"Kakashi Hatake?"
"What are you doing here?"
The Konoha Anbu had spotted Kakashi on the battlefield as soon as they arrived, and one of them questioned him.
"Hey, look over there..."
"That guy is..."
"If I'm not mistaken, that blade is one of Kirigakure's... Seven Ninja Swordsmen!"
Off to one side, two Anbu members spotted Hozuki Mangetsu's corpse, and shock immediately crossed their faces.
The twin blades, Hiramekarei, together with the Hozuki Clan's distinctive clothing and pointed teeth, gave him away.
The Anbu ninja quickly identified the dead man as Hozuki Mangetsu, leader of Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
"Hey, this guy was an Elite Jonin!"
"Kid, did you kill him?"
The Anbu ninja looked at Kakashi in astonishment.
Kakashi remained silent, gripping the White Fang Short Sword tightly as he replayed the final technique Mu Feng had used in his mind: Lightning Release: Chidori.
"Captain, what should we do?"
Seeing that something was wrong with Kakashi, the Anbu members decided not to press him. He was a Konoha ninja, after all. They could get answers once they brought him back.
"Take the body and this kid back first. Vulture, stay behind and cover up the scene. I'll go report!"
"Understood!"
The three Anbu divided the work among themselves. One hoisted Hozuki Mangetsu's corpse onto his shoulder and took the twin blades, Hiramekarei, as well.
"Hey, kid, you're coming back with me!"
At those words, Kakashi snapped out of his thoughts and followed the Anbu ninja.
Word of Hozuki Mangetsu's death soon reached Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Not only that, almost at the same time, all of Konoha High Command received news that Hozuki Mangetsu had been killed after infiltrating the village.
"Did Kakashi do it?"
Inside the Hokage Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi was puzzled.
After White Fang's death, Kakashi had displayed exceptional talent as a ninja, making him a priority surveillance target for Konoha High Command.
In Naruto, Hiruzen Sarutobi was certainly no saint, and he also bore some responsibility for Konoha's White Fang's death.
A hero who had saved fellow village ninja had been reduced to a traitor condemned by everyone. That could not have happened without Konoha High Command fanning the flames behind the scenes.
Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi had not been the mastermind, his refusal to intervene had helped drive White Fang to his death. Kakashi had simply been too young to understand the power struggles within Konoha.
Yet Hiruzen Sarutobi had to remain wary of Kakashi. He had to prevent a talented ninja from becoming a rogue ninja-or even an enemy of Konoha.
After monitoring him for over a year, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew Kakashi's strength very well.
Konoha had only just relaxed its surveillance when Kakashi displayed combat prowess far beyond his usual level. To Hiruzen Sarutobi, that was certainly not good news.
"Probably not. We also found signs of Fire Release at the battlefield!"
"Kakashi isn't skilled in Fire Release. There must have been someone else there."
"Besides, Kakashi was badly injured and fell unconscious after returning to the village. We may only find out who the other person was once he wakes up!"
The Anbu ninja reported the facts.
"Oh?"
Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi breathed a sigh of relief. Soon, he began speculating about the other person at the scene.
"Someone capable of killing an Elite Jonin from Kirigakure... What do the other Jonin and Anbu say? Everyone else has an alibi. Root also stated that none of their people did it!"
"In that case, we'll wait for Kakashi to wake up! Our immediate priority is to investigate the village thoroughly and make sure no infiltrators from other ninja villages have slipped through. The Chunin Ninja Exams will begin soon. We cannot afford any mistakes!"
"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
"All right, you may go!"
With the conversation over, the Anbu member vanished from the Hokage Building.
Meanwhile, in the Uchiha Clan Compound.
The "culprit" behind Hozuki Mangetsu's death had already returned home and was tallying his gains from the battle.
"Two thousand Blackening Points!"
"My Ninjutsu and Taijutsu both improved! But most importantly, my fine control over Chakara has grown, and I've acquired all Five Nature Transformations! I even drew Hozuki Mangetsu's Swordsmanship!"
"Sure enough, killing ninja is the fastest way to get stronger!"
In his room, Mu Feng had already recovered from the weakness caused by the Eight Gates Released Formation, thanks to his powerful Hashirama constitution.
After reviewing his gains from the battle, Mu Feng was very satisfied with his haul.
Then Mu Feng opened his Status Panel again.
-- [Mu Feng Uchiha] [Strength: Jonin] [Constitution: Hashirama Body (4%)] [Kekkei Genkai: Sharingan-three tomoe (Ongoing Blackening...)] [Ninja Tools: None] [Chakra: Small amount (Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, and Lightning mastered; blackening into Chakraton...)] [Taijutsu: Basic Taijutsu-proficient level, Eight Gates Released Formation-basic level, Swordsmanship (Hozuki Mangetsu)-introductory level!] [Genjutsu: None] [Ninjutsu: Three Body Technique-perfect level; Multiple Shadow Clone Technique-basic level; Body Flicker Technique-basic level; Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique-basic level; Water Release: Water Formation Wall-proficient level; Earth Release: Earth Flow River-basic level; Multiple Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique-basic level; Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet-basic level; Chidori-basic level; Wood Release: Cutting Branch Technique-basic level...] [Talent: Taijutsu Talent (S-rank), Ninjutsu Talent (A-rank)] [Overall Assessment: With your Three-Tomoe Sharingan and numerous Ninjutsu, you have left the ranks of low-level cannon fodder behind!] [Note: Currently undergoing a massive blackening surge. All Ninjutsu are improving automatically at an accelerated rate!] [Blackening Points: 2,000] --
All the Ninjutsu Mu Feng possessed had now reached at least the basic level, a step above their previous introductory level. His overall assessment had also risen from Elite Chunin to Jonin.
But Mu Feng was now confident that even without using the Eight Gates Released Formation, he could hold his own against an ordinary Elite Jonin.
Another thing that delighted Mu Feng was the change in his chakra natures and his finer control over chakra.
At Mu Feng's age, the hardest thing to master was not the various Ninjutsu, but increasing his chakra. After all, he was only a child, and he was not a Jinchūriki. There could not possibly be a vast reserve of sealed chakra inside him.
The substantial increase in chakra brought about by blackening allowed Mu Feng to use more Ninjutsu, while finer chakra control let him better regulate their power, killing enemies effectively without wasting even the slightest bit of chakra.
On top of that, the Blackening Points Mu Feng had just spent in full had risen again.
Looking at his two thousand Blackening Points, Mu Feng gave a faint smile.
Then Mu Feng opened the System Shop.
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