Chapter 59 (Patreon)

Night fell.

Team Yujiro opened their eyes almost at the same time.

Their target was the Kumogakure shinobi stationed near the border of the Land of Lightning.

Yujiro moved first, with Kakashi and Itachi following close behind. The three of them slipped into the darkness like wolves hunting beneath the moon.

Under the cover of night, they crossed the border and entered the Land of Lightning.

Ding! Unlimited Mission activated.

Kill fifteen enemy Genin. Reward: 0.1 Limiter unlock points.

Kill six enemy Chūnin. Reward: 0.1 Limiter unlock points.

Kill three enemy Jōnin. Reward: 0.1 Limiter unlock points.

The corner of Yujiro’s mouth lifted slightly.

As expected.

The system had triggered a mission at a time like this.

Above the third level was the fourth level.

Once he reached the fourth level, Yujiro would finally have the confidence to face the top combatants of this world head-on.

If he reached the middle stage of the fourth level, or even the late stage, then controlling the entire ninja world would no longer be impossible.

“We’ve found a camp,” Yujiro said quietly. “Around thirty shinobi.”

Kakashi and Itachi both looked toward him.

Yujiro’s eyes remained fixed on the distant lights hidden between the trees.

“I’ll strike through the center. Kakashi, take the left. Itachi, take the right.”

His voice was calm, almost indifferent.

“Don’t let anyone escape.”

Kakashi gave a small nod.

Itachi’s Sharingan spun silently in the darkness.

“Understood.”

“Move.”

The moment Yujiro gave the order, Kakashi and Itachi vanished.

Yujiro, however, did not hide.

He walked straight toward the camp with the black blade resting in his hand.

A few seconds later, the Kumogakure shinobi noticed him.

“Enemy attack!”

“Konoha shinobi!”

The camp immediately erupted into chaos.

A Kumogakure Chūnin flickered beside the squad captain, his expression tense.

“Captain… that boy. Doesn’t he match the description Kirigakure sent yesterday?”

The captain’s face darkened the moment he saw Yujiro walking toward them.

“You mean… Yujiro?”

Even as he said the name, a small part of him still hoped he was wrong.

But the black martial outfit and the black blade in Yujiro’s hand completely destroyed that hope.

It was him.

The Konoha shinobi who had been slaughtering Kirigakure forces for days.

Yujiro continued walking toward the dozen shinobi in front of him, his blade hanging loosely at his side. A faint smile remained on his face.

In his eyes, they were no longer enemies.

They were stepping stones.

Convenient sacrifices to push his strength higher.

“One-Sword Style.”

Yujiro’s fingers tightened around the hilt.

“Cross Shura.”

The ground cracked beneath his feet.

In the next instant, his figure tore straight into the crowd.

The slaughter began.

Black sword energy swept through the camp like a storm.

Screams were swallowed by the night.

Some shinobi tried to retreat. Others turned to run.

But before they could escape, flames and lightning struck from the darkness, cutting off every path.

Kakashi and Itachi had already sealed the perimeter.

The entire battle lasted less than fifteen minutes.

By the time the camp fell silent, blood had already soaked the ground.

Yujiro stepped over the bodies and stopped beside the last surviving shinobi.

From him, Yujiro obtained the location of the nearest Kumogakure garrison.

The night was far from over.

And beneath that night, Yujiro became a black-bladed Shura, moving from one camp to the next.

Minute by minute, hour by hour, the border of the Land of Lightning sank into fear.

A week passed.

In that single week, the Kumogakure troops stationed along the border were thrown into complete panic.

Information about Yujiro’s three-man team could no longer be hidden.

Yujiro.

Hatake Kakashi.

Uchiha Itachi.

Their names spread through the Kumogakure camps like a curse.

But even though the enemy knew who they were, they still could not stop them.

Yujiro’s team was simply too strong.

Even when dozens of Kumogakure Jōnin tried to surround them at once, the three of them still broke through the encirclement, killed their way out, and left the enemy corpses behind.

Eventually, the information reached Kumogakure itself, deep within the Land of Lightning.

Inside the Raikage’s office, the Fourth Raikage slammed his fist down on the desk.

The entire room shook.

“Ridiculous!”

His furious voice echoed through the office.

“You expect me to believe this nonsense?!”

The report lay open on his desk.

His face was dark with anger, and the shinobi around him lowered their heads, not daring to speak.

“Lord Raikage,” Mabui said calmly from beside the desk, adjusting her glasses. “This information was delivered by a border unit that risked their lives to bring it back. I believe it is reliable.”

The Raikage’s jaw tightened.

He took a slow breath, forcing down his rage.

“Mabui. What do you think?”

Mabui looked at the report again.

“We should not waste time doubting the source. For now, we must assume the contents are true.”

Her tone was steady.

“That means our greatest threat is no longer the Konoha forces stationed near the Land of Fire border.”

She raised her eyes toward the Raikage.

“Our priority should be Yujiro’s team.”

The Raikage’s expression grew colder.

“The report also says they broke through a formation made up of dozens of Jōnin. If that is true, how do you suggest we deal with them?”

Mabui went silent for a moment.

Then she spoke in a low voice.

“The Two-Tails Jinchūriki.”

The office fell silent.

Using a tailed beast in war was never a small decision.

Once a village took that step, the meaning of the battlefield changed completely.

The Raikage’s face became grim.

It was not that he was unwilling.

But Konoha had not deployed the Nine-Tails.

If Kumogakure used the power of a tailed beast first, they would certainly be criticized after the war.

The atmosphere in the office grew heavy.

At that moment, a Kumogakure intelligence officer rushed in from outside.

The Raikage’s already dangerous expression darkened further.

“What are you panicking for?” he snapped. “Speak properly!”

The intelligence officer stiffened.

“L-Lord Raikage! Kirigakure just sent new information!”

He hurried forward and placed a scroll on the desk.

The Raikage frowned.

“What kind of information has you looking like that? Read it.”

“Yes!”

The intelligence officer opened the scroll with trembling hands.

Then he began to read.

“Yujiro’s team killed nearly fifteen hundred Kirigakure shinobi within two months.”

The office went still.

The intelligence officer swallowed hard and continued.

“Among them, Yujiro was the core combatant and was responsible for the highest number of casualties.”

“During the final encirclement, Kirigakure mobilized nearly five hundred elite shinobi.”

“Even Lord Mizukage entered the battle personally.”

“In the end, Lord Mizukage was severely injured and forced to retreat. During the battle, Lord Yagura lost consciousness.”

The intelligence officer’s voice shook.

“After that, the Three-Tails took control of Lord Yagura’s body and fully transformed. Even then… it was still heavily wounded.”

“What?!”

The Fourth Raikage shot up from his chair.

His eyes widened in disbelief.

Yujiro had fought the fully transformed Three-Tails and still left it severely injured?

For a moment, no one in the office spoke.

Then the Raikage’s expression hardened.

“Mabui.”

“Yes, Lord Raikage.”

“Send word to Yugito Nii.”

His voice was low, but every word carried weight.

“Deploy the Two-Tails Jinchūriki.”