The ANBU Captain's Killing Intent to Silence and a Cold Smile of Prior Preparation

BOOM!

A blinding flash of fire erupted from the depths of the swamp without warning. Three micro-Explosive Tags, specially treated with Lightning Release chakra to resist moisture, detonated simultaneously beneath the sealed, muddy water.

The muffled, thunderous roar caused loose stones on both sides of the canyon to tumble down in a cascade. A violent shockwave, carrying foul-smelling sludge and debris, surged forward like a miniature mudslide, slamming directly into Venom Fang as he hung in mid-air.

"Body Replacement Technique!"

At the critical moment, Venom Fang's hands blurred into a mass of shadows. With a dull thud, a thick, severed log appeared in his place in mid-air, instantly shredded into sawdust by the fire of the Explosive Tags.

On the edge of a cliff ten meters away, Venom Fang's true form crouched on a protruding rock. Several globs of high-temperature mud splattered onto his pure white mask, sizzling with a pungent, charred stench.

He looked down at the massive crater blasted into the swamp below, the condescending mockery finally fading from his eyes, replaced by a chilling, sinister murderous intent.

"Wrapping the Explosive Tags in a faint layer of Lightning Release chakra to insulate them from the swamp's moisture, then using wire to trigger them physically underwater..." Venom Fang stood up slowly, his leather boots grinding against the gravel with a harsh, grating sound. "Have you been plotting against me since the moment we left Konoha?"

In the swamp, Baishi was submerged waist-deep in the murky water.

"Cough... cough!" He turned his head and spat out a large mouthful of blackened, toxic blood.

The dark green kunai remained firmly embedded in his left collarbone. The Iwagakure jonin's poison was incredibly potent, and it had already spread through his blood to his left side. From his shoulder to his fingertips, he had lost all sensation. His heart felt as if it were being gripped by a cold, giant hand, every beat accompanied by a tearing, agonizing pain.

Chakra remaining: 3%

Baishi gripped his short blade with his only remaining hand, the tip pressed into the mud to support his crumbling body. He looked up, meeting Venom Fang's gaze through his blood-stained mask.

"Plotting?" Baishi's hoarse voice carried a trace of piercing mockery. "Do you really need to plot to deal with idiots like you, who have to hide even when you're killing someone?"

Venom Fang's eyes turned deathly cold.

He leaped down from the rock, landing steadily on the solid ground at the edge of the swamp. The ANBU-standard ninja sword in his hand pointed diagonally at the ground, its blade shimmering with a chilling, icy light in the dim environment.

"It seems you didn't just hide your strength; your brain is also far sharper than your file suggested." Venom Fang walked toward Baishi step by step, his pace steady and deliberate, cutting off all possible escape routes.

"However, smart people are often the first to die." Venom Fang stopped five meters away from Baishi, his voice suddenly rising, adopting a cold, unquestionable official tone. "ANBU Team 7 member Owl, during the border cleanup mission, deserted his post and colluded with Iwagakure to ambush his comrades, leading to the annihilation of the entire squad."

He slowly raised his sword, the tip pointing directly at Baishi's throat.

"I hereby execute you on the spot for the crime of defection!"

This high-sounding verdict echoed through the empty canyon. Venom Fang needed a perfect excuse. Even if there wasn't a third person present, as a killer from Root, he was accustomed to pinning an inescapable label on his targets before erasing them.

Only then would the report in the files be seamless upon his return to Konoha.

Hearing this verdict, Baishi didn't offer a defense; instead, he began to laugh softly.

The laughter tugged at the wound in his collarbone, causing his muscles to twitch uncontrollably in agony, yet he continued to laugh. The sound, filtering through his mask, seemed eerily out of place on the blood-soaked battlefield.

"What are you laughing at?" Venom Fang frowned, his fingers tightening around the hilt of his sword.

"I'm laughing at that old dog Danzo, for raising a bunch of useless subordinates who only know how to recite scripts." Baishi spat out the blood foam in his mouth and swayed as he stood straight.

He stared at Venom Fang's white mask and threw out his first trump card with surgical precision: "Colluding with Iwagakure? Ambushing comrades? Such a cliché crime wouldn't even fool that hypocritical old man, the Third Hokage. Do you really think your little schemes are unknown to everyone?"

Venom Fang's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Where is Wildcat?" Baishi didn't answer, asking a question instead.

Venom Fang's pupils contracted sharply behind his mask.

Baishi keenly captured the momentary stiffness in his opponent, and the mockery at the corner of his mouth deepened. "From the moment we entered this forest, Wildcat left the squad. The direction he took wasn't toward the Iwagakure stronghold, but the only path leading out of the Redwood Forest."

Baishi's voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a blade, cutting precisely through Venom Fang's psychological defenses.

"Let me guess. Namikaze Minato's team is in the Redwood Forest on an intelligence-gathering mission. Wildcat went to cut off their support route and, at the critical moment... stab that blonde genius in the back."

"And you, you deliberately lured me to this canyon to use Iwagakure to get rid of me. Firstly, you can report to the higher-ups that I, the 'bait,' died for the cause; secondly, even if Namikaze Minato survives by luck and traces it back to me, there will be no proof, and you in Root can wash your hands of it entirely."

With every word Baishi spoke, the killing intent radiating from Venom Fang surged.

By the time Baishi laid out the entire plan, Venom Fang's knuckles were white from gripping his sword too hard.

How is this possible?!

This cannon fodder, who had always been timid in the ANBU and would shake even when killing a genin, how could he see through a top-secret plan formulated by Danzo himself? He not only knew he was bait, but he even knew about Wildcat going to intercept Namikaze Minato!

This wasn't just intelligence; it was as if he had some kind of all-seeing eye!

"Knowing too much means you won't even have a corpse left." Venom Fang's voice changed completely, stripped of all official pretense, leaving only pure, unadulterated malice.

He couldn't let Baishi continue. This variable was too terrifying; he had to be erased physically, right now!

"Water Style: Water Body Flicker!"

The chakra within Venom Fang erupted. The muddy water beneath his feet instantly transformed into a torrent, carrying his body forward and leaving a lingering afterimage in his wake.

Too fast.

The speed displayed by an elite ANBU jonin in his prime, unleashing a killing move, was something Baishi, now at the end of his rope, could not react to.

A gust of wind mixed with water vapor rushed toward him, and Venom Fang's figure appeared like a ghost in Baishi's left blind spot.

"Die!"

The ninja sword let out a shrill whistle as it sliced viciously toward Baishi's neck.

Baishi had no time to weave hand signs; relying purely on combat instinct, he raised his short blade in a desperate, clumsy block.

"CLANG!"

A piercing metallic shriek erupted. Amidst a spray of sparks, Baishi felt a mountain-toppling force surge through the hilt of his blade and slam into his right arm.

The webbing between his thumb and forefinger tore instantly, blood splattering everywhere. His ANBU short sword was knocked from his grip, spinning through the air before embedding itself deep into the mud far away.

Baishi was sent flying by the sheer force of the strike, like a kite with a snapped string. He rolled through the mire several times before slamming heavily into a waist-high boulder with a dull, sickening thud.

"Ugh!" Another mouthful of blood sprayed out.

Baishi slumped against the rock, his chest heaving violently. His vision began to blur, doubling and tripling until Venom Fang's silhouette split into three hazy figures.

The poison was closing in on his heart, and his chakra was completely bottomed out. He didn't even have the strength to lift a single finger.

"It's over."

Venom Fang shook the mud and water from his ninja blade and walked toward Baishi with steady, measured steps. He did not show the slightest bit of carelessness, moving with extreme caution while keeping his eyes locked on Baishi's hands, wary of him pulling out any more Explosive Tags.

Four meters.

Three meters.

Two meters.

Venom Fang stopped in front of Baishi. At this distance, he was close enough to sever the man's head with a single stroke, yet just far enough away to remain safe from any desperate, last-ditch counterattack.

"Your schemes were brilliant, Owl. It's a pity that in the face of absolute power, intelligence and strategy cannot save your life."

Venom Fang gripped the hilt with both hands and raised his blade high above his head. The edge locked onto Baishi's carotid artery.

Baishi leaned against the rock, his messy black hair plastered to his forehead. He did not beg for mercy, nor did he struggle; he simply watched Venom Fang quietly.

Or rather, he was watching the mud beneath Venom Fang's feet.

"You're right. In the face of absolute power, schemes are indeed useless."

Baishi's hoarse voice rang out softly, carrying a chilling, hair-raising calm.

"But did you forget... what I said earlier? To deal with a fool like you, I don't need schemes at all."

Venom Fang's brows twitched violently as an intense, life-threatening sense of crisis surged straight to his brain.

He instinctively tried to retreat, but at that very moment, a faint ripple of chakra emanated from the mud beneath his feet.

Baishi's right hand, which had been hanging limply at his side, had his thumb and index finger pressed together in a subtle, hidden gesture, forming the most basic "Tiger" seal.

Beneath his mask, the corners of Baishi's mouth curled into a bloodthirsty sneer.

"Detonate."