Deep within the Land of Rain, in a small, bustling town.
In a dim alleyway, three ninja dressed in Amegakure uniforms were speaking in hushed tones.
"How are things on your side? The Rain ninja haven't made any moves yet. Iwa and Konoha haven't clashed recently either. But there's likely to be a big operation soon—stay sharp and keep the intel flowing."
"Got it."
The three exchanged a few more pieces of information. Once their meeting ended, they left behind a coded message and prepared to disperse—
—but in that instant, a blur of movement flashed out from the corner, swift as a bolt of white lightning.
The three reacted instantly, but their bodies couldn't keep up. They didn't even have time to perform a Substitution Jutsu.
Shhh!
A flash of silvery-white light cut through the alley!
In the blink of an eye, the figure appeared behind them, a long blade wreathed in violet miasma gripped in his hand.
The sword bore no trace of blood—its surface gleamed immaculate—yet within a heartbeat, it darkened, black as ink.
The figure wore a tattered rain cloak typical of the Land of Rain. His face was still young, yet cold and emotionless, eyes devoid of hesitation—only calm indifference that didn't belong to someone his age.
It was Leo.
He had listened long enough. Just useless chatter. No valuable intel. Disappointing.
Turning around, he sheathed Enma, the Demon Blade, and strode out of the alley.
Behind him, the three Rain spies were frozen in shock, eyes wide as they tried to turn around.
A chill spread across their necks. A thin crimson line appeared—then burst open.
Blood gushed like an erupting volcano.
Three heads flew into the air, their faces still twisted with disbelief, while blood sprayed across the walls.
Not a sound escaped them before Leo erased their existence.
By now, it had been half a month since Leo left the Konoha encampment.
During that time, guided by ANBU scouts, he'd roamed across the Land of Rain—gathering intel, hunting spies, and assassinating targets.
The three just now were nothing remarkable—just another faceless batch of agents.
After countless such kills, his accumulated eEXPerience had reached 9,800 / 50,000.
Just a little more, and he'd hit 10,000—enough to upgrade his Threefold Haki once again.
And through all these missions, Leo never slacked on his training. Theory and practice advanced side by side, sharpening his skill at astonishing speed.
He had also spent this time studying White Fang's Swordsmanship Notes in depth, gaining an entirely new understanding of the blade.
White Fang's swordsmanship pursued absolute speed, absolute precision, and absolute eEXPlosiveness.
As the saying goes: Among all martial arts, speed is the ultimate truth.
So it was with the sword. When White Fang struck, the opponent's head would already be severed before they even realized they'd been attacked.
Sakumo had even detailed in his scroll how to achieve such speed.
Interestingly, his method resembled Cloud-nin's Lightning Body Techniques.
Those techniques worked by stimulating the user's cells with Lightning-nature chakra, activating them and greatly boosting physical performance.
After all, nerve impulses in the human body are essentially electrical signals—so by layering Lightning Chakra over them, you could amplify that transmission, drastically increasing reaction speed.
Meanwhile, the same Lightning Chakra stimulated muscle cells throughout the body, triggering full-body coordination—eventually producing blinding velocity.
Leo's technique Shave (Soru) already gave him inhuman speed.
And as its level increased, his speed rivaled advanced Body Flicker Techniques—and the range of movement eEXPanded even further.
But those were abilities granted by the system. To become truly strong, Leo couldn't rely solely on power borrowed from elsewhere.
He needed to hone himself. A true warrior must possess the heart of one. Everything else was just a tool.
Fortunately, he already had Lightning-nature chakra. Following White Fang's training methods, he used it to activate his muscle cells during missions.
The effect was remarkable—combining Shave with Lightning Chakra activation pushed his speed to a new extreme.
So when he'd just slain those three Rain-nin, the only thing they'd seen—
was a flash of white light.
Faster than wind and thunder.
At this point, that phrase described Leo perfectly.
He stepped onto the muddy street of the Rain Country town, mind adrift in future plans.
But then—a sudden commotion rose from the distance.
The town wasn't large, and most of its residents were ordinary civilians. Because it lay deep within the Land of Rain, far from the war's front lines, it was relatively peaceful—
for now.
But that peace would never last. In wartime, no place remained untouched.
"Catch those two!"
"They're thieves!"
Shouts and curses filled the air as a crowd surged in chaos.
Two small figures burst through the throng, clutching loaves of bread, faces full of panic.
Their pursuers—grown men—struggled to push through the crowd.
Leo didn't even slow his pace. He'd seen plenty of this.
In the Land of Rain, starvation drove countless people to theft or banditry every single day.
But then—
A single line stopped him in his tracks.
"Konan! Hurry up!"
"Mm!"
A boy with messy orange hair shoved his way through the mob, while a delicate blue-haired girl followed closely behind.
Behind them, the shouting continued.
"It's them!"
"Yahiko! Konan!"
Leo's eyes narrowed. He remembered them instantly.
Yahiko… and Konan.
If his timing was right, this was before they'd met Nagato—before the three orphans' fateful encounter with Jiraiya.
To think he'd run into them here, of all places.
Without Yahiko, there would be no Akatsuki. And without Akatsuki—history itself would have changed.
Yahiko dashed ahead, but Konan lagged behind.
Stealing food was one thing; escaping afterward was another.
She was frail to begin with, and the rain-soaked streets were slick and uneven. Her foot caught on a hidden pothole—
She gasped as she stumbled forward, the loaf of bread flying from her hands.
Yahiko was already ahead, unaware that Konan had fallen.
On that lonely street, only Leo stood silently as a loaf of bread tumbled toward him—
and the girl before him began to fall face-first into the muddy water.
He had to choose.
Which would he catch—the bread, or the girl?
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