[Strength 7.3]
The instant Mingren threw his punch.
The fury in his heart caused the Dark Chakra within him to surge to 7.3.
This already surpassed the strength of the twenty-six-year-old Kakashi Hatake from the first manga... that was, Kakashi Hatake twelve years from now in this world. It was somewhat close to the level of Momochi Zabuza and Asuma from the first manga.
And so...
Crack!
With one punch.
Tetsuya Senju's left leg snapped on the spot.
In an instant, he was sent flying backward, and the situation reversed.
Asuka, Shikahide Nara, and the remaining person stared at the scene in stunned disbelief.
Five. Body Activation Technique
At the same time.
The corridor on the right.
"We were tricked."
Pakkun lowered his head and looked at the tattered cloak discarded on the ground.
Clearly, the enemy had used clothing carrying their scent to mislead his sense of smell.
"If there were any Hyuga Clan ninja here..."
"..."
Kakashi frowned upon hearing that.
Of course, there could not possibly be any Hyuga Clan ninja here.
Not long ago in this war, they had lost a Byakugan. They were now like birds startled by the mere twang of a bowstring.
The internal reorganization between the Main Family and Branch Family had not even been sorted out yet.
Furthermore, losing a Byakugan was a tremendous loss for the village.
So during this period, the Hyuga Clan's ninja had all returned to the village to handle internal affairs.
"Let's go meet up with Shikahide and the others."
Kakashi waved a hand and turned to leave.
However, after taking only a few steps, he was spotted precisely by a figure.
It was Shennong, hiding nearby.
For someone proficient in medical arts like him, using medicine to conceal his own scent was no difficult task.
"That is... Kakashi Hatake of the recently famous 'Sharingan'?"
During last year's Kannabi Bridge Battle, two heroes had emerged from Konoha.
One was Obito Uchiha, and the other was Kakashi Hatake.
Disguising himself as a wandering physician, Shennong excelled at gathering intelligence whenever he went out.
If Kakashi was a rising new star.
Then the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze—Kakashi's Jonin instructor, who had rushed from crisis to crisis and turned the tide for Konoha during the Third Shinobi World War—was a living young legend.
Considering that the Yellow Flash had fought monsters like Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Killer Bee on several occasions over the past few years.
Shennong immediately began considering retreat.
Since Kakashi was here, could Minato Namikaze be nearby as well?
The Dark Chakra had yet to be researched to its ultimate form.
Shennong did not want to give up now.
"Hehe, I should let that persistent disciple of mine know that it's time to retreat..."
Shennong prepared to pack up and flee at once.
"My disciple has probably already clashed with Konoha's ninja. I really look forward to seeing his practical use of the Dark Chakra Jutsu."
A gleam flickered in Shennong's eyes.
In the previous war.
Empty Village had overestimated itself and provoked the Five Great Nations, only to be destroyed.
—Of course, that was the Five Great Nations' version of events.
After all, history was written by the victors. It was hard to say who the invaders really were.
Thus, the hatred of a ruined nation and lost family had always lingered in Shennong's mind, impossible to dispel.
Then, five years ago, he happened to meet Mingren, who shared his ideals. The two hit it off immediately and began experimenting with and researching Dark Chakra together.
To some extent, they were both partners and friends despite their age difference.
"Though I would love to kill Kakashi Hatake... and prove that bloodlines like the Sharingan are nothing but trash, I should first activate the 'barrier,' interfere with Kakashi Hatake, and buy some time..."
Shennong gathered his thoughts and immediately slipped into the darkness...
The corridor on the left.
From Tetsuya Senju making his move, to Mingren counterattacking, to the former clutching his broken leg and screaming.
Only a few seconds had passed.
Seeing Tetsuya Senju's left leg get shattered by a single Taijutsu punch so easily, Shikahide Nara's shock was imaginable. "This is bad... I misjudged him! This guy... is a ninja!"
Aside from being handsome and somewhat sturdier than average, he looked like nothing more than an utterly unremarkable youth from the Hidden Rain Village.
He was actually a ninja too?!
Could he be an Amegakure Ninja sent by Hanzo of the Salamander to receive his granddaughter?!
Or a guard secretly protecting her, whose existence even Asuka herself did not know about?!
There was no time to think further.
Seeing his companion injured, Shikahide Nara immediately made the correct judgment.
He fiercely hurled a Kunai.
Hissss~~!!
Blue smoke rose.
An Explosive Tag was actually attached behind the Kunai, which had turned into an afterimage!
In this world.
A Bowl of ramen cost anywhere from thirty-five to sixty ryo.
Yet an Explosive Tag was a devastating weapon costing twenty thousand ryo apiece.
Even a Chunin like Shikahide Nara did not have much stock, which also determined the Explosive Tag's destructive power.
At close range, even a kage-level ninja could be severely wounded—or even killed outright!
Its power was absolutely no less than that of a modern High-Explosive Grenade!
Seeing this, Asuka charged forward without a second thought.
Since she could not stop the first time from happening.
Then at the very least, she could not just watch the second time happen...
However, the moment she stepped forward, sharp-eyed Mingren immediately recognized the object as well. "An Explosive Tag?"
Smack!
Mingren fiercely shoved Asuka, who was charging toward him.
With Strength 7.3, it was not something she could withstand.
This was the innate difference in strength between men and women, unless one was a beneficiary of Bloodline Theory like Tsunade.
Furthermore, after days of grueling battle, Asuka had long since lost most of her Chakra and stamina, so naturally she could not resist.
The seemingly delicate and frail thirteen-year-old beautiful girl was sent flying away.
Boom!!!
A violent explosion rang out.
Flames flared everywhere.
Countless clouds of dust also rained down from the corridor.
Asuka leaned against the wall, blankly watching the scene...
Someone she had never met had actually saved her twice, even at the cost of his own life...
The smoke and dust slowly dispersed.
Shennong's figure soon appeared.
Being familiar with the Underground Base, he naturally arrived here with ease, especially after hearing the explosion.
When he clearly saw the scene before him, he blinked.
His disciple lay on the ground, his skin split open and flesh mangled...
Between the explosion and the burns, he would at least be crippled for life.
No... whether he could even be saved was a question.
Of course, that only applied to ordinary people.
Shennong glanced at Asuka, immediately raising an eyebrow as interest appeared in his eyes.
Thanks to his habit of frequently gathering intelligence outside and his own experience, he recognized her as Hanzo of the Salamander's Granddaughter.
Soon, he understood the situation. "Konoha hopes to capture or kill Hanzo of the Salamander's Granddaughter, thereby breaking the will of Hanzo of the Salamander, who had already lost his son and daughter-in-law and was on the verge of collapse? So they can achieve a deeper objective?"
Heroes did not die. They merely withered away.
Hanzo was human too. He could feel despair and grief.
Of course, none of that mattered.
Now, the key point was...
"He's dead, right..."
The three Konoha ninja, including Shikahide Nara, watched the scene and could not help sighing in relief.
"So he really was just an ordinary person... He didn't even know how to evade..."
"If he were a ninja, he would at least instinctively dodge..."
From this, they overturned their previous conclusion.
This guy... really was just an ordinary person.
He was probably born with immense strength.
There was no shortage of exceptionally strong people in the Ninja World.
For example, in the Land of Fields, there was a clan skilled in sumo. Though its members were quite plump, like Konoha's Akimichi Clan, they possessed tremendous strength.
With that strike, they had dealt with this Land of Rain civilian who had suddenly appeared.
Shikahide Nara glanced at Tetsuya Senju's injuries.
"What are you standing around for? Forget about me! Hurry up and catch her!!" Tetsuya Senju roared as he clutched his broken leg.
At this point, they definitely could not abandon the target.
Before you continue