Water Release: Big Mouth Water Technique

The remaining dozen or so men gripped their kunai with trembling hands.

Being surrounded by pitch-black darkness made fear rise uncontrollably in their hearts.

That leader, however, was outside the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique's range.

In his field of vision, everyone looked like blind men. Faced with the shuriken Kanami threw, they did not dodge at all.

He frowned.

Then, he suddenly realized something.

He immediately shouted at the others, "Fall back! This should be an area-of-effect ninjutsu!"

Hearing that, everyone turned and ran.

Kanami smiled, calmly throwing shuriken at the fleeing men.

Several masked men actually ran toward Kanami instead.

"Idiots, why are you running toward that kid?!"

While their vision had been stripped away, they had also long since lost all sense of direction.

Pfft—pfft, pfft—

In less than a few seconds, another two or three masked men died.

The masked men who ran toward Kanami met even more miserable ends.

They ran straight into the kunai in Kanami's hands and died on the spot.

Of course, some lucky ones stumbled upon the right path and actually escaped.

Kanami said coldly, "You're quite lucky."

Only then did the people who had regained their sight look at Kanami with lingering fear.

At a glance, they saw their former companions lying haphazardly in pools of blood.

The few survivors' legs all went weak.

They made their living by taking lives, but that did not mean they were not afraid of death.

On the contrary, they feared death even more than ordinary people.

One masked man, clearly a newcomer, tremblingly threw away his kunai and burst into loud sobs.

"I'd rather go home and farm than do this kind of work!"

Before coming here, his cousin had told him that he only needed to make up the numbers and put on a show to earn ten thousand ryō.

He had never expected to be asked to kill people! He did not even dare kill chickens, yet they wanted him to kill someone.

Seeing someone trying to flee, the others hurriedly slipped away as well.

They had realized that if they did not run, they might really die here.

"Boss, I'm not taking this job anymore."

"I still have to go home and care for my eighty-year-old mother until the end of her life. I'll be leaving first!"

"I-I have a newborn son who hasn't even been weaned yet. I'm going home to feed him."

"I... I have a stomachache!"

The leader flew into a rage. "You dare run?! I'll have people hunt you down for the rest of your lives!"

Hearing that, the masked men could not help cursing inwardly.

If we don't run, we'll die right now! Do you take us for idiots?!

They turned and prepared to flee, paying no attention to his threats.

Suddenly, an icy, bone-chilling voice sounded behind them. "Did I allow you to leave?"

The masked men scattered in all directions without even looking back.

Every one of them shared the same unspoken thought.

As long as he isn't chasing me, it's fine. To hell with everyone else—go die.

Shadow Clone Technique.

In an instant, four identical Kanamis appeared and leaped into the air.

Fire Release: Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu! *5

Whoosh—

An enormous fireball instantly appeared, engulfing every fleeing masked man.

The masked man who had yet to make a move stared in dumbfounded shock.

"Damn! It's huge!"

His hands rapidly formed seals, and he instantly used the Body Flicker Technique to appear several meters away.

"You're running too?!"

"My wife just gave birth!"

The leader shouted, turned, and left. It was as though he had made some kind of decision, never looking back again.

"Body Flicker Technique?"

Kanami narrowed his eyes. It was already too late to chase him.

Everyone else who lacked his reflexes was swallowed by the blazing flames.

"Ah!!!"

Miserable screams immediately rang out one after another.

One of them happened to know Water Release, so he hurriedly spat water from his mouth to put out the flames.

The tiny stream of water he spat out was not even as much as Akamaru's pee.

Following the principle of not burning people to death, the Fire Release only burned away most of their clothes.

Kanami raised an eyebrow.

Hinata was still here. How could he let them taint the windows of her soul?

The five Kanamis formed hand seals as they walked toward the masked men rolling on the ground. No, that was wrong—they should be called bare-assed men now.

Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique. *n

A moment later, no one remained standing in the alley except Kanami and Hinata.

All those bare-assed men had been dragged underground by Kanami's Double Suicide Decapitation Technique, leaving only their heads above the ground as they begged for mercy.

"Don't kill me! I really have an eighty-year-old mother waiting for me to support her!"

"I-I really do have a stomachache."

"I'm old friends with the Third Hokage!"

As soon as the man shouted that, everyone looked at him as though he were an idiot.

Why not just say you were the Hokage's son?

Kanami's original body then walked toward Hinata while the remaining four clones tortured them.

He walked over, took Hinata's little hand, and smiled.

"It's okay now."

Hinata nodded and pointed at the seven or eight people who looked like moles.

"What should we do with them?"

Kanami considered it briefly. "Hmm... kill them."

Hinata's brows lifted slightly, as though she found it difficult to decide.

She looked up at Kanami and asked timidly, "Can we let them go?"

Hearing her words, Kanami's expression did not change. It seemed to be within his expectations.

He rubbed her head. "As you wish."

In an instant, his four clones vanished.

Kanami and Hinata walked out of the alley hand in hand.

The few men with only their heads above ground stared fixedly at the figures disappearing at the alley entrance.

A few minutes passed. Once they were certain the other side truly would not return, their suspended hearts finally settled.

"Brothers, we're really lucky. That kid is truly merciful."

"Phew, you can still laugh? That kid was incredibly strong. He nearly wiped all of us out by himself."

"But even if he left, we still can't get out."

At one man's words, they fell into despair again.

Then, the man who had previously used Water Release: Big Mouth Water Technique actually crawled out of the ground.

Covered in dirt, he threw back his head and howled.

"Hahahaha! Who dares say my Water Release is useless now?"

It turned out he had been using the Big Mouth Water Technique to soak the surrounding earth, making it damp and soft. Then, with a little force, he broke free.

The men still trapped underground looked overjoyed.

They were saved.

"Brother, help me out."

"Save me first, brother! My stomach really hurts! Please!"

They turned to look at him and saw the constipated expression on his face.

"I never thought you'd been telling the truth all along. I thought your excuse was just too lame."

"Save him first. We have no objections."

The others nodded in agreement.

The dirt-covered man sneered. "You may have no objections, but I do."

"Why the hell should I save you?"

The man with the stomachache was about to reach his limit.

He looked so anxious that he was nearly crying.

"Hurry and save me! Get me out, and I'll give you one hundred thousand ryō."

Hearing that, the man walked over and slowly crouched down.

The man with the stomachache brightened. "Thank—"

Before he could finish speaking—

Slash!

The man slit his throat with a kunai.

Blood immediately sprayed out. He struggled with a face full of disbelief, and before long, blood covered the ground.

The man no longer had any breath left.

The surroundings fell deathly silent, broken only by heavy breathing.

The man sat on another man's head, idly playing with his kunai as he sneered. "One hundred thousand ryō is too little."

"I don't have enough chakra. Right now, I can only save one person. The highest bidder lives."

The men fell silent for a moment before shouting over one another.

"I'll offer two hundred thousand ryō."

"I'll offer five hundred thousand!"

"One million ryō!"

At a middle-aged man's firm, forceful growl, the seated man was overjoyed and slashed at the man beneath his buttocks.

"You're the one."

The dirt-covered man rose to his feet in wild delight.

Suddenly, a kunai plunged viciously into the back of his head.

Thud!

He fell face-first to the ground, his face filled with confusion and unwillingness.

Then, a teasing voice came from behind him.

"Your performance was truly wonderful."