Seeing Raiga Kurosuki, who had just been flaunting his power so arrogantly, get nailed to the wall and killed in an instant, Obito Uchiha's eyes widened in shock. "Amazing! Just as expected of Brother Setsuna."
Kakashi was equally stunned. That had been one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, a major figure even in the Ninja World, yet he had died so... carelessly.
Hizashi, meanwhile, remained calm. Setsuna had rescued Minato Namikaze from the Hidden Cloud Village forces; that was far more shocking than taking down one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Hearing Obito's admiration, Setsuna shook his head slightly. It had mainly been a first-encounter kill. If his opponent had known about his abilities and had not chosen to slash apart the throwing knife with his sword, he might not have survived in the end—but at least he would not have died so ridiculously.
Setsuna stepped forward and retrieved the Thunder Blade and Thunder God Sword. "They really are genuine. They remained completely intact even after taking my 'throwing knife' head-on."
The Thunder God Sword currently stored by Konoha would, in the future, be cracked by Sasuke Uchiha's Chidori while he was still a Genin, then completely destroyed by Naruto Uzumaki's Rasengan. Its quality was terrible.
As Setsuna examined the legendary sword, he asked, "By the way, what exactly happened here? Why have so many people died?"
"I don't know either. These samurai and ninja suddenly appeared and began slaughtering people. We couldn't stand by and watch, so we came out to stop them. But I didn't expect there to be someone as formidable as one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen among them."
As Obito spoke, he suddenly realized something and pointed to the side. "Right, that guy was ordering around the Ninja Swordsman earlier. He might know something."
Following Obito's finger, Setsuna indeed spotted someone quietly preparing to flee.
Kaz's face was pale. He had not dared to warn Raiga Kurosuki earlier because he was afraid of drawing Setsuna's attention.
After all, he had personally witnessed how Setsuna had single-handedly crushed the Hidden Cloud Village forces. Raiga Kurosuki could never have been his match.
Right, I've changed bodies. They shouldn't recognize me now, Kaz reassured himself.
Setsuna made a grasping motion with his right hand and pulled Kaz over from afar.
"I want to ask you, what is—"
Before Setsuna could begin questioning him, Kaz eagerly blurted out, "This was all the plan of Kaz, the leader of the Jashin Cult! He wanted to kill everyone in the Hidden Hot Springs Village and sacrifice them to Jashin."
Setsuna frowned slightly. The person before him seemed somewhat familiar, yet he could not place where that feeling came from.
Kaz said urgently, "I can expose every hideout of the Jashin Cult. I know I deserve to die. I only ask that you ninja lords let me offer one final prayer, so these pitiful civilians may rest in peace."
Might Guy scratched his head in confusion. "Could this guy actually be a good person?"
Kakashi was speechless. Might Guy was far too easy to fool.
Seeing Setsuna remain silent, Kaz panicked and pleaded tearfully, "Please, let me pray first. You can watch me. I definitely won't run away."
He could not help being anxious. His body was already on the verge of collapse.
Although he could not perform a large-scale blood sacrifice now, many people had died in the Hidden Hot Springs Village. He could still conduct a small blood sacrifice to temporarily stabilize his body.
Seeing how distressed and desperate he looked, Setsuna frowned. Could this guy be some kind of poisonous insect? Did the Naruto World have things like that too?
Although he did not know what was going on, the more desperate Kaz became, the less willing Setsuna was to let him go.
"No rush. You can pray whenever you want. Tell me, does your Jashin Cult have any ninjutsu that can make the body immortal?" Setsuna asked.
"An Immortality Technique?" Kaz was startled. This was his greatest secret. How did this guy know?
"I don't know." Kaz forced himself to calm down.
Setsuna said calmly, "But your heartbeat says otherwise."
Unless someone's will was strong enough to completely suppress their bodily instincts, Setsuna could tell whether they were lying just from their physical reactions.
"Fine, it's true. Kaz caused all this slaughter because he wanted Jashin to grant him an Immortal Body," Kaz said rapidly.
Setsuna pondered inwardly. If that was the case, then Hidan would be the beneficiary of this blood sacrifice in the future.
But Hidan's personality did not seem much like Kaz's. Had Kaz planned to experiment on a child first, only to be killed by Hidan instead?
Setsuna could not be bothered to think about it. No matter what, he had spared Asuma Sarutobi from a future calamity.
Seeing Setsuna fall silent again, Kaz asked anxiously, "My lord ninja, could you put me down first? My heart is unsettled. Let me find a small room and offer my prayers."
Setsuna said calmly, "No rush. Let me continue asking you—"
"To hell with your questions!" Kaz finally exploded. His body twisted in agony as chunks of flesh fell to the ground, as though he were being carved alive. His despairing howls were unbearable to witness. Even for ninja accustomed to life and death, the sight was far too disturbing.
"Ah? Did he die from self-blame?" Might Guy asked in shock.
"Idiot, this is obviously because of Jashin Cult ninjutsu." Kakashi rolled his eyes at him and analyzed seriously, "He was so desperate earlier because he probably needed to perform some evil blood sacrifice of the Jashin Cult. We don't know who he was, but he definitely wasn't a good person. There's no need to feel sorry for trash like him."
Setsuna wiped his hands. When Kaz had shouted in fury at the end, Setsuna seemed to have sensed the aura of that Kaz, but he could not be certain.
After thinking briefly, Setsuna shook his head. It did not matter. After this disaster, would the Hidden Hot Springs Village dare refuse to count their mission as complete?
Sure enough, after they dealt with the remaining samurai and ninja, the chief of the Hidden Hot Springs Village came out and showered them with thanks, gripping their hands as though he had no intention of letting go.
Afterward, the village chief highly praised Konoha's leadership in Ninja World affairs. He stated that the Hidden Hot Springs Village would henceforth closely follow Konoha's lead, firmly support Konoha's core interests and path of development, deepen comprehensive strategic cooperation, and jointly safeguard regional stability and prosperity.
On the way back, Obito was still dazed. "What exactly was the chief of the Hidden Hot Springs Village talking about just now?"
Kakashi put it simply. "Idiot, he wants to become Konoha's little brother."
"The way adults talk is way too roundabout. Can't they just be more straightforward?" Obito sighed helplessly, then suddenly realized something. "Right, Brother Setsuna, Teacher Minato, how did you escape in the end?"
"Escape?" Minato was silent for a moment before smiling helplessly. "Once you knock down all the enemies, you naturally escape."
"All of them?" Even Hizashi, who had the most confidence in Setsuna, could not help being surprised. He had thought the enemies simply could not keep up with Setsuna.
Minato nodded, deeply moved. "Over a hundred ninja, including top-tier experts like candidates for Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, were all defeated by Setsuna alone. If the Third Raikage had not arrived, perhaps not a single one of them would have left alive."
Everyone stared at Setsuna in shock. They knew he was strong, but they had never imagined he could be this strong.
Setsuna smiled. "You're flattering me, Senior Minato. Without the deterrence of your Flying Thunder God Technique, I might not have been able to defeat them."
"I didn't help much at all." Minato shook his head with a bitter smile. "Also, stop calling me senior. It makes us sound too distant."
"True. We've been through life and death together."
At that moment, Kakashi suddenly thought of something. "Senior, you're not a Chunin yet, are you?"
"Idiot Kakashi, you don't even know whether Brother Setsuna is a Chunin or not! We haven't even taken the Chunin Ninja Exams yet." Seizing upon Kakashi's slip, Obito laughed loudly.
Kakashi rolled his eyes at him and sneered. "Then pray you don't end up facing Senior in the Chunin Ninja Exams."
Only then did everyone realize that they would still have to compete against Setsuna in the Chunin Ninja Exams. Was something like that really possible?
Before you continue