"Die!"
The bloodstained Triple-Bladed Scythe tore through the air, aiming straight for Cangyue's neck.
Hidan's face was alight with excitement.
He loved defenseless prey like this.
Sever the neck with one slash, then offer the blood to Lord Jashin. Clean and simple.
As for why his target was flying through the air on a sword?
The dead needed no explanation.
A few minutes earlier.
At the Land of Fire's border, a dense sea of forest stretched westward.
Cangyue stood on the Flame Sword, his hands clasped behind his back.
Deep purple swordlight carried him just above the treetops, while the Thunder Sword rested quietly in the scabbard on his back.
Gojō Ryūsen raced through the forest.
Each time his foot touched a tree trunk, he pushed off and leaped dozens of meters, moving every bit as fast as Cangyue on his flying sword.
Their destination was the Land of Flowers, northwest of the Land of Fire.
It was a small nation that depended on the Land of Fire for survival.
It had no ninja village, and its defensive forces were extremely limited.
Recently, a band of wandering ninja and swordsmen had occupied a mountain road, repeatedly attacking passing merchant caravans.
Unable to deal with them, the Land of Flowers could only commission Konoha.
Mission rank: B.
"According to our intelligence, there are about twelve of them."
Gojō Ryūsen stepped on a branch and launched himself into the air.
"At least three are wandering ninja. Most of the others are probably ordinary swordsmen and bandits."
"Just right for your first mission outside the village."
Cangyue glanced down at the Flame Sword beneath his feet.
"Actual combat?"
"Exactly."
Gojō Ryūsen smiled. "People still hold back during spars at the Ninja Academy. Real enemies won't stop just because you've fallen."
Cangyue considered that.
Raising his swordsmanship to the next level required 2,000 Valor Points.
[Total Valor Points earned: 2117] [Currently available Valor Points: 762]
He was still a long way from another swordsmanship upgrade.
Since he might face real enemies this time, it would be safest to shore up his other weaknesses first.
Cangyue opened the system panel.
[Intermediate physique enhancement: 500 points]
"Purchase."
[Valor Points -500]
As the notification appeared, a tremendous surge of power flooded every part of his body.
His bones, muscles, meridians, and mind were strengthened simultaneously.
The Flame Sword beneath Cangyue's feet dipped slightly, then quickly steadied.
This was more than a simple increase in strength.
His speed, reactions, stamina, mental strength, and even his total chakra all increased at once.
Together with the basic enhancement from his beginner's gift pack, his physique had now undergone two comprehensive upgrades.
Cangyue clenched his fist.
Chakra flowed along his arm, bringing an unprecedented sense of fullness.
If his old body had been a wooden bucket that could hold water, it had now become a much larger, sturdier pool.
Combined with swordsmanship Lv. 4 and the Flame and Thunder Swords...
"My combat strength should be pretty decent now, right?"
Cangyue murmured to himself.
Unfortunately, he had no suitable opponent to test it on.
Ahead of him, Gojō Ryūsen suddenly looked back.
He had clearly felt Cangyue's presence change in an instant.
The boy was still standing on the Flame Sword.
His appearance hadn't changed at all.
Yet an immensely powerful vitality seemed to have suddenly filled that still-growing body, and even his chakra had become far more substantial.
What was going on?
Could he use Dream Training even while traveling on his Flying Sword?
Gojō Ryūsen was about to ask when a faint whistle of displaced air suddenly came from deep within the forest.
His expression changed sharply.
"Watch out!"
A figure shot out from behind the treetops.
An Akatsuki cloak snapped in the wind, silver-white hair streaming backward.
The attacker's three-bladed scythe traced a crimson arc, slashing straight toward Cangyue's neck.
Gojō Ryūsen's pupils contracted.
Too fast.
The enemy had been lying in ambush nearby, waiting until they entered his attack range before striking.
It was already too late to intercept him.
The tree trunk beneath Gojō Ryūsen's feet exploded as he hurled himself toward Cangyue.
Just then, a low shout came from the other side.
"Fire Release: Searing Migraine!"
A blazing sea of fire erupted from the forest.
The flames covered an enormous area, instantly charring the vegetation in their path and forcing Gojō Ryūsen to change direction.
If he continued toward Cangyue, the sea of fire would engulf him head-on.
Gojō Ryūsen gritted his teeth, twisted sharply, and kicked off a tree trunk to leap upward.
A wave of fire swept beneath his feet.
A vast swath of trees burst into flames.
Meanwhile, Hidan's scythe had already reached Cangyue.
"Die!"
He could even see the boy's calm eyes.
There was no panic.
Nor did he dodge.
It was as though the object sweeping toward him wasn't a scythe, but an insignificant twig.
Cangyue raised his right hand.
An enormous amount of chakra gathered in his palm.
Blue-white lightning suddenly burst between his fingers.
"Heavenly Guardian Calamity."
Boom!
Thunder resounded through the forest.
Brilliant lightning exploded in midair, swallowing Hidan in an instant.
The bloodstained Triple-Bladed Scythe was blasted aside by the head-on lightning strike.
The vicious grin froze on Hidan's face as he hurtled backward even faster than he had come.
He tumbled through the air several times, snapped two branches, and finally slammed hard into the ground.
Boom!
Dirt flew everywhere.
A shallow crater appeared in the ground.
The Flame Sword merely wobbled slightly amid the lightning.
Cangyue remained standing on it, without retreating so much as half a step.
Sensing his chakra, the sheathed Thunder Sword rang out in excitement.
After the intermediate physique enhancement, his total chakra had increased dramatically.
The same Heavenly Guardian Calamity was now far more powerful than it had been at the Ninja Academy.
Gojō Ryūsen evaded the sea of fire and hurriedly leaped toward Cangyue.
"Cangyue!"
Only when he saw the boy hovering on his Flying Sword, completely unharmed, did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Then Gojō Ryūsen drew his ninja blade and fixed his gaze on the other side of the forest.
A man wearing a gray mask slowly emerged.
An Akatsuki cloak.
Green eyes.
On his forehead, he also wore the forehead protector of a Missing-nin from Takigakure.
Kakuzu glanced at Hidan, who had been blasted into the crater, then looked at Cangyue in the air.
There was a clear discrepancy between the intelligence and what he was seeing.
The older swordsman was indeed a Konoha jonin.
As for the boy riding the sword, his presence hadn't originally seemed particularly impressive, so Kakuzu had classified him as an "unknown factor."
Now it seemed that assessment had been wildly wrong.
Someone who could send Hidan flying with a single strike couldn't possibly be an ordinary genin.
"You've got some skill, brat."
Kakuzu narrowed his eyes.
Cangyue had recognized them both as well.
Akatsuki cloaks.
One covered in stitches, the other carrying a three-bladed scythe.
Hidan and Kakuzu.
The Akatsuki's Undying Duo.
Cangyue was somewhat surprised.
He had only left the village to deal with a band of mountain bandits, yet he had run into two Kage-level Missing-nin along the way.
This was well beyond the difficulty of a B-rank mission.
Fortunately, he had enhanced his physique beforehand to be safe.
Otherwise, even if the sudden ambush hadn't injured him, it would inevitably have left him looking rather disheveled.
In the crater, Hidan suddenly stirred.
He planted his palm on the ground and slowly rose.
His Red Cloud Cloak was scorched and torn, and patches of burns covered his skin.
An ordinary person subjected to a Lightning Release attack like that should have been incapacitated, if not killed.
Hidan merely shook his dazed head.
"You bastard..."
He spat out a wisp of black smoke, his expression growing even more vicious.
"What the hell was that technique?"
Hidan rolled his neck.
No blood seeped from beneath his charred skin.
His movements were completely unaffected as well.
Gojō Ryūsen's grip on his blade tightened slightly.
He could still stand after taking a Lightning Release attack that powerful head-on?
There was clearly something abnormal about this man's body.
"They aren't ordinary bounty-hunting ninja," Gojō Ryūsen warned gravely.
"It doesn't matter. Leave the one using Fire Release to me."
"The other one."
"Is mine too."
Cangyue cut him off.
Gojō Ryūsen froze.
Standing on the Flame Sword, Cangyue shifted his gaze from Hidan to Kakuzu.
One had an immortal body.
The other had five hearts.
An opponent like this was indeed better suited than the wandering ninja of the Land of Flowers to testing his current combat strength.
Hidan swung his chain.
The Triple-Bladed Scythe flew back into his hand.
"You little brat! I just wasn't ready!"
"This time, I'll slit your throat and offer your blood to Lord Jashin!"
Kakuzu did not stop him.
Powerful as that Lightning Release attack had been, it was not enough to make him give up the sizable bounty on Gojō Ryūsen's head.
Konoha Jonin were perennial targets on the bounty exchange's wanted lists.
They were worth a good deal of money.
Besides, Hidan was already getting excited.
At a time like this, nothing short of cutting off his head would stop him.
Cangyue looked down at the two of them from above.
The flames in the woods were still burning.
Waves of heat lifted the hem of his clothes. The Flame Sword hovered beneath his feet, while the Thunder Sword slowly slid from its sheath behind him.
Blue arcs of electricity danced along its edge.
Hidan took a step forward.
Cangyue finally spoke.
"Ambushing me while my guard was down hardly counts as stirring up a storm."
The Thunder Sword slipped free of its sheath and hovered at his side.
The two longswords, one purple and one blue, thrummed in unison.
Keen sword intent pressed down from the air.
The burning treetops abruptly bent away to either side, and a straight fissure appeared in the ground, stopping just before Hidan's toes.
Hidan instinctively halted.
Cangyue stood on his sword with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze lowered toward them.
"Take one more step!"
"And I'll turn heaven and earth upside down!"
Boom!
Sword intent swept through the entire forest.
Hidan's robes whipped wildly.
The sea of flames behind Kakuzu was forcibly cleaved down the middle by that invisible edge.
Gojō Ryūsen gripped his Ninja Blade, only one thought remaining in his mind.
This kid had gotten stronger again.
[Valor Points +100]
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