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In the Land of Fire, a shadow flashed through the lush forest. Bounding off tree trunks, he leaped several meters at a time and raced forward. He was wrapped head to toe in a black robe, with a bloodstained white dog mask covering his face. Blood continuously seeped from the mask's gaps. His injuries were severe.

A sharp whistle cut through the air. The Dog-Masked Man twisted aside, and a kunai grazed the edge of his robe, leaving a faint spark in the air.

There was an explosive tag on the kunai!!

The Dog-Masked Man's body halted as he hurriedly changed direction. Unfortunately, his heavily wounded body slowed him down. An attack he could normally have dodged with ease now left him helpless. The violent explosion hurled him away, smashing him hard against a large tree before he finally fell limply into the grass.

Swoosh—swoosh—swoosh—

Before he could get up, a barrage of shuriken shot him full of holes like a pincushion, kicking up blood and dust.

Three Hidden Mist Anbu in standardized gray-white vests leaped out from nearby. They wore identical featureless masks and carried tachi swords on their backs. Their bodies were stained with blood and scorch marks, suggesting they too had been through a fierce battle.

"Pathetic trick!" The leading Hidden Mist Anbu looked disdainfully at the corpse on the ground and flicked out a kunai, pinning it to a tree ahead.

The corpse on the ground turned into a mass of mud, while a layer of bark peeled away from the tree ahead. The Dog-Masked Man stood there with a tachi in one hand and a kunai embedded in his shoulder.

"The smell of blood is too strong! Konoha Anbu, surrender. You can't escape. Surrender now, and at least you'll die quickly—not like your companions, who only died after I chopped them into several pieces... What a painful way to die!" the leading Hidden Mist Anbu said gravely, constantly increasing the psychological pressure on his opponent in an attempt to crush his fighting spirit.

As a border patrol squad, the three-man team had discovered signs of Konoha ninjas operating in the Land of Water during a routine patrol. After a brutal pursuit, they had successfully killed two Konoha Anbu who had stayed behind to buy time. With three against two, they had held the numerical advantage. Though they had suffered no casualties, they were already at the end of their strength. Moreover, the ruthlessness of the Konoha Anbu had truly shocked them. They would stop at nothing and feared no death. Even the Hidden Mist Anbu from the Village of the Bloody Mist felt inferior by comparison.

The Dog-Masked Man said nothing. He tore off his black robe, revealing a fitted combat outfit beneath, then threw the sack he had been carrying onto the ground and assumed a defensive stance. In the moonlight, they could vaguely make out a child inside the sack. Unfortunately, blood was seeping from it, and the child clearly had little chance of survival. The explosive tag had failed to kill the Dog-Masked Man, but it had killed the child in the sack.

The three Hidden Mist Anbu merely glanced at it before ignoring it. They surrounded him, preparing to end the battle quickly. Though they knew the child in the sack had most likely been abducted from the Land of Water by the Konoha Anbu, the cold-blooded Hidden Mist ninjas did not care. Child or not, they had witnessed too much death in their ninja careers and had long since become numb to it.

"End this quickly. Cut off his head and bring it back!"

The three Hidden Mist Anbu wasted no words. Drawing their blades, they charged the Dog-Masked Man. The three Hidden Mist ninjas were within the Land of Fire; if they were discovered, their only fate would be total annihilation.

Ninja battles had always been swift. The Dog-Masked Man stood no chance against three opponents. After only a few exchanges, he was stabbed to death. Still, his reckless, all-offense-no-defense swordsmanship left several wounds on the three Hidden Mist Anbu.

"Since when have Konoha ninjas become this strong?" One Anbu cut off the Dog-Masked Man's head, hastily treated his wound, and complained. It was not as though he had never dealt with Konoha ninjas before, but the ones they had encountered this time were far too ruthless toward themselves. It was practically self-mutilation.

Even in the ninja world, those who did not value their lives were the most frightening.

"Maybe he wasn't an ordinary Konoha Anbu..." Even the leader was uncertain. He had never seen a Konoha ninja like this. Rather than a ninja, he seemed more like a death warrior. Every move had been aimed at taking his enemy down with him.

Just as the three of them were distracted, a gale swept in and blew apart their loose formation.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

The scattered Hidden Mist Anbu were horrified. After a long journey and several battles, their chakra was nearly depleted, and their stamina could no longer support them.

Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!

Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!

High-temperature Phoenix Sage Fire mixed with shuriken, along with the immensely powerful Earth Dragon Bullet, swallowed the three Hidden Mist Anbu who had been scattered by the gale. Flawless coordination and an unexpected grasp of the perfect moment took all three lives in an instant. Ninja battles were like this: fast, precise, and ruthless!

Three more Konoha Anbu arrived. They swiftly inspected the battlefield and gathered intelligence.

"One survivor. There's a child here." One female Anbu knew some basic Medical Ninjutsu. After treating the child in the sack, who still had a faint breath left, she pulled him back from death's door.

"Bring him back. He might know something."

"Their identities have been confirmed. All three are Hidden Mist Anbu. However..." another Anbu said, "there was also one who should have been Konoha Anbu, but I couldn't find the unique Anbu identification mark on him!"

"An Anbu without a mark... Take his body with us. Clean up the scene and leave immediately." Hearing his subordinate's report, the captain's tone remained unchanged, but he silently cursed the trouble. His subordinate did not know the details because of his lack of seniority. As an Anbu veteran, the captain knew full well that Konoha had a group of ninjas who operated in the shadows, known as Root. Anything connected to those lunatics was never good.

The next day, Konoha Ninja Village, Hokage's office.

Having finished the mountain of official work piled before him, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, finally had a moment to rest. He skillfully performed his favorite technique, the Telescope Technique, deciding to cleanse his increasingly listless heart with the vigorous vitality of youth.

"Hokage-sama!"

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi let out an inexplicable laugh and drooled all over the floor, Anbu Captain Mitarashi Shixiao entered uninvited and pushed open the door.

"..."

"..."

They stared at each other. The air froze.

"Cough, cough... Oh, Shixiao!" Having been seen in such an embarrassing state by a subordinate, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt mortified. But more than twenty years as Hokage had not been for nothing. He had long cultivated an extraordinarily thick skin. He dispelled the Telescope Technique, straightened his clothes, wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, and sat upright, as though nothing had happened.

"..."

Mitarashi Shixiao was stunned once again. No wonder the Second Hokage chose you as his successor. No wonder you're the boss while we're all underlings. I truly bow before you.

"Shixiao, what happened? You don't look well! Even if Mount Tai were to collapse before you, your expression should not change. That is the quality an Anbu Captain ought to possess. You still need more tempering! Also, knock before entering next time. This is the Hokage's office, after all. There are many Konoha secrets here, so we must be cautious," Hiruzen Sarutobi reprimanded him sternly. "As Konoha's Anbu Captain, your performance pains me deeply."

I have never seen such a shameless person! Is this guy really the Hokage? He has to be a fake, right? Mitarashi Shixiao wore an expression of utter constipation as he launched into a silent tirade. I'm so, so sorry for entering without knocking! As Anbu Captain, my standards are truly unacceptable! So Konoha's secrets are in the women's bathhouse. I'm completely unqualified.

"I'm... deeply sorry!"

"All right. Since this is your first offense, I'll let it go this time. You came in such a hurry—what happened? You didn't come here to drink tea, did you?" Seeing that Mitarashi Shixiao had deeply recognized his shortcomings, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in satisfaction and got to the point.

"Hokage-sama, you jest. There is something I must report to you!" Mitarashi Shixiao's face alternated between pale and green. After all, he was not like the Third Hokage, whose skin was thick beyond measure. At that moment, his worldview was still being reconstructed.

"Oh? What is it?"

Mitarashi Shixiao hurriedly gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a complete report on the intelligence urgently sent by the Anbu squad the previous night. If it had merely been a border clash that had killed a few ninjas, there would have been no need to report it to the Hokage. Such things happened almost every day and were nothing unusual. But if one of the dead Konoha ninjas had been a member of Root, then the matter warranted careful consideration.

After hearing Mitarashi Shixiao's report, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned slightly and tapped his fingers on the desk. After a moment, he asked, "What do you think?"

"This subordinate does not know."

After saying that, Mitarashi Shixiao fixed his eyes on his nose, his nose on his mouth, his mouth on his heart, and his heart on his crotch. I don't know anything, so don't ask me. At worst, this matter could provoke a war; at best, it was merely a minor clash with Hidden Mist, nothing too serious. However, the person involved was no ordinary figure. It concerned Konoha's other powerful leader, the high-ranking Hokage Assistant Shimura Danzō. This muddy water was not something he could wade into.

"I understand. You may leave." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and fell into deep thought.

"Yes, this subordinate takes his leave." Mitarashi Shixiao accepted the order without hesitation and left. Though the Anbu Captain was also a figure with real authority, he did not count as upper management in Konoha. Forcing his way into this matter would only make him cannon fodder.