Heavy Mountain Blade

The last time Li Tong used a Spirit Enhancement Card, his total chakra volume surged and doubled; this time, he consumed two Spirit Enhancement Cards simultaneously, and his chakra surged again, doubling once more!

Converted, each Spirit Enhancement Card provided Li Tong with the base chakra volume of a Genin. Since Li Tong was already a Genin and possessed one unit of base Genin chakra, having now consumed a total of three Spirit Enhancement Cards, his current chakra volume was four times that of an ordinary Genin!

With four times the chakra of a Genin, can I compare to an average Chunin? Li Tong wondered to himself.

This was difficult to gauge, as chakra volume was not the sole standard for a ninja's strength. For instance, the original protagonist Naruto Uzumaki possessed a chakra volume comparable to a Tailed Beast from birth, yet he still had to train step by step and was even labeled a dead-last during his time at the Ninja Academy.

Furthermore, ninjutsu-specialized ninjas and taijutsu-specialized ninjas differed in their chakra levels; at the same rank, the former usually possessed more, though there were exceptions!

Take Tsunade, for example!

Tsunade was a medical ninja and a taijutsu specialist, yet her chakra volume completely crushed those of the same rank.

However, having said that, if one really had to compare, it wasn't entirely impossible.

Take the Uchiha Clan as an example; the chakra volumes of Uchiha Clan ninjas were very standardized, with no cases of high-ranking ninjas having low chakra or low-ranking ninjas having high chakra.

"It should be comparable to a Chunin, perhaps even a bit higher," Li Tong finally muttered to himself, immediately turning his attention to the other cards as he thought, Sprite, explain the cards I just obtained.

"Ding! Answering the host's question: The Basic Mana Recovery Card restores a portion of the host's chakra upon use and can be stacked consecutively."

"The Specialty Weapon Random Card grants the host a weapon-type ninja tool with special attributes upon use."

"The Double Drop Rate Card allows the host to lock onto any malicious target for twenty-four hours; killing this target within those twenty-four hours will result in double the card drop rate."

"The Reputation Shop Lock Card allows the host to lock any purchase item in the Reputation Shop for one month."

"The Reputation Shop Refresh Card refreshes the Reputation Shop immediately upon use."

"Double drop rate!" Li Tong's eyes gleamed. It was actually a card that increased drop rates! If he had used this card when he killed Uesugi Kama, even if he didn't get anything else, he should have at least received four Spirit Enhancement Cards!

I must choose a target that is strong enough but one I can actually kill before using this card! I can't waste it!

Li Tong solemnly put away the Double Drop Rate Card and looked at the Specialty Weapon Random Card, hesitating for a moment before asking internally, "Do I eat the weapon card too?"

"Yes!" the Card Emperor Sprite replied.

Snap!

Li Tong bit down on the weapon enhancement card, and golden light erupted, drilling into his mouth before escaping through his skin to form golden motes of light. Like flowing water, they surged across Li Tong's shoulder, circled his right arm, and finally settled on his right hand.

The golden motes gathered and condensed, then rapidly expanded, morphing into the shape of a blade.

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining a specialty weapon--Heavy Mountain Blade!"

A blade appeared in Li Tong's hand. It was a katana with a grey-blue blade that was slightly wider than a standard katana, featuring a longer hilt. The blade looked quite plain. Li Tong lifted it to weigh it; it wasn't heavy, and with his current strength, he could wield it with ease.

"Heavy Mountain Blade?" Li Tong asked internally, "What exactly does 'specialty weapon' mean?" Li Tong couldn't see anything particularly special about the sword.

"Specialty weapons refer to ninja tools with unique attributes. For example, the chakra short sword held by Hatake Sakumo, the Gunbai of the Uchiha Clan, the Kusanagi Sword of Orochimaru, and the seven special ninja swords held by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist are all specialty weapons."

"Oh?" Li Tong's spirits lifted, and he hurriedly asked, "Then what is the specialty of this Heavy Mountain Blade?"

"The 'Heavy Mountain' attribute: when the host uses this weapon for a slashing attack, the impact force generated will be double the host's actual striking power!"

Li Tong was stunned, blinking as he realized what the Card Emperor Sprite meant. The specialty of this blade was actually an amplification of striking force!

For example, if Li Tong used a regular ninja sword and delivered a strike with five hundred kilograms of force.

Then, using the Heavy Mountain Blade, the impact force would double, resulting in a strike of one thousand kilograms!

A terrifying amplification!

Doubling the impact force wasn't as simple as one plus one equals two; for every bit of strength gained, one could exert more pressure, and a doubling meant complete suppression!

"A divine blade!" Li Tong held the sword horizontally, his other hand gently stroking the blade as if touching a priceless treasure. He suddenly thought of another question, "Is the enhancement of this blade unlimited? For example, if I become a Kage-level ninja in the future and can strike with ten thousand kilograms of force, will this blade allow me to strike with twenty thousand?"

"Theoretically, yes. However, I must remind the host that the Heavy Mountain Blade does not possess an indestructible attribute. Although its material is extraordinary, it has a load-bearing limit. Force is reciprocal; once the force exerted by the host exceeds the limit of the Heavy Mountain Blade, the blade may be destroyed."

"Understood!" Li Tong snapped his fingers, still feeling excited.

The possibility of destruction didn't matter; all weapons could be destroyed—for instance, White Fang's chakra short sword was destroyed in the original story.

As long as the Heavy Mountain attribute was unlimited, then for Li Tong at his current stage, this blade would significantly boost his combat power!

On the grassy bank of the lake, three Anbu ninjas were still surrounding the corpse of Uesugi Kama, conducting a detailed examination.

"Four hundred and sixty-six stabs."

"There's another one here; although it overlaps slightly, the way the flesh is rolled back indicates another diagonal thrust."

"Four hundred and sixty-seven stabs? This brat is truly ruthless. Does he have a psychological disorder? Mutilating a corpse like this isn't something a normal person would do."

"It's normal for a brat from Amegakure to be a bit twisted," Chen He shook his head and sighed. Even though he said that, he still felt Li Tong was a bit too twisted. He hadn't seen a lack of corpse mutilation, but this was the first time he had encountered someone with the patience to stab a body over four hundred times.

"I wonder if that brat is injured; his clothes look all tattered," Uta looked up toward the direction of the bathhouse.

"Probably not," Chen He shook his head. "His clothes are tattered likely from scraping against something during the underwater struggle. At most, he has some abrasions. The bloodstains should belong to this assassin. Based on that brat's personality, if he were truly injured, he would have been shouting for us to treat him long ago."

"That's true!" Uta nodded. After a pause, he added, "If that's the case, then this assassin's strength was at most Chunin-level; otherwise, that brat couldn't have killed him without sustaining any injuries!"

"Pretty much," Chen He agreed with a nod. After repeated consideration, his conclusion was also that this was a Chunin.

Because if it were a Genin, given Li Tong's current strength, it would be impossible for him to end up in such a sorry state while killing a Genin. But if it were a Jonin, Li Tong would be the one dead, so Chunin was the most fitting assessment!

Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! ...

Figures appeared out of thin air by the lakeside one after another. In a mere two breaths, six or seven Anbu ninjas had all manifested, led by none other than Anbu Captain Hatake Sakumo!

"What is the situation?" White Fang glanced at the mangled corpse, his brows furrowing deeply.

"Captain, just now..." Chen He immediately stood up and reported to White Fang in a low voice.

As Chen He spoke, White Fang swept his gaze over the corpse. When his eyes landed on the face of the body, his pupils constricted violently!

"Li Tong killed him underwater and dragged him up... We counted... four hundred and sixty-seven cuts... Captain! Captain, what is wrong?" As Chen He spoke, he noticed that White Fang's state was not right.

He followed White Fang's gaze and saw that White Fang was staring at the corpse's face, his heart jolting.

Does the Captain know him?

"You..." White Fang suddenly spoke, but his voice was slow, as if he hadn't fully recovered his senses, "It was Li Tong... who killed him?!"

"Yes!" Chen He replied.

"Impossible... that shouldn't be... how could it be?" White Fang slowly shook his head, seemingly shocked by something.

Chen He's expression changed, his eyes flashing repeatedly. He thought of the two hundred thousand ryo in banknotes they had found earlier, thought of his own previous deductions, and combined with White Fang's reaction, Chen He blurted out: "Does the Captain know him? Is he a black market assassin?"

"I know him! His real name is Uesugi Kama. He was originally a ninja from Kirigakure, but he betrayed the village five years ago! After operating alone for a time, he began taking missions on the black market. He is an experienced black market assassin!"

"He is a Jonin?!!" Chen He exclaimed in disbelief.

Silence!

The Anbu ninjas by the lake were all a bit dazed. They looked at each other, seeing the incomprehension and shock in each other's eyes. They knew Li Tong's strength; how could he have survived an assassination attempt by a black market Jonin? And to have killed him in return?

White Fang, however, shook his head.

"No! He is not a Jonin! He is an Elite Jonin!"