Uzumaki Kana

In recent years, as economic development grew increasingly uneven, ambitious people sought to build their own power, and the ninja world had been plagued by endless war.

From the ambitious rebellion of Gold Horn and Silver Horn to the unyielding backbone of Hanzo, nearly every nation had been fighting relentlessly for its own interests.

Yet there was one country that stood out as particularly unusual amid this chaotic age.

The Land of Grass.

Located northwest of the Land of Fire and bordering the three nations of Fire, Earth, and Rain, its position in the ninja world was quite similar to that of a small country neighboring great powers like the Land of Rain. It had even been wiped out during the Warring States Period!

But after being rebuilt, this country began pulling all sorts of ridiculous stunts.

No ninjutsu? They stole ninjutsu. No people? They stole people.

No mission commissions? They sold intelligence and groveled before stronger powers as their guides.

When Hidden Stone attacked Konoha today, they would shout, "Long live the Third Tsuchikage Onoki! May he rule the ninja world for ten thousand generations!"

When Konoha attacked Hidden Stone tomorrow, they would immediately kneel and beg for mercy. "The Land of Grass has always been Konoha's close neighbor, connected by the same river and mountains!"

But it had to be said that this approach had its benefits.

Three great ninja wars had broken out so far, yet the Land of Grass had somehow remained completely unscathed.

Meanwhile, their neighbor had produced someone with a sense of pride, challenged three great nations alone, and now did not even dare leave his village. In the future, he would even be killed by that guy who carried rice.

"Sorry?"

"What use is sorry? Will saying sorry bring the captain back to life?!"

The ANBU's fury was completely ignited. He abruptly raised his foot and viciously kicked the woman in the abdomen.

The woman let out a shrill scream.

Her body rolled across the ground several times like a ragged sack before finally stopping against the roots of a large tree.

She curled up in agony. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, mixing with dirt on her pale face. Her bright red hair lay scattered across the ground like flowing blood.

The other ANBU frowned, but he did not stop his companion from venting.

This woman had caused them to lose a precious comrade. A few kicks were already letting her off lightly.

If the village had not yet found a suitable breeding partner and thus could not have her bear children to make up for the value of her status as a human-shaped medicine pill, they would have disposed of this bitch long ago!

"Trash! Get up already! Stop playing dead!"

The ANBU who had kicked her cursed viciously and stepped forward, seemingly intending to add another kick.

Just then—

"Tch."

An extremely faint click of the tongue, seemingly carrying some strange penetrating force, rang out without warning in the deathly silent forest.

The sound was quiet, yet like a bucket of icy water, it instantly extinguished the ANBU's violent rage and froze his raised foot in midair.

The two Hidden Grass ANBU spun around sharply, standing back-to-back as they warily stared toward the source of the sound. Their hands had already moved to the kunai at their waists. At the same time, an indescribable icy chill, as though they had been targeted by some primordial beast, shot up their spines to the crowns of their heads without warning.

As ANBU, the most basic skills they excelled at were concealment and counter-surveillance.

Yet even with someone nearby, they had sensed nothing and anticipated nothing.

That meant that if the person had attacked directly, the two of them would likely already have had their heads in different places!

The two Hidden Grass ANBU looked grim and quickly locked onto the figure who seemed to make no effort whatsoever to conceal his presence.

The man was extraordinarily tall and powerfully built, his bare upper body displaying a nearly perfect physique.

What drew the eye most of all—

Was that amid his black hair stood a pair of sharp horns!

He leaned casually against the tree trunk with his arms folded, his deep dark-red eyes watching them without the slightest emotion, as though he were examining two struggling ants.

There was no sign of chakra erupting from his body. Even his breathing was nearly inaudible.

Yet merely standing there, he exuded an invisible, suffocating pressure. Even the air itself seemed to have frozen solid!

"Y-you... who are you?!"

The ANBU who had kicked her forced down the fear in his heart and shouted fiercely, though his voice trembled noticeably.

He did not recognize the man before him, but the immense sense of danger born from his instincts for survival made every hair on his body stand on end.

The feeling was as terrifying as an unarmed young human encountering the Tiger King capable of using Storm Nebula Split in the forest.

The ANBU beside him seemed to notice something, and his pupils abruptly contracted.

He stared fixedly at the sharp horns atop the man's head. A name that Hidden Grass Village had listed as extremely dangerous and absolutely not to be provoked just days ago flashed through his mind!

Considering the timing, along with everything that had happened these past two days, a horrifying fact he did not wish to acknowledge lay before him.

Terror surged into his heart.

The ANBU's face turned utterly pale in an instant. His lips trembled, and he could barely speak.

Yotsuki Sora's gaze swept lightly over the two ANBU agents who looked as if they were facing a mortal enemy.

Having just finished the battle at White Stone Gorge, he had thoroughly enjoyed himself. Faced with people trembling with fear like this, he did not even have the desire to kill them.

The red-haired woman lying on the ground, however, was somewhat interesting.

Yotsuki Sora straightened up and stepped away from the tree trunk he had been leaning against.

It was only a slight movement, yet it made the two Hidden Grass Village ANBU below feel as if they were facing a mortal enemy, terror filling their faces.

"Y-You... don't come any closer!"

"We're from the Hidden Grass Village. We... if you know what's good for you, then..."

His words came to an abrupt stop.

Yotsuki Sora, who had been standing before him, vanished. Before he could even turn his head, a large hand wreathed in dark crimson arcs of lightning silently clamped around the back of his neck like an iron vise.

The two ANBU agents' eyes bulged. Before the thought of resistance could even arise, their necks had already been crushed by an irresistible, overwhelming force.

"!!!"

Uzumaki Kana, curled up beside the tree roots, widened her eyes, her face full of disbelief.

She knew exactly how strong those two ANBU were. Both were powerful shinobi at the jōnin level within the village.

Yet experts of that caliber had died instantly, as easily as insects being crushed!

This guy...

"S-Sage of Six Paths!"

Looking at Sora's tall figure and the sharp horn at his temple, Uzumaki Kana froze. For some reason, the words suddenly slipped from her mouth.

"Hm?"

Sora raised a brow slightly, his towering shadow swallowing her whole.

His blood-red eyes looked down from above. His gaze was so sharp that it seemed capable of piercing through flesh and staring directly into the depths of her soul. It carried nothing but pure curiosity and appraisal, like a hunter examining an unexpectedly discovered, somewhat unusual prey.

Uzumaki Kana felt as though she had been stripped bare, with nowhere to hide beneath that gaze.

"What did you just call me?"