Chapter 50 (Patreon)

The next day, nine o’clock in the morning.

At Konoha’s main gate, Minato had arrived early to see Yujiro and the others off.

“Yujiro, be careful out there.”

Minato’s expression was serious as he spoke.

Then he took out three special three-pronged kunai.

On the handle of each kunai was the mark: Sword of Shinobi Love.

“Yujiro, listen carefully. If you run into an emergency and there’s no way to escape, pour chakra into this Flying Thunder God kunai.”

Minato took a slow breath, his gaze sweeping over Yujiro, Kakashi, and Itachi.

Finally, his eyes stopped on Kakashi.

“This time,” Minato said quietly, “I won’t be late again.”

Kakashi’s body trembled slightly.

Yujiro weighed the kunai in his hand and gave a faint smile.

“Minato-sensei, if there’s really trouble at the border, wouldn’t it be enough to send Konoha shinobi as reinforcements?”

“Konoha shinobi…” Minato let out a soft sigh.

There were not many available shinobi left in Konoha right now.

Then Yujiro’s calm voice reached him.

“Are the Uchiha clan’s shinobi not Konoha shinobi too?”

Minato’s expression changed on the spot.

When he raised his head again, Yujiro and the others had already left the village.

Minato stood there in silence.

After a long time, he murmured under his breath.

“The Uchiha clan’s shinobi… are Konoha shinobi too.”

That was right.

He had once said he wanted to bring the Uchiha clan and Konoha closer together again.

So when had he started forgetting that?

A few minutes later, Minato vanished from the gate, moving in a certain direction with a determined look in his eyes.

Toward the Uchiha clan compound.

In the forest outside Konoha, Jiraiya glanced at Yujiro with a rare look of confusion.

Those words from earlier were still echoing in his ears.

That kid had seen straight through it.

Were the Uchiha not Konoha shinobi?

Of course they were.

Jiraiya looked at Yujiro’s back and felt it again.

The more he watched this boy, the more he felt that Yujiro might truly be the child of prophecy he had been searching for.

Three days passed as they traveled.

Yujiro’s group finally arrived at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water.

There were already ANBU reinforcements stationed there.

But Kirigakure’s attacks had been fierce.

When the shinobi at the camp saw that the reinforcements were only Yujiro’s team, their expressions changed.

But once they saw Jiraiya leading them, they visibly relaxed.

After all, Jiraiya was one of the Legendary Sannin.

“Give me the current situation,” Jiraiya said to the squad leader stationed there.

“Yes, sir!”

A shinobi captain quickly stepped forward.

Half an hour later, they had gathered the necessary information.

That night, Jiraiya, Yujiro, Kakashi, and Itachi gathered inside a tent.

“The situation is clear now.”

Jiraiya looked down at the map spread across the table.

“I don’t know what kind of agreement Kirigakure and Kumogakure reached, but they’ve been putting heavy pressure on the border.”

His finger tapped a point behind the enemy line.

“So our job is simple. We go deep into enemy territory and cut off their supplies.”

Yujiro nodded.

The mission was clear now.

Slip behind enemy lines.

Break through their defense net.

Destroy their food and supplies.

“Everyone, rest for today,” Jiraiya said in a low voice. “Tomorrow morning, I’ll lead you out.”

“Understood.”

The three nodded and left the tent, each returning to their own.

The moment Yujiro stepped into his tent, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

Let Jiraiya lead the team?

Then how was he supposed to gain any real combat experience?

They would move tonight.

Hidden beneath the cover of darkness, three figures slipped out of the Konoha camp like ghosts.

Yujiro, Kakashi, and Itachi raced through the forest.

Yujiro could feel it.

Something powerful was stirring inside him.

His blood was heating up.

His body was sharpening.

That feeling made him almost addicted.

“Stop.”

Yujiro suddenly halted Kakashi and Itachi.

Then he raised a finger and pointed toward a valley ahead.

“There are more than a dozen Kirigakure shinobi there.”

Yujiro’s perception was far stronger than Kakashi’s and Itachi’s. Naturally, he could sense the enemy’s presence first.

“Yujiro-san, what do we do?” Itachi asked quickly.

Yujiro smiled faintly.

“Kill them.”

[Ding! New mission activated.]

[Mission: Kill 1,000 Genin.]

[Reward: Fire Release attribute + 20 Limiter unlock points.]

[Ding! New mission activated.]

[Mission: Kill 300 Chūnin.]

[Reward: Water Release attribute + 30 Limiter unlock points.]

[Ding! New mission activated.]

[Mission: Kill 100 Jōnin.]

[Reward: Earth Release attribute + 50 Limiter unlock points.]

Three missions appeared in Yujiro’s mind one after another.

Other chakra attributes as rewards?

Yujiro narrowed his eyes.

Not bad.

The more attributes he had, the stronger he would become once his Limiter advanced further.

These missions were practically made for him.

The night raid had begun.

…

The next morning.

Jiraiya arrived at Yujiro’s tent, only to find it completely empty.

There was only a note left behind.

Don’t worry, Lord Jiraiya. We believe in Yujiro’s strength.

—Hatake Kakashi

Meanwhile, on Kirigakure’s side, three assassination squads had already been wiped out by Yujiro’s team.

Itachi had killed the fewest.

Kakashi had handled support and cover.

Yujiro had taken the lead in the slaughter.

Time continued to pass.

This time, Kirigakure had truly provoked a killing god.

In just one night, three assassination squads had been completely eliminated.

At least thirty shinobi were dead.

Among them were Chūnin and Jōnin.

That alone was enough to show how dangerous the attackers were.

The condition of the bodies was even worse.

Some had been cut cleanly apart.

Some had been stabbed through the heart.

Others had vanished so thoroughly that not even their corpses could be found.

Slowly, a terrifying atmosphere began spreading through the Kirigakure camp.

They had started to fear the arrival of night.

Because whenever darkness fell, somewhere in the nearby valley or forest—

heart-piercing screams would always rise.