Carving a Bloody Path, Fighting for the Future

"Tianlin, you must stay close to me!"

Kimimaro, holding bone blades in both hands, gave Jun Tianlin one final warning before his expression tightened, and he charged headlong into the crowd ahead.

That's right, Kimimaro didn't choose a path with fewer people; instead, he charged without hesitation into the most chaotic, densely packed area of the fray.

Because only in chaos could there be a sliver of a chance to survive!

Watching Kimimaro forge ahead, Jun Tianlin felt as if he were seeing that agile figure from the original story—briefly seen, yet brimming with imposing power.

In this moment, even his once-timid heart was infected by Kimimaro's heroic stance. All feelings of fear and cowardice vanished into thin air, and a warm current of what could only be called courage began to surge within his chest.

So this is how it feels? Since when did my cowardly, timid heart find the strength to be brave?

The next second, Jun Tianlin smiled slightly. A smile he had never shown before bloomed on his delicate face. With a thought, two bone blades shimmering with a cold, lethal hue appeared in his hands.

"Big brother, we will definitely survive!"

Glancing at Kimimaro, who was pulling away, Jun Tianlin laughed freely and took long strides to catch up.

Unfortunately, ideals are plump, but reality is skeletal.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

Just as Jun Tianlin caught up to Kimimaro and the two plunged into the crowd, a murderous voice slowed their pace. A massive fireball, carrying scorching heat and waves of pressure, came rushing toward them.

"Hmph, a mere Great Fireball. Watch me cut you down."

Between life and death, stopping meant certain doom. Though young, Kimimaro understood this truth. Facing the incoming giant fireball, he didn't dodge; instead, he raised his right bone blade and slashed straight through it.

Crack. Accompanied by the sound of shattering bone, the massive fireball was split in two by Kimimaro and dissipated. At the same time, Kimimaro controlled the broken bone fragments, sending them flying toward the front left without a second thought.

The speed and power were such that the tiny bone shards whistled as they tore through the air.

Without any surprise, the Anbu operative who had unleashed the Great Fireball was pierced directly through the head, blood spraying wildly.

Until the moment of his death, the Kirigakure Anbu's eyes were filled with shock and disbelief. Clearly, he had spotted the two children in the crowd and thought he had found easy prey.

He had expected a single Great Fireball to finish off the two brats, never imagining he would encounter a legendary user of the Shikotsumyaku. His arrogance, magnified infinitely, led directly to his demise at Kimimaro's hands.

"Keep charging! No matter what we encounter, we cannot stop!"

Perhaps it was the Kaguya Clan's innate bloodlust. After swiftly disposing of his opponent, Kimimaro's expression remained unchanged, his tone growing cold as if he hadn't just killed a man, but an ant.

Following behind Kimimaro, Jun Tianlin didn't find this problematic at all. After all, since transmigrating into this Naruto World, Jun Tianlin had been mentally prepared.

This was a world—a truly cruel world—where the law of the jungle was displayed in its most vivid form. Only power and slaughter were the best means to survive in these chaotic times!

On the contrary, Jun Tianlin, who had been soft-hearted to his core, felt no fear after seeing Kimimaro kill. Instead, a strange sense of stimulation rose in his heart, and a wave of intense pleasure rushed to his brain.

Perhaps it was the bloodlust inherent in the Kaguya Clan, perhaps the slaughter of the battlefield had stimulated his soul, or perhaps the scent of fresh blood had overwhelmed his senses.

Regardless, Jun Tianlin felt not a shred of fear. Instead, a craving surged within him—the passing of his cowardice, the swelling of ambition, and a transformation of his very ideology.

"If you do not erupt in silence, you will perish in silence!"

Experiencing the slaughter of the battlefield firsthand, Jun Tianlin's timid and cowardly mindset underwent its first life-altering change amidst the baptism of blood and death. Deep within his heart, the most primal ambition and desire began to rise.

It was an absolute ambition to become stronger, an infinite craving for power!

The night grew deep, and the battle between the Kirigakure Anbu and the Kaguya Clan reached a fever pitch.

It was a pity, however, that the higher-ups of Kirigakure had underestimated the explosive power and combat prowess of the Kaguya Clan, causing the battle to fall into a stalemate.

They had assumed that under the direct command of the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, they only needed to sacrifice a few cannon-fodder ninja to wipe out the Kaguya Clan—a group they viewed as simple-minded, brawny brutes lacking any Kage-level experts—at a minimal cost.

But the Kaguya Clan's overwhelming explosive power and combat ability caused the battle to develop far beyond the expectations of the Kirigakure leadership. The fight didn't end quickly; instead, it became a deadlock.

More importantly, the Kirigakure leadership had treated the annihilation of the Kaguya Clan as a training exercise. Many of the Anbu sent to eliminate the Kaguya were mixed with newly promoted ninja, intended to gain combat experience through this operation.

It was precisely because of this—underestimating the Kaguya Clan and overestimating their own Anbu personnel—that the current stalemate existed.

The training failed, and instead, the new ninja suffered heavy casualties at the hands of the Kaguya Clan. This was the price paid for their carelessness.

The chaotic battlefield was not far from the main gate of the Kaguya Clan—a mere dozen meters or so. Yet, this distance felt like a chasm, standing firmly before Jun Tianlin and Kimimaro, blocking their path forward.

In those few meters of intense melee, Kimimaro had single-handedly taken down three Genin. Even Jun Tianlin, following behind him, had managed to kill two Genin by seizing opportunities to strike from the shadows.

But the price for such brilliant results was the seven or eight deep, bleeding wounds now marring Kimimaro's body.

However, their luck ended there.

Just as Kimimaro led Jun Tianlin out of the chaotic crowd and reached the gate of the Kaguya Clan, a Kirigakure Anbu appeared, wearing a dog-mask, dressed in black, and sporting a Chunin headband tied around his right arm.

Clearly, the remaining Anbu watching from the shadows had witnessed the performance of Kimimaro and Jun Tianlin. Realizing both were users of the Shikotsumyaku, they decided to cut the weeds and pull up the roots, which led to the arrival of this Chunin-level Anbu.