Essence

After hiding his weakened, powerless clansmen deeper in the dense forest, the three acting as bait moved swiftly toward their predetermined direction without any attempt at concealment.

The enemy's pursuit was closing in. Hagane Zhen planned to split them apart and pick them off one by one, while the other two hoped to buy their remaining clansmen a sliver of uncertain safety through their own sacrifice.

As for whether the enemy would choose to split their forces in pursuit, Hagane Zhen was fairly certain they would. Beyond the specific circumstances he'd just considered, this also had to do with the current nature of warfare.

At this time, wars between shinobi were primarily fought between clans. Clans were the organizing bodies of war, and often shinobi trusted only their own clansmen. Anyone else was either a hostile force or, at best, a "neutral adversary."

In this environment, every clan's survival conditions were harsh, demanding that they prioritize rooting out threats completely, leaving no future trouble behind.

The Hagane Clan was nothing more than a dying ember on the verge of extinguishing. Not even a breath, but the mere sigh of normal respiration would be enough to snuff it out. Under these circumstances, splitting forces to pursue carried neither hesitation nor risk.

They were merely a small clan—no Kekkei Genkai, no secret techniques passed down. They had always survived in the cracks. If there was anything special about them, it was only that they were relatively skilled at Fire Release.

Yet Fire Release was a jutsu with an enormous gap between its ceiling and floor. The Hagane Clan was a fire-adept clan. So were the Sarutobi and the Uchiha. Was there any comparison to be made?

The Hagane Clan's enemy came from the Tsugawa Clan, a mid-sized clan capable of mobilizing over a hundred shinobi. Their overall strength was utterly crushing compared to the Hagane Clan... and it was the Tsugawa Clan that had annihilated the Hagane Clan's village.

As for any deep historical grudge between them? There wasn't one to speak of. The Tsugawa Clan had simply rolled over them to expand their own living space.

Big fish eat little fish. The Tsugawa Clan couldn't possibly dream of encroaching on the territory of a major clan, could they? They could only turn their cruelty toward clans weaker than themselves.

After putting some distance between himself and the clansmen's hiding spot, Hagane Zhen moved by leaping directly across the treetops, almost as if he was afraid the enemy wouldn't spot him.

And as he'd hoped, the enemy's reconnaissance ninja quickly discovered them.

To the northwest of the forest, the Tsugawa Clan's shinobi arrived right on schedule.

"Captain, spotted three enemies. They're fleeing in different directions. One of them should be that young clan leader who barely escaped earlier. Aside from these three, I haven't found any remaining stragglers for now... These three are deliberately exposing themselves, most likely to draw us away and buy time for the others to escape."

The reconnaissance ninja leading the vanguard had quickly gathered the basic information Hagane Zhen had deliberately revealed, and immediately reported it to the combat captain behind him.

That captain was a tall, powerfully built shinobi in his thirties. Listening to the report, he didn't slow his pace as he said, "Bait tactics. Still the same old tricks."

The reconnaissance ninja nodded. "Yes, Captain. They've already pulled this little stunt once before."

"Barring surprises, most of the remaining enemies are hiding in this forest. They don't have the ability to relocate quickly. These three acting as bait are probably the last fighting strength they have. To put it extremely, they might only have these three shinobi left who can still move. Once we take them out... this forest may be vast, but it will surely become their graveyard."

The captain's judgment was sound. So-called bait tactics were nothing but death throes. The Hagane Clan was doomed. Bait or not, it was just a matter of dying farther away or closer, sooner or later.

"That young clan leader rings a bell. A pathetic little man with a bit of cleverness that his own ability can't back up... Listen to my orders. Split into three squads of five each and pursue. I'll take the little clan leader myself. Reconnaissance assets move with the farthest squad."

"Yes, Captain!"

The Tsugawa shinobi didn't hesitate. They split into three groups immediately, ready to eliminate the enemy's last effective forces.

Just as Hagane Zhen had predicted, the enemy really did split their strength. And even more fortunately, the enemy captain—their strongest combatant—led his squad straight toward him...

This choice was perfectly normal. After all, Hagane Zhen was now the clan leader, the symbol of the entire clan. His death would mark the clan's extinction. He was someone who absolutely could not be allowed to escape, so the enemy captain would handle him personally.

Among these fifteen enemy shinobi, one was a comprehensive Jonin—the captain. Two were Special Jonin, serving as squad leaders for the other two teams. The remaining eight were Chunin, with four Genin acting as support. There was no doubt about their strength—they were fully capable of annihilating the Hagane Clan.

"Captain, he's up ahead."

As the distance between them shrank, one of the enemy shinobi called out loudly.

The enemy pursued relentlessly, while Hagane Zhen occasionally slowed his pace. There was no reason he wouldn't be caught.

"Surround him," the captain ordered.

Five enemies closed in on Hagane Zhen from different directions, and soon he was within their attack range.

A sharp whistling sound cut through the air as a kunai shot straight toward Hagane Zhen's torso. Mid-leap, he could only twist his body and turn his head to dodge the blow.

The enemy's attack missed, but Hagane Zhen's evasive maneuver cost him his footing. His feet found no purchase, and he tumbled straight down into the underbrush below.

But something strange happened. The Hagane Zhen who fell simply vanished.

"What's going on? He disappeared?"

"A clone? No, impossible."

His disappearance threw the enemy shinobi into slight confusion. But the captain, battle-hardened and experienced, wasn't fooled. He spoke calmly: "Everyone, fall back to higher ground. Don't move from your positions after that. Stay alert, observe carefully. Don't doubt yourselves. The rat is hiding somewhere in this area below. He can't escape."

Under normal circumstances, as long as they didn't panic, Hagane Zhen truly had no chance of escape. However...

The Mayfly Technique was one of White Zetsu's most iconic abilities. This technique allowed White Zetsu to merge his body with the earth and vegetation, cutting off all presence. By interfacing with the organic networks of plant roots and underground water flows within the soil, he could move at high speed to any location—a perfect assassination skill.

Such an absurd jutsu, yet White Zetsu often only used it for reconnaissance. Even more absurdly, this technique required no hand seals to activate—it was instant!

At this moment, whether skilled or not, Hagane Zhen had already managed to apply this ability in combat.

The enemy captain stood on a thick tree branch, patiently observing the area below. As an elite shinobi who had survived dozens of battles, he wouldn't be fooled by appearances. No matter how expertly the enemy hid, if he stayed still and waited, a flaw would soon reveal itself.

In combat ability, experience, and battlefield judgment, the captain far surpassed Hagane Zhen. In his eyes, the latter was just a child playing ninja games.

But what he didn't know was that conventional experience only worked for conventional battles. Precise battlefield judgment always had its limits. What use was overwhelming strength if it couldn't be brought to bear?

War gave no one room for trial and error.

Hagane Zhen's figure appeared silently behind the captain. Like a ghost, his form was clearly visible yet carried no excess presence. The enemy's keen senses detected not a single hint of abnormality.

In that moment, time seemed to stand still.

Hagane Zhen's heart seemed to stop beating. In the brief interval before it pumped blood again, he created the eternal divide between life and death.

His right hand gripped a kunai, driving it without hesitation into the enemy's lower back from the side until the blade was fully buried in flesh. At the same time, his left hand held a short sword, stabbing it directly into the back of the enemy's neck. The thin, razor-sharp blade slid through the gaps between vertebrae without resistance, piercing through the man's throat diagonally downward as easily as tearing through paper.

Even with the Mayfly Technique's unparalleled assassination capability, due to his lack of proficiency, Hagane Zhen could only guarantee success on the first use in this battle. So he had set his sights on the strongest enemy.

Then he succeeded.

This assassination was flawless. The enemy made no sound from start to finish, nor offered the slightest resistance. Yet one of the side ninjas, highly focused and scanning the ground, still turned his head the moment Hagane Zhen completed the kill!

"Enemy attack!"

He shouted.

The moment his voice fell, countless shuriken and kunai came flying indiscriminately in their direction, friend and foe alike.

Hagane Zhen immediately curled his body behind the squad leader. His assassination had been perfect—why had he been discovered so quickly?

Soon, he figured out the reason.

It was breathing. After the assassination, the enemy leader's breathing had grown erratic. In a quiet environment, such disordered breaths were easily detected.

As expected of battle-hardened ninjas.

It seemed finding an opportunity to assassinate a second person would be difficult. But that was fine. Hagane Zhen didn't feel disappointed. He had already achieved his primary goal—by taking out the strongest leader, he had already won half the battle.

Kunai and shuriken kept piercing flesh, a steady stream of thud sounds. The remaining enemies were remarkably rational and cold-blooded. After observing that their leader couldn't be saved, they launched a violent, indiscriminate attack without any psychological barrier.

Well, to be honest, Hagane Zhen was overestimating them. At this moment, the enemies' attacks were merely mechanical reactions, almost a form of stress response.

The sudden assassination of the battlefield's highest commander shocked them deeply. Even harder to accept was that they neither knew how Hagane Zhen had moved behind their leader, nor why their leader had made no reaction whatsoever when facing the assassination.

Water Style: Water Bullet Technique!

One enemy formed hand seals and cast a jutsu. A massive water sphere hurtled toward them.

Seeing this, Hagane Zhen finally released the kunai that had pierced the enemy's kidney. Then, as Chakra erupted from his feet, he propelled his body into a sharp dodge to the left. At the same time, his raised right arm hooked the hilt of the short sword still embedded in the enemy's neck.

The impact of his arm spun the hilt lightly, completely severing the enemy leader's neck.

Finishing off an opponent was a good habit. It guaranteed the enemy was one hundred percent dead.

Hagane Zhen flipped his body midair and landed lightly on the ground.

The leader's head swayed slowly a few times, reluctantly parting from his neck, then dropped like a heavy leather ball to land at Hagane Zhen's feet.

Thud.

The head hit the ground, covered in withered branches and fallen leaves, producing a faint yet somewhat muffled sound.

In that instant, the enemies all stopped attacking.

Hagane Zhen's lips curled. He pressed his tongue hard against his dry, cracked lower lip, and the expression on his face made him look like a complete maniac.

In his past life, he had grown up in a peaceful environment. After elementary school, he had never fought anyone again. Treating others with kindness, gentleness, and honesty had always been his way of life. He had never shown such a brutal side.

But never showing it didn't mean it wasn't there. People were ultimately products of their environment. Different environments reflected different faces of a person.

Ninjutsu had many forms, even dazzling and colorful. Genjutsu was insidious, infiltrating every crack—secretive, treacherous, and deadly. Taijutsu was either fierce or supple, the purest means of killing. Yet strip away these appearances, and any war under any power system would eventually reveal its coldest essence:

Iron and blood.

Whether in the ninja world or anywhere else, war was nothing but iron and blood.