Nara Yūji approached, looked for a moment, then shook his head.
"Ninjas are not soldiers. The most remote parts of the defensive line are exactly where they like to attack the most. I wonder if that guy is even still alive?"
Yūhi Kurenai's heart tightened. Her lovely crimson eyes turned toward Shimura Masao.
"What happened to Kairen?"
Nara Yūji couldn't help but showcase the excellent judgment of the Nara clan. He pointed at Moku Kairen's position on the eighth line.
"Judging by the timeline, Moku Kairen has already been here for two weeks. The Sunagakure attacks must have come at least five times."
"And there's no way there were just Genin among them. At the very least, they were Chūnin—maybe even Jōnin. So, that means he's already—"
"Kairen…"
Kurenai's heart ached. That clingy, irritating Kairen had always been around her, but now that he might be gone, she suddenly felt a hollow emptiness inside.
That cheerful boy was no longer there. His black eyes, which always seemed to shine with the light of hope, could no longer be seen.
"Damn it…"
Asuma clenched his fists, feeling—for the first time—discontent toward his own clan. Yes, he had his quarrels with Kairen. The guy had stepped on his head—an insult that could never be left unavenged.
But if Kairen was dead, who was he supposed to take revenge on?
Shimura Masao chuckled.
"As expected of a child of the Nara clan. From such limited information, you've already pieced together so much. Unfortunately…"
"He's still alive!"
"What?!" Nara Yūji looked at Shimura Masao in disbelief.
Shimura Masao took the defense map from Asuma's hands, lowered his head, and said,
"Moku Kairen is indeed still alive. In fact, he's doing perfectly fine."
"That makes no sense. Don't tell me Sunagakure has gone into a strategic ceasefire?"
"No. Other lines have had casualties too. In the past two weeks, four Jōnin have already died."
Nara Yūji scratched his head vigorously.
"It still doesn't make sense! Even if he has some forbidden technique, with power only at the level of a Chūnin, there's no way he could have survived!"
If even Jōnin had no guarantee of surviving there, how could Kairen—who wasn't even officially a Chūnin—still be alive and kicking?
Shimura Masao gave no reply. He didn't even consider it worth answering.
Kurenai rubbed her eyes lightly, brushing away the tears that had almost spilled out, and the corners of her mouth lifted faintly.
She didn't know why, but the moment she heard Kairen was still alive, her mood instantly brightened.
Asuma clenched his fists tighter, his heart a tangled mess. On one hand, this meant he still had the chance to defeat Kairen and avenge himself. On the other hand, the memories of those humiliations came flooding back…
Kurenai gathered her courage and pleaded,
"Commander-sama, could you transfer Kairen out of Zone A?"
"Kurenai—" Yūhi Shinku stretched out his hand, trying to stop his daughter from pushing her own will.
Shimura Masao simply laughed, completely ignoring Kurenai—going so far as to dismiss her entirely.
The Sarutobi clan wanted Kairen dead. Shimura Masao wanted him dead too. How could he possibly agree to the request of some girl?
Even if her father was an elite Jōnin, the Shimura clan commanded the Root division, filled with Jōnin.
Seeing no reply, Kurenai lowered her head in sorrow, a film of mist clouding her eyes.
Asuma felt his chest ache at the sight, wanting to speak up to Shimura Masao—but he couldn't bring himself to do it. How could he possibly ask someone to save a person he hated?
Besides, ever since Kurenai found out that the Sarutobi clan had arranged for Kairen to be transferred to the front lines, she hadn't spoken a word to Asuma. They'd been in a cold war ever since.
Seeing the silence all around, Shimura Masao began dismissing them.
"If you've got nothing else, then get on with your own assignments!"
Asuma gave a cold snort, his eyes fixed on the defense map spread out on Masao's desk.
"I don't want to go to Zone C. That's clearly just logistics duty. I want to go to Zone B."
Shimura Masao refused. He couldn't openly arrange for the Hokage's child to get himself killed.
"I said I'm going there!"
Asuma pressed stubbornly. Shimura Masao glanced at Yūhi Shinku, who gave him a small nod.
With an elite Jōnin protecting them, there shouldn't be much danger in Zone B.
"Fine. You'll go reinforce the B-line."
Asuma then pointed at a section just behind Kairen's line.
"I want to go here. I want to see for myself just how strong Moku Kairen has become!"
"Do as you like, do as you like. After all, you are the Hokage's son."
...
Zone A, Eighth Line. The hill defended by Kairen.
On the mountaintop stood around a hundred Shadow Clones. Some wielded kunai, others pitchforks, some wooden sticks, while others had picked up stones…
They charged at Kairen in unison. Kairen dodged them one by one, his movements flowing like a dance. At times he lunged like a ferocious tiger; at others, he twisted and slipped away like a nimble snake…
Kairen had spent 600 experience points to exchange for Might Guy's five years of Taijutsu training. Thanks to this, his Ninja Eight Attributes' Tai stat had reached the peak of Chūnin level.
If not for the Chūnin template restricting him, Kairen's Taijutsu would already be at Jōnin level.
As for this template restriction, Kairen understood the system's explanation: the Infinite Resurrection System wanted him to develop in every aspect, raising him into a true all-rounder ninja.
Thus, Kairen had to max out his Ninja Eight Attributes, his Chakra Four Attributes, and the foundations of his ninja profession before he could swap to a new template and start adding points there.
One Shadow Clone used the Taijutsu move it had been best at in its previous life—Monkey Steals the Peach.
It was about to land a critical hit on Kairen's future happiness.
"Konoha Whirlwind!"
Kairen crouched low and swept fiercely at the clone's lower half, destroying it in a single strike.
Bang!
The clone's memories flowed back into Kairen's mind. It always felt a little strange—almost like fighting himself.
Suddenly, another flood of memories surged into his brain. They came from a small whirlwind clone he'd left at the foot of the mountain.
Through it, Kairen saw Asuma's squad approaching. Asuma immediately picked a fight with the clone, clashing with weapons.
Kairen's clone was no match and was blown away by Asuma's Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.
...
Asuma froze after dispersing the clone with his Wind Release.
"It was only a Shadow Clone!"
That a mere clone had forced him to use a ninjutsu—he had intended to show off his Wind Release in front of Kairen, but instead, he was the one who had been shown up.
A hazy silhouette slowly appeared atop a large boulder. The white figure gradually solidified.
His white tunic was left open at the chest, a black snake-like sash tied at the waist with a ninja blade tucked into it.
He looked like a miniature version of Sasuke, only shorter—giving off an oddly punchable vibe.
Kairen looked down and saw Asuma's squad, Yūhi Kurenai, and standing further back on a tree branch, Yūhi Shinku and Nara Yūji.
"Kairen!" Kurenai's face lit up with joy when she saw he was safe.
Kairen waved, then shifted his gaze toward Yūhi Shinku. Activating his Byakugan, he gauged his chakra reserves.
The chakra of an elite Jōnin was overwhelmingly dense—enough to unleash more than ten high-level jutsu without issue.
Asuma noticed Kairen's gaze completely ignored him. It felt like a direct insult, as though he didn't exist at all.
"Moku Kairen! Look over here!"
Kairen tilted his head, letting out a soft "huh?" as though surprised someone was even standing down there.
"You bastard!"
Unable to stand that look, Asuma drew a kunai from his thigh.
"I've already mastered Wind Release! Come on! Fight me!"
Kairen sat cross-legged, resting one hand on his knee and smiling faintly. He didn't even put Special Jōnin in his eyes—why would he bother with someone not even a Chūnin?
The only thing noteworthy about Asuma was his title as the Hokage's son. But Kairen had already made use of that title once. Now, he no longer cared for it.
Kairen turned his gaze to Kurenai, his expression softening into a warm smile.
"Kurenai, what are you doing on the front lines?"
Asuma's fury reached its peak. This was no longer just being ignored—Kairen truly did not see him as existing at all.
For Asuma, who had considered Kairen his greatest rival, how could he possibly accept that?
"Moku Kairen!!" Asuma leapt high, kunai in hand, slashing straight toward Kairen.
The blade was about to pierce Kairen when Kurenai cried out in panic,
"Kairen, look out!"
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