"Or do I have to come and get you myself?"
Shengu Xuan's indifferent voice was like a boulder thrown into a still lake, stirring towering waves in the hearts of Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto.
Someone else was there?!
Another enemy was hiding somewhere they had completely failed to notice? And that enemy had witnessed the instant kill that could only be called a "miracle"!
Kakashi's heart sank straight to rock bottom.
He whipped his head around. His Sharingan, which had only just stopped spinning from shock, whirled furiously once more as he stared fixedly in the direction Shengu Xuan was looking-the silent forest.
No chakra fluctuations!
No killing intent!
No signs of life whatsoever!
There was nothing there, just an ordinary patch of woods.
Cold sweat instantly soaked Kakashi's back.
Even his Sharingan, combined with the sensory abilities he had developed over years as an elite Anbu, could detect nothing! That meant the enemy lurking in the shadows possessed concealment abilities far beyond his own!
At least... an elite Jonin on his level! Perhaps even stronger!
Then how had Shengu Xuan discovered him?
Kakashi's gaze involuntarily returned to the boy standing in the center of the enormous crater.
The boy seemed to possess divine eyes that could see through everything in the world. Any disguise or concealment was meaningless before him.
"Hey! Shengu Xuan, who are you talking to? There's nothing there!" Naruto rubbed his eyes and asked in utter bewilderment.
Sasuke said nothing, but the palm of the hand clutching his kunai was already slick with sweat. His Sharingan could see nothing either, but he no longer dared doubt a single word Shengu Xuan said. He forced himself to calm down and began analyzing the situation.
Two Chunin-level expendables, and a mastermind lurking in the shadows whose strength was unfathomable... this went far beyond the scope of a D-rank mission! This was clearly a carefully planned assassination targeting someone important!
And their Team 7 had merely stumbled into it!
Silence.
Deathly silence.
After Shengu Xuan finished speaking, no response came from the forest.
It was as though he had merely been talking to thin air.
Shengu Xuan's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
"Looks like a very patient rat." He gave a soft snort, withdrew his gaze, and paid no further attention to the figure skulking in hiding.
"If you like hiding in your shell, stay there."
With that, Shengu Xuan actually turned and started walking up the crater's slope, one step at a time, as though he truly had abandoned the idea of dragging the enemy out.
Seeing this, Kakashi grew intensely anxious.
Just let such a huge threat lurking in the shadows go? How could that be acceptable!
But he did not dare question Shengu Xuan's decision. He knew very well that Shengu Xuan was the only variable present. If even Shengu Xuan had decided to leave it alone for now, charging in himself would probably mean nothing but death.
Just as Shengu Xuan reached the edge of the crater and rejoined Kakashi and the others, an extremely faint sound finally came from the silent forest, like leaves brushing against each other.
Then everything fell silent again.
Gone?
Kakashi's Sharingan caught that fleeting disturbance, and he immediately determined that the hidden enemy had chosen to retreat after Shengu Xuan turned around!
He was... scared off?
The absurd yet utterly real thought surfaced in Kakashi's mind.
A powerful opponent who could conceal himself so perfectly that even Kakashi could not detect him had witnessed Shengu Xuan instantly kill the Demon Brothers and heard him expose his presence, then chosen to flee without even daring to show his face!
That conclusion raised Kakashi's fear of Shengu Xuan to yet another level.
"All right, the trash is cleared away." Shengu Xuan walked over to Sakura, who was already scared senseless. He glanced at her slumped on the ground, then at the noblewoman Lan Zi beside her, her face covered in white powder and already unconscious, and said indifferently, "Mission complete. Let's go back and report."
His tone made it sound as though he had merely dealt with a couple of thugs blocking the road, rather than instantly killed two vicious rogue ninja.
"W-wait!" Kakashi finally recovered from the enormous shock. He stepped in front of Shengu Xuan to stop him, his voice somewhat hoarse with agitation and a dry throat.
"Shengu Xuan, what... exactly was that?"
Kakashi pointed at the spot where the Demon Brothers had vanished, his Sharingan filled with a hunger for and fear of the unknown. "That power... that... technique you could activate instantly without hand seals, and control with such precision..."
He did not even know what words to use to describe everything he had just seen.
Ninjutsu?
No, no known ninjutsu could achieve anything like that!
A kekkei genkai?
What kind of kekkei genkai could possess three entirely different abilities-an undying legion, ultimate speed, and divine authority over explosions-each so powerful it broke all the rules?
Shengu Xuan glanced at Kakashi and saw the confusion and fear in his eyes.
He smiled and decided to offer this poor teacher a little "guidance."
"Hand seals?" A mocking curve lifted the corner of Shengu Xuan's mouth. "Something so cumbersome and inefficient is merely a crutch mortals have no choice but to use to borrow natural energy."
"When your power has already surpassed natural energy and become a 'rule' itself, do you still need a crutch?"
"Surpassed... natural energy?" Kakashi murmured the words, his mind going blank as though struck hard by a heavy hammer.
That statement completely overturned the understanding of ninjutsu he had built over more than twenty years!
Didn't a ninja's power come from chakra, from the use of natural energy? What lay above that? Was that... the power of a god?
"I understand..."
Just as Kakashi's understanding of the world began to crumble, Sasuke, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly spoke.
His eyes, those two-tomoe Sharingan, were fixed on Shengu Xuan, blazing with a fervent light called "revelation"!
"I understand!" Sasuke's voice trembled slightly. "Kakashi-sensei, that isn't some incomprehensible power! It's a... higher level of skill!"
"Skill?" Kakashi looked at Sasuke in astonishment.
"Exactly!" Sasuke's breathing quickened. "Hand seals are used to reliably mold and shape chakra, but if someone's chakra control reaches its absolute limit, theoretically, they can skip the hand seals and shape it directly inside their body, achieving 'instant activation'!"
"That's... ninjutsu without hand seals!"
Sasuke spoke excitedly, as though he had discovered an earth-shattering secret.
"Just like Lord Second Hokage, who barely needed hand seals to use water release ninjutsu! Shengu Xuan's kekkei genkai probably elevates that absolute chakra control to a level we can't even imagine!"
"That's how he can instantly unleash techniques with such terrifying power and control them so precisely! He hasn't surpassed natural energy. He's taken the skill of 'using' it into the realm of the gods!"
Sasuke's "reasonable explanation" left both Kakashi and Naruto stunned.
Ninjutsu without hand seals?
Kakashi had heard of the concept as well. It was indeed a pinnacle that only a tiny handful of extraordinarily gifted ninja could reach.
Could... Shengu Xuan's inconceivable power truly come from that?
Though this explanation was still wildly extravagant, at least... it remained within the comprehensible bounds of being a "ninja."
Kakashi looked at Shengu Xuan, hoping to read something from his face.
Shengu Xuan merely listened quietly to Sasuke's "grand discourse," his expression as unruffled as ever, neither confirming nor denying it.
Inside, however, he was nearly laughing himself sick.
Ninjutsu without hand seals?
This kid really had an imagination.
Still, this worked too. Having a "reasonable" explanation was far more convenient than being treated as a genuine monster.
"Perhaps," Shengu Xuan replied ambiguously, then walked around Kakashi and headed toward the village. "Let's go. Time to collect the reward."
Watching Shengu Xuan's retreating back, the fervor in Sasuke's eyes intensified.
Ninjutsu without hand seals!
If I could achieve that same absolute control over chakra, could I possess power like that too?!
A new, clear goal rose in Sasuke's heart!
Half a day later, in the Hokage's office.
Kakashi reported everything that had happened that day to the Third Hokage exactly as it had occurred.
When he heard that Shengu Xuan had instantly killed two Chunin and scared off a powerful opponent of unknown strength, the pipe in Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's mouth fell onto the desk for the fourth time.
"Ninjutsu without hand seals... is that what young Sasuke concluded?" The Third Hokage's voice was painfully dry.
"Yes, Lord Hokage." Kakashi lowered his head. "Though it sounds unbelievable, it's currently the only... theory that can even barely explain his abilities."
The Third Hokage fell silent.
He would rather believe this was "ninjutsu without hand seals" than imagine what the words "surpassed natural energy" meant.
Just then, an Anbu brought in a middle-aged man who looked thoroughly honest, his face full of worry and his body reeking of alcohol.
"Lord Hokage, this is Mr. Tazuna, the client for the C-rank mission to the Land of Waves."
At the sight of the Hokage, Tazuna immediately rushed forward with a woeful expression. "Lord Hokage! You have to save our Land of Waves! That bastard Gato is driving us to our deaths! I need the strongest ninja to protect me on my way home so I can finish that bridge our country's future depends on!"
The Third Hokage looked at Tazuna, then at Kakashi, a complicated light flashing in his eyes.
He had originally intended to send an ordinary team on this mission.
But now...
"Kakashi." The Third Hokage made his decision. "Your Team 7 will carry out this mission."
"What?!" Kakashi was startled.
"They've already sent Chunin-level assassins, which means they're determined to get Mr. Tazuna. The enemies along the rest of the journey will only be stronger." The Third Hokage looked at Kakashi and said meaningfully, "I wouldn't feel at ease sending an ordinary team."
"But your Team 7..." The Third Hokage's gaze seemed to pierce through the office and settle on the boy wandering the streets.
"With Shengu Xuan there, I think they should have the safest escort in the world." The Third Hokage sighed, his tone filled with helplessness.
"And, Kakashi, this is your opportunity too." The Third Hokage lowered his voice further. "Let him meet more people and experience more missions. See how he will interact with this world. This is the best way to understand him."
"...Yes, Lord Hokage." Kakashi nodded solemnly.
When he told the other members of Team 7 about this C-rank mission, Naruto immediately cheered and jumped for joy. Sasuke remained expressionless, but a trace of anticipation flashed in his eyes as well.
Only Shengu Xuan yawned and asked lazily:
"The Land of Waves? How much does it pay?"
Before you continue