Slaughtering Chunin

After a brief rest, the team rushed onward and arrived in the Land of Rivers.

Unlike the Land of Fire, this place felt far more leisurely. Especially the people passing by—they were no longer dressed in ninja attire, making the group of four seem rather out of place.

"Looks like Sunagakure's people haven't arrived yet. Let's wait here for a while."

The agreed time was this afternoon, and Orochimaru had arrived early.

"So, can we go soak in the hot springs?"

Nawaki had heard of Hidden Hot Water Village's famous tourist attractions, which drew many visitors. It was his first time here, and he was ready to enjoy himself.

"Soaking in the hot springs?"

Hearing the suggestion, Orochimaru nodded lightly in agreement. A proper amount of enjoyment was beneficial to both body and mind.

"Great!"

Following behind the others, Uchiha Yuu observed the situation in Hidden Hot Water Village. Their ability to survive in the Shinobi World for so long was largely thanks to their neutral stance, as well as their lack of any real threat. Otherwise, such a paradise could never have existed.

Only after entering the hot spring did they realize it was a mixed-gender bath. The once-excited Nawaki was suddenly at a loss, while Hyuga Reiko hid in a corner with a flushed face. Fortunately, steam filled the area, keeping their embarrassment from being noticed.

"Hmm?"

Uchiha Yuu was enjoying his moment of relaxation when he saw Orochimaru suddenly leave, as if he had discovered something.

Instinctively, he reached to his side, forgetting that he had not brought a kunai.

"Bathing really is deadly for ninja."

Yuu concealed himself within the mist, then went ashore and put on his clothes.

"As expected, Orochimaru-sensei noticed something was wrong. He probably went to deal with the real trouble."

The empty corridor was abnormally quiet. Uchiha Yuu heard footsteps, and at the corner stood a scar-faced ninja wearing a savage grin.

"Found a lone little brat!"

The man made no effort to conceal his killing intent. He was coming for him!

"Running into me is your misfortune!"

The kunai in the man's hand marked him as a ninja, but Uchiha Yuu was not worried.

He guessed that Orochimaru-sensei had gone to deal with the bigger threat—the enemy's stronger fighter. The rest had been left to him. Was this a test?

"Idiot."

Muttering that, Uchiha Yuu charged straight at him.

Matsushita Ida had not expected him to rush forward. He looked like a brat who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy. Shouldn't he have fled upon seeing a real ninja?

"Die!"

Bang!

Their bodies collided, and the man was blasted away with a single punch. Even if Yuu had not mastered Super Strength, his opponent was not made of stone.

As Tsunade's signature technique, using it on such fodder was truly overkill.

"What just happened?"

Matsushita Ida wore a stunned expression as he was sent flying. His arm throbbed with pain, and he could not believe that he, a dignified Chunin, had been knocked away by a brat!

"Ninja Art! Umbrella Needles!"

The umbrella rising behind him snapped open, firing a barrage of concealed weapons in an instant.

"Rain Ninja?"

Uchiha Yuu was surprised that they were Rain Ninja. They had appeared in Hidden Hot Water Village, and their target was him. Had this mission been leaked, or was this connected to Sunagakure?

He steadied himself. The priority was to kill his opponent.

"Fire Release! Great Fireball Technique!"

The blazing flames struck the incoming barrage, turning the needles into molten iron the moment they touched the fire.

Yuu did not stop moving. His figure followed behind the Fire Release, launching an attack alongside it.

"I called you an idiot, yet you still don't believe it."

The force of the Great Fireball did not vanish just because the man dodged. Instead, it crashed straight into the wall at the end of the corridor.

The buildings in Hidden Hot Water Village were made of wood. In an instant, the surging flames tore through the wall, and the entire room became a sea of fire.

"Brat..."

Matsushita Ida swallowed, his eyelids twitching as he stared at the scene behind him. The searing heat kept him from pausing as his hands rapidly formed seals.

"Water Release! Water Formation Wall!"

He used Water Release ninjutsu to extinguish the surrounding flames, but Matsushita Ida felt that something was wrong with his body.

The flames had been put out, but the radioactive elements within them had not disappeared. Instead, under Uchiha Yuu's deliberate control, they only grew more intense.

His body had already begun to deteriorate. When he tried to use ninjutsu again, he actually felt his strength failing.

"Damn it, what did you do to me?!"

Large areas of red burns appeared across his body. The agonizing pain drove him increasingly mad, and he wanted to risk everything against Uchiha Yuu. Unfortunately, in his current state, he was no match for Yuu at all.

The favorable terrain also played a part. In the narrow corridor, radiation could quickly gather. Otherwise, killing him would have taken considerably more effort.

"The moment I unleashed those flames, you had already lost."

Uchiha Yuu walked over to him. Matsushita Ida was now lying on the ground, completely powerless. A faint green glow appeared across his body as the concentrated radiation killed him outright.

After finishing this, Uchiha Yuu began drawing back the radioactive elements around him. Besides, he had been attacked, and the enemy had sought him out first.

"Those two idiots had better not be too busy soaking in the hot springs. I hope I'm not too late."

After dealing with his opponent, he rushed back as quickly as possible.

Just as he had expected, two more ninja had entered the bath.

Nawaki had already been forced into a corner, and the situation did not look good. When he saw Uchiha Yuu rush in, Nawaki shouted loudly:

"Yuu! Don't worry about us! Go find Orochimaru-sensei first!"

The strength of two Chunin was absolutely not something recent Ninja Academy graduates like them could handle.

Meanwhile, Hyuga Reiko had hidden beneath the water, waiting for an opportunity. If their two lives could hold back the two ninja long enough for Yuu to find Orochimaru-sensei, then it would all be worth it.

"Good thing I dealt with my opponent quickly. If I'd been any later, both of them would've been dead."

Naturally, Yuu did not follow Nawaki's instruction. Instead, he stepped into the middle of the hot spring.

Chakra covered the soles of his feet as he stood atop the water, gazing proudly at the two ninja from Amegakure.

"What did he do? How did he fail to kill this brat?"

"Ida probably didn't find him and let him slip back. Now we have to clean up his mess."

The two ninja had never imagined that Matsushita Ida had died at Uchiha Yuu's hands.

Judging by their age, they had only just graduated from the Ninja Academy. Sending three Chunin to kill them should have been foolproof.

"They really think they've got me cornered."

Against two Chunin, he could not use ninjutsu containing radioactive elements here. Uchiha Yuu did not want to accidentally hurt his teammates, after all. Radioactive elements did not distinguish between friend and foe when harming the human body!

The instant he opened his eyes, they had turned into One-Tomoe.