White Reaper

"I never imagined the secret to a Kekkei Genkai could be so simple." Orochimaru watched his disciple, who was currently controlling the Kusanagi Sword to trace various patterns in the air, and remarked, "Your Magnet Release looks quite different from that of the Third Kazekage."

"Even with the same Kekkei Genkai, it will never be exactly the same in the hands of different people. Rather than blindly imitating him by manipulating iron sand for large-scale attacks, it is better to find a way to integrate it into my own combat system."

Chiba Genichi explained, "Actually, it isn't as simple as it looks. At the very least, it requires a mastery of chakra nature transformation at the Jonin level, the ability to simultaneously control and fuse three attributes, and there are likely certain requirements for one's base chakra reserves as well."

"That is impressive enough. Compared to exploring the unknown, having a target to reference makes the difficulty much lower." Orochimaru handed over a scroll and said with a smile, "Heh, perhaps it is the fate of a teacher to be surpassed by their student? You are ready to graduate. This is a graduation gift I prepared for you. Do you like it?"

Chiba Genichi opened the scroll and saw: <strong>[Ryūchi Cave Contract Scroll]</strong>. "Thank you, Teacher Orochimaru."

"Don't be too hasty. This is merely the key; the true gift requires a trip to Ryūchi Cave. Let us discuss that after the war concludes," Orochimaru added, his tone meaningful.

Ever since Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade were defeated by Hanzo of the Salamander last year and earned the title of Sannin, Amegakure had lacked the momentum to continue, gradually withdrawing from the front lines, which caused the intensity of the war to subside.

Now, the ninjas of the Land of Fire, Land of Wind, and Land of Earth had tacitly abandoned the combat mode of using ninja legions to trade ninjutsu barrages. They primarily operated in small squads, tactically infiltrating various border zones to seek out weaknesses in enemy lines, whittling down their opponents to gain an advantage.

It was easy to join the battlefield—one only needed to say they wished to protect the village—but leaving was not so simple. Leaving the front lines without cause during wartime meant being branded a deserter or a rogue ninja.

Fortunately, Chiba Genichi knew that this Ninja World War was nearing its end. None of the three villages wanted to continue fighting; they were simply seizing the opportunity to extract as much profit as possible.

It was not that dangerous; he would treat it as a trial, a way to hone his new bloodline, integrate his combat system, and pad his resume along the way.

"With your strength, you are already capable of handling things on your own. I grant your squad the authority to act independently; you may do whatever you can to eliminate the enemy." Orochimaru issued the order in his capacity as a front-line commander. "Ninja abilities are strange and varied; you must remain vigilant at all times. I would not want my own disciple to become a cold corpse."

"I will not die. I keep my word—that is my Ninja Way!" Chiba Genichi responded confidently.

"Isn't your Ninja Way to unravel all the secrets of chakra?" Orochimaru recalled something his disciple had said during a casual conversation.

"Haha, today's 'keeping my word' is today's Ninja Way." Chiba Genichi had not expected Orochimaru to remember a flippant remark he had made.

Over the next six months, Chiba Genichi's squad relied on the Byakugan's insight to roam the edges of the battlefield, constantly hunting down enemies.

It had to be said that Magnet Release was truly insidious. While Mikoto and Hana's Sharingan and Byakugan could detect the invisible magnetic chakra, true sensory ninjas were actually quite rare. Most ninjas could not perceive Chiba Genichi's covert attacks at all.

The ninja profession was characterized by high offense and low defense. With the Byakugan ensuring they almost always held the initiative in skirmishes, Chiba Genichi would use Lightning Release to accelerate his body, combining it with the razor-sharp Kusanagi Sword and a double-tap of [Chidori Blade] to secure a kill on the first encounter.

If an opponent was powerful and reacted quickly enough to survive, the metal on their body would be magnetized by Chiba Genichi's magnetic chakra. A ninja carried far too much magnetizable metal: forehead protectors, wrist guards, belts, kunai, shuriken, and ninja blades.

The next step was to use Magnet Release to force a state of paralysis, followed by a single strike to a vital point.

During these engagements, Mikoto used genjutsu and Fire Release to divide the battlefield, and even if they were occasionally injured, Hana could provide timely healing.

This tactic was simple and efficient, reaping a bloody harvest across the battlefield.

However, they did not always encounter standard three- or four-man squads. Sometimes the enemies were numerous or possessed unique methods, and occasionally, a fish would slip through the net.

The battlefield environment was complex, and it was impossible to silence every enemy. To prevent intelligence leaks, Chiba Genichi decided to proactively mix false information into the truth.

Because the forced paralysis from Magnet Release looked very much like being caught in a genjutsu to outsiders, whenever someone managed to escape, Chiba Genichi would pretend to sigh helplessly:

"Those who cannot distinguish reality from illusion shall vanish along with their dreams."

"The moment you saw me, the battle was already over."

"Be grateful. Dying within the illusion I provide, you will feel no pain."

The magnetized metal would slowly return to its original state, and the corpses left behind by Chiba Genichi would only show fatal blade wounds. As time passed, other ninjas slowly accepted the title of Chiba Genichi, the Master of Genjutsu.

The Rock ninjas had even dispatched a genjutsu-specialist Jonin to deal with Chiba Genichi, but the misjudgment of intelligence proved fatal. Until the moment of his death, that Rock ninja never realized whether he had actually been caught in a genjutsu or not.

Coupled with the fact that Chiba Genichi wore a white kimono every time he appeared, death seemed to follow in his wake.

Gradually, the name spread across the battlefield—Konoha's "White Reaper."

At the beginning of the year 40 of the Konoha calendar, the Second Ninja World War had essentially ended.

He hadn't expected Dan Katō to die after all. Once, at the camp, Chiba Genichi saw Tsunade with the man who had light blue hair and a gentle expression, and he remembered that Dan Katō was supposed to die toward the end of the Second Ninja World War.

He couldn't recall the specific circumstances, so he could only offer a well-intentioned warning: "The Spirit Transformation Technique is indeed powerful, but your own body becomes a weakness. You must be sure to protect your physical form on the battlefield."

Seeing her lover die, Tsunade grew weary of the war and became deeply despondent, though because her younger brother was still alive, she did not fall into the despair that led to "hemophobia" as in the original story.

Jiraiya continued to wander the Land of Rain; perhaps in the future, he would encounter the trio of Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan.

Chiba Genichi's arrival seemed to have changed something, yet it also seemed as if nothing had changed at all.