"Plan's off! They've found us! Now—attack, immediately!"
The instant Hiroki saved those words, his thoughts shot like a bolt of lightning into the deepest reaches of his system.
He no longer had time to see whether Kushina could follow his train of thought. He could only try to buy as much time as possible—and do everything he could to survive!
[Start] Menu -> [Settings] -> [Power Options].
The familiar window popped up, but this time his target was no longer [Power Saver / Low Performance Mode].
It was—
○ [High Performance Mode] (prioritizes performance but consumes more power)
High Performance Mode, activate!
Hiroki cried out with all his soul.
Boom—!!!
Almost instantly, Hiroki felt as if something had been unlocked!
He seemed to hear fans roaring! A gale howling!
No, it wasn't his imagination. It was his pores! Every pore on his body seemed to open in an instant, and Hiroki could even feel a bone-deep chill seeping into his body!
But at the same time, his body grew even hotter, instantly driving away the cold!
A forced command sped up his heartbeat, and his blood surged through his veins like boiling magma!
The chakra inside him was being frantically squeezed out of every cell by an invisible force, then funneled through his chakra pathways at an unprecedented speed!
His mind, too, had never felt so clear!
This was...
Full power!
Meanwhile, in the real world, killing intent flashed in the eyes of Cloud Ninja Captain Samora. He had already drawn his Kunai, and with a flicker of his body, he pounced like a leopard at the "unconscious" Hiroki!
That damned brat had done so much right under his nose!
No matter how well he'd hidden it, Samora had still noticed something was off!
So whether his suspicion was right or not, the kid was going to die!
"Die, brat!"
He grinned savagely and swung his Kunai down with all his might!
But just as the Kunai was about to pierce Hiroki, something unexpected happened!
The boy who should have been limp on the ground sprang up in a way that defied the laws of physics!
His chakra surged, and in the blink of an eye, shattered the ropes!
So he really had been pretending!
He'd even had enough strength to deal with the ropes on that red-haired brat at the same time?!
Samora's pupils contracted. He watched helplessly as his Kunai missed Hiroki's neck by a hair's breadth! The wind from its blade even left a red mark across Hiroki's neck!
But... it hadn't hit!?
How was that possible? He was an elite Jonin!
No, wait. Had the kid read his attack habits in advance? How?
Hold on, that move was—
Cloud Style Taijutsu!?
Since when had the Cloud Ninja's secret Taijutsu spread to Konoha?!
But before Samora could react—
The nine-year-old boy, Sawada Hiroki, had already broken free. At the very same moment, his hands blurred into a series of complex Hand Seals, too fast for the eye to follow!
His movements looked like those of a Cloud Ninja who'd practiced ninjutsu for over a decade, not a child from the Ninja Academy!
Tiger—Horse—Monkey—Rat—Rabbit—Dog...!
Wait! Those seals!
"Impossible!" Samora screamed in horror, desperately trying to retreat!
No one knew those seals better than he did!
Lightning Release: False Darkness!
This was Lightning Release: False Darkness!!!
Why could he use that jutsu!?
It was a secret Cloud Ninja Lightning Release technique! A B-rank jutsu! And Hiroki was just a kid from the Ninja Academy!
And those were the Hand Seals for the B-rank Lightning Release jutsu, False Darkness!
He'd dodged Samora's attack and completed the Hand Seals in less than a second!?
Shock made Samora forget where he was. By the time he came to his senses, it was too late! He had no time to use any ninjutsu—not even the Substitution Technique—to escape!
At this distance, he'd been far too careless! Facing a bound kid from the Ninja Academy, he hadn't been on guard in the slightest!
"Impossible!" Samora screamed in horror, desperately trying to retreat.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
"Dodge!!!!!!!" Samora roared, his voice tearing as he tried to twist aside.
But the next moment—
There was no earth-shaking boom, only a piercing shriek, as if the air itself were being ripped apart!
Three dazzling white lightning spears, condensed into solid form, shot from Sawada Hiroki's mouth! Their blinding light was so intense it seemed to darken the world around them! The terrifying Thunder Spears raced faster than sound, each aimed precisely at a target!
"Thwack!"
The first Thunder Spear pierced straight through Cloud Ninja Captain Samora, his face twisted as he desperately tried to dodge.
The second struck another Cloud Ninja, who had started up in surprise to see what was happening to his leader.
The third shot toward Sakuchi, who was farthest away, relieving himself outside the camp!
Sakuchi was a Chunin, after all. The moment his captain shouted a warning, he dropped and rolled, barely avoiding a fatal hit. But the Thunder Spear still grazed his shoulder, tearing away a huge chunk of flesh. The intense numbness instantly robbed him of all feeling in half his body.
One strike—one Jonin and one Chunin dead on the spot, and another Chunin gravely wounded!
The apocalyptic sight left Kushina utterly stunned. Her mouth hung open, and she even forgot to scream!
[Battery below 20%]
[Battery below 10%]
[Warning: Battery below 5%. Connect to a power source as soon as possible, or the system will shut down automatically.]
Outside, Sawada Hiroki swayed. His legs gave way, and he dropped to one knee, gasping for breath. His vision was already blurring, but he knew the fight wasn't over!
One Cloud Ninja was still alive!
The badly wounded Sakuchi stared at him as if he were a monster, his eyes full of terror as he struggled to retreat toward the cave entrance.
He couldn't let him escape!
Just then, a golden flash appeared at the cave entrance, like dawn tearing through the night!
A small hand gripped a Kunai. It rose and fell, killing the paralyzed Cloud Ninja in an instant.
Only then did the breathless Namikaze Minato have a chance to survey the battlefield.
Three enormous puncture wounds had instantly killed two Cloud Ninja. Their corpses still wore the gruesome expressions they'd died with!
Namikaze Minato stared in shock at the other two Cloud Ninja!
What had he just seen?
Had... Sawada done all this by himself?!
After receiving the image, Namikaze Minato had kept asking for information about the enemy, but no reply came. He'd realized almost immediately that something had gone wrong!
He'd rushed over without stopping, and halfway there, he'd sensed a sudden burst of Lightning Release chakra!
That had only confirmed his suspicion. But he'd thought the Cloud Ninja had released it. And now it turned out Sawada had done it!?
How had he managed that!?
But after doing all this, Sawada Hiroki saw Minato arrive and had just breathed a sigh of relief when the screen went dark.
[Battery low. Entering sleep mode...]
The next instant, Hiroki's vision went black. His body suddenly felt much heavier, and he pitched forward.
Faintly, he seemed to hear a woman's voice calling out in alarm, "...Hiroki!!"
But before he could answer, Sawada Hiroki lost consciousness completely.
Before you continue