Bringing It to a Close

Shinichi's speed was no slower, either.

At the exact moment Maruboshi Kosuke formed his hand seals and struck, Shinichi's entire body became a black gale skimming over the ground. Closely following the surging torrent of water, he shot toward the enemies ahead, who had been scattered by the impact.

On their hurried journey earlier, the two had already discussed several emergency tactics. The extremely swift hand gesture Shinichi had just made meant to clear the field.

Maruboshi Kosuke did not understand why Shinichi had made such a judgment the moment they met, but out of trust in this outstanding junior, he did not hesitate to choose the Water Release Ninjutsu with the widest area of effect in his arsenal—Great Waterfall Technique!

Pfft! Pfft!

The muffled sounds of blades plunging into flesh rang out one after another. Shinichi was the first to catch up with two cultists who had been swept off their feet by the water and had yet to fully rise.

His movements were simple and ruthless. The samurai sword in his hand pierced one man's heart with precision. With a twist of his wrist, he pulled it free and, following through, stabbed into the other's chest at almost the same angle.

Yet the two cultists whose hearts had been pierced merely stiffened slightly, as though they could feel neither the pain nor the weakness brought by such fatal wounds.

With a roar, they lunged at Shinichi!

Shinichi's brows furrowed slightly, and a trace of cold understanding flashed through his eyes.

He retreated half a step. At the same time, his wrist flicked, and the samurai sword in his hand transformed into a frigid arc of light.

Slash!

Two heads flew through the air. The headless bodies staggered two steps before finally collapsing to the ground with a thud, never moving again.

By then, Maruboshi Kosuke had already swept to his side like a specter. Shinichi quickly said, "Senior, these people's bodies are strange. Their vital points seem to differ from ordinary people. Try to sever their heads, or completely destroy their bodily structure and render them unable to move."

When he saw the blood-red symbol of a circle enclosing a triangle, the alarm bells had already begun ringing in Shinichi's mind. He had connected it to the Jashin Cult to which the future Hidan belonged. Its followers might possess a similar, though weakened, form of unconventional vitality.

Unable to explain it directly, he had used this tactic of striking first and engaging at close quarters to verify it in the most direct way while passing the crucial information to his experienced companion.

Now it seemed that these cultists indeed possessed an ability that allowed them to evade some fatal injuries, but decapitation was still effective.

The true exception among them was probably Hidan, who later possessed an actual "immortal body." Hidan must have been the Saint Son they spoke of!

Maruboshi Kosuke's gaze sharpened, and he answered in a low voice, "All right! I understand."

The battle ended quickly, almost abruptly.

These black-robed cultists had completely misjudged their opponents' strength. First, they had been struck head-on by Maruboshi Kosuke's devastating Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique, which covered an enormous area and threw their formation into chaos.

Then, the Divine Grace constitution they relied on, which allowed them to ignore some fatal injuries, lost its effectiveness against the two men who had been prepared and were deliberately targeting their vital points.

Most of the cultists had not even had time to regroup before they were harvested one by one beneath the rushing water and precise, lethal attacks.

The strongest among them, Elder Takahashi, was roughly at the level of a Special Jonin. Unfortunately, his opponent was Maruboshi Kosuke, the eternal Genin.

A mere Special Jonin was naturally no match for the eternal Genin.

Especially not an eternal Genin of Konoha.

After noticing the astonishing power of his opponent's Water Release, he intended to use Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet for an elemental counter, hoping to turn the tide.

However, Maruboshi Kosuke's Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet, inherited from the Second Hokage, instantly tore his earth dragon to pieces. The water dragon's remaining force then struck him heavily and crushed him.

The Water Dragon Bullet seemed to have the effect of absorbing Chakra as well. After being hit, Elder Takahashi was not only gravely wounded but quickly grew weak, completely losing the ability to resist.

"You, you...!" Kurokawa Yasumasa sat limply in the mud, his trembling finger pointing at the two men approaching step by step. Not a trace of the City Lord's dignity remained on his face; only boundless terror and disbelief.

He still wanted to say something, perhaps a threat or perhaps a plea for mercy.

But Shinichi gave him no chance to continue. The boy's gaze was calm and unruffled. In a flash, he appeared behind him and struck the side of his neck with a clean, decisive hand chop.

Kurokawa Yasumasa's eyes rolled back, and his words abruptly ceased. He crumpled to the ground, and Shinichi casually took out a rope and bound him securely.

"I've sent word of the situation here through a Ninja Hawk to the nearest Konoha intelligence outpost. They will report the news to the village's Third Hokage through telephone and fax as quickly as possible," Maruboshi Kosuke said evenly as he walked over.

"We need to wait here for the Third Hokage's further instructions... The follow-up arrangements will probably be rather troublesome. Still, I didn't expect the City Lord to come here personally. That saves us quite a bit of work later."

He glanced at the unconscious Kurokawa Yasumasa, a faint smile appearing on his face.

No one knew what sort of communication and negotiations had taken place between the village and the official government of the Land of Fire. In any case, a day later, the messenger Ninja Hawk returned with clear instructions from Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The order was concise and clear: the two were to proceed immediately to Nakimi Castle, hand the captured former City Lord Kurokawa Yasumasa over to the city's Security Office for temporary confinement, await further arrangements, and complete the necessary handover with the temporary new City Lord, who would arrive three days later.

Afterward, they were to escort the captured Elder Takahashi and immediately return to Konohagakure.

Three days later, amid the formal and courteous farewell from the new City Lord, as well as the heartfelt, ceaseless thanks of the people whose children had been recovered, the two set out on the road back to Konoha.

The road stretched beneath their feet, gradually leaving the small border city behind.

After walking some distance, Shinichi suddenly stopped. He turned around and silently gazed at Nakimi Castle in the distance, which had shrunk into a hazy outline.

The morning light traced his calm profile. Not the slightest ripple could be seen on it. Only his eyes, reflecting the distant horizon, remained deep and unreadable.

Seeing this, Maruboshi Kosuke sighed softly and walked to his side. He raised a hand and placed it on the boy's shoulder. "Shinichi, you've already done very well. Don't dwell on it."

Maruboshi Kosuke knew what the boy was thinking. Later, by separately interrogating Elder Takahashi and Kurokawa Yasumasa, they had found the secret location where the imprisoned children were held and rescued some of them in time.

However, the other children had already been secretly transferred before they arrived in Nakimachi and sent into the Land of Hot Water—to the headquarters of that so-called Holy Divine Church.

The matter now involved a foreign country. From here on, Konoha and the official government of the Land of Fire would have to engage in complicated diplomatic negotiations with the Land of Hot Water.

"I understand, Senior. I'm fine." Shinichi shook his head, a calm smile appearing on his face.

He looked once more toward the distant horizon in the direction of the Land of Hot Water, gazed at it deeply, then withdrew his eyes and said no more.

But Maruboshi Kosuke knew that beneath the seemingly calm exterior of the boy beside him, he had already made some unknown resolve.

At that moment, Maruboshi Kosuke understood even more clearly why Third Hokage had called this child the "successor to the Will of Fire."

Exceptional talent, meticulous thinking, decisiveness, and so on were all secondary. What truly mattered was that beneath the gentle exterior of the boy before him,

there beat a pure heart filled with a powerful sense of responsibility and profound empathy!