My name? You don't need to remember it

Facing more than a dozen Ling Fengs, Kirigakure's elite finally realized how dire their situation was.

Seeing their chance to escape, Fox Mask and the other two dared not linger and hurried away.

As far as they were concerned, this was a free pass. Rather than stay and choke on dirt and dust, they were better off getting out of there.

Fox Mask, in particular, knew their mission was as good as secured the moment Ling Feng used the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!

"Captain, is it really all right for us to just leave like this?"

Cat Mask sounded worried.

"Even though Ling Feng can use the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, the clones divide the original's power among them. He gains numbers, but each one's strength drops drastically!"

Dog Mask chimed in while running.

Fox Mask led the way. Despite hearing their concerns, Fox Mask showed no intention of stopping or going back to help.

"Perhaps you haven't noticed that the ten men Ling Feng stayed behind to intercept have disappeared. Unless something unexpected happened, he's probably killed them all!"

"What?" Cat Mask and Dog Mask cried out in shock.

Meanwhile, Ling Feng gained another 20 points.

His total was already approaching 450 points. With a little more effort, upgrading his Byakugan would be no problem.

All right, then. I'll play with you walking corpses for a while!

"This brat really is unfathomable. The other half of our squad still hasn't returned. Something terrible has probably happened to them."

The Kirigakure captain quickly reached that conclusion.

Although the others refused to believe that ten jonin could have died at the hands of a five-year-old child, no one dared voice any doubts.

This operation had been meticulously planned, and they had launched it the very day after Konoha finished its internal purge.

Their goal was to catch Konoha off guard.

Kirigakure had therefore come thoroughly prepared.

They had deployed twenty-two jonin for this operation, including three elite jonin. Although those three had only recently been promoted, they had all earned their rank through strength.

In short, unless Konoha sent a jonin squad of equal size, it had no chance of stopping their attack.

But the situation before them was now utterly different, worlds apart from the outcome they had planned.

This was a five-year-old child who had killed ten Kirigakure jonin in under five minutes, then single-handedly halted their pursuit.

If word got out, it would send shock waves throughout the Shinobi World.

They had never imagined that a chance for Kirigakure to make its name would instead become an opportunity for a five-year-old child to effortlessly steal the spotlight.

The remaining Kirigakure jonin found that impossible to accept.

"Hey! You damned brat! What's your name? Why have I never heard of a genius like you in Konoha?"

"Even the White Fang of Konoha's son couldn't reach your level!"

The captain stared at Ling Feng and spoke through gritted teeth.

For some reason, the captain found that looking into Ling Feng's eyes made his mind grow hazy.

This brat of unknown origins was truly terrifying. He seemed full of openings, yet another glance turned every one of them into a threat, leaving the captain trembling with dread.

Ling Feng toyed with the kunai in his hand, spinning it around his fingertips and flipping it up and down. Cold flashes glinted from its edge. It was only an ordinary kunai, yet now it seemed like a lethal weapon poised to strike.

His calm expression stood in stark contrast to his enemies' tension.

After giving a rather bored yawn, Ling Feng finally drawled, "Oh, you're asking my name? Sorry, you don't need to know."

"Because from this moment on, you won't need to remember anything."

As Ling Feng's words fell, a dreadful chill rose in everyone's hearts.

They could not understand how a single sentence from Ling Feng had frightened them enough to raise goose bumps.

The captain swallowed, his mind racing.

Then he forced a strained smile and addressed Ling Feng.

"To be honest, everything you've shown reminds me of Konoha's three legendary elite jonin, the mighty figures known as the Konoha Sannin."

"But I've never heard your name, which means your talent has been overlooked."

"I imagine you'd like to make a name for yourself through war, wouldn't you?"

"Rather than stay in Konoha, where they're always preaching peace, why not join us? We have countless wars to fight. With us, you'd have a chance to become famous quickly. What do you-"

Thwip!

With a soft sound, a kunai sank into the captain's chest.

Everyone was stunned. When had he attacked?

"You know what? That's how the last group died."

"You talk too much!"

With that, Ling Feng instantly completed a set of hand seals.

"Earth Release: Fish Reflected in Earth!"

Whoosh!

The solid ground began to churn, the earth writhing like a swamp.

In the next instant, dozens of Ling Fengs appeared before them.

The sight was utterly staggering!

More than a dozen shadow clones had used Fish Reflected in Earth together. How was that possible?

Logically, the more shadow clones there were, the weaker each one would be. The same went for their chakra.

So how could more than a dozen Ling Fengs all cast Fish Reflected in Earth at once?

Where had he gotten so much chakra?

Suddenly, someone seemed to realize something. Pointing at Ling Feng, the man screamed in terror, "Everyone, run! He's a jinchūriki!"

"That's right! With that much chakra, he has to be a jinchūriki!"

"This is terrifying! We've been fighting a jinchūriki!"

In an instant, every enemy panicked.

Clearly, they knew how terrifying a jinchūriki could be.

But they still had no idea that Ling Feng was even more terrifying!

"A jinchūriki? You mean those poor souls whose bodies and minds are controlled by tailed beasts, who constantly have to worry about going berserk?"

"Heh, heh, heh. You really underestimate me."

"What's so special about a damned jinchūriki? If I ran into one, they'd end up as nothing more than my pet!"

Ling Feng gave a slight shrug, expressing his displeasure at his enemies' wild assumptions.

What's a mere jinchūriki worth? Give me enough time to grow, and even if the Ten-Tails shows up, I'll beat it senseless with my bare fists.

"Even though you've said the wrong thing, I'll be merciful and play with you a little longer. After all... I haven't collected enough points yet!"

"As for running away, you've already missed your chance to live!"

"You should never have shown up for today's mission!"

As Ling Feng spoke, he burst into thunderous laughter. Then his figures flickered, instantly catching up with the enemies trying to flee.

His booming laughter echoed through the forested mountains, hammering relentlessly at his enemies' hearts.

Terror descended, then spread like wildfire.

For a moment, his frightened enemies hurled every kind of ninjutsu around wildly, desperate to unleash every last scrap of chakra they had just to survive.

But none of it posed any threat to Ling Feng.

"Ding! Gained 30 points!"

"Ding! Gained 20 points!"

"Ding! Gained 40 points!"