Just as Anyo finished resting and prepared to enter the last outpost, Sand Ninja appeared above him. The two at their head stared at him coldly, powerful auras radiating from their bodies. They were undoubtedly jonin.
Damn it. Anyo frowned slightly. How did they get here? A coincidence? Or did they discover me?
One of the jonin seemed to know what was puzzling Anyo and said, "Our four squads contact each other every two hours. It's long past that now. To think Konoha really did make its move ahead of schedule."
So that's it. Anyo said nothing. With a solemn expression, he raised the White Light Chakra Sabre and held it across his chest. He knew a difficult battle was inevitable.
When the other jonin saw the short sword in Anyo's hand, his pupils abruptly contracted. "That's the White Light Chakra Sabre!" he barked. "He never goes anywhere without his short sword. The Konoha White Fang must be nearby. Go!"
All twelve ninja actually fled without looking back.
"What..." Anyo was stunned by the sight. Was White Fang really that famous?
Just seeing his weapon scared them off without him even showing his face. But while running away might be fine for you, it'll mean my mission fails. Beating an enemy when they're down is my favorite thing to do.
Without another word, Anyo gave chase.
In fact, the two jonin had ordered a retreat because they were already certain White Fang was nearby. Otherwise, how could a half-grown child have killed twenty-eight of their ninja in so little time, without letting them send even a single signal?
Naturally, Anyo knew nothing of their thoughts. Having sparred with Minato for an entire year, he was certainly not slow. Combined with the lightning-fast short sword in his hand, a mere few minutes of pursuit wiped out half the twelve-man Sand Ninja squad.
"No, we can't keep running. Kill this brat first, or everyone else will die."
The two jonin came to their senses, turned, and charged straight at Anyo.
The White Light Chakra Sabre clashed head-on with their kunai. In a single exchange, the two knocked Anyo backward. As he fell back, however, the short sword left his hand, trailing an arc of lightning as it aimed for their throats.
The two jonin reacted extremely quickly, swiftly throwing their bodies backward. The short sword sliced off several strands of hair, and death nearly engulfed them.
"What an incredible child. Could he be a student trained by White Fang?"
At that moment, the two jonin abandoned their contempt, a trace of killing intent flashing through their eyes. One White Fang was already enough of a headache for Sunagakure. If another appeared in the future, who could bear it? They had to nip him in the bud.
One swooped down while the other formed hand seals above him. Taijutsu and ninjutsu struck simultaneously, completely sealing off his retreat.
For a time, Anyo was utterly suppressed, and wounds began appearing on his body. The Sand Ninja on the ground seized an opening and drove a kunai viciously into Anyo's heart.
Die...
A flash of delight crossed the Sand Ninja's eyes, but the Anyo he had stabbed turned into a streak of lightning and vanished.
"What's this? Lightning Release: Shadow Clone? A clone fought us for this long? Where's his real body?" The Sand Ninja's eyes were filled with disbelief.
The other Sand Ninja suddenly realized what had happened. "Damn it, he's gone to kill our remaining comrades."
"Too late. They're already dead." After killing the last four fleeing ninja, Anyo appeared beneath the moonlight and said, emphasizing each word, "Only you two are left."
Clear moonlight shone on his body. Coupled with that uncanny swordsmanship and outstanding ninjutsu, how was this the next Konoha White Fang? He was practically the next First Hokage.
The two Sand Ninja were now treating him as a formidable enemy, one second only to the Konoha White Fang.
As Anyo advanced, boundless darkness enveloped his surroundings, drawing closer to the two with every step. In truth, darkness was not frightening. Human lamplight, the bustle of the mundane world, and sunlight could all dilute natural darkness, turning it into the nighttime scenery people loved. But the darkness Anyo released was entirely different. Here, there was no sound, no life, no sky-only a realm of utter dead silence.
Anyone here would become utterly alone, feeling the world was so very far away, as though the whole world had abandoned them, their heart filled with boundless panic.
At that moment, the negative emotions hidden deep within their hearts would surge endlessly into their minds, dragging them toward an abyss of cold despair!
What people feared most was not death, but despair-the despair of seeing not a glimmer of hope, of sinking into darkness forever.
At that moment, Anyo, filled with killing intent, had not even realized that the chakra generated by his mental energy could develop the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique to such power. Though its range fell short of the Second Hokage's, its power and terror already surpassed his. And as Anyo's chakra grew stronger, the darkness within would become even denser, even more terrifying...
"What is this? Genjutsu?"
The two Sand Ninja simultaneously injected their chakra into each other's bodies, vainly attempting to break this genjutsu of darkness, but it had no effect whatsoever.
They were shocked. "How is this possible? What level of genjutsu is this?"
Endless darkness is my domain. Die.
Anyo sheathed his sword, recalling the strike White Fang had unleashed half a year earlier. He stood in the darkness like a statue, utterly motionless.
With the clear ring of a short sword leaving its sheath, everything could be described with a single word: fast. It happened in an instant too swift for the naked eye to follow. The short sword was already drawn, becoming a lightning-like streak that swept through the endless dark void. The surrounding air currents and vitality seemed to be sucked dry by this earth-shaking slash, leaving a terrifying sense of extinguished life, death, and murderous desolation...
The two jonin felt only a deathly chill spreading throughout their bodies. Both unleashed various defensive ninjutsu, erecting sturdy fortresses around themselves.
But it was useless. The sword tip pointed into empty space, tracing an elegant arc through the void. Within their sturdy fortresses, Anyo's figure crossed past theirs. At the same time, the two Sunagakure jonin fell to the ground like dead dogs, their eyes filled with horror and disbelief. They could never have imagined that two battle-hardened jonin would die at the hands of a half-grown child, without even the strength to resist.
It was over. With that, Sunagakure's entire forty-man force had been wiped out.
The darkness dispersed, and Anyo collapsed heavily onto the ground. His entire body felt unbearably awful. The pain reached even into his marrow, ten times worse than the pain during training. Even some random child could kill me now.
Anyo gritted his teeth and endured the pain. He knew very well that he had pushed his body beyond its limits. The move he had just used exceeded what his body could withstand. But he was happy, because being able to unleash that slash meant his swordsmanship had reached the point where it could step out of the shadow of White Fang Swordsmanship. Given time, he would surely have swordsmanship uniquely his own...
Just then, White Fang appeared silently before Anyo, reached out, and lifted him onto his back. Without a word, he headed toward Konoha.
Before you continue