A Year Flew By

The fierce battle in the woods continued for over ten minutes.

"Izumi, take control of Maya. I'll finish them off."

As soon as he spoke, Kyosuke charged at the enemy with his short blade in hand.

Ten minutes earlier, the squad had successfully intercepted the enemy team.

With their ranged attacks too weak to be effective, Uchiha Izumi had to open with Fire Style, while Kyosuke led Maya in a charge to inflict damage at close range.

This time, however, they had run into a tough opponent.

The enemy team had a complete Ino-Shika-Cho lineup, and their coordination was exceptional.

A Chunin from the Akimichi Clan used Expansion Jutsu to disrupt their charge, while the crafty Yamanaka seized the opportunity to take control of Uchiha Maya's body.

After Kyosuke risked using the Body Flicker Technique to kill the enemy in front of him, he found Maya holding a Kunai to her own throat.

[System Prompt: Killed a Chunin from the Akimichi Clan. Earned 280 points.]

"Give up, or this woman dies."

Give up?

That was no different from killing himself on the spot. If the Three Clans got their hands on him, Kyosuke would likely learn what it meant to wish he were dead.

"Maya!" Uchiha Izumi's voice rang out like a bloodthirsty demon from hell, filled with despair and a hatred that seemed ready to devour everything.

Only then did he realize that some special feelings existed between his two subordinates.

"I can surrender—" The moment the words left his mouth, 'Maya' immediately turned to look at him.

When she met those eerie Sharingan, 'she' felt her heart sink and knew something was wrong.

As a unique being formed from the fusion of two souls, Kyosuke had an exceptionally powerful spiritual foundation.

Without anyone teaching him, he had mastered one of the Sharingan's most basic—and most powerful—ocular Genjutsu.

Genjutsu: Sharingan!

His consciousness sank into Maya's body, and her blood-red eyes instantly enveloped the enemy's spirit.

As his Dojutsu erupted, the opponent was thrown out of his subordinate's body in an instant. Then the scene from the beginning unfolded.

Drawing his gleaming short blade, Kyosuke rushed toward the Yamanaka ninja like the wind.

He knew the Nara, who was coordinating the enemy's movements, would do whatever it took to save him.

Sure enough, Kyosuke had barely taken a few steps when a shadow shot across the ground toward him.

Whatever else one might say, the friendship between the Three Clans was truly touching. So he decided that, no matter what, he would send them all to the Pure Land together today.

He quickly formed Hand Seals. As the Nara's pupils suddenly widened, Kyosuke turned into a blur and charged forward at full speed.

His short blade flashed through the air. Blood sprayed, and a fine head soared into the sky.

[System Prompt: Killed a Chunin from the Nara Clan. Earned 310 points.]

"Damn." The moment he stopped, Kyosuke's muscles began spasming violently.

Lying on the ground, he could only watch helplessly as Uchiha Izumi rushed over and stole his kill.

"Damn it, I'm not done with you." Kyosuke's mouth twitched a few times before his head lolled to the side and he passed out.

He had used the high-level Body Flicker Technique twice in quick succession. He'd been forcing himself to fight by drawing on his future strength.

Fortunately, the 590 points he'd earned made up for the damage to Kyosuke's body and spirit.

"Oh no, Lord Madara's collapsed!" Maya struggled to her feet and stumbled over to him. She took medical supplies from her ninja pouch and began treating him.

Behind her, Uchiha Izumi kept her head lowered, as if she still hadn't recovered from the despair of a moment ago.

Drip, drip! Tears fell one after another as Maya choked out, "He didn't abandon me. Lord Madara was right. Kyosuke is someone worth following."

There was something she hadn't said aloud. As a medical ninja, Maya knew all too well what could happen when someone forced himself to use the Body Flicker Technique.

Kyosuke was only eight. He'd been pushing his body past its limits to fight. Gratitude and guilt filled her heart.

At that moment, the two subordinates who had been transferred to him from Uchiha Madara finally gave Kyosuke their complete loyalty, in body and soul.

Maya chattered on for quite a while before suddenly realizing that her boyfriend still hadn't responded.

Curiously turning her head, she noticed his blood-red eyes at once.

Three black Tomoe were slowly spinning inside them.

It took a full day and night for Kyosuke to wake up.

"An unfamiliar ceiling~"

He didn't even need to look to know he was wrapped in bandages from head to toe.

To outsiders, pushing his body past its limits was foolish. Kyosuke himself, however, didn't particularly care.

The System Shop had potions that could perfectly restore his body.

For just 5,000 points, one could slowly repair every injury and hidden ailment.

The higher-grade potions could even restore him to perfect health in a very short time. It was just that the price—

Ah, never mind.

His willingness to risk his life would surely move his two talented subordinates.

Kyosuke always felt a little awkward using them unless they were completely loyal to him.

Turning his head with difficulty, he saw Uchiha Maya fast asleep beside his pillow.

She would never have acted so casually in front of him before. The meaning behind it made the corners of his mouth lift slightly.

It worked!

"Ugh, going all out every time is bound to cause problems." During his recovery, Kyosuke considered this for the first time.

At this point, his safety was temporarily assured.

Both subordinates were now completely loyal, especially Uchiha Izumi, who had awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan after the last incident.

In terms of combat strength, when he went all out, he now had the ability to go toe-to-toe with an elite Jonin.

His future missions would be much safer. The problem was, that guy would probably steal even more of his kills.

"No, I have to keep him from fighting. I'll just say I need real combat experience."

A week later, Kyosuke was discharged.

Considering how slowly he was earning points, he decided to take things more slowly for now and focus on improving his strength.

His goal wasn't to learn ninjutsu. Instead, he planned to ask Uchiha Maya to teach him about Genjutsu.

That would make up for his lack of options at mid-range.

He couldn't keep risking serious injuries to use the Body Flicker Technique whenever something unexpected happened.

Taking the time he'd lost recovering from his injuries into account, that approach had severely hurt his efficiency at earning points.

After a period of systematic study, Kyosuke finally mastered a few basic Genjutsu.

The squad set out again and began hunting the Three Clans' ninjas one after another.

As time passed, he gradually reclaimed his fearsome reputation as the Vile Rakshasa.

To hide the effects of his young age, Kyosuke made a habit of wearing that demon-face mask even when he returned to camp.

There was danger, of course. A few times, he was surrounded by the Three Clans.

If Uchiha Izumi hadn't been so powerful and protected him with her life as they escaped, the Rakshasa would have long since departed this world.

And so, a year flew by.

Kyosuke finally accumulated enough points.

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