What the Hell Kind of Self-Defense Was That?!

On the western shore of the lake, in the woods behind the cabin.

Du Hu sat sideways on a thick branch, watching the still surface of the lake with a slight frown. Li Tong had been underwater for quite a while, and Du Hu was starting to consider going to check on him. Just as he was about to move, ripples appeared on the lake, and Li Tong surfaced.

Du Hu couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. It was night, and although there was moonlight, it wasn't bright enough to see very far.

Li Tong gasped for breath in the middle of the lake. It took him a while to catch his breath, and he was still terribly weak because his chakra hadn't recovered.

Put simply, chakra was energy converted from physical and mental energy. Physical energy was the foundation, while mental energy was the force used to extract chakra. When a ninja trained to increase their chakra reserves, they were increasing their mental energy. Only with greater mental strength could they extract more chakra from each cell in their body.

What people called running out of chakra was actually the body nearing exhaustion. Mental energy could no longer convert physical energy into chakra. That was why Li Tong felt so tired and weak.

The wound on his shoulder was still bleeding, staining a patch of the lake red, but no one noticed. It was dark, and the reflection off the water made it hard to see.

"Damn you! You bastard!" Li Tong muttered a few curses and glanced at the wound on his shoulder. He was about to take out the Basic Healing Card he'd obtained earlier from his Item Space and use it to treat the injury. According to the rules, eating one of those cards should be enough to heal a wound like this.

But after thinking it over, Li Tong changed his mind.

He wasn't going to die!

He only had one Basic Healing Card, and it was for emergencies. He shouldn't use it unless he had to.

Li Tong leaned back, floating at an angle on the surface. His upper body was completely above water while his lower body remained submerged. He took deep breaths and gradually relaxed, drifting motionlessly on the lake like a corpse, as the saying went.

After resting for a moment, Li Tong rallied his strength, rolled over, and plunged underwater again.

He swam quickly toward the lakebed and soon reached Hyuga Anan's corpse. He collected the six cards floating above it without checking what they were, put them straight into his Item Space, then grabbed the corpse by the ankle and swam upward.

Near the surface, Li Tong had another thought. He reached out and felt around the corpse, finding a kunai beneath the clothing at its ribs. Gripping it in reverse, he repeatedly stabbed the body.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!...

Li Tong completely mangled the corpse's chest. More blood poured out, turning the water around it deep red. He lost track of how many times he stabbed, stopping only when there was no longer any sign of the Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets wounds.

He had to conceal the fact that he possessed the Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai!

It would definitely bring him trouble!

Besides, Shikotsumyaku was his trump card. He had to keep it hidden whenever possible, especially when in danger. That way, it could have a greater effect at a critical moment.

On the grassy shore.

Li Tong dragged the corpse slowly onto the bank and tossed it aside. With his hands on his hips, he shouted, "Someone, get over here!"

The Anbu Ninja were already moving. They had all seen Li Tong drag the corpse ashore!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Four figures appeared around Li Tong like ghosts. Du Hu stood facing him. When he noticed the wound on Li Tong's shoulder, his pupils contracted. Then he glanced at the corpse beside them, his expression changing again.

Hyuga Anan!

Du Hu knew him!

He was an assassin employed by the Hyuga Clan to handle special disputes. The Anbu had known for a long time that Hyuga Anan had assassinated several Konoha Ninja, but with no concrete evidence, they couldn't arrest him.

If it had been another clan, the Anbu would have arrested him already. But the Hyuga Clan wasn't one they could afford to provoke lightly.

He was dead!

And this kid had killed him?

Du Hu looked up sharply and fixed his gaze on Li Tong. "You killed him?"

"He tried to kill me. I was just defending myself," Li Tong said, waving the kunai in his hand.

Du Hu was already crouched beside the corpse, quickly inspecting it.

The wounds were all concentrated on the torso, which had been stabbed to pieces. Du Hu could tell that most of the punctures had been inflicted after the man had died. Brutal! This wasn't self-defense at all. It was mutilation!

What the hell kind of self-defense was that?!

Du Hu suddenly remembered that Li Tong had surfaced earlier to catch his breath. By estimating when the corpse had died, he could tell that Li Tong had already killed the man before coming up for air. But Li Tong had stayed calm. He hadn't shouted or called for help despite being injured. He'd rested on the surface for a while, then gone back underwater to drag up the corpse.

"How did you kill him?" Du Hu asked as he stood.

"He wasn't as good as me in the water. We struggled on the lakebed, and he swallowed some water, so he died," Li Tong lied. He didn't care whether Du Hu believed him. That wasn't the point.

Du Hu obviously didn't believe him!

Swallowed water?

An elite Chunin had drowned underwater? He couldn't even beat a Genin like you?

At that moment, Du Hu felt there was something wrong with Li Tong, but he couldn't put his finger on it. After all, there was no doubt that Li Tong was a Genin! A Genin with amnesia, at that.

"Go inform the captain. Have him come and handle this," Du Hu ordered, turning his head. The Hyuga Clan had sent someone to assassinate Li Tong, only for Li Tong to kill him instead. This was beyond Du Hu's authority to handle. The Anbu Captain, White Fang, had to come!

"Yes, sir!" The Anbu Ninja standing to Li Tong's left replied, formed Hand Seals, and vanished.

"Sir Du Hu, could you please check on me first? This..." Li Tong said helplessly, pointing at his shoulder. These Ninja assigned to protect him were completely useless. They were acting like they couldn't see the huge gash!

Du Hu didn't waste words. He formed Hand Seals!

He knew Medical Ninjutsu!

A faint green light appeared on his hand. Du Hu pressed his right palm against the wound on Li Tong's shoulder. A prickling, tingling sensation spread around it. Before long, Du Hu drew back his hand. The wound had closed, leaving only a faint scar.

That was Medical Ninjutsu. It could heal simple flesh wounds like this outright.

"Thank you, sir Du Hu!" Li Tong said, rolling his shoulder. It was completely healed, and he could move it freely.

Du Hu crouched beside the corpse again, seemingly trying to find something wrong with it. He truly couldn't understand how Li Tong had managed to kill Hyuga Anan!

"Sir Du Hu, can I go back?" Li Tong pointed toward the cabin's brightly lit windows, then hugged himself and shivered. "I'm cold!"

He wasn't wearing any clothes.

"Sure," Du Hu said with a nod.

Li Tong went over and picked up the clothes he'd left on the shore, then hurried back inside the cabin. He shut the door, tossed his wet clothes onto a chair, and rummaged through the new clothes he'd bought that afternoon until he found a robe to put on.

Standing by the window, he looked outside. Du Hu and the two other Anbu Ninja were still on the shore, examining Hyuga Anan's corpse.

It would take White Fang some time to arrive.

Li Tong thought it over, then drew the curtains and sat in the chair by the window. With a flick of his wrist, a stack of cards appeared in his hand. There were exactly six!

The rewards dropped for killing Hyuga Anan!

The first card was a very unusual color: black, with its back facing up.

Li Tong's pupils contracted. He had received a black card before, as a reward from the Awakening Gift Pack. It was from eating that card that he'd gained the Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai!

And this one...

Li Tong quickly turned the card over.

A line of text appeared at the top of its face: Kekkei Genkai—Byakugan!