Naruto Bloodline Theory? Just Garbage

[Power: 7.3]

The instant Mingren threw his punch.

The rage in his heart caused the Dark Chakra within him to surge to 7.3.

This had already surpassed the strength of twenty-six-year-old Kakashi Hatake in the first part of the manga... that was, Kakashi twelve years from now in this world. It was somewhat close to the level of Momochi Zabuza and Asuma from the first part of the manga.

And so...

Crack!

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 utter disbelief.

V. Body Activation Technique

At the same time.

In the passageway to the right.

"We were tricked."

Pakkun lowered his head and looked at the tattered cloak discarded on the ground.

Clearly, the other side had used clothing carrying their scent to mislead their sense of smell.

"If there were 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 and become as skittish as startled birds.

The Hyuga Clan had not even finished sorting out the affairs between the main family and Branch Family.

Furthermore, losing a Byakugan was an enormous loss to the village.

So during this period, Hyuga Clan ninja had returned to the village one after another to handle internal affairs.

"Come on. Let's meet up with Shikahide and the others."

Kakashi waved a hand and turned around 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 medicine, using drugs to conceal his own scent was no difficult task.

"That is... the recently famous 'Sharingan' Kakashi Hatake?"

During last year's Kannabi Bridge Battle, two heroes had emerged from Konoha.

One was Obito Uchiha, and the other was Kakashi Hatake.

Shennong, disguised as a traveling physician, excelled at gathering intelligence wherever he went.

If Kakashi was a rising new star.

Then the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze, Kakashi's Jonin instructor, who had rushed everywhere to put out fires 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 many times over the past few years.

Shennong immediately began to consider retreating.

With Kakashi 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 need to tell that persistent disciple of mine that it's time to retreat..."

Shennong prepared to pack up and flee immediately.

"My disciple has probably already crossed paths with Konoha's ninja. I truly look forward to seeing his practical combat after obtaining the Dark Chakra Jutsu."

Shennong's eyes gleamed.

During the previous war.

Empty Village had overestimated itself and provoked the Five Great Nations, only to be wiped out.

—Of course, that was what the Five Great Nations claimed.

After all, history was written by the victors. It was hard to say who the invader truly was.

Because of this, the hatred for his fallen country and people had always lingered in Shennong's mind, impossible to dispel.

Five years ago, he had happened to encounter like-minded Mingren. The two had hit it off at once and begun experimenting with and researching Dark Chakra together.

To some extent, they were partners and friends despite their age difference.

"Though I would dearly love to kill Kakashi Hatake... and prove that bloodlines like the Sharingan are nothing but garbage, 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 passageway to 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... We misjudged him! This guy... is a ninja!"

He looked like nothing more than an ordinary Rain Hidden Youth, apart from being handsome and slightly sturdier than average.

He was actually a ninja?!

Could he be an Amegakure Ninja sent by Hanzo of the Salamander to receive his Granddaughter?!

Or a guard secretly protecting her, one 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 threw out a kunai.

Hisss—!!

Green 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 destructive power of Explosive Tags.

At close range, even a Kage-level ninja could be severely injured by one, 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 stand by and watch the second time...

However, the moment she stepped forward, quick-eyed Mingren immediately recognized the object. "An Explosive Tag?"

Smack!

Mingren fiercely shoved Asuka, who was charging toward him.

Power at 7.3 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.

On top of that, after days of bitter fighting, Asuka had already lost most of her Chakra and stamina. Naturally, she could not resist.

The frail-looking, thirteen-year-old Beautiful Girl was shoved directly away.

Boom!!!

A violent explosion erupted.

Flames burst forth.

Countless clouds of dust rained down from the passageway ceiling.

Asuka leaned against the wall, staring blankly at the sight...

Someone she had never met had saved her twice, even at the cost of sacrificing himself...

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 torn open and his flesh mangled...

With the explosion and burns, he would at least be crippled for life.

No... whether he could even save his life was questionable.

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 going outside to gather intelligence and his own experience, he recognized her as Hanzo of the Salamander's Granddaughter.

He quickly understood what had happened. "Konoha hopes to capture, or kill, Hanzo of the Salamander's Granddaughter, shattering the will of Hanzo, who had already lost his son and daughter-in-law and was on the verge of collapse? Thus achieving an even deeper objective?"

Heroes did not die. They merely withered away.

Hanzo was human too. He could also feel despair and sorrow.

Of course, none of that mattered.

Now, the key point was...

"He's dead, right..."

The three Konoha ninja, including Shikahide Nara, looked at the scene and could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"So he really was just an ordinary person... He didn't even know how to dodge..."

"If he were a ninja, he would at least instinctively evade..."

From this, they overturned their previous speculation.

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 that clan was quite plump, like Konoha's Akimichi Clan, they possessed tremendous strength.

With that Rain Country civilian who had suddenly appeared dealt with in one strike.

Shikahide Nara glanced at Tetsuya Senju's injuries.

"What are you standing around for? Forget about me! Hurry up and capture her!!" Tetsuya Senju roared while clutching his broken leg.

At this point, they absolutely could not give up on their target.