The distance was so short that they had no time to react.
Icy killing intent poured forth, freezing the blood of several gang members present.
Killing intent.
In his previous life, it might have been something mystical.
But in the world of Naruto, it was something that truly existed.
For example, Zabuza releasing killing intent and making the young three members of Team 7 tremble.
Or Orochimaru releasing killing intent and making Kakashi see the illusion of his own head being blasted away.
The essence of killing intent was the release of spiritual energy.
And spiritual energy was one of the elements that formed Chakra.
The stronger a ninja was, and the more people he had killed, the stronger his spiritual energy would be. Naturally, his killing intent would be stronger as well.
Akira Sarutobi had risen all the way to Jonin not by relying on his status as the Second Generation Hokage, but by fighting his way up bit by bit, forged through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. That was why his killing intent was so substantial.
"Crushing Palm."
Akira Sarutobi raised his hand without another word.
Bang!
Transparent shockwaves rippled from his raised palm.
But this was not as simple as Jirobō blocking Chōji's Human Bullet Tank in the original story.
When the powerful shockwave swept through the area and its force was transmitted—
To the gang members, the invisible force was so fast that their leader could not react at all. There was only a crack from his neck before his head snapped sideways, and his entire body was sent flying.
"..."
The people around him stood there blankly.
There was shock and disbelief... but none of that mattered.
Before Akira Sarutobi, whose strength had reached Jonin level, their bodies... were as fragile as paper.
The gap between a Jonin and ordinary rogue warriors was like the difference between clouds and mud.
Soon, screams rang out, and the sounds of bones breaking and tendons snapping echoed through the nighttime streets...
Not long afterward, several corpses were discovered here.
That very night, the gang members sprang into action. They began searching the surrounding area and questioning nearby residents, trying to find the killer.
However, this was only the beginning.
Over the next few days, events developed beyond the gang's expectations.
Several leaders were attacked in different ways.
Some had their hearts blown apart, while others had their heads smashed open... They had only one thing in common: they all died in a single strike.
The search expanded from a small area to the entire port town being thrown into chaos.
As several gang leaders died one after another, panic began to spread.
According to ordinary witnesses, the culprit was a figure wearing a white mask and dressed in black.
After committing crimes repeatedly, the murderer gained a nickname.
People called him the "Black Reaper."
"Black Reaper? Hahaha... they really know how to come up with nicknames."
Ino Yamanaka was clearly deeply engrossed in this killing game. Every day, she thought of different ways to torment these gang members and offered Akira Sarutobi all kinds of assassination suggestions.
"..."
Akira Sarutobi frowned.
That nickname is way too generic.
"It's pretty good, Young Master." Ino Yamanaka wrapped her arms around one of Akira Sarutobi's arms. "Look... Minato Namikaze is called the Golden Flash, while you're called the Black Reaper. Not only do they match, but a reaper is much more formidable than a flash, isn't it?"
Akira Sarutobi shook his head. Rather than dwelling on such trivial matters, he looked toward Yakushi Nonō, whose expression was solemn.
"Young Master Ryo, according to our people's reports, your actions have been very successful... That person in the Land of Fire's capital can no longer sit still and is heading here..."
That person naturally referred to one of the Twelve Guardian Shinobi.
But even with Yakushi Nonō's intelligence-gathering abilities, she could not possibly infiltrate the daimyo's residence at close range without being discovered by twelve experts.
Therefore, she still did not know whether the sale of national assets was the work of the Twelve Guardian Shinobi, or whether it involved powerful officials and nobles behind the scenes, perhaps even the daimyo himself.
If they investigated too deeply and the outcome proved unsatisfactory, then they could only terminate the mission and pretend none of this had ever happened.
"It's nothing. If it's one of the Twelve Guardian Shinobi, we'll kill them directly. If it's the daimyo himself, I'll report it to the Third Hokage."
Akira Sarutobi's neither humble nor overbearing reply, along with his decisive methods over the past few days, seemed to make Yakushi Nonō's attitude toward him improve slightly.
"I need detailed information on the Twelve Guardian Shinobi."
Akira Sarutobi made his request.
If that person was coming, then he needed to make the proper preparations.
"Mm..." Nonō nodded and took out a scroll.
Akira Sarutobi unrolled it and quickly scanned the information within.
The Twelve Guardian Shinobi were a private force dedicated to protecting the daimyo.
Other than Asuma joining them in later years, ninja recruitment had otherwise always been conducted among civilians.
The Land of Fire was vast and rich, and Konoha could not possibly attend to every inch of its territory.
Therefore, rogue ninja from outside the system who possessed some talent became recruitment candidates.
"The qualification requirement for the Twelve Guardian Shinobi is that Jonin-level strength is the baseline..."
Nonō adjusted her glasses as she explained.
In other words, every member of the Twelve Guardian Shinobi possessed at least Jonin-level strength.
"Because they are the daimyo's private soldiers and do not come from Konoha, some of them may hold political views that conflict with ours..."
Nonō phrased it vaguely.
Simply put, relying on the daimyo's authority, these people did not think much of Konoha.
"I've already gathered Root companions from the surrounding regions. It would be best to capture her alive, interrogate her, and decide what to do afterward..."
"Understood..."
Akira Sarutobi replied indifferently and put away the scroll.
He then rose and entered the underground space compacted with Earth Release.
There, Akira Sarutobi carried out his daily training. He had done the same every day for the past few days.
Soon, booming impacts rang out underground.
Within Ino Yamanaka's sensory vision, her young master's strength... was growing ever more vigorous...
The Twelve Guardian Shinobi, the Enemy Appears!
Two days later, in the afternoon.
The sun slowly began to set.
The Blonde Ponytail Girl stood on the beach, watching the sunset.
Orange-golden light coated her fair, pretty face with a dazzling glow.
Akira Sarutobi watched her profile as today's outing came to an end.
At his childhood sweetheart's vehement insistence, Akira Sarutobi had not practiced taijutsu during the day. Instead, he had spent the entire day playing with her.
"Young Master~, later I want to eat some street snacks..."
The girl turned around and revealed a brilliant smile.
There was a deeply infectious quality to that smile. Akira Sarutobi nodded slightly, then took her hand.
Ino Yamanaka's cheeks reddened as she seemed to recall their first kiss that night.
The two strolled along the beach, listening to the waves crash against the shore.
They slowly made their way back to the streets.
By the time darkness had fully fallen, the port town had once again become lively.
Vendors selling goods and food were everywhere.
"I want takoyaki~."
Ino Yamanaka pointed at a shop.
A moment later, she was holding a full handful of takoyaki.
And while the two wandered around aimlessly—
A richly dressed woman approached them from the opposite direction.
Whether it was her clothes or her jewelry, everything about her clearly looked expensive.
Calling her dripping with jewels would not have been an exaggeration.
"Little sister, are you here sightseeing too?" She stopped in front of Ino Yamanaka and began sizing the two of them up.
"Yes." Ino Yamanaka blinked, her expression innocent and pure. "Big sister, are you a tourist too?"
Akira Sarutobi said nothing beside her.
Ever since the other woman appeared, Akira Sarutobi's expression had not changed, but inwardly, he had already become extremely vigilant.
Every muscle and bone in his body was prepared to erupt as he readied himself to fight at any moment.
Because in the vision of his right eye, her body was like a fireball, radiating immense light and heat.
It clearly set her apart from the vast crowd around her.
Judging from the intensity of her Chakra, it had already reached Jonin quality.
It was like tossing a star into a pile of dim stones.
Jonin-level power stirred within her body.
What felt even more familiar to Akira Sarutobi was the bloody scent clinging to her... or rather, that faint, almost imperceptible killing intent.
The contemptuous, arrogant attitude of a predator toward those beneath it was displayed to the fullest on her.
After casually chatting for a few moments, the woman let out a bell-like laugh. "This place may not be very peaceful over the next few days... Little sister, you should hurry and leave with your companion..."
"..."
Akira Sarutobi watched coldly as she vanished into the sea of people.
At that moment, Ino Yamanaka's innocent and pure expression transformed into a wicked little devil's grin. "Heh... so this is the target? She doesn't look ordinary..."
In the original story, Pain had said that each of the Five Great Nations had a population of at least one hundred million.
So... the Twelve Guardian Shinobi were twelve elites selected from a population of one hundred million.
Even if the Twelve Guardian Shinobi were not among the very strongest, they were at least first-rate fighters.
Whenever the daimyo recruited, countless people flocked to apply. How could beings like them possibly be ordinary cannon fodder?
"Let's go back."
Before you continue