Konoha 28 years.
January 27th.
Today is a rare sunny day in spring.
As time passed, the afterglow of the setting sun slowly dyed the sky into an alluring gold.
And at such a beautiful sunset.
From the boundless forests of the Land of Fire below, however, came a series of sounds that were completely contrary to the beautiful scenery.
"Ugh-Ugh!" A middle-aged man whose neck had been swiftly slashed by Hengdao stood rooted to the spot, disbelief in his eyes. He clutched the spot on his neck where blood was gushing out, and looked at his companion beside him, letting out a series of genuine 'bubble sounds'.
It was clear that he wanted to say something and also wanted to live.
Unfortunately, the knife hadn't held back, severing his trachea and carotid artery.
This meant he couldn't leave behind any last words or pleas for help, and he also lost all hope of continuing to live.
"Damn brats, you killed my brother, you'd better go to the Pure Land to atone for your sins!" A middle-aged man, completely covered from head to toe in a black Combat Uniform except for his eyes, and wearing a Forehead Protector with a horizontal slash on it, shouted loudly upon seeing his comrade's death.
No sooner had he finished speaking than he moved Body Flicker Technique into the battlefield, raising his long sword and slashing at the white-haired youth who was being attacked by three men.
This is the same Konoha Ninja just killed his brother while being attacked by four people.
He joined the battle now partly to make up for the pressure the white-haired boy had placed on the other three after one of them was gone.
Secondly, he wanted to avenge his brother who had risked his life alongside him for several years.
As for the third reason, it's because this white-haired head is the sole proof of the mission's objective!
As for the other two battlefields and those two people... just hold them off, just hold them off!
"Clang!"
After repelling the two attackers in front of her, Uka Senju flipped her Hengdao in her right hand and raised it to block the sudden attack from the shouting man.
At the same time, he also kicked the henchman who rushed forward from the side.
In an instant, he swiftly and decisively dealt with an attack by four people.
Looking to his right, he saw a rogue missing-nin wearing a Takigakure Forehead Protector, locked in a struggle with him.
He smiled slightly and replied softly, "I'll send you to the Pure Land to keep your brother company!"
Hearing this, the missing-nin from Land of Waterfalls, whose face was flushed red with anger and suppressed rage, had no energy to refute, but gritted his teeth in hatred.
This movement gave his longsword an extra bit of power.
Surprisingly, they've started to gain a slight advantage in the struggle!
Feeling the power coming from his right hand, he watched the slowly descending blade and the three samurai who had practiced rudimentary Chakra manipulation techniques rush forward again.
As their attack approached, Uka Senju's lips curled into a subtle, enigmatic smile.
Before the person who saw it could react, he immediately withdrew his right hand, which had been wrestling with him.
He curled up into a ball, then was enveloped by his armor and the plants sprouting from the ground.
Wood Release: Hedgehog
The Ninjutsu, which had been created by chance in the village, was now proving effective.
Countless dark green Wooden Spikes shot out in all directions from the center point of the ball that Uka Senju had shrunk into.
"Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh~!"
"Pfft-pfft-bang-pfft!"
No sooner had the sound of something cutting through the air been heard than a series of sounds of flesh being pierced and objects being exploded rang out.
I noticed the problem as soon as I saw the smile, but hadn't had time to react yet.
The missing-nin wearing the Forehead Protector of the Land of Waterfalls collapsed forward because Uka suddenly withdrew her power.
Fortunately, he released the knife in time and used the Substitution Technique before his body came into contact with the Wooden Spikes.
Otherwise, he would end up like those three!
As soon as the stand-in arrived at the spot where he had been standing, he saw the scene of the battlefield before and the three clumps of rotten flesh from which human figures could still be vaguely discerned.
The middle-aged missing-nin felt a mixture of relief and lingering fear, but he immediately realized something was wrong.
He had previously witnessed his brother and three subordinates fighting on equal terms with Wood Release, and even his brother's death was seen as merely a result of carelessness and underestimation of his opponent, leading to a sneak attack.
So at that time he thought there wasn't anything seriously wrong with him!
Who would have thought that the Wood Release would instantly defeat those three subordinates in the very first exchange of blows?
Meanwhile, the fighting on the other two battlefields was just going back and forth, so it was unrealistic to expect them to provide assistance!
Based on the Wood Release technique's performance just now... I'm the only one left now.
The outcome... is difficult...!
Realizing the problem, and before he could fully calm down, the middle-aged missing-nin immediately decided to make a run for his life.
But just as he jumped up, a flash of light from a blade streaked across the air.
The middle-aged man, who had only recently taken off, showed no reaction.
Before the lower body landed, the upper body rose into the air again by about one meter.
The pain in his body traveled along his nerves into his brain.
"Bang--Ah~!"
Amidst heart-wrenching screams, the two bodies fell to the ground, one after the other.
The upper body that was still alive had lost the ability to think, and was left only with the instinct to scream!
This sound, or rather the commotion caused by Uka Senju using Ninjutsu, seemed to serve as a signal.
Just as he finished off the enemy, the evenly matched battles on the other two battlefields immediately changed.
It took less than a minute.
Inuzuka Furin, Aburame Kaun, and the Ninja Dog Brown and White have already defeated their respective enemies.
After his friends finished, he used the old excuse of 'scavenging spoils' to absorb the energy of the dozen or so people who had ambushed them.
[Energy: +135]
[Energy: +127]
[Energy: +74]
[Energy: +69]
[Energy: +71]
[Energy: +...]
As she watched the numbers on the screen, invisible to others, flash and increase, Uka Senju nodded in satisfaction.
He has gained a lot of energy over the past month, especially from the four killing missions in the first few days.
The sum of these alone already surpasses all that he earned in the village over a year and a half.
The remaining twenty days, while not as rewarding as the killing missions, were also quite enjoyable.
But because his own head was valuable enough, he was given extra pay almost every other day, in addition to his mission objectives.
He might just run into one of those people who practically walk into his trap and ask to die!
Well... of course, not all of them were courting death.
On one or two occasions, the people who came were also very strong, and all three of them... almost got taken down!
Beside him, he watched his friend, who used to be rolling in money, now pack up and take away even the broken knives and other spoils of war after killing someone.
He put the cleaned weapon back on his waist.
Aburame Kaun plopped down on the ground, resting while laughing and asking, "Are you serious?"
"That's all money, how could it not be?"
"I can exchange them for money at the workshop if I take them back. Anyway, the storage Scroll are just sitting idle, so I might as well put them to use!"
Uka Senju replied without even looking up.