Assassination! Assassination Again!

Ximu examined the corpse repeatedly. Since there were no items to prove the identity, he could only judge it by the skin tone, the texture of the clothing, the calluses on the hands, and the old scars on the body.

Not every Anbu ninja possessed this ability, but in the Konoha Anbu, every squad was required to have at least one person capable of such analysis.

Li Tong steadied his mind and looked back at the corpse.

The B-rank Ninjutsu Random Card was inside his Item Space, but Li Tong could not take it out in public. Although others could not see the cards, if he moved around and performed strange actions, he would certainly attract attention.

--

Name: Boli

Identity: Ninja of the Amegakure Assassination and Scout Tactical Squad.

Reputation: 16 points.

Relationship: Hostile.

--

This was the information on the Amegakure assassin. With 16 reputation points, according to the reputation evaluation rules, he should be a Chunin!

Boli's body had not been burning for long. His face was completely disfigured by the explosion, and although there were burns on his body, the skin surface was not entirely charred.

Ximu had been checking for a long time and had yet to stand up.

Both ends of the street were crowded with people. A fifty-meter stretch of road was empty, and Li Tong and the others stood in the middle. The discussions about Li Tong had not stopped since he appeared; instead, they were growing more intense.

Whoosh!

A figure appeared abruptly to Li Tong's right, wrapped in a black cloak and wearing a mask. His stature was imposing, and his aura was unique and profound.

"Captain!" Chen He said respectfully in a hurry.

The arriving Anbu captain was Hatake Sakumo! The White Fang!

"What is the situation?" the White Fang asked indifferently, glancing at Li Tong.

"It is like this, Captain. Just a moment ago, this person walked past him, bumped into his shoulder, and then..." Chen He spoke extremely quickly, briefly recounting the situation, "Then... he took out an explosive tag... he claimed this man stuffed it into his pocket..."

"Oh?" A flash of light appeared in the White Fang's eyes, and he scanned Li Tong with a look of suspicion.

Throwing an explosive tag back empty-handed and instantly killing the opponent was a difficult feat. Even a Jonin would not throw an explosive tag with their bare hands; that was not how they were used. The orthodox technique for a ninja to use an explosive tag for long-range attacks was to connect the tag to a kunai with chakra thread and throw the kunai to carry the tag toward the enemy.

An explosive tag was paper, and paper was soft; it was impossible to throw it very far.

Ten meters ahead, Ximu finally stood up, hurried back, and reported respectfully to the White Fang: "Captain, upon investigation, this person has calluses on both hands. There are traces of repeated impact training on his elbows and knees, and over forty old injuries, more than ten of which are from ninjutsu. The leather of his boots was not produced in the Land of Fire, while his outer garment was purchased in Konoha... Given his slow reaction in failing to dodge the explosive tag coming from behind, it is inferred that he is an assassination ninja who underwent brutal training. His strength should not exceed the Chunin level."

"Mm." The White Fang nodded, then flashed his body and appeared directly beside the corpse, crouching down to take a look as well.

Li Tong's mind stirred, and he stepped forward.

Chen He did not stop him.

With the White Fang here, Chen He was not worried that Li Tong would cause trouble.

Li Tong walked to the White Fang's side, right in front of the corpse. He raised his hand quite casually, as if stretching his shoulder because it was uncomfortable, and then flipped his wrist and lowered his hand... In reality, Li Tong had grabbed the three cards that were floating above the corpse—visible only to him—and tucked them into his Item Space.

The White Fang stood up quickly and glanced at Li Tong. "You may go!"

"Uh... is there nothing left for me to do?" Li Tong was taken aback.

"Nothing," the White Fang said.

"Then I'm leaving!" Li Tong turned and walked away.

Chen He looked back at Li Tong's departing figure, then leaned closer to the White Fang and lowered his voice: "Captain..."

"He is an Amegakure suicide operative. We only spread the news this morning, and they launched an assassination by noon. This means he must have already been inside Konoha. There should be more than just him," the White Fang said in a low voice. "I will report this matter to the Hokage. Keep a close eye on this kid."

******

Facing many different gazes, Li Tong pushed through the crowd and quickly left the busy street. He turned into an alley, and before the Anbu ninja monitoring him could catch up, he quickly took out four cards from his Item Space.

These were the B-rank Ninjutsu Random Card obtained for completing a cross-rank kill, and the three cards dropped by the Amegakure assassin.

Li Tong quickly consumed the B-rank Ninjutsu Random Card.

"Ding! Host has randomly obtained the B-rank Ninjutsu: Lightning Style: False Darkness!"

"False Darkness?" Li Tong's eyes flashed with excitement. In the original work, this jutsu had demonstrated immense power. Although it was only a B-rank ninjutsu, it possessed high offensive capabilities and could be used for both close-range and long-range attacks.

The user in the original work was Kakuzu of the Akatsuki organization. He had used this jutsu to attack Hatake Kakashi, and Kakashi had to use the S-rank ninjutsu Lightning Blade with both hands to neutralize it.

It was not that the S-rank ninjutsu was inferior to the B-rank one, but rather that the two jutsus had different characteristics. Using a close-combat jutsu to resist a long-range attack was inherently disadvantageous, but this also indirectly proved the power of False Darkness.

Generally, without considering genius factors, only Jonin could master B-rank ninjutsu. Because Li Tong used a card, he had mastered this jutsu instantly, but... he was not sure if his chakra was sufficient.

There were still three cards left!

C-rank Taijutsu Card: Taijutsu: Dual Blade Double Strike.

D-rank Ninjutsu Card: Water Style: Hidden Mist Technique!

Basic Healing Card!

Because time was tight, Li Tong did not look too closely. He first consumed the C-rank Taijutsu Card and the D-rank Ninjutsu Card, then held the Basic Healing Card and asked in his heart: "What is this for? How do I use it?"

"Healing Card: After the host uses it, it can restore the body from negative states, including but not limited to physical trauma, sealing damage, curse damage, and poison damage... The method of use is to consume it after being injured."

"Understood." Li Tong nodded immediately and tucked the Basic Healing Card into his Item Space.

"What are the rules for cards dropped by killed hostile targets? For example, how can I make the opponent drop an A-rank Ninjutsu card?"

"All abilities mastered by the killed hostile target are within the drop range, with a probability-based drop rate. If the opponent masters an A-rank Ninjutsu, killing them gives a certain probability of dropping an A-rank Ninjutsu card!"

Continuing forward along the alley, Li Tong communicated with the sprite in his mind. As he passed the cross-junction in the alley, suddenly! A terrifying sense of crisis enveloped Li Tong, and his entire body turned cold.

Swish!

A piercing sound of something breaking through the air arrived in an instant, reaching Li Tong's side.

At this moment, Li Tong instinctively twisted his body, leaned back slightly, and tilted his head. When he saw what was striking at him, he reached out his hand... A pitch-black kunai was caught in Li Tong's grip. The powerful inertia forced Li Tong's hand to jerk backward, and he couldn't help but take a step back.

But he had still caught the high-velocity kunai in his hand!

The instinctive turn to dodge relied on the muscle memory of this body, while being able to catch the kunai relied on the abilities from Li Tong's past life. Although he had only ever caught playing cards in his previous life—and with nowhere near this much force—the Li Tong of this life possessed physical strength far exceeding his previous one.

On the right side of the alley junction, a man draped in a black robe stood in the dim shadows, staring at Li Tong with astonishment in his eyes.

He actually caught it!

He had received orders from above today to kill this brat. He had intended to observe first, but he hadn't expected such a rare, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to arise, so he had struck. He had assumed a single kunai would be enough to finish off this brat, but he hadn't expected... this brat actually had the skill to catch a kunai with his bare hands.

Five or six meters away, Li Tong frowned as he looked at him.

Li Tong's left eye had extraordinary vision, so he could see that the eyes beneath the man's oversized hood were completely white, with wrinkles surrounding them.

--

Name: Hyuga Anan

Identity: Ninja of the Internal Affairs Force of the Hyuga Clan, Konohagakure, Land of Fire.

Reputation: 987 points.

Relationship: Hostile.

--

"The Hyuga Clan, they came so quickly. Konoha is supposed to be protecting me, yet they actually dared to send someone to kill me." Li Tong's thoughts raced. "His reputation is nearly 3,000 points; is his strength close to a Jonin, or an Elite Chunin?"

Li Tong's entire body tensed up; he wasn't sure if he was a match for this guy.

The two stared at each other.

Hyuga Anan, in the shadows, suddenly turned his head to glance to the side, then looked back at Li Tong, revealing a playful, ferocious grin. He raised his hand and made a throat-slitting gesture, his threat and killing intent completely undisguised!

Watching Li Tong, Hyuga Anan took a few steps back, raised his hands to perform a rapid series of hand seals, and vanished from the spot.

Looking at the position where Hyuga Anan had disappeared, while feeling the pressure, Li Tong's mind stirred, and he asked: "Sprite, if... I'm just saying if, I kill an Elite Chunin of the Hyuga Clan, is it possible for them to drop a Byakugan Kekkei Genkai card?"

"It is possible!" the Card Emperor Sprite replied affirmatively.