Rikako spoke calmly: "Shirai's death is indeed regrettable, but this is what it means to be a ninja. Dying at another's hand is a kind of fate."
"Rikako! Shirai grew up with us since childhood, he's our comrade!" Hoefu muttered.
Rikako shook her head. "Don't dwell on it. Let's deal with this strange little brat first."
Kairen grew impatient. "What's with all the whining? Hurry up and come at me already!"
That was how these Sunagakure ninjas were—still finding time to chat in the middle of battle.
Rikako's eyes, hidden beneath black cloth, gleamed coldly as her ten fingers twitched, instantly controlling Kairen with chakra threads.
At the same time, the ground beneath Kairen rose, and a puppet resembling a black ant opened its abdomen, instantly capturing him.
It turned out Rikako had secretly maneuvered her puppet underground while speaking with Hoefu.
Her capture puppet trapped Kairen, and with a fierce tug of her right hand—
Dozens of blades stabbed into the puppet's abdomen.
"Ding!"
"You were killed by Special Jōnin Rikako's puppet. EXP +60!"
Seeing no further movement within the puppet, Rikako's low voice reached Hoefu's ears.
"Now, I've avenged Shirai."
A wild laugh echoed from inside Rikako's puppet.
"Hahaha… Sand ninja, I'm not dead yet. You can't avenge him."
"Come to think of it, I've killed plenty of your people from Sunagakure. Why hasn't word spread yet? Why do you keep coming here one by one to die? Is your village's leadership toying with you?"
Rikako's anger flared. "Damn brat!"
Her chakra threads danced again.
"Ding!"
"You were killed by Special Jōnin Rikako's puppet. EXP +50!"
"Hahaha… I've told you sand ninjas countless times, I'm the immortal ninja. No matter how you kill me, I can't die!"
"Curse you! Curse you! Curse you!"
"Ding!"
"You were killed by Special Jōnin Rikako's puppet. EXP +30!"
"Ding!"
...
Rikako killed Kairen five more times. By the end, each kill only yielded 10 EXP. Kairen gradually lost interest in toying with them.
He opened the exchange interface, scrolling directly to the section on the Eight Gates. With 400 EXP accumulated, he could exchange exactly for the second gate—Rest Gate.
"Host has successfully exchanged Eight Inner Gates: Rest Gate!"
The Rest Gate, located within the brain, releases the body from fatigue, allowing extreme overdraw of energy to restore stamina, negating the exhaustion brought by opening previous gates.
Kairen felt another restriction in his mind loosen. He immediately shouted:
"Eight Inner Gates, First Gate—Open Gate, open!"
"Second Gate—Rest Gate, open!"
With two gates open, chakra poured from his body like a flood.
If before Kairen had been like a car with a single engine, now he was like a racecar with a second booster engine installed.
Opening two gates at once, his chakra burned faster, his power surging.
"Byakugan—activate!"
Kairen rapidly formed hand seals, his 361 tenketsu points flaring, releasing a dense cloud of smoke.
"Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning!"
Thick black smoke erupted, instantly engulfing Rikako and Hoefu.
Hoefu quickly smelled the strong odor of gunpowder and lunged toward Rikako.
"Rikako, move!"
Sparks ignited, explosions rumbling one after another.
When the smoke cleared, Kairen re-formed from a puff of white mist.
He wore a Sasuke-style white robe, with a thick black belt coiled around his waist like a snake.
Step by step, he emerged from the fading smoke.
"Cough… cough…"
Hoefu's back had been seared by the flames, his skin burnt raw as he coughed blood endlessly.
"Hoefu—!" Rikako cried out in worry.
Kairen retrieved a ninja blade from the system space, slowly advancing on Rikako and Hoefu.
Though only of Chūnin-level physique, his body was armed with Advanced ninjutsu and the undying ability of immortality.
Special Jōnin? To him, they were barely stronger than Chūnin.
A figure blocked Kairen's path—the other Sunagakure ninja, who had been waiting for a chance.
He called back to Rikako and Hoefu: "Go! I'll hold him off. Get this intel back to the village—warn the others!"
"Natada!" Rikako helped Hoefu up, her eyes heavy with reluctance.
Natada's voice carried firm resolve. "Hurry! Or it'll be too late!"
"Natada, be careful!"
Gritting her teeth, Rikako immediately carried Hoefu away with a Body Flicker.
Kairen scratched his head in exasperation.
"Hey, hey, hey! What's with this? Four mid-to-high-rank ninja ganging up on me, a Genin… You're making me look like the final boss!"
Natada glared coldly, tightening his grip on his blade.
"You're no ordinary Genin. That Smoke Transformation bloodline of yours makes you immune to all physical attacks."
"And your chakra—it hasn't dropped a bit this whole time. What are you really? A descendant of the Senju? Or Konoha's jinchūriki?"
Kairen didn't answer, his Byakugan locked on Rikako and Hoefu as they escaped. He turned to glance at Natada.
"I won't dodge. I'll give you a chance to use your strongest ninjutsu on me!"
"Arrogant!" Natada cursed, then quickly formed seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
With a burst of white smoke, a massive yellow scorpion, as tall as a building, crawled forth.
"Let's do this together!"
Through his Byakugan, Kairen observed the beast's chakra. Ninja beasts had larger chakra reserves than humans, but it was chaotic and impure, impossible to control precisely.
Kairen planted his blade into the ground, spreading his arms wide, facing both the enormous scorpion and Natada upon its back.
"I told you, I won't dodge! Show me your strongest technique!"
Forty seconds later, Kairen pulled his blade from Natada's chest.
He turned to the scorpion, which was covered in burns from Fire Release, its massive pincers charred black.
But instead of vanishing back to its summoning realm, it resisted, refusing to leave its master.
"Chitter… chitter…"
The scorpion staggered toward Natada. Kairen stepped aside to clear its path.
Natada's mouth dripped blood as his trembling hand touched the scorpion's shell.
"...Ten years by my side… thank you…"
"Chitter…"
When the master died, the summoned scorpion closed its eyes as well.
Kairen turned his head away. This was the ninja world—kill or be killed.
That pair, master and beast, granted him 300 EXP. Not much in his career, but their bond stirred him slightly.
Kairen shook his head, casting away the emotions in his heart. Mercy was the downfall of a ninja.
Opening two gates of the Eight Gates again, he formed a Body Flicker seal and dashed after Rikako and Hoefu.
He couldn't afford to be discovered by Sunagakure's higher-ups just yet. He still needed time to grow stronger here.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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