"Bzzzt!"
A current shot out from between Shin'un's palms, arcing through the air toward the Genin among the two Sand Ninja ahead.
"Ugh... ah..."
A groan rang out. Struck by the current, the Sand Ninja immediately went into full-body spasms, unable to control his body.
At the same time, Shin'un had already drawn a kunai. He cleanly knocked aside the kunai slashing toward him from the Chunin and, taking advantage of the opening, slit the Chunin's throat.
"Pfft..."
With his carotid artery severed, blood immediately sprayed out of the Chunin's body, forming a waterfall of blood in the air.
Ignoring the Sunagakure Chunin clutching his neck and struggling alone, Shin'un dodged a few splattering drops of blood and approached the other Genin.
Looking at the Genin, whose face remained contorted in his eyes as the current sent spasms through his body, Shin'un had no intention of showing mercy.
He used the same method.
Shin'un slit his opponent's carotid artery with his kunai. Another waterfall of blood immediately appeared, and even the surrounding air seemed to begin filling with an unpleasant bloody smell.
Shin'un needed to do nothing more. With blood blocking their windpipes and leaving them unable to breathe, the two Sand Ninja were doomed to die.
Paying no further attention to the two Sand Ninja who had collapsed helplessly to the ground, Shin'un drew the current surrounding him back against his skin and looked around while maintaining a state similar to the Body Flicker Technique.
Most of those Anbu ninja were veterans of countless battles. They slipped behind their targets and slit their throats cleanly, without the slightest hesitation. Even viewing them in what amounted to slow motion, Shin'un could find no fault.
One glance told him they were used to missions involving murder and arson.
The other two standard ninja squads were very different. Their experience clearly fell short of those Anbu ninja accustomed to covert missions.
Their lack of experience inevitably led to them being discovered during their surprise attacks.
Fortunately, apart from Shin'un and the other Jonin captain, all the members of those two squads were facing Genin.
Even if discovered, their strength allowed them to safely finish their fights within two or three moves.
Watching the surrounding battles end one after another, Shin'un dispersed the current surrounding him once Yūichi and Shiina Kō had safely and smoothly finished off their opponents.
"Thud!"
As a corpse hit the ground, all the fighting around them came to an end.
Hatake Sakumo wiped the blood from his White Fang short blade with the Sunagakure Jonin's clothing, then turned to face everyone, looking at Shin'un with surprise in his eyes.
The instant they had leaped out of the dense forest, he had noticed the current swirling around Shin'un's body and his inhuman speed.
Probably only a handful of the ninja on this mission could make out his exact movements!
Hatake Sakumo thought, then recalled the reputation of a genius spreading through Konoha.
Hirakawa Shin'un... was that Lightning Body Flicker just now?
After giving Shin'un a few more looks, Hatake Sakumo withdrew his gaze and began directing the Anbu ninja to deal with the scene.
Meanwhile, following Hatake Sakumo's instructions, Shin'un brought his teammates onto a nearby branch with the Body Flicker Technique to avoid hindering the Anbu ninja's efficiency in clearing the scene.
Once Shin'un and his teammates had steadied themselves in the tree, he turned to look at Hatake Sakumo below.
Hatake Sakumo had made no effort to conceal his gaze earlier, so Shin'un had naturally noticed him looking him up and down.
However, Shin'un did not mind.
He and Hatake Sakumo had never had any dealings before, and barring anything unexpected, they would not have any in the future either.
After all, given Hatake Sakumo's importance, enough to call him the head of the Anbu, he was probably busy every day. Shin'un had only seen him once since graduating from the Ninja Academy.
Unless, one day, Shin'un joined the Anbu...
"Shin'un! That was amazing!"
A voice suddenly coming from beside him drew Shin'un's attention.
He turned to look. It was Yūichi, wearing an excited smile.
"Your Lightning Body Flicker got even faster!"
As he spoke, Yūichi pointed at his eyes. They were strikingly scarlet, with two pitch-black tomoe revolving around the center of each pupil.
"A week ago, my futatsudomoe Sharingan could still more or less make out your exact movements."
"Now, when I watch you, your figure's already starting to blur into a phantom!"
"How did you do it?"
Hearing this familiar question, Shin'un answered helplessly.
"You've already asked me that, and I've already answered."
"Just find the right direction for your training, then work hard every day."
Yūichi shook his head vigorously at Shin'un's answer.
"I know that. Is there anything else?"
"Something that can make my Fire Style stronger!"
Looking at Yūichi's expectant gaze, Shin'un fell silent.
What else was there to say besides that?
Wasn't being a ninja just about finding the right direction, training hard, and ultimately letting your talent determine the results?
He couldn't exactly tell Yūichi he was this strong because of the few skills he had manifested, could he?
Looking into Yūichi's earnest eyes, Shin'un silently considered for a moment and decided to engage in a round of mutual flattery.
"Don't say that. Hasn't your Fire Style been improving by leaps and bounds lately too?"
"I saw it just now. When you assassinated that Sand Ninja, he died without noticing a thing. Your assassination skills have clearly improved considerably too."
"I'd say the Uchiha Clan's honor will depend on you to uphold it in the future!"
"..."
Based on how well Shin'un knew Yūichi, he was certain that after hearing those words, Yūichi would have no mind to bother him again for a while.
"Hehe... heh heh... hahaha..."
Sure enough, after hearing Shin'un's words, Yūichi immediately laughed foolishly a few times and looked down below the tree, thinking who knew what.
"Phew..."
Letting out a breath, Shin'un watched Yūichi sink into his inner world, then shook his head and turned to look below.
During their conversation, a mere two minutes had passed, and the Anbu ninja's cleanup of the battlefield below was already showing results.
Supplies such as kunai, scrolls, and steel wire left on the Sand Ninja's bodies were removed, scattered traces of combat on the surrounding trees were cleared away, and the small outpost the Sand Ninja had built was dismantled...
Shin'un even saw one Anbu ninja take off a Sand Ninja's open-toed shoes, put them on, then stamp hard a few times beside that Sand Ninja's corpse in satisfaction.
A few more minutes passed, and all the little details were cleaned up by the professional, detail-conscious Anbu ninja.
Once the surroundings had largely been cleared, one Anbu ninja remained behind while the others leaped onto the branches, just as Shin'un had.
Just as Shin'un began to feel puzzled, he saw the remaining Anbu ninja forming hand seals, though he did not know what ninjutsu he was using.
In a brief instant, that Anbu ninja had finished his hand seals and pressed both palms to the ground.
Then Shin'un saw the earth begin to ripple like water, centered on that Anbu ninja's palms.
Amid those ripples, the Sand Ninja corpses littering the ground, their dismantled tents, and the supplies that could not be taken away slowly sank.
After a dozen or so seconds, those objects had completely disappeared underground, but that Anbu ninja was still maintaining his ninjutsu.
Clearly, he intended to bury those objects deeper.
Only after three minutes did he release his hands with a long exhale.
Shin'un estimated that those corpses, tents, and other things were already buried more than fifty meters underground.
Afterward, that Anbu ninja manipulated the ground again, adjusting the grass on its surface to look more natural.
In just a short while, Shin'un could no longer tell that a battle had taken place here, and he could not help marveling inwardly.
As expected of Anbu ninja who spent their years killing and committing arson, they really were professionals when it came to disposing of bodies and erasing evidence!