Loyalty that isn't absolute is absolutely disloyal

Shiba Seika wasn't relying solely on his special constitution—he'd also picked up a bit of Medical Ninjutsu by now.

The four abilities the system had rewarded him with came from Minato Namikaze's squad: Obito's Genjutsu insights, Kakashi's White Fang Kenjutsu, Minato's Uzumaki constitution, and finally, the kidnapped Nohara Rin's contribution—the Konoha Medical Team's training manual. Thanks to Tsunade's aggressive push, Konoha's medical ninja training system was leagues ahead of the rest of the ninja world, let alone the backward Rain Ninja; even the other four great villages couldn't keep up with Konoha's pace. After just a few nights of studying in his dreams, Shiba Seika already felt he'd gained a lot.

Charging headlong into that Wind Release, he'd used Chakra to protect his vital points in advance, ensuring he'd be injured but not killed.

As for the rest, he left it to luck!

Looking at the outcome, his luck wasn't bad.

The surface cuts looked terrifying, but for a ninja's physique, they were just light wounds, far from fatal.

The Kusagakure ninja, on the other hand, had his throat slashed open the moment Seika closed in!

The Kusagakure ninja stumbled back, clutching his neck, his Chakra-coated palm futilely trying to seal the leaking windpipe. But it was no use—his fading consciousness reminded him that life was irreversibly slipping away.

"You!"

At death's door, the bitter Kusagakure ninja cursed Shiba Seika viciously.

"You Uzumaki are all a plague! Even badly wounded, you can't take everyone with you! I'll wait for you in the Pure Land!"

His resentment burned hot; even with his throat gaping, he spat bloody venom at Shiba Seika.

But Shiba Seika just smiled easily, unfazed, and pointed off into the distance. He cupped a hand to his ear, making a listening gesture, and said, "Quiet. Listen."

The next moment, the wind from that direction carried the sound from the mountain hollow—

"Shinra Tensei!"

Same old flavor, Shiba Seika thought. Too bad there was no "I need to carry a few floors of rice" chant for the nostalgia.

Then the ground shook!

The surrounding mountains cracked, and the rapid river upstream pushed massive boulders down like a flood, triggering a chain of roaring thunder!

Shiba Seika's carefully chosen terrain, combined with Nagato's full-force "Shinra Tensei," delivered an unexpected grand gift to the pursuing Kusagakure ninja!

At that moment, the Kusagakure Jonin kneeling before Seika, clutching his throat, was stunned by the commotion.

When Seika had turned the tables on him, his only remaining comfort was: I've stalled and badly wounded this terrifying Uzumaki orphan; the others in the village should be able to take the rest, right?

But he never expected Seika to treat him to such a despairing show so quickly!

With that kind of devastation, the teammates in the distance wouldn't just fail to catch the enemy—they'd probably lose their last chance to survive!

Only then did the Kusagakure ninja realize: tonight, only Kusagakure had fallen; the Rain Ninja in front of him would be fine.

"What... power was that? You—"

His face was turning purple from lack of oxygen, his voice fading.

But Shiba Seika didn't explain.

He was in a hurry, so he just made a final shushing gesture at the Kusagakure ninja.

"Shh. Too many questions. Don't pry into what you shouldn't know."

Then he drove a blade into the man's forehead and activated a jutsu.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Pull!"

This time, he was more cautious than usual—not only did he have no time to answer a dying man's questions, but he also double-tapped, destroying the brain completely.

He had to protect Nagato's Rinnegan secret.

After that, Shiba Seika rested for a bit, bit his own wrist to heal slightly, then leaped from the tree branch and headed toward Nagato.

By the time he arrived, the fight was over.

The Rinnegan was still domineering; even a young Nagato had easily used the terrain to wipe out the Kusagakure squad.

All that was left was cleaning up.

The honest Masuda Ikki came over and asked, "Captain Seika, do we need to dispose of all the bodies?"

Shiba Seika answered casually, "Yeah. Just destroy the brains to save time. No need to burn the rest if we can't manage. Ask Kenjiro if you're unsure."

Masuda Ikki looked at him with newfound respect. "So Kenjiro-san is really good at this?"

Shiba Seika was about to explain why Kenjiro was so skilled, but when he turned, he caught sight of the badly wounded Kenjiro standing nearby, staring at him with fear.

Excluding himself, who had self-healing and Medical Ninjutsu, Kenjiro was the most injured in tonight's operation.

It had nothing to do with Shiba Seika—pure coincidence.

But noticing the fear and a hint of hidden guilt in Kenjiro's eyes, Shiba Seika suddenly had a thought. He silently accepted the suspicion.

He deliberately told Masuda Ikki, "That's right. Kenjiro-san is very good at this. He used to help me with these cleanup chores all the time. If you don't know something, ask him—he's experienced."

Masuda Ikki was a straightforward man; his surprise slipped out. "Huh? I never thought Kenjiro-san was that kind of person. I always assumed he was on Yahiko-san's side, usually avoiding killing. I didn't expect him to be so skilled at disposing of bodies!"

At that moment, the wounded Kenjiro couldn't help but shudder, then coughed twice, stepped forward, and forcefully dragged Masuda Ikki away.

Shiba Seika didn't stop him. Instead, he shot Kenjiro a meaningful smile.

Today, although Shiba Seika had guessed Kenjiro's choice from the very beginning and even used his actions to earn Nagato's gratitude and trust, in the eyes of uninformed onlookers—and even in Kenjiro's own eyes—there was no doubt that he had betrayed Shiba Seika.

When assigning the reconnaissance mission, Shiba Seika had clearly instructed: don't tell Nagato about this for now. But as a subordinate, Kenjiro had disobeyed his captain's orders.

So even though Shiba Seika had long anticipated things would unfold this way, he still had no intention of letting go of this opportunity to knock Kenjiro down a peg. As luck would have it, fortune was on his side this time.

Among the team members left behind to delay the Grass Ninja, Masuda Ikki came out unscathed, while Kenjiro alone had suffered severe injuries in the earlier pursuit. Out of his long-standing reverence for Shiba Seika, a guilt-ridden Kenjiro immediately took this as a warning from his captain!

Shiba Seika, in turn, simply played along and accepted that interpretation.

Soon, after hastily disposing of all the Grass Ninja corpses, they quickly left and took a detour back. In the dead of night, when they returned safely to their hideout in the Land of Grass town, Kenjiro, before going to sleep, quietly came alone to Shiba Seika's room. The moment he entered, pale-faced, he bowed his head and said, "I'm sorry, Captain. It was me who told Lord Nagato about today's reconnaissance mission."

Shiba Seika sat leaning on the bed, a book in hand, his arm resting on his bent knee. He turned sideways and silently watched the other man, saying nothing for a long time. He knew why Kenjiro had come. But by now, he no longer needed to accept his apology.

"Kenjiro, you and I have been teaming up for a few months now. As your captain, I only want to give you one piece of advice."

Kenjiro lowered his head even further, his tone growing more humble. "Please, speak."

"Sometimes, if loyalty isn't absolute, then it's absolutely disloyal!"