In the final stages of the Ninja World War.
Manpower had already become insufficient.
Sending young children to the battlefield had become perfectly normal.
Even a massive force like Konoha, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, was suffering from a shortage of troops.
Therefore.
The squad led by Kakashi Hatake consisted entirely of youths between the ages of ten and fourteen.
As he sized up Mingren, who was about the same age as the three of them.
Shikahide Nara quickly reached several conclusions through observation.
"He's wearing rough cloth, not an Amegakure ninja uniform."
"Judging by the way he walks, he doesn't seem professionally trained either."
"His fingers and palms don't have the calluses left by holding kunai and shuriken year-round."
"He's an ordinary person."
After confirming it several times, Shikahide Nara felt puzzled.
"This place became a combat zone long ago. Why is there still an ordinary person here?"
Shikahide Nara had also heard of Konoha ninja accidentally killing Land of Rain civilians.
Many civilians were unwilling to flee their homeland, so they were easily killed by highly tense ninja. There was nothing to be done about that.
But the Third Shinobi World War had already lasted for several years.
In theory, all the civilians here should have fled by now...
"Are you a civilian of the Land of Rain? This is a matter between ninja. If you don't want to get hurt or die, leave quickly."
Shikahide Nara waved his hand, looking annoyed.
He understood all too well how troublesome brats could be.
The more powerless an ordinary person was, the less they understood how frightening ninja could be.
Only after personally experiencing pain would they understand that ninja were not people they could afford to provoke.
While they assessed Mingren, Mingren assessed them as well. "Three Konoha ninja. Those are clearly Konoha forehead protectors..."
Through the leaf symbols on their forehead protectors.
Mingren recognized their affiliation.
And the other person they had been pursuing...
At first glance, she was stunning.
Set within the black sclera of her eyes were dark red eyes that seemed to possess a mysterious magic, giving them an incomparably profound depth.
Mingren had to admit it.
The girl before him was prettier than nearly every girl he had seen in his previous life.
That was probably just how two-dimensional worlds were.
And judging from the pattern carved into her faceplate, she was clearly an Amegakure ninja.
In other words.
For some reason.
The Konoha Invaders and the Native Amegakure Ninja had begun chasing each other.
After gaining a simple understanding of what had happened, Mingren looked at the three Konoha ninja. "Just because you're from Konoha, you can invade another country at will and trample upon its land and lives?!"
Mingren's sonorous rebuke made Shikahide Nara and the other two change expressions.
Though ninja did not particularly care whether their actions were justified.
Everyone still wanted a good reputation.
Faced with this civilian's accusation.
The Chestnut-haired Konoha Young Ninja, whose sleeve bore a clan crest, stepped forward directly. "Hmph! Ignorant fool! We Konoha are here to help your Amegakure achieve prosperity!"
"..."
Asuka silently watched from the side.
From the moment he appeared to the moment he gathered the courage to condemn the Konoha Invaders.
She thought his actions were remarkable.
After all, he was merely an unarmed civilian her own age, yet he still cared deeply for his country.
It moved her, making her feel that Amegakure's efforts had not been in vain.
Even if some citizens had betrayed their own people and become traitors to the rain.
There were still more ordinary people of the Land of Rain who bravely shouted and drove away the invaders.
That was enough.
Seeing this, Asuka decided to calmly accept death.
Ninja matters should be resolved by ninja.
Ordinary people who only wanted to live and work in peace... it was not their fault that they lacked power.
The ones at fault were the Five Great Nations, the invaders.
Just as she was about to speak...
Black flames suddenly ignited in Mingren's eyes, and the expression vanished from his face in an instant, becoming utterly terrifying.
"!"
Asuka blinked.
But there was nothing unusual about his eyes, as though the black flames she had just seen had merely been an illusion.
"Prosperity?! What a joke, the greatest joke in the Ninja World! You invaded us, and you still dare claim that you're helping our Land of Rain achieve prosperity?! Is that how your parents taught you?"
Mingren's words ignited the other boy's rage.
"You insolent bastard!!"
His parents were his bottom line.
The moment he heard that, he charged at Mingren, intending to teach this ignorant Land of Rain commoner a lesson!
Konoha Style Taijutsu... Konoha Whirlwind!
The D-rank taijutsu whipping kick he had practiced countless times tore through the air with a fierce howl.
That strike could shatter even a boulder the size of a cooking pot!
Let alone an ordinary person's head!
If anyone was to blame, it was Mingren himself for not watching his mouth!
"Ha..."
Shikahide Nara sighed and shook his head.
He had never expected things to develop like this.
It was already too late to stop him.
After all... Tetsuya Senju was a ninja of the Senju Clan.
His body was powerful, and he had been born with strong Yang Release.
Though the Senju Clan had declined, its foundation was still not to be underestimated.
If that kick landed on a genin, their skull would crack on the spot.
Even if it struck a chunin, there was a chance of knocking them unconscious.
As ninja grew stronger, their resistance to blunt force attacks became greater and greater.
A Shadow Level ninja could smash through more than a dozen towering trees and still get back up as though nothing had happened.
But...
Ordinary people were different.
One kick, and their heads would burst apart.
This Land of Rain civilian was truly bold. He had no power, yet he wandered around a war zone and spouted such reckless words.
Even he could not stop his enraged companion.
Asuka: "Watch out!"
Just as Shikahide Nara and his companion sighed, turned their gazes toward Asuka, and Asuka herself prepared to intervene in panic...
Mingren suddenly stepped forward and drove a fist at the other boy's left leg.
[Strength 7.1...] [Strength 7.2...]
As his emotions flared with anger.
The Dark Chakra Jutsu within Mingren continued to activate.
Ordinary Chakra required physical energy and Mental Energy to be combined before it could be generated.
But Dark Chakra was different.
The power of this jutsu lay in the strength of the "heart." As long as one possessed enough negative thoughts.
Dark Chakra would increase, and physical strength would continue to surge.
Hearing the other boy's shameless declaration.
Mingren had been utterly enraged.
Coupled with the accumulation of the past five years, during which he had traveled across the shattered mountains and rivers of the Land of Rain and witnessed countless war tragedies.
The anger in Mingren's heart transformed into towering flames of fury.
"I will... drive you invaders out!!"
Tetsuya Senju sneered at the sight. "Overestimating yourself!"
Tetsuya Senju was a ninja of the Senju Clan.
And the Senju Clan was born with a powerful Yang Release "bloodline," granting especially strong physical power.
Mingren had already recognized that from the clan crest embroidered on his sleeve.
It was worth mentioning that...
In countless Naruto Ninja fanfictions.
The Senju Clan had been "wiped out" in every possible way by fanfiction authors.
But in fact.
In official settings... such as the official novel Itachi's Story.
Not only had the Senju Clan survived just fine, but even after Itachi Uchiha wiped out the Uchiha Clan, the Senju Clan remained completely untouched.
They had merely become background figures used to support the plot.
The Senju Clan possessed a powerful Yang Release bloodline. They were descendants of Asura, the child of the Sage of Six Paths from a thousand years ago.
They were also one manifestation of Bloodline Theory.
The First Hokage, the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, had been a member of the Senju Clan.
Having thoroughly read the Naruto Ninja manga and novels, Mingren naturally knew this.
But so what?
Did being part of the Senju Clan mean he could do whatever he wanted?
Did it mean he could invade another country at will and twist the facts?
Before you continue