Assassinating the Fourth Hokage

Land of Fire border, Frontline Hospital.

In a regular hospital room, a young ninja lay on the hospital bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

After the brutal First Shinobi World War, the war-torn Shinobi World had enjoyed nearly twenty years of peace. However, the stability among the Great Nations meant their influence continuously expanded, which in turn squeezed the survival space for the Small Nations that could only exist in the gaps.

By now, these Small Nations had reached a point where their only option for survival was to resist. Thus, marked by the three-pronged offensive launched by Hanzō, the leader of Amegakure in the Land of Rain, the Second Shinobi World War erupted.

Yuzuru struggled to recall the background of the Second Shinobi World War's outbreak. However, thinking more wouldn't improve his current predicament... About a month ago, the ninja whose original body was named Yuzuru was gravely wounded and near death on the battlefield. When he was finally rescued, the body had already been inhabited by a soul from Earth.

An ordinary young man from Earth had transmigrated to the Shinobi World and become a Konoha ninja.

Although his severely injured state was uncomfortable, this period of recuperation gave Yuzuru enough time to accept reality. After getting over his initial panic, he began to ponder how to survive.

His injuries were about to heal, meaning he couldn't stay in the hospital any longer and would have to return to the front lines.

The stark white tarp covered the somewhat rudimentary frontline hospital room. Yuzuru felt the approaching tranquility slipping away.

"Sixteen years old, Genin, from the Orphanage, a civilian..."

Yuzuru only needed to briefly summarize his own conditions to understand the role of ninjas like him on the battlefield... cannon fodder.

Escaping the battlefield was impossible; he lacked the ability, and deserters would be swiftly dealt with. If he wanted to increase his chances of survival, Yuzuru could only do one thing: strengthen himself as much as possible before heading to the battlefield.

But the Shinobi World was a world that valued bloodlines above all else. A ninja's strength was largely determined by their background. Ordinary ninjas already lacked avenues for growth, and the ceiling above them was more visible than the height of the hospital tent.

"Fortunately..."

Fortunately, Yuzuru had a path to becoming stronger. As a transmigrator, he had received a gift upon arriving in this world. He wasn't sure if it could be called a "System," but it had become the only lifeline he possessed.

Night fell, and the frontline hospital camp plunged into darkness. To prevent attacks, the camp was surrounded by trees for cover, protected by a Barrier, and enforced strict Blackout procedures at night.

When the surroundings were completely enveloped in darkness, Yuzuru slowly closed his eyes. As his consciousness sank deeper, a line of text slowly appeared in the void.

"Detected Host's mental state is in deep dive."

"Nine-Tails' Rampage Dungeon is loading..."

"Loading map..."

"Notification: Your dungeon mission: Kill or defeat the Mysterious Masked Man who caused the chaos, capture or seal the Nine-Tails."

"Completing the mission will yield immense rewards."

"Entering Nine-Tails' Rampage, please prepare, Host."

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1..."

Time seemed to stand still. For a moment, Yuzuru's thoughts felt disconnected. When he regained consciousness and opened his eyes again, he was no longer in the Frontline Hospital but in Konohagakure.

Yuzuru looked up. A dark red Blood Moon hung in the sky. As he looked straight ahead, a map of Konoha appeared before his eyes.

He was already quite familiar with this so-called "dungeon" environment, having entered it repeatedly. This was Konoha from over a decade later, during the "Nine-Tails' Rampage."

As for the "dungeon mission and rewards," he could only ignore them. He couldn't even defeat ordinary ninjas, let alone qualify to face the boss.

The next moment, with a massive roar, the ground trembled violently. Immediately after, a colossal, orange-red figure appeared in the village. It let out a savage roar, and the surrounding negative emotions were almost enough to destabilize one's mind.

"Nine-Tails..."

This was the Nine-Tails. Even though he had seen it several times, Yuzuru still found it unbelievable.

As the Tailed Beast appeared, the air dispersed a large amount of corrosive energy, and Yuzuru's skin even felt a slight burning sting.

The dungeon environment was incredibly realistic. The Nine-Tails could easily crush Yuzuru, but he didn't feel panicked... not because he was confident, but because he wasn't afraid of dying.

In fact, he had already died during previous dungeon entries, simply succumbing to an indiscriminate AOE attack from the Nine-Tails. However, the penalty for death was merely a forced exit from the dungeon and an extension of its cooldown period... a penalty that could be considered negligible.

By now, Yuzuru had basically figured out the benefits the dungeon could provide him. Simply put, it was just like a game dungeon... Killing ninjas here could grant some Experience, which would allow Yuzuru to level up and strengthen his abilities.

However, this enhancement had two limitations. First, although Yuzuru could enter the dungeon repeatedly, he could only gain Experience from a ninja once. Second, only the final blow would grant Experience.

Besides that, sometimes fallen ninjas would drop Ninjutsu, though the probability was very low.

Yuzuru watched the Konoha ninjas who became active due to the Nine-Tails' rampage. To him, they were all walking Experience points. However, with his current strength, he was nowhere near capable of attacking them... If his strength allowed him to cut through them like butter, he wouldn't need to be here.

Previously, when operating within the dungeon, Yuzuru could only sneakily land the finishing blows. That is, if he found a ninja heavily injured and near death from the Nine-Tails, he would quietly approach and deliver the final hit... commonly known as a "kill stealer."

It was foreseeable that such sneaky behavior would hardly bring him much substantial gain, and the efficiency of acquiring Experience was very low. But this time was different; he planned to do something big.

Yuzuru glanced at the Nine-Tails, then ignored it. He silently opened his status panel... Only within the dungeon did his abilities and strength manifest in a data-like format:

Name: Yuzuru

Level: Lv2

Ninjutsu: Lv2

Taijutsu: Lv3

Genjutsu: Lv0

Strength: Lv3

Speed: Lv3

Hand Seals: Lv5

Intelligence: Lv7

Chakra: Lv3

"Evaluation: 1. Your intelligence level is very normal, congratulations. 2. If you were evaluated as cannon fodder, you know, that's actually a compliment."

At Yuzuru's level, surviving the battlefield last time was purely due to luck. However, he couldn't always be so fortunate.

To gain the ability to protect himself, Yuzuru decided to take bold action. Disregarding the burning village, the panicked crowds, and the ninjas furiously engaging the Nine-Tails, he dashed directly in a certain direction... that was the direction the Nine-Tails last appeared, and also where the Fourth Hokage would re-seal the Nine-Tails not long after.

Before he could run far, a dazzling light erupted from the distance, making the night as bright as day. Rumbling sounds spread from there, even the air itself seemed to tremble... The Tailed Beast Ball the Fourth Hokage had transferred using the Flying Thunder God Technique exploded in the distance.

Yuzuru only glanced at it. He didn't stop because of it, but instead sprinted at his fastest speed to the predetermined location and began to wait quietly.

Facing the sudden attack of the Nine-Tails, Konoha's reaction was undoubtedly a beat slow. After the Nine-Tails wreaked havoc within the village for a while, it was violently driven out of the village's perimeter by the Third Hokage.

Yuzuru's location offered no clear view of the battlefield. After waiting patiently for some time, the Nine-Tails' figure abruptly appeared nearby. Its massive tail almost swept past Yuzuru's eyes... It was clear that the Fourth Hokage had already defeated the masked man and brought the Nine-Tails far away from Konoha.

A barrier then unfolded, confining the Nine-Tails' range of activity to this area. Based on Yuzuru's understanding of the plot, the Fourth Hokage would proceed to re-seal the Nine-Tails.

Yuzuru was inside the barrier. From now on, he had to be careful of the aftermath of the battle. If he were accidentally grazed by the Nine-Tails' attack, he would surely die.

"Don't see me, I'm just here to pick up scraps." He could only pray silently.

In reality, whether it was the Nine-Tails or the Fourth Hokage at this moment, even if they noticed him, they wouldn't have the time to bother with him.

Yuzuru was too close to the Nine-Tails. The stinging sensation from the violent Tailed Beast Chakra grew stronger. He could only mobilize his own frail Chakra, barely resisting the erosion of the Tailed Beast Chakra.

He waited until another massive wave of Chakra erupted within the barrier, and golden Chakra chains bound the Nine-Tails, before he felt somewhat better.

The sealing was about to begin, and Yuzuru could wait no longer. Risking being crushed to death by the Nine-Tails, he began to rush towards the center of the battlefield.

Halfway there, the Nine-Tails' figure abruptly vanished.

Yuzuru accelerated again, but by the time he rushed to the center of the battlefield, the Fourth Hokage and his wife seemed to have already completed their farewell to Naruto.

The Fourth Hokage and his wife were pierced through the chest by the Nine-Tails' claws. Yuzuru arrived nearby and realized he was still a step too late. Kushina Uzumaki had already lost her life, while the Fourth Hokage was on his last breath... Unfortunately, only one target remained for gaining Experience.

"Hokage-sama, hold on, I'm coming to save you!"

Yuzuru shouted loudly. The Fourth Hokage absolutely had to hold on, just a few more seconds would be enough.

What did Kushina Uzumaki look like? Not important. Did Yuzuru step on her when he rushed over? Also not important, she was dead anyway.

He slid into a slide in front of the Fourth Hokage and, looking at the man's unfocused eyes, said anxiously, "Hokage-sama, please do your best to hold on."

Then, Yuzuru took out his Ninja Tool Pouch and dumped the medicine bottles, bandages, Kunai, Shuriken, Caltrops, and other items inside into the Fourth Hokage's chest wound.

The pain from the wound made the Fourth Hokage's body twitch. Even his unfocused eyes seemed to gain some clarity. He glanced down, confirming that this young Konoha ninja was stuffing a pile of junk into his chest.

"You..."

Was this healing?

The Fourth Hokage really wanted to lift his eyelids to see who this kid in front of him was, but he was already on his last breath and couldn't hold on.

His final complaint remained unspoken as his consciousness plunged into endless darkness.

Yuzuru might have only dealt five points of damage to the Fourth Hokage, but it was precisely these five points of damage that emptied the opponent's health bar.

The next moment, a large wave of Experience points surged, and Yuzuru was bathed in a soft glow.

PS:

Newbie author setting off, sincerely requesting readers' collections, follow-ups, and monthly votes.