The Bearing of a High Ninja

At twenty-two, Tsuruta Ritsu had risen to High Ninja and made a name for himself as a prodigy in Sunagakure.

He was a staunch supporter of Rasa, charging into battle for him time and again until he had firmly earned the title of prodigy.

He had mastered Wind Release Ninjutsu to a phenomenal degree.

Rasa had always advocated waging war against Konoha. Resources were the lifeblood of a ninja village, and given the Land of Wind's geography, staying put was nothing short of a slow death.

Tsuruta Ritsu wholeheartedly agreed. Why should Konoha get to occupy the most fertile land and resources?

Were they Sand Ninja born to guard the desert, chewing dirt and living on wind?

Damn this doctrine of birthright!

Since the war broke out, Tsuruta Ritsu had taken part in numerous attacks on Konoha.

Konoha's ninjas were nothing special. People used to claim that Konoha was brimming with geniuses, but looking back, it was nothing more than a rumor spread by ignorant men and women.

To be honest, he had always harbored an instinctive hatred for Konoha's ninjas.

They didn't have to do a thing, yet they got to enjoy the best environment and a complete education...

Why?

Just because they were lucky enough to be born in Konoha?

Now, he was here.

Tsuruta Ritsu would follow Lord Rasa and put an end to this injustice.

He wondered whether Konoha was really as wonderful as people said, with milk flowing even through its rivers.

He had already begun imagining the wonderful life he would lead after conquering Konoha.

The three of them raced through the forest, leaving a vast stretch of trees behind.

Tsuruta Ritsu was growing impatient.

Suddenly!

Several kunai and shuriken shot toward them.

One of his teammates had accidentally triggered a trap.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

Tsuruta Ritsu truly had the talent of a High Ninja. Just before the attack struck, he used Wind Release Ninjutsu to blow away all the hidden weapons.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of explosions rang out, followed immediately by an attack from Konoha's ninjas.

As he watched a young man and woman leap down from the trees, a mocking smile crept across his lips.

Was Konoha out of ninjas?

Just as he was about to strike, he heard something tear through the air above him.

His heart leaped.

No good!

How had the enemy fooled his senses?

There was no answer. His opponent came crashing down with enough force to cleave a mountain.

The Body Flicker Technique activated.

Relying on his Wind Body Flicker mastery, Tsuruta Ritsu dodged the despicable attacker's ambush.

He began forming Hand Seals, looking toward his opponent as he retreated.

So fast!

A short blade flashed across his vision. The Wind Release Chakra coating its edge was as deadly as a venomous fang.

Clang!

Tsuruta Ritsu abandoned his ninjutsu and drew a kunai to block the short blade.

Only then did he get a good look at his attacker.

His pupils shrank. He was far too young!

A surge of jealousy rose in his heart for no apparent reason.

Kill him.

The force transmitted through his kunai made it easy to judge that the boy was only at the Elite Chunin level.

He was fast, and his movements were somewhat strange, but taking him down wouldn't be difficult.

He formed Hand Seals with one hand, a technique honed through countless battles.

Tsuruta Ritsu was confident the Konoha boy wouldn't withstand his attack.

Ninja battles were often decided in an instant.

As soon as the attack began, Ayako Hyuuga and Shinju Ishikawa engaged one of the enemy Chunin.

After only two exchanges, the pair were completely suppressed. Things were going far worse than they had expected.

And that wasn't all. The other enemy reacted quickly, pulling out a Puppet and joining the fight in a flash.

The Puppet looked like a battered wooden doll, but the steel spikes in place of its limbs gleamed with a chilling light.

The wooden doll moved.

It was small and incredibly fast.

Shinju Ishikawa had just dodged his opponent's kunai when the wooden doll appeared before him.

The steel spike reeked of something foul as it jabbed toward his right eye.

Mo Jingxian's surprise attack missed, but he pursued the enemy like a cannonball.

He hadn't forgotten his mission. He only needed to hold this High Ninja off for a moment.

The Nara Clan's ninjas were famous for their intelligence. He was sure the captain could easily take care of the remaining two enemies.

Within the range of the Mist of Vitality,

the opponent's slightest movements couldn't escape Mo Jingxian's senses.

Tsuruta Ritsu thought he could fool Mo Jingxian by forming Hand Seals with one hand, but he didn't know that his movements stood out like a beacon in the night.

Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique!

Mo Jingxian's short blade slashed across the enemy's throat.

Bang!

Tsuruta Ritsu's body exploded instantly, sending countless Wind Blades in every direction.

Wind Blade Explosive Substitution Technique.

It was Tsuruta Ritsu's trump card, a secret technique he had successfully activated the instant he was attacked.

The moment an enemy's blade entered his body, it would trigger an explosion.

It was this signature technique that had earned him the name Wind Ghost. His High Ninja strength was beyond question.

Judging by this technique alone, he had truly earned his reputation as a prodigy.

The technique's activation was somewhat similar to the Water Dragon Technique.

The Wind Blades made no distinction between friend and foe, blanketing all four people in a dense storm.

It's over! Shinju Ishikawa thought.

A Puppet was ambushing him from the front, the enemy's kunai had already flown past him, and a dense swarm of Wind Blades was shooting toward him from behind.

There was no way out.

Shinju Ishikawa couldn't think of any way to escape this predicament.

All his dreams would end in the next moment.

At some point, a beautiful figure had appeared in front of him, her long black hair whipping wildly in the howling wind.

The world seemed to stop. Something deep inside him was violently stirred.

Rotation!

Chakra shot out of the girl's body through her tenketsu. As she spun, it formed an absolute defensive barrier.

Clang, clang, thud, thud, thud...

After a jumble of sounds, every attack was deflected.

Including the Wind Release technique that had come out of nowhere.

The center of the battlefield became a true slaughterhouse.

The two enemies were left mangled, blood gushing from their bodies like fountains. Two black shadows stretched from their feet, coming from behind a tree.

That was Nara Lutai's handiwork.

His timing had been impeccable. He had used the enemy's own ninjutsu to kill their teammates.

It was a perfect demonstration of how, on the battlefield, brains could sometimes matter more than ninjutsu.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The consecutive impacts drew the girl's attention.

She turned to look, and the scene that followed was one she would never forget.

The enemy's technique had truly taken Mo Jingxian by surprise.

Just as the Wind Blades reached him, he released the Water Dragon Technique from within his body.

Like the Adamantine Sealing Chains, eight Water Dragons extended from his back.

Four shielded his body, while the other four lunged at Tsuruta Ritsu like dragons bursting from the sea.

Within the range of the Mist of Vitality, even an enemy who used the Substitution Technique couldn't escape the Water Dragons' pursuit.

The technique was far faster than a person.

And the opponent's shadow was still connected to his feet.

Before Tsuruta Ritsu could react, four Water Dragons wrapped around his limbs and dragged him back by force.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Mo Jingxian gave him a thorough beating, cursing as he went:

"Fuck, you scared the hell out of me."

After venting for a while, he finally got it out of his system.

Everyone in the Ninja World was a schemer. Anyone who survived a major war was no ordinary person.

But Mo Jingxian had forgotten that his appearance was even more shocking than the enemy's.

With eight Water Dragons growing from his back and suspending an enemy in the air as he pummeled him, he had captured an enemy High Ninja while only a Chunin himself.

He looked far more like a monster.

One Rotation had nearly drained Ayako Hyuuga of all her Chakra.

But she still stood there, weak and dazed, staring at the scene before her. At last, she understood what Mo Jingxian meant by Nintaijutsu.

Shinju Ishikawa needed no explanation. The technique was already far beyond his understanding.

Nara Lutai came over to Mo Jingxian, his eyes shining as he studied the unfamiliar ninjutsu.

"If I'm not mistaken, your technique can seal people too, right?"

"More or less. The sealing effect still needs some work."

Captain Lutai clicked his tongue in amazement.

"Remarkable. Young people these days are incredible."

To be honest, he hadn't understood how the technique worked. Curiosity gnawed at him.

After watching it for a long while, he could only give up in disappointment.

If Mo Jingxian had known what he was thinking, he would have laughed out loud.

The Water Dragon Technique was developed from the water element. Its underlying principles were entirely different. There was no way Lutai could understand it.

That said, the Water Dragon Technique was looking less and less like ninjutsu.

Although Nara Lutai couldn't figure out the Water Dragon Technique, Mo Jingxian had noticed something about his Shadow Possession Technique.

I can look into it when I get back.

[Reputation from Tsuruta Ritsu +95]

95 points?

Why not 100? When he'd only slashed Karura once, she had given him 100 reputation points.

But now, after all that fighting, he'd been shorted five. Mo Jingxian was thoroughly displeased.

He narrowed his eyes and stared at the defeated enemy with ill intent.

At that moment, Tsuruta Ritsu was even more frustrated than he was. He hadn't had the chance to use any of his Wind Release Ninjutsu before somehow ending up captured.

Anyone would have been rattled.

He was furious!

He glared at the boy before him, wishing he could tear him apart and eat him.

Smack!

A slap across the face.

"Still staring? What, you got a problem? Keep looking and I'll gouge your eyes out."

Nara Shikaku's mouth twitched twice. He swallowed the words he had been about to say.

Ninjas who had spent years fighting for their lives were all a little twisted. Plenty of them were even more extreme than Mo Jingxian.

It was good for the boy to let off some steam.

Shinju Ishikawa opened his mouth, then finally turned away and pretended he hadn't seen anything.

Only Ayako Hyuuga thought Mo Jingxian's behavior was perfectly acceptable. The strong were simply entitled to act that way.

Tsuruta Ritsu grew even angrier. A samurai could be killed but never humiliated. He was a High Ninja, after all, and a ninja with a name.

He raised his head, eyes blazing with fury.

"You'd better kill me. Otherwise... hmph!"

Half of Mo Jingxian's attention remained on the panel, but the reputation points still hadn't gone up.

Oh, so he thinks I won't do it!

Smack!

"Are you talking or not?"

"Smack!"

"Are you going to talk or not?"

"Smack, smack, smack..."

[Reputation from Tsuruta Ritsu +96]

[Reputation from Tsuruta Ritsu +97]

Only after his reputation points reached 100 did Mo Jingxian shake out his numb, aching wrist and stop beating him.

"Tell me, are you a masochist or what? You don't feel right unless someone beats you?"

By now, Tsuruta Ritsu looked like a pig's head. Both cheeks were swollen high, like he was holding two round candies in his mouth.

Blood streamed from his nostrils, and his eyes had swollen into narrow slits.

"Say what? What am I supposed to say? You have to ask me something first!"

"How am I supposed to know what you want to say? Just say whatever you want!"

Tsuruta Ritsu: "..."

Nara Shikuta finally couldn't watch any longer. He came over and patted Mo Jingxian on the shoulder.

"That's enough. Take him back and hand him over to the Interrogation Department. I guarantee he'll spill everything."

"Mm. Of course I have to show the captain some respect. I'll do as you say."

[Reputation from Ayako Hyuuga +20]

The sudden reputation points were completely unexpected—a nice little bonus.

This time, Ayako Hyuuga didn't look away. She bravely met Mo Jingxian's gaze.