"Anbu? Konoha's Anbu?"
"Why would the Anbu be here?"
The two Kirigakure Rogue Ninja's hearts lurched. Even Konoha's weakest Anbu was not someone two insignificant Chunin like them could handle.
What was more, among the Five Great Nations, Konoha's Anbu were the most elite.
The two instinctively glanced back at the bandaged man. Fortunately, they had a Jonin on their side as well.
They just did not know how strong this Anbu was...
"You two deal with those brats. I'll handle him." At that moment, the bandaged man spoke.
The two Chunin immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
The Anbu and the bandaged man moved at the same time, vanishing into the depths of the forest in an instant.
The two had moved the battlefield away, clearly unwilling to involve the others in the woods.
"Hehe, the troublesome one is gone. Now let's slaughter to our hearts' content!" the fat Chunin said with a cruel grin.
"That's exactly what I was about to say!" Tōka's bearing shifted as he shouted.
"Kurenai, Gai, move!"
As soon as he spoke, Tōka charged out first.
His target was the middle-aged ninja.
"Hell Viewing Technique!" Kurenai darted into a hidden position and formed hand seals.
At the same time, Gai leaped high into the air and brought down a heavy kick, driving straight at the fat Chunin.
The five of them immediately clashed in a chaotic battle!
After receiving the signal, the other Anbu in the Valley immediately converged on this location.
Of the twenty Anbu, aside from Yamanaka Tomohito, who remained beside Furuya Daisuke to handle communications, nineteen remained.
The Elite Class, meanwhile, had only fifty-one students, forming seventeen teams.
In other words, two of the nineteen Anbu had been assigned to provide support at any time, precisely to deal with situations like this.
Whoosh, whoosh!!
Two black shadows raced through the Valley toward Tōka and the others.
They only needed three minutes!
In three minutes, the Anbu would arrive, and these Rogue Ninja would all be killed.
But that was not the outcome Tōka wanted. It was one thing for the Anbu to deal with the Jonin.
After all, he had only trained for half a year. Fighting a Jonin was still far too much for him.
But the two Kirigakure Chunin before him had lost the sea as their backing, so their combat strength would undoubtedly be reduced considerably.
Tōka hoped to defeat his opponent alone!
A battle beyond his limits—had begun!
Bang!
Tōka closed in and kicked the middle-aged ninja in the arm.
The middle-aged ninja suddenly lifted his arm and flung Tōka away.
"Blocked?"
Tōka was not discouraged. If his opponent could be dealt with so easily, why would he have needed to hide so cautiously in Konoha?
Taking advantage of the middle-aged ninja's raised arm, Tōka leaped backward and widened the distance.
"Huh? The brat has decent combat instincts." A flicker of surprise passed through the middle-aged ninja's eyes.
He had intended to use the force to drive Tōka back, then finish the fight while his opponent was in midair and unable to adjust his position.
Unexpectedly, Tōka had directly given up the air and landed to retreat at once.
"Thanks for the compliment. My classmates are all stronger than me, though!"
Tōka's subtle psychological tactic made the middle-aged ninja lose focus for a moment.
They had only "accidentally" discovered that Konoha intended to use this group of bandits as the Ninja Academy Elite Class's graduation exam.
The Kirigakure squad had originally planned to harass the supply line escorts.
But when this opportunity arose, they suddenly changed their plans and chose to lie in wait.
If Konoha's brats were all at this level...
"Hehe, you lost focus!" Tōka gripped his only Kunai and flashed behind the middle-aged ninja.
His hand rose, then slashed down fiercely.
Pfft!!
The sharp Kunai scattered a trace of blood through the air.
The blood fell like a tragically beautiful flower.
"What a pity..." Tōka shook the Kunai in his hand and narrowed his eyes at the middle-aged ninja.
It was not hard to tell from the man's age that he was definitely an elite ninja who had survived the Second Shinobi World War.
Though only a Chunin, he had exceptionally rich combat experience.
"You damned brat, you actually hurt me!" The middle-aged ninja stuck out his tongue and licked the corner of his mouth. The Kunai had cut across his face.
A savage scar ran from the upper left to the lower right, crossing his entire face.
Like a blood-red centipede, it looked vicious and terrifying.
Even when he lost focus, my sneak attack failed. Do I still have to use the power of the All-Killing Ash Bones? Tōka thought secretly.
If it had not been a Kunai that struck the middle-aged ninja, but a piece of ash bone—
He would have already crumbled to dust.
The battle did not stop just because the two had paused.
Kurenai's genjutsu, combined with Gai's attacks, had completely suppressed the fat Chunin.
From the corner of his eye, Tōka saw Gai kick the fat Chunin in the stomach, sending his bloated body flying backward through the air.
"Looks like I need to hurry too." Tōka decided to test him with taijutsu for now. If he could not win quickly, he would use the All-Killing Ash Bones.
The time limit was three minutes!
Here I go!
Whoosh!
Tōka raised his hand and threw his only Kunai like a Shuriken.
Then his body sank, and his bent legs shot him forward like springs.
Whoosh!!
Tōka raced through the forest at nearly the same speed as the Kunai.
Clang!!
The middle-aged ninja knocked the Kunai aside, but Tōka smoothly caught the rebounding Kunai.
At the same time, he slashed viciously at the middle-aged ninja.
"So fast!" The middle-aged ninja's expression changed as his hands flashed through a series of seals.
"Water Release..."
"Water Wall!"
Crash!!
A massive torrent burst violently from the middle-aged ninja's mouth, forming a wave-like wall of water.
Tōka's Kunai struck it, raising only a faint ripple.
"Now it's my turn!"
Swish, swish, swish!!
The middle-aged ninja changed his hand seals and shouted.
"Water Release: Water Arrow Technique."
The Water Wall instantly bulged outward, as though sharp arrows were about to shoot from within.
Tōka's heart skipped a beat. This was the true strength of a Chunin!
So strong!
For him right now, the gap was simply too great!
Pfft, pfft, pfft!!
"Tōka!!" Kurenai, who was supporting Gai nearby, cried out in alarm.
She had intended to use genjutsu to restrain the fat Chunin and cooperate with Gai to defeat him as quickly as possible.
Then the three of them could join forces against the middle-aged ninja.
Yet she had not expected to see Tōka narrowly grazed by three water arrows.
His arm, thigh, and waist each bore a wound.
They were not fatal, but the sight of him drenched in blood was terrifying.
The Kunai Tōka had been clutching had also fallen during his earlier block.
"Yah!~" Taking advantage of the fat Chunin turning his head, Gai leaped up and kicked him squarely in his bloated face.
Thud!
The fat Chunin clutched his nose and rolled across the ground, letting out a miserable scream.
Seeing that Gai had gained an absolute advantage, Kurenai freed up her hands and prepared to support Tōka with genjutsu.
At that moment, Tōka endured the pain and stood back up.
Having been a shut-in for twenty years, when had Tōka ever suffered such a "serious" injury?
At most, he had bitten his tongue before. He could count the times he had bled on one hand.
"Pah, it really hurts!" Tōka spat, his small face slightly pale.
No matter how much it hurt, he had to endure it. This was not a game, but the real Ninja World!
Getting hurt meant bleeding. Getting hurt meant pain. Getting hurt meant death!
"Kurenai, this is my battle!" Tōka said without turning around.
Hearing that, Kurenai's hand seals paused.
She looked at Tōka in confusion. Why was a six-year-old brat trying so hard to act tough?
"Heh, you're quite the bloody little brat." A trace of approval flashed in the middle-aged ninja's eyes, only to be engulfed by thick, icy killing intent.
A suffocating aura spread through the air.
Tōka held his breath, while the middle-aged ninja began to take the fight seriously.
He treated Tōka completely as an opponent of equal standing.
"Die, you stinking brat!!" the middle-aged ninja roared as chakra gathered in his legs and he charged forward.
At a distance of ten steps, the middle-aged ninja abruptly accelerated.
With a whoosh, he turned into a blur and closed in.
Tōka leaped back with difficulty and threw a Kunai from his hand at the same time.
The coldly gleaming Kunai flew straight at the middle-aged ninja's face.
"Hmph, such a cheap trick. That attack is completely useless!" The middle-aged ninja tilted his head and easily dodged the Kunai.
Then he swept out his arm, shaping his hand into a blade. A chakra wind blade mercilessly cleaved down at Tōka.
Pfft!!
Without any suspense, Tōka's body was cut in two.
"No blood? An afterimage?? A Clone Technique?!" The middle-aged man was shocked and furious. He had never expected Tōka to still have the strength to resist.
Had the Water Arrow Technique not seriously wounded this brat just now?
"You lost focus again. That won't do!~" Tōka's voice drifted coldly into the middle-aged man's ears.
What followed was a piece of ash bone the size of a little finger.
Rot away with the bone!
Thud!
The instant Tōka saw the ash bone pierce its target, his vision went dark and he collapsed to the ground!
Before losing consciousness, he saw Gai and Kurenai running toward him with anxious expressions.
He also saw two Anbu wearing animal masks.
Tch, the Anbu really came at just the right time!
Whoosh, whoosh!!
The two Anbu swiftly gave the dying fat Chunin a finishing blow, then appeared beside Tōka.
One Anbu extended a hand, green light swirling around his palm.
"Don't worry. He only fainted from excessive blood loss." Seeing Kurenai's worried expression, as though she wanted to speak but hesitated, the Anbu said calmly.
Tōka was only a six-year-old child. Though his physical condition was good, he had only trained for half a year.
More importantly, he had not inherited a physique as tenacious as the Uzumaki clan's.
With three fairly deep wounds, fainting from excessive blood loss was perfectly normal.
"But Tōka is really amazing! That Chunin only has a pile of scraps left!" Gai said innocently.
Kurenai merely glared at him and did not respond.
The two Anbu, meanwhile, quietly communicated in secret.
Kurenai knew, yet did not know. She knew the two Anbu were communicating, but she did not know what they were saying.
One day later, Konoha Hospital.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, appeared in a hospital room.
He held a report in his hand, filled with detailed records of the Elite Class examination.
Among them was an encrypted file...
"Just like last time, then—a secret technique capable of instantly making enemies collapse."
The Third Hokage narrowed his eyes as he looked at Tōka on the hospital bed.
Gradually, the Third Hokage's gaze grew unfocused, and he began staring blankly into space.
The entire morning passed with one man standing silently and the other sleeping silently.
Suddenly!
The Third Hokage, whose thoughts had wandered far away, came back to himself and smiled faintly at the figure on the bed.
"Since you're awake, stop pretending to sleep."
"Hehe, hello, Lord Hokage!"
Tōka showed no embarrassment at being exposed and openly opened his eyes.
In truth, he had woken up long ago. He had merely noticed the Third Hokage was here and pretended to be asleep.
Tōka had not been idle while pretending to sleep. He had been refining chakra.
It had to be said that this battle had not been without its benefits.
Tōka felt his chakra had surged considerably. He had even more chakra than a genin.
After all, he was only a little over six years old. Having chakra beyond that of a genin was already quite impressive.
"You don't seem surprised at all, Tōka."
The Third Hokage continued to smile kindly. No one knew what was brewing beneath those smiling eyes.
Tōka remained silent. He knew the Third Hokage had come because of the All-Killing Ash Bones.
However, the All-Killing Ash Bones was a Kekkei Mōra that belonged solely to Kaguya Otsutsuki.
Now, there was one more person: Ōtsutsuki Tōka.
Even if others learned of it, they would be unable to cultivate it.
"Tōka, what is your dream?" Seeing that Tōka was not speaking, the Third Hokage shifted his gaze toward the window.
Hadn't they discussed this before?
Tōka narrowed his eyes, considering the Third Hokage's intentions.
Although he possessed an adult's mind, he still could not see through the old fox's thoughts.
Was this a test? Or an attempt at deeper conversation?
"To become stronger!" Tōka's answer was still those two words.
"To become stronger... You really haven't changed." The Third Hokage remembered Tōka's answer.
For a moment, the room fell silent.
Yet the atmosphere was especially calm and peaceful.
Tōka expressionlessly watched the Third Hokage's profile. This old man had come here to space out for an entire morning just to say that?
Didn't the Hokage have countless things to do, busy enough to die every day?
Why did it feel like the Third Hokage spent every day with nothing to do?
"Tōka, would you like to join the Anbu?" the Third Hokage suddenly asked.
Holy shit! The words instinctively sprang into Tōka's mind.
With his level, joining the Anbu?
That was far too much credit for him!
The next moment, Tōka immediately understood the Third Hokage's intentions. The destructive power displayed by the All-Killing Ash Bones was simply too terrifying.
As long as it hit, death was certain.
In other words, even a Kage-level powerhouse could possibly suffer a fatal misstep before Tōka.
Though the odds were less than one percent, it was easy to imagine just how terrifying Tōka would become once he grew stronger.
"Protection in disguise, and surveillance in disguise." Tōka completely understood what the Third Hokage meant.
The Third Hokage stared intently at Tōka. Anticipation, fondness, appreciation, and even infatuation flickered through his eyes...
Hey, hey, hey, Third Hokage, I'm straight!
Could you stop looking at me like that? Tōka cried inwardly.
"If possible, I'd like to go to the battlefield first." Tōka neither refused nor agreed. His background had already determined everything.
"The battlefield?" The Third Hokage's brow twitched, and hesitation flashed through his eyes.
Tōka's ability was extremely strange. He could be used entirely as a trump card.
If he went to the battlefield...
That place was a meat grinder!
Not to mention a newly graduated genin—even jonin could not necessarily guarantee their own survival.
In the end, the Third Hokage still agreed to Tōka's request.
"Very well. Go train on the battlefield for a while. We'll put the Anbu matter on record for now."
"Everything will be arranged according to Lord Hokage's wishes." Tōka nodded. He could not give the Third Hokage no face at all.
"Oh, right, this is for you." The Third Hokage, who had been about to leave, suddenly turned around and tossed something over.
Tōka caught it reflexively and took a closer look.
A Ninja Headband?
Had he truly become a ninja...? (To be continued)
Before you continue