Counterattack (Please Follow and Vote)

With that, Matsuda Shinya brandished his kunai again and charged at Rogge.

Rogge's gaze sharpened as he instantly entered a combat state.

His eyes were as keen as a hawk's, fixed tightly on Matsuda Shinya's every movement.

His hands rapidly formed seals in one fluid motion. He used the Body Flicker Technique and narrowly evaded Matsuda Shinya's attack.

He moved as fast as lightning, leaving behind only a blurry afterimage.

Having missed his strike, Matsuda Shinya immediately adjusted his stance.

At that moment, Rogge decided to stop defending passively and drew upon the power of the Magma-Magma Fruit within him.

He slightly closed his eyes and focused.

A moment later, scorching magma began to seep from his right hand, as though a miniature volcano were about to erupt.

The magma radiated a terrifying heat, warping the air around it.

Rogge suddenly swung his arm forward, and a pillar of magma shot out directly at Matsuda Shinya.

The magma pillar was like a roaring fire dragon, carrying the momentum to destroy everything in its path.

Seeing this, Matsuda Shinya hurriedly unleashed Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.

A powerful blast of air erupted from his mouth like an air cannon, attempting to block the magma attack.

The fierce gale howled as it charged toward the magma pillar.

However, the tremendous heat and terrifying impact force of the awakened Magma-Magma Fruit, like a volcanic eruption, were not so easily blocked.

Wind Release collided with the magma in a deafening explosion, like thunder splitting the sky.

The surrounding trees trembled under the immense force, and leaves fell in torrents.

Matsuda Shinya was repeatedly forced back by the eruption's impact. His expression turned grave.

He could feel that immense power passing through his body, as if his internal organs had been knocked out of place.

Clearly, the opponent before him was even stronger than he had imagined.

But as an elite jonin who specialized in assassinating the geniuses of major ninja villages, he could not retreat so easily.

"Damn it, how did you see through my disguise?" Matsuda Shinya wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and glared viciously at Rogge.

His eyes were full of confusion and unwillingness. He could not understand why his carefully prepared disguise had been exposed so easily.

Rogge smiled faintly. "Your presence was wrong..."

His smile carried confidence and composure, as though everything was under his control.

"Kushina is one of the people closest to me. Even if your Transformation Technique could perfectly replicate her appearance, you had no way of imitating her unique presence exactly."

Rogge's voice was calm and firm, every word striking Matsuda Shinya's heart like a heavy hammer.

"I see." Matsuda Shinya understood why the assassination had failed, and resentment and frustration rose within him.

He realized his mistake. He had not gathered enough intelligence beforehand, and his understanding of Kushina and Rogge had been far too superficial. That was why this assassination had turned into a direct confrontation.

His heart was filled with regret, but there was no time to reflect now.

Matsuda Shinya grew anxious. I can't drag this out any longer. I have to finish this quickly. If I can't take him down in thirty seconds, I need to retreat immediately.

This was Leaf Village territory. Matsuda Shinya was an assassin from another village who had infiltrated it and attacked Rogge, which meant that his identity and location had already been exposed!

Leaf Village's sensory barrier and the Uchiha Clan of the Police Department were no pushovers.

Once the Uchiha Clan latched onto him, he would not be able to get away.

There were also the sensory-type ninja responsible for patrols, as well as the elusive ANBU members. Perhaps they were already on their way to provide support.

Compared to Matsuda Shinya's anxiety, Rogge remained utterly calm. He was not afraid of dragging things out into a battle of endurance.

The reason he had not used his full strength to kill Matsuda Shinya outright was because he wanted to capture him alive and question him about a few things.

It was quite easy for spies from other villages to infiltrate Leaf Village and gather intelligence.

After all, major ninja villages like Konoha had highly developed trade and transportation, as well as a large mobile population. It was perfectly normal for covert agents with ulterior motives to slip in.

It was not just Konoha. Hidden Sand Village, Hidden Stone Village, and Hidden Cloud Village had also sent many spies and scouts into one another's territories. You had my people among yours, and I had yours among mine.

Therefore, certain information was mutually known among the major ninja villages.

Rogge's rise in Leaf Village had also drawn the attention of high-ranking figures from Hidden Sand Village, Hidden Stone Village, Hidden Cloud Village, Hidden Mist Village, and other places.

It was only natural that some faction had grown impatient and sent an assassin like Matsuda Shinya to kill Rogge.

Before acting, Matsuda Shinya would certainly gather as much intelligence as possible on his target—their movements, preferences, and so on.

However, Matsuda Shinya had spent very little time gathering intelligence, so he would have appeared highly suspicious within Leaf Village.

Logically speaking, there was no way the Uchiha Clan of the Police Department and Danzo Shimura's Root could have failed to notice anything at all!

Matsuda Shinya had already reached Rogge, yet Konoha's ninja had shown no reaction whatsoever.

That was far too abnormal. It had to be the result of some important figure within Leaf Village allowing or indulging it.

The Uchiha Clan? Highly suspicious. Danzo Shimura? Not impossible. Hiruzen Sarutobi? Unlikely.

He ran through the Konoha factions connected to him one by one in his mind, ruling them out.

Forget it. None of that mattered.

He would deal with the assassin before him first. He could not be bothered keeping him alive anymore.

From Matsuda Shinya's missed attack, to Rogge evading with the Body Flicker Technique, to Rogge using a magma eruption to force Matsuda Shinya back, and finally to their brief exchange—

Only a few breaths had passed.

Yet in that brief span of time, the situation had changed drastically.

In the next instant, Matsuda Shinya used Wind Release: Wind Killing Formation.

"Die, brat from Konoha!"

A violent gale suddenly rose around them. Chakra infused into the wind and formed vacuum currents that instantly engulfed Rogge.

Countless invisible wind blades raged within the vacuum currents, launching indiscriminate slicing attacks.

The ground was whipped into clouds of dust, as though a sandstorm were about to descend.

At the same time, the Wind Killing Formation created a vacuum effect, rendering nearby Fire Release, sound-based techniques, bombs, and other ninjutsu ineffective.

Facing such a powerful attack, Rogge swiftly crouched down and placed both hands against the ground.

He fully activated the awakened power of the Magma-Magma Fruit. A scorching force rapidly spread from his hands, and the surrounding ground began to shake violently.

That power surged outward like a raging tide.

Moments later, everything within a hundred-meter radius began to assimilate into magma.

The earth seemed like an awakened volcano, endlessly spewing scorching magma and instantly raising a vast sea of molten rock.

The magma churned and surged, radiating terrifying heat and destructive power.

"What?" Matsuda Shinya's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. The intelligence had never mentioned that Rogge possessed such a terrifying Lava Release technique!

The wind blades within the Wind Killing Formation collided violently with the sea of magma, producing thunderous blasts.

The sound was like mountains collapsing and the earth splitting apart, sending chills down one's spine.

The wind blades gradually lost their power under the magma's heat, while the vacuum currents were disrupted by the magma's overwhelming impact.

Matsuda Shinya stared at the scene before him in horror. He had never imagined Rogge's strength would be so formidable.

He tried to flee this terrifying sea of magma, only to find that he had already been surrounded by it, unable to escape.

Despair filled his heart, as though he had fallen into an inescapable trap.

Rogge stood in the center of the magma sea like a god who commanded molten lava.

His figure was tall and imposing, emanating a powerful presence.

He looked coldly at Matsuda Shinya and said, "I'll give you one chance. Tell me your identity, and the accomplice helping you in Konoha."

His voice was cold and merciless, like judgment descending from hell.

Matsuda Shinya remained silent, only continuously hurling kunai toward Rogge.

"Whoosh!" The kunai cut through the air in a swift arc.

Rogge easily dodged it.

He had to evade attacks like these that were "enchanted." He could not use the elemental body of the Magma-Magma Fruit to take them head-on, because the kunai Matsuda Shinya had thrown was wrapped in wind-nature chakra with exceptionally powerful cutting force, capable of directly injuring his physical body.

Rogge watched Matsuda Shinya gradually being swallowed by magma, feeling little emotion.

He knew that it was no longer possible to extract intelligence from such a stubborn ninja assassin.

The magma churned, and Matsuda Shinya's figure gradually disappeared within it.

The killing intent that had once filled his eyes was now replaced by despair.

Yet even at the final moment of his life, he still clenched his teeth and did not utter a single word.

As Matsuda Shinya was completely engulfed, the sea of magma gradually settled.

At that moment, three masked ANBU ninja and a small Uchiha squad from the Police Department arrived at the scene.

Shock filled everyone's eyes.

Within a diameter of over a hundred meters, there was nothing but scorching magma!

At the same time, an opening in the ground at the center, like a volcanic crater, constantly spewed blazing molten lava.

"Terrifying. Has Rogge's Lava Release really reached such a level?"

"The attacker's body has been destroyed. It looks like we won't be able to find any useful clues."

"The crisis is over."

After exchanging a few words, the three ANBU ninja quickly left.

The three Uchiha chunin squad leaders from the Police Department also exchanged glances. One of them asked, "Rogge, what happened here?"

"Hmph!" Rogge snorted coldly. "I can't be bothered talking to you. Get lost!"

The expressions of the three Uchiha chunin squad leaders instantly darkened.

As Uchiha members of the Police Department, they possessed a certain status and dignity in Leaf Village. Naturally, they were furious at being rebuked so rudely by Rogge.

Yet they did not dare make a move to teach Rogge a lesson.

That was because Uchiha Zhenghong, the clan head, had issued an order: any Uchiha member who encountered Rogge within Leaf Village was forbidden from attacking him, no matter how angry they were.

Anyone who disobeyed would be expelled from the Uchiha Clan and regarded as a traitor.

Rogge ignored them and stood where he was, lost in thought.

This assassination attempt had made him realize that his rise in Konoha had already drawn intense attention from other ninja villages.

Konoha's interior was not peaceful either. The Uchiha Clan, Danzo Shimura, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the others all had their own schemes.

He began reassessing his circumstances and understood that he had to be even more careful.

Otherwise, he could easily be undone when he least expected it.

After all, there were all sorts of strange techniques in the ninja world. With surprise and unique effects, even someone as powerful as Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi, could fall victim to them if he was careless.

After killing Matsuda Shinya, Rogge did not linger. With a Flying Thunder God Technique, he instantly teleported beside the Hokage Building.

His figure vanished from the spot like a ghost.

He decided to report this incident to Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage.

Although he was not sure whether the Hokage already knew about it, he felt it was necessary to make the higher-ups take it seriously.

He arrived at the Hokage's Office and gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a detailed account of what had happened.

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned deeply after hearing it.

A grave expression appeared on his face, and concern showed in his eyes.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "This is indeed a serious matter. It seems the other ninja villages have begun targeting our young geniuses. We must strengthen the village's defenses, and we must also investigate whether there is a deeper conspiracy behind this incident."

His voice was calm and forceful, full of a leader's authority.

Rogge nodded. "Lord Hokage, I think we should investigate suspicious individuals in the village, especially unfamiliar faces who have appeared recently. We also need to strengthen our intelligence gathering and analysis so that we can promptly keep track of the movements of the other ninja villages."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in agreement. "I will arrange these matters as soon as possible."