"?!" Shido Akimichi's slap missed, and he froze for a moment.
"Damn it! Not only is he incredibly strong, he's fast too!! Shido... be careful!"
Kaede Yamanaka shouted with his eyes closed.
His sharp mind immediately understood what kind of enemy they were facing.
A person with immense strength might be terrifying, but as long as you avoided getting hit or surpassed him, it would be fine.
But if that person was just as fast...
That was truly terrifying.
"Ah~~~!"
Shido Akimichi attacked again. This time—
Mingren used his speed to effortlessly weave between his palms, even circling around behind him.
"Too slow."
With his injuries nearly healed, Mingren tested the synchronization of his speed and prepared to end the fight.
Shido Akimichi's strength really was formidable.
Even Mingren had to avoid facing it head-on now.
But he was only strong. His speed had not kept pace.
In the Original Work, when sixteen-year-old Choji's strength reached 10, his speed was only 4.
The same phenomenon was reflected in Shido Akimichi.
Mingren, however, had Dark Chakra, which developed every aspect of him. With speed and strength given equal importance, he had no blind spots and no weaknesses at all!
Mingren leaped into the air and punched Shido Akimichi in the back of the head.
With a bang, the huge body crashed to the ground.
The impact blasted a massive crater into the earth.
Amid the flying dust, Shido Akimichi's head was split open and bleeding.
That was only because of the Akimichi Clan's physique.
If it had been anyone else, their head would have exploded long ago.
"As expected, the head is a weakness too..."
The reason they used the Human Bullet Tank, pulling in their heads and limbs—
Was not only to make rolling easier, but also because Yang Release Chakra strengthened different body parts differently.
The head had comparatively weaker defense power.
Watching Shido Akimichi lie on the ground, his head buzzing as he still tried to get up—
Mingren charged forward again, fist raised.
"Stop!!!"
Kaede Yamanaka began to take aim.
But now that Mingren was on guard, how could his speed possibly be locked onto?
After a string of rapid flashes—
Mingren reappeared and struck Shido Akimichi in the back of the head again.
Twenty-Nine: Slaughter
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three consecutive punches.
Each punch was heavier than the last.
After three punches, Shido Akimichi's head had been driven deep into the soil.
The continuous thunderous crashes changed Kaede Yamanaka's expression, along with everyone else's.
In the darkness, whether they had clearly seen the scene or not, everyone instinctively turned toward the source of the sound.
Hearing impacts like boulders crashing down, their hearts trembled with fear.
Crack!
Finally, after a sharp cracking sound—
Shido Akimichi's skull caved in. The Expansion Jutsu was released, and his body abruptly shrank back to its original size.
With his brain destroyed, no matter how robust a person was, he could not survive.
Mingren shook his arm.
Flinging away the blood on it.
He straightened up from his crouched position.
With a casual flick, a door panel rose up, blocking the Yamanaka Clan's spiritual power from penetrating through.
"Pff..."
Kaede Yamanaka's Mental Energy attack missed, and he immediately suffered backlash from the Mental Secret Technique.
Blood instead flowed from the corner of his mouth.
For some time, not only would he be unable to use the Mental Secret Technique, his body would also remain weakened.
"This guy..."
Kaede Yamanaka's eyes widened.
Not only had his opponent defeated Shido—
He had immediately seen through the weakness of the Yamanaka Clan's Mental Secret Technique and countered it...
Who exactly was he?!
Hanzo's subordinate? Amegakure's ANBU? A Jonin? The possessor of a Kekkei Genkai...?
That was right. Only someone with a bloodline could explain that bizarre self-healing ability...
All sorts of guesses and uncertainty flashed through his mind.
Negative Mental Energy surged from Shido Akimichi's corpse and was absorbed into Mingren's body.
A dark aura began to spread.
Combined with the many ordinary people, thugs, and ninjas he had killed earlier—
Mingren's strength rose another level.
[Strength: 9.8!]
Amid the chaos—
Asuka watched the scene in astonishment.
An Akimichi Clan ninja had been dealt with that easily?
And Mingren had even countered the Yamanaka Clan's Mental Secret Technique as if... he had known their methods beforehand?
The next moment—
Mingren looked toward Kaede Yamanaka.
His feet struck the ground as he broke into a run.
From stillness to motion.
In the blink of an eye, he became a blurred shadow.
In the first part of the Original Work's manga—
When Rock Lee removed his weights during the Chunin Exam and did not use the Eight Inner Gates, his speed value was "8," already making many people unable to see his movement trajectory.
Mingren estimated that his current speed was roughly the same.
Therefore—
With a single flash, Mingren arrived before Kaede Yamanaka.
The distance of ten meters took no more than an instant.
He swung his right hand, and with a crack—
He snapped Kaede Yamanaka's neck before he could react.
Even at the moment of his death, he had never imagined his opponent would be so fast.
"Heh heh heh..."
Shennong chuckled.
He was pleased with the result of this scene.
The potential of Dark Chakra truly was limitless.
Even without relying on any bloodline—
As long as one continued to delve into the darkness within the human heart—
Their power would continue to grow.
Whoosh!
Negative Mental Energy, visible only to Mingren, surged from the Yamanaka Clan corpse in his hand and was absorbed once more.
A surging power instantly filled his entire body.
[Strength... 9.9!]
"Just a little more..."
Mingren casually tossed away the corpse and glanced at the high-ranking officials and nobles holding the corpse Scroll, who had already wet himself in terror.
He had also been the object of Kaede Yamanaka and Shido Akimichi's fawning flattery just moments ago.
The next moment—
Mingren kicked and broke his neck.
Then, Mingren charged into the crowd.
As the number of sounds grew fewer and fewer, the slaughter neared its end.
Until only one man remained.
The short man collapsed onto the ground, tears and snot streaming down his face as he broke down. "They're dead... they're all dead..."
"Wait."
Shennong raised a hand, stopping his disciple from killing him.
"Gato is the only merchant who dared, during wartime, to conduct trade with Amegakure by sea and sell supplies..."
If he was killed—
Amegakure's logistical support would be completely cut off.
"..."
Mingren withdrew his fist, gave him a cold glance, and turned to leave.
[Strength... 10!]
When Minato Namikaze and Hanzo arrived—
The outcome of their Body Flicker Technique contest was no longer important.
Because...
Both of them smelled a dense stench of blood from deep within the underground entrance.
Before you continue