White Reaper

"I never expected the secrets of Kekkei Genkai to be so simple." Orochimaru watched his student control the Kusanagi Sword, drawing all kinds of patterns in the air. "Your Magnet Release seems a little different from the Third Kazekage's."

"Even the same Kekkei Genkai won't be exactly alike in different hands. Rather than copying his style and controlling Iron Sand for large-scale attacks, I'd be better off adapting it to my current fighting style."

Genichi explained, "It's not quite as simple as it looks, though. You need at least jonin-level Chakra Nature Transformation to control three attributes at once and combine them. You probably also need a substantial amount of chakra."

"That's still quite impressive. Having a goal to work toward makes things much easier than exploring the unknown." Orochimaru handed him a scroll with a smile. "Heh heh. Maybe being surpassed by one's student is a teacher's fate? You're ready to graduate. I prepared this as your graduation gift. Do you like it?"

Genichi opened the scroll and saw the words [Ryūchi Cave Contract Scroll]. "Thank you, Orochimaru-sensei."

"Don't be in such a hurry. This is only the key. For the real gift, you'll have to visit Ryūchi Cave. We'll talk about that after the war." Orochimaru added meaningfully.

Ever since Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade had been defeated by Hanzo of the Salamander last year and earned the title of Sannin, Amegakure had gradually withdrawn from the battlefield, its strength waning. The fighting had eased along with it.

Now, the shinobi of the three nations of Fire, Wind, and Earth had all abandoned the tactic of having entire shinobi forces bombard one another with ninjutsu. Instead, they generally operated in squads, maneuvering tactically through border regions, searching for weaknesses in the enemy's defenses, and chipping away at them to gain an advantage.

Getting to the battlefield was easy. All he had to do was say he wanted to protect the village. Leaving, however, wasn't so simple. During wartime, anyone who left the front without a good reason was a deserter or a missing-nin.

Fortunately, Genichi knew this Shinobi World War was nearing its end. None of the three villages wanted to keep fighting; they were only taking advantage of the opportunity to secure a few more gains.

With the danger reduced, he could treat it as training: hone his new Kekkei Genkai, bring his fighting style together, and add a little to his record.

"With your strength, you're more than capable of operating independently. I'm granting your squad permission to act on its own. Do everything you can to eliminate the enemy." Orochimaru issued the order in his capacity as a front-line commander. "Shinobi have all kinds of abilities, so stay alert at all times. I don't want my student ending up as a cold corpse."

"I won't die. I'll do what I say—that's my ninja way!" Genichi replied confidently.

"Isn't your ninja way to uncover all the secrets of chakra?" Orochimaru recalled something his student had once said during a casual conversation.

"Haha, that's my ninja way for today. I'll do what I say today." Genichi hadn't expected Orochimaru to remember something he'd just said off the cuff.

Over the next six months, Genichi's squad relied on the Byakugan's perceptive ability to patrol the edges of the battlefield and hunt down enemy shinobi.

Magnet Release was truly insidious. You might think it wouldn't work against Genichi's squad, since Mikoto's Sharingan and Hana's Byakugan could both detect the invisible Magnet Release chakra. In reality, however, sensor-type shinobi were scarce, and most shinobi couldn't detect Genichi's hidden attacks.

Shinobi tended to have high attack power but low defense. With the Byakugan's visual advantage ensuring they usually struck first in an encounter, Genichi could accelerate with Lightning Release and move at high speed. Paired with the sharp Kusanagi Sword and the double strike of [Chidori Blade], he could usually kill his opponents before they knew what hit them.

If an opponent was strong and quick enough to survive by sheer luck, the metal on their body would still be magnetized by Genichi's Magnet Release chakra. A shinobi carried far too many metal objects that could be magnetized: a Forehead Protector, wrist guards, a belt, Kunai, Shuriken, and a Ninja Blade.

Next, Magnet Release would forcefully control them and leave them immobilized, allowing Genichi to land a strike on a vital spot.

Meanwhile, Mikoto used genjutsu and Fire Release to divide the battlefield. Even when someone was occasionally injured, Hana could treat them in time.

The strategy was simple and efficient, and it let them reap a steady harvest on the battlefield.

But their enemies weren't always standard squads of three or four. Sometimes there were more of them, or they had unusual abilities, and every so often one managed to escape.

The battlefield was too chaotic to kill every enemy. To keep their information from leaking, Genichi decided to mix false information into the real reports.

Since the instant Magnet Release immobilized someone looked a lot like the moment a victim froze under genjutsu, whenever someone seemed likely to escape, Genichi would pretend to sigh involuntarily:

"Those who can't tell reality from illusion will fade away with their dreams."

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

"Be grateful. You won't feel any pain as you die in the illusion I've given you."

Magnetized metal gradually returned to its original state, and all anyone could find on the bodies Genichi killed were fatal sword wounds. As time went by, the other shinobi slowly came to accept Chiba Genichi's reputation as a master of genjutsu.

The Rock Ninja sent a genjutsu jonin specifically to deal with Chiba Genichi. Unfortunately, a mistaken understanding of the intelligence was fatal. The Rock Ninja never figured out whether he'd been caught in genjutsu before he died.

On top of that, Genichi always appeared in a white kimono, and death followed him like a shadow.

Gradually, Chiba Genichi's name began to circulate across the battlefield: Konoha's "White Reaper."

Early in Konoha Year 40, the Second Shinobi World War was essentially over.

Dan Katō still died, after all. Once, at the camp, Genichi saw Tsunade with a gentle-looking man who had long, pale blue hair. He remembered that Dan Katō had apparently died near the end of the Second Shinobi World War.

He couldn't remember the details, so he could only offer a well-intentioned reminder: "The Spirit Transformation Technique is powerful, but it leaves your body vulnerable. Be sure to protect your real body on the battlefield."

After watching her lover die, Tsunade gradually grew sick of war and sank into deep depression. But because her younger brother was still alive, she didn't fall into despair and develop "hemophobia" like she had in the original story.

Jiraiya still chose to wander the Land of Rain. Perhaps one day, he would meet Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan.

Genichi's arrival seemed to have changed something, yet also seemed to have changed nothing.