"Old geezers, wash your necks and wait for me to come back."
Looking at the outrageously arrogant words on the note, the Third Hokage trembled with rage.
He had never imagined that a junior would lead him around by the nose.
"After him! Go after him now!"
The Third Hokage spun around and roared at the Anbu ninja surrounding him.
In a dense forest ten li outside Konoha.
Sunlight filtered through the thick canopy, casting dappled light and shadows across the leaf-covered ground.
Kenya strolled leisurely with his hands in his pockets, as though he were walking through his own back garden.
He even hummed an unknown tune, seemingly in an excellent mood.
That punch had not only shattered Hokage Rock, but also broken the shackles that had bound him for fifteen years.
From now on, he was as free as a bird in the vast sky or a fish in the boundless sea.
Just as he was considering where to go next to enjoy himself, several extremely faint sounds of movement through the air caught his attention.
Kenya stopped, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
"Konoha's Anbu are pretty quick."
No sooner had he spoken than more than a dozen figures flashed out from behind the surrounding tree trunks like ghosts.
They wore matching gray flak jackets and animal masks, with gleaming ninja blades in their hands.
In an instant, they formed an airtight encirclement, trapping Kenya firmly in the center.
This was the Konoha Anbu First Pursuit Squad, an elite squad dedicated to hunting down high-ranking missing-nin.
The Anbu squad leader stood on a branch, looking down at Kenya.
The eyes behind his mask were cold and merciless.
"Senju Kenya, your defection has seriously threatened the village's safety."
"Lord Hokage has ordered us to bring you to justice. If you resist, we are authorized to kill you."
The Anbu squad leader's voice held not a trace of emotion, as though he were reading out a death sentence.
Kenya glanced up at him and shrugged indifferently.
"All right, all right. You've got your lines down, but your show of force leaves something to be desired."
"The dozen or so of you aren't even enough for me to warm up."
Kenya's contemptuous attitude thoroughly enraged the Anbu pursuit squad.
"Arrogant fool!"
The Anbu squad leader snorted coldly, his hands rapidly forming hand seals.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
He hurled several specially made shuriken.
In midair, the shuriken instantly split from one into two, then two into four, turning into a skyful of black rain.
With piercing whistles, they swept toward Kenya from every direction.
At the same time, the other Anbu ninja also attacked.
Some used Fire Style, while others used Wind Release.
Ninjutsu of every color intertwined, forming a net of death that sealed off all of Kenya's escape routes.
Faced with this seemingly certain-kill attack, Kenya showed no intention of dodging.
He merely bent down and casually scooped up a handful of dirt from the ground beside his feet.
"That's it? This isn't even as good as children playing house."
As Kenya scoffed, he quickly kneaded the dirt in his hand into several thumb-sized mud pellets.
The absurd sight made all the Anbu ninja present freeze for a moment.
Has this guy gone mad?
Faced with so many advanced ninjutsu, he's actually playing with mud?
Does he think a few lumps of mud can stop Shuriken Shadow Clones and combination ninjutsu?
Just as they thought Kenya was certain to die, he moved.
He held a mud pellet between his right thumb and middle finger.
Armament Haki instantly coiled around his fingers, coating the mud pellet until it was as hard as obsidian.
"Take this, Divine Finger Flicking Technique: Mud Pellet Cannon!"
With a shout, Kenya snapped his middle finger against the mud pellet.
Bang!
A deafening sonic boom erupted through the dense forest.
That originally unremarkable mud pellet, bolstered by Kenya's terrifying monstrous strength and Armament Haki.
Instantly became a cannonball fired from its barrel!
It moved so fast that its friction against the air even produced dazzling sparks.
Boom!
The first mud pellet met the skyful of shuriken head-on with perfect accuracy.
With a tremendous crash, dozens of shuriken forged from fine steel.
Were instantly blasted into powder by the mud pellet, like fragile glass toys.
Immediately afterward, Kenya flicked his fingers in succession.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
The remaining mud pellets also became cannon shots, each meeting the incoming Fire Style and Wind Release ninjutsu.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of explosions rang out in midair, sending shock waves rolling.
Those seemingly immensely powerful ninjutsu, under the bombardment of the Mud Pellet Cannon.
Failed to last even a single second before being blasted out of existence.
It was not over yet.
After smashing through the ninjutsu, the Mud Pellet Cannon shots continued toward the surrounding Anbu ninja, their remaining force undiminished.
"Oh no! Dodge!"
The Anbu squad leader's expression changed drastically as he shouted at the top of his lungs.
But the Mud Pellet Cannon shots were simply too fast.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Several Anbu ninja who could not dodge in time were struck directly by the mud pellets.
Although the pellets had lost much of their power after striking the ninjutsu, they were still far beyond what flesh and blood could withstand.
Those Anbu ninja grunted and flew backward like kites with severed strings, crashing heavily to the ground, their fates unknown.
The entire forest instantly fell silent.
Only the rustling of leaves stirred by the shock waves remained.
The remaining Anbu ninja stared at it all, dumbstruck, as cold sweat instantly soaked their backs.
The ninjutsu and coordination they took such pride in had proven utterly vulnerable before their opponent.
And all he had used were a few lumps of mud casually kneaded into shape!
This was an immense insult to their careers as ninja!
But behind that insult lay an even more indescribable fear.
Kenya brushed the dirt from his hands and looked at the Anbu squad leader on the branch with a smile.
"Well? My mud-shaping skills aren't bad, are they?"
"Want some more?"
As he spoke, Kenya made to bend down and scoop up more dirt.
The Anbu squad leader shuddered in fright, nearly falling out of the tree.
He looked at the devastated ground and the several subordinates lying motionless on it.
Swallowing, he reached into his ninja tool pouch with a trembling hand and pulled out a red distress flare.