I'll Report This to the Hokage!

Not far from the village entrance, many Konoha villagers watched Kaminazuki's back disappear into the dense forest and collectively let out a long breath.

"That guy... is finally gone!"

"Thank goodness! I felt uncomfortable every time he passed by."

"Exactly! He's just a useless trash with no chakra, yet he looks at us like he's better than everyone!"

"Heh, Uchiha Clan people really are arrogant. Even a piece of trash acts like this!"

"Thank the Hokage! That disaster has finally been driven out!!"

"Damn it... what are those bastards saying?!"

At the Uchiha Military Police Force, Fugaku had deliberately remained here. Furious, he was just about to go teach those foul-mouthed people a lesson.

"Calm down, Captain Fugaku."

Beside him, Hyuga Hiashi folded his hands into his sleeves and said blandly, "Konoha has no precedent for punishing people over words."

"If you act impulsively, it will be very detrimental to the Uchiha Clan's reputation."

Fugaku gritted his teeth. "I can't care about that. I just can't swallow this!"

He had just raised his foot—

"Hizashi, go beat up everyone who was spouting nonsense."

"Yes, Brother."

Whoosh—

Hizashi rushed out. Well versed in the Hyuga Gentle Fist, he was like a tiger among sheep against a crowd of ordinary villagers. Before long, he had knocked dozens of people to the ground.

Groans covered the ground.

"Hy... Hyuga... why..."

"We didn't offend the Hyuga Clan... how can you attack us so casually..."

"I'll... I'll report this to the Hokage Building!"

"You're only from the branch family—Aah!!"

The last person to speak had his hand viciously crushed beneath Hizashi's foot.

"Your position makes it inconvenient for you to act, but we can."

As Hiashi spoke, he slowly walked toward the crowd. "I am Hyuga Hiashi of the Hyuga main family. The person who beat you was acting on my orders."

"As for the reason..."

"I simply didn't like the look of you. Go ahead and report it if you want."

After saying that, he returned to the still-stunned Fugaku. "According to Article Six of the Konoha Military Police Security Regulations, Hizashi is not a ninja. This is merely ordinary provocation. At most, he'll be detained for seven days."

Hizashi walked over expressionlessly, holding out his hands to be arrested.

"Why? I heard Kaminazuki was at the academy..."

Hiashi smiled faintly. "I already told you why. I simply can't stand people gossiping behind someone's back."

"I hate Uchiha Kamizuki. Sooner or later, I'll defeat him fair and square and trample him beneath my feet!"

"Have you ever said that to Kaminazuki's face?"

A nearly imperceptible blush rose to Hiashi's cheeks. "That isn't important."

Fugaku smiled knowingly and placed a hand on Hizashi's shoulder. "The bonds between young people really are awkward... Don't worry, I'll take good care of Hizashi."

"Come on. Think of it as resting at the police department for a few days."

Hizashi looked back at Hiashi. He knew nothing would happen to him at the police department, but his brother would definitely receive harsh punishment from their father when he returned home.

"Brother... I'll go back with you."

Hiashi shook his head.

"I will prove that he was wrong."

Hizashi's memories returned to that day.

Under pressure from their clan, they had no choice but to seek out Kaminazuki. They wanted to challenge him and prove the strength of the Byakugan.

The clan head stubbornly believed that Kaminazuki's victory over Fugaku had merely been an act put on by the two of them.

Kaminazuki had not accepted. He had not even given Hiashi a proper glance.

As they passed each other, he had said...

"A piece of trash who can't even protect his own brother isn't qualified to challenge me."

--

--

Within the dense forests of the Land of Fire.

Kaminazuki held a flatbread in his mouth as he studied a map. Lulu lay sleeping atop the pack, while Hatake Sakumo hid in the shadows.

After two days together, he had gained some understanding of Kaminazuki's abilities. Unless an opponent beyond normal standards appeared, he planned to let Kaminazuki handle things himself. It would count as training.

The hand-drawn map Orochimaru had given him was extremely detailed. It marked many important locations in the Land of Fire, making it easier for Kaminazuki to seek help from the nearest outpost if he encountered danger.

In any other ninja village, this intelligence would be worth at least an A-rank mission.

Whoosh—

Suddenly,

The sound of a sharp blade tearing through the air rang out from the forest as a kunai flew toward Kaminazuki.

Kaminazuki tilted his head aside and dodged it without taking his eyes off the map.

"Heh, pretty lucky, aren't you, kid?"

A tall man with a scar across his face stood in the middle of the path. He wore a black overcoat stained with dark red blood, creating quite the intimidating sight.

Clang, clang—

The man tapped the ninja forehead protector on his head with a kunai and sneered. "Recognize this? A ninja forehead protector!"

"I'm a Grass Ninja deser—"

His voice abruptly stopped. A pebble entered through his mouth and burst out through the back of his skull, spraying red and white everywhere.

Kaminazuki walked past the man's corpse, took two casual bites of his flatbread, and continued studying the map.

He had discovered that if he did not constantly follow the map, he would quickly stray from his original route.

Do I have some kind of terrible sense of direction?

No, it wasn't his problem. Orochimaru's map was simply drawn too crudely.

"That guy died in an instant!"

"It's normal for an idiot to die. In times like these, a kid who dares travel alone with so many supplies obviously isn't some simple character."

"Heh, you can tell from how deeply his footprints sink that the large pack he's carrying weighs at least a ton!"

"He should be a ninja. Maybe he's the child of some Konoha ninja clan!"

"With that much strength, could he be from the Akimichi Clan?"

"Or perhaps he's one of those..."

Three voices whispered deep within the forest. At that point, one person said in a trembling voice, "Could he... be a Senju?!"

They were not ordinary rogue ninjas. They were members of the Hannya Group, an assassination organization that had existed since the Warring States Period.

When the five great ninja villages had first been established, they had only wanted the major ninja clans and renowned ninja. Only after stabilizing did they begin accepting commoners.

Some small ninja clans that had not been accepted by the five great ninja villages, or had been unwilling to join a ninja village, continued living under the old Warring States Period order.

The Hannya Group originated from the Hannya Clan of the Land of Woods. Back then, that entire region had belonged to the Senju of the Forest.

Thirty short years were not enough to erase their fear of the Senju.

After a moment of silence, the leader shook his head. "Probably not. The Senju of the Forest generally aren't bloodthirsty. Even when facing enemies, they give them a chance to surrender."

"Maybe this Senju is a special case. Should we—"

"Shut up and listen to me!"

"Right, right..."

"I could barely sense any chakra from him. We can't rule out the possibility that he's just some country bumpkin born with a bit of strength."

"If we decide he's a Senju based on that alone, then I could say he's handsome enough to be an Uchiha!"

The leader sneered, raised his kunai, and licked it. "We've followed him for two days. It isn't just the supplies—I also noticed that he's carrying more than ten thousand ryo!"

"The sword at his waist is quality merchandise too. It could sell for at least a hundred thousand ryo!"

"There's definitely risk, but the payoff is huge."

"Things outside are getting more chaotic by the day. Once we finish this job, we can return to the Land of Woods, rest awhile, and lie low."

"What do you say?"

The other two exchanged glances. After thinking for a moment, they nodded.

At dusk.

Seeing the sky grow dark, Kaminazuki set down his pack and prepared to pitch a tent.

Even while traveling, he needed to prioritize sleep quality. He had no intention of casually leaning against a tree stump and falling asleep.

Just as he untied the pack...

Boom!!

The ground beneath his feet suddenly split apart, and a mud-covered hand seized Kaminazuki by the ankle.

"Earth Release: Earth Spear Technique!"

At the same time, several earthen spears whistled toward him from the distance, their sharp tips piercing through the fading light of the setting sun.

It wasn't the Hiding in Earth Technique. There was no follow-up pulling force, and it wasn't the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique either.

The Earth Spears were crudely shaped, not Iwagakure's style. Rogue ninjas...

Kaminazuki considered it inwardly.

Iwagakure was naturally the most proficient in Earth Release. Orochimaru had demonstrated Iwagakure-style Earth Release to him before, and it was very different from what he saw now.

An experienced ninja could judge an opponent's origins from the power and form of the jutsu they used.

This feeling...

It was probably like seeing someone wearing suspenders and shrugging their shoulders, then immediately knowing what school they came from.

One beneath his feet, one twenty meters ahead, and another hiding in the shadow behind a tree trunk.

The corner of Kaminazuki's mouth rose. At last... he had encountered someone vaguely interesting.

He stuffed the black cat into the pack, tied it shut, and tossed it into the crown of a nearby tree.

Then—

Boom!!!!

His fist came down, and the earth split open!

The man hiding underground still wore the smile of someone whose scheme had succeeded when he met a pair of eyes looking down at him.

Cold, carrying a hint of savage amusement.

"Caught you..."

As the words fell, the hand gripping Kaminazuki's ankle was seized in return.

An irresistible force surged through him. He was ripped out of the ground like a radish pulled up by the roots, his arm letting out a dull, teeth-grinding crack.

His shoulder had dislocated, and it felt as though his bones had broken too.

His scream was swallowed by the howling wind as he was violently hurled toward the third man's hiding place.

Within the tree's shadow,

The leader's pupils contracted sharply. Before he even had time to curse, he leaped backward in panic, unwilling to receive his own companion's human projectile.

Boom!!!

Watching his subordinate smash apart the tree trunk he had been hiding behind, the leader's scalp went numb.

You've got to be kidding! That really is the Senju Clan's Strength Enhancement Jutsu!!

Could his luck really be this bad?!

Kaminazuki caught the incoming Earth Spear and threw it back at the caster.

So fast!!

There was almost no gap between seeing it and feeling the Earth Spear pierce his shoulder blade.

Before losing consciousness, disbelief remained frozen on his face.

Before the dust had settled, Kaminazuki passed through the sky full of shattered leaves, his figure rapidly growing larger in the leader's terrified eyes.

The man had just begun to form hand seals when a foot stomped onto his chest and pinned him to the ground.

Kaminazuki smiled faintly as his fist smashed toward the man's neck. "You hid well. Hide better in your next life."

Boom!!

Flesh and blood flew everywhere!