Ruthless Counter-Kill (First Update)

Chakra is divided into five basic natures: Water, Earth, Wind, Fire, and Lightning!

Ninjutsu is categorized accordingly.

Among them, Kirigakure and Amegakure excel in Water Release, Kumogakure specializes in Lightning Style, Wind Style is the specialty of Sunagakure in the Land of Wind, and Iwagakure is the master of Earth Release, though many in Sunagakure are also proficient in Earth Release ninjutsu.

The most powerful village, Konoha, is all-encompassing, with users of every elemental ninjutsu, though they are most famous for Fire Style.

After all, this is the Land of Fire, and the leader of Konoha is known as the Naruto!

However, for an Earth Release ninjutsu to be used at the level displayed by the youth before him, he is almost certainly not a ninja from Konoha.

There are hardly any people in Konoha who can use Earth Release with such proficiency and excellence.

To suggest it might be that individual known as the Shinobi Hero, the Professor of Ninjutsu, is simply laughable.

A dignified village leader would never stoop to such cowardly, underhanded tactics.

With Konoha ruled out, Kirigakure and Kumogakure can also be excluded.

As for Sunagakure, Shaquan did not even consider it.

In that case, if this brat isn't a ninja from Iwagakure, who else could he be!

Shaquan is a smart man; otherwise, he could never have kept Kitsuchi in check.

He made a judgment based on his own assumptions and even began to speculate further.

What is the purpose of Kitsuchi doing this while discussing a partnership? What benefit does it bring him? And what does it gain Iwagakure?

The human brain is the most highly developed organ, and thinking is the fastest process.

Shaquan stared at Gong Yi with a cold expression, his body radiating killing intent!

"To possess such strength at this age, you can be called a genius!"

"To dare to turn back and ambush three Chunin and one Jonin all alone—decisive in action and peerless in courage!"

Shaquan's eyes swept across the surroundings, lingering on the shuriken embedded in the boy's body.

"Utilizing the soft, muddy environment of the Land of Rain, combined with the dark, rainy night, to execute the perfect Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld—your mind is sharp, your strategy superior!"

"Luring the enemy with your own body, feigning weakness, and taking several shuriken hits while maintaining the chakra for the Swamp of the Underworld—you are ruthless to both your enemy and yourself!"

Shaquan took a deep breath.

Decisive, courageous, sharp-minded, and strategic, yet ruthless to both foe and self!

How could such a genius be allowed to remain in this world?

Since he is not from my Sunagakure, he must not be allowed to live!

I must kill him!

With a roar, Shaquan's chakra surged wildly; like a lion hunting a rabbit, he went all out!

He made a grasping motion with one hand.

Sand Binding Coffin!

Sand Waterfall Funeral!

Countless grains of sand erupted from the mud, coiling around Gong Yi like pythons.

How does a python capture its prey?

By coiling! By crushing!

At this moment, Shaquan unleashed two high-level ninjutsu in succession, determined to kill this unripened genius in an instant.

Yet, just then, Gong Yi's crisp voice drifted over from afar.

"Shaquan, is it? Once you've left the town, only Kazama Heitetsu will be left to face Kitsuchi, you know!"

Shaquan froze.

He had been wondering why Kitsuchi would send someone to eavesdrop on their cooperation; he hadn't understood it before, even thinking it was a pointless move.

Hearing Gong Yi's words, he suddenly realized.

Once he was lured away, wouldn't Lord Kazama be left alone?

Kitsuchi is the son of the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, and the next leader of Iwagakure!

The forces he could mobilize were more than enough to surround and kill Lord Kazama.

In the split second he was stunned, his chakra faltered, and Gong Yi shook his body, scattering all the sand that had been binding him.

Even the shuriken previously embedded in his body were ejected by his muscles.

The moment he broke free, Gong Yi turned and fled.

Shaquan frowned, pulled out a signal flare, and fired it into the sky.

Bang!

The fireworks bloomed in the rainy night, beautiful beyond compare.

And following the fireworks, Shaquan's intense killing intent, unmasked and overwhelming, surged toward Gong Yi.

"Kill you first, then return to save Lord Kazama!"

Shaquan was no fool; he knew Kazama Heitetsu was more important than the brat before him, but he was even more certain that this brat's potential was terrifying to the extreme.

Once allowed to grow, he would absolutely become the next powerhouse of Iwagakure, an existence comparable to the level of Konoha's Yellow Flash!

Compared to such an existence, Lord Kazama was merely a guard commander, and thus, no longer quite as important.

Moreover, he was confident he could finish off this brat quickly.

He had been running for so long!

He had unleashed a large-scale Underworld Swamp!

He had been struck by several shuriken!

How much chakra could he possibly have left?

"Go to hell, brat!"

Shaquan erupted with his greatest power, leaping in front of Gong Yi before forming hand seals with both hands.

He was going to use his strongest Ninjutsu, a powerful technique he had created himself, named after his own name, and rated as A-rank by the Third Kazekage!

Shaquan Great Funeral!

However, just as he hadn't even finished half of his hand seals, the brat stopped, his eyes devoid of any panic.

Seven shuriken were fired at incredibly tricky angles!

Immediately after, Gong Yi leaned down.

Earth Style, Headhunter Jutsu!

Earth Style, Rock Pillar Spear!

An intensely powerful suction pulled Shaquan toward the ground, while sharp Rock Pillar Spears shot up toward the sky.

The threat of death loomed over Shaquan.

A-rank Ninjutsu possessed immense power, but the vast majority required extremely complex hand seal procedures, and many even required charging.

For instance, Chidori, or Rasengan; even if they didn't require hand seals, they still required charging.

Shaquan's killing blow hadn't been unleashed yet when he sensed the danger, leaving him no choice but to interrupt it helplessly.

The consequence of a forced interruption was chakra rampaging, causing self-inflicted injury.

Ignoring his internal injuries, he leaped up violently.

While in mid-air, the seven shuriken whistled toward him.

Shaquan's eyes turned red; with nowhere to dodge, he could only block them head-on.

These were not the shuriken from before, when he wanted to capture Gong Yi alive and aimed away from vital points.

Instead, every single one was aimed at his vulnerable spots.

Eyes!

Throat!

Heart!

Groin!

Shaquan reached out, forcibly using his hands to grab the shuriken.

"At worst, I'll just lose these hands!"

Shaquan gritted his teeth, grabbing through the air. Relying on his excellent judgment as a Jonin, he managed to catch all seven shuriken that were flying toward his various vital points!

"Haha, I made it through!"

As Shaquan whimpered, a pitch-black Kunai pierced straight through his throat.

Furthermore, it was tip-first, with the tail end behind.

There was only one scenario that could cause such an effect.

That Kunai had been stabbed in from the back of his head, then passed through his fragile throat.

Gong Yi let out a long breath and walked over slowly.

Shaquan lay on the ground, the previous Rock Pillar Spear having already pierced through his body.

He stared wide-eyed at Gong Yi, intense unwillingness forcing him to utter words one by one.

"Why do you still have cha—"

In the end, he didn't finish; with his throat pierced, even an existence like a ninja with powerful vitality could not speak a complete sentence.

Shaquan was dead!

A torrential downpour began to fall.

Gong Yi removed the Kunai from Shaquan's throat, pried open his hands, and retrieved the seven shuriken.

Most ninja tools bore the markings of their respective ninja villages.

Before his identity was exposed, Gong Yi tried his best to ensure no details would reveal his status as a Konoha ninja.

Glancing at the jōnin named Shaquan, Gong Yi said nothing and turned to leave.

He knew exactly what the man wanted to ask at the end.

Was it not why he still possessed chakra?

For an eight-year-old boy to have fought for so long, he really shouldn't have any chakra left.

But with his current body, which even a jōnin in his prime could not possess, and supported by immense spiritual energy, why shouldn't he have some chakra remaining?

Furthermore, through the research projects of the Scholar System, he had reduced the chakra required for all the Ninjutsu he mastered by half, so the actual consumption was not as great as one might imagine.

Gong Yi vanished into the night once more, letting the torrential rain wash away every trace.