Witnessing the previously formidable and arrogant Raiga being pinned to the wall and killed in the blink of an eye, Obito's eyes widened in shock. "So amazing! As expected of Setsuna-san!"
Kakashi was equally shocked internally, 'That was one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, a significant figure in the Ninja World, and he died so... unceremoniously.'
Hizashi, however, remained calm. The fact that Setsuna could rescue Minato from the Kumogakure's forces was far more impressive than defeating one Raiga.
Hearing Obito's exclamation, Setsuna shook his head slightly. It was mainly due to the element of surprise… a 'first encounter kill'.
If the opponent had known about his abilities and hadn't chosen to block the thrown blades with his sword, he still might not have survived, but at least he wouldn't have died in such a laughable manner.
Setsuna walked forward to retrieve the Lightning Blades and the Sword of the Thunder God. "Genuine articles, indeed. They remained completely intact after blocking my 'thrown blades'."
The 'Sword of the Thunder God' currently stored in Konoha was cracked by Sasuke's Chidori and later completely destroyed by Naruto's Rasengan during their Genin stage. Its quality was completely inferior.
While examining the legendary sword, Setsuna asked, "By the way, what exactly happened here? Why are there so many dead?"
"I'm not sure either. These samurai and Ninjas suddenly appeared and started killing indiscriminately. We couldn't just stand by and intervened, but we never expected someone as powerful as a Seven Ninja Swordsman to be among them."
As Obito spoke, he suddenly realized something and pointed to one side. "Wait, that guy was giving orders to that Swordsman just now. He might know."
Setsuna looked in the direction Obito pointed and indeed saw someone trying to sneak away quietly.
Caz's face was pale. He hadn't dared to warn Raiga earlier precisely because he feared attracting Setsuna's attention.
After all, he had personally witnessed how the other party single-handedly routed the Kumogakure forces, sp je lmew Raiga was definitely no match for him.
'Wait, I've changed bodies now. They probably won't recognize me,' Caz comforted himself internally.
Setsuna made a grasping motion with his right hand, and Caz was pulled over from the distance.
"I ask you, what is..."
Before Setsuna could finish his question, Caz impatiently cut him off, "This was all the plan of the Jashin Cult leader, Caz! He wanted to kill everyone in Yugakure and sacrifice them to Jashin!"
Setsuna frowned slightly, feeling that the person before him seemed somewhat familiar, but he couldn't pinpoint why.
Caz said urgently, "I can report all the Jashin Cult's hideouts. I also know I'm doomed. I only ask that you allow me to offer one last prayer, to let these poor souls rest in peace."
Guy scratched his head in confusion. "Could this guy actually be a good person?"
Kakashi found it utterly ridiculous, 'Guy, you are far too gullible.'
Seeing Setsuna remain silent, Caz grew anxious. He pleaded tearfully, "Please, let me go pray first! You can watch me, I absolutely won't run away."
He couldn't afford not to be anxious, as his body was on the verge of collapse.
Although he couldn't perform a large-scale blood sacrifice now, many people had died in Yugakure. He could definitely perform a small-scale sacrifice to temporarily stabilize his body.
Seeing the other's desperate and uncomfortable state, Setsuna frowned slightly, 'Was this guy some kind of 'addict'? Do such things exist in the Naruto World?'
Although unsure of the specifics, the more urgent the other party seemed, the less likely Setsuna was to let him go.
"Not so fast. Prayers can be done anytime. Let me ask you, does your Jashin Cult have any Jutsu that can grant physical immortality?" Setsuna asked.
"Immortality Jutsu?" Caz's heart jumped in alarm, 'This was my biggest secret. How could this guy know about it?'
"I don't know," Caz said, forcing himself to stay calm.
Setsuna said calmly, "But your heartbeat tells a different story."
Unless someone possessed immense mental fortitude to completely suppress their bodily instincts, Setsuna could tell if they were lying just by their physical reactions.
"Alright, fine. It's true. Caz created this slaughter to ask Jashin to grant him an immortal body," Caz said, his words rapid-fire.
Setsuna pondered internally, 'So, Hidan in the future was the beneficiary of this blood sacrifice.'
'But Hidan's personality doesn't seem to match that Caz's. Did Caz try to experiment on a child first, only to be killed by Hidan instead?'
Setsuna couldn't be bothered to think too much about it. Regardless, he had essentially helped Asuma avoid a future disaster.
Seeing Setsuna lost in thought again, Caz asked urgently, "Honorable Ninja, could you please put me down first? My conscience is uneasy. Let me find a small hut to pray first."
Setsuna replied calmly, "No rush. I have more questions for you..."
"Ask your mother!" Caz finally snapped. His body twisted in agony, chunks of flesh falling to the ground as if he were being sliced to death.
He let out despairing, miserable wails. The scene was so gruesome that even for Ninjas accustomed to life and death, it was overly disturbing.
"Huh? Did he... die of remorse?" Guy asked, utterly shocked.
"Idiot, he obviously died because of some Jashin Cult Jutsu," Kakashi retorted, rolling his eyes. He analyzed seriously, "He was so urgent earlier, likely because he needed to perform the Jashin Cult's evil blood sacrifice. While his identity is unclear, he was definitely not a good person. There's no need to feel sorry for such trash."
Setsuna wiped his hands. When the other roared in fury at the end, he seemed to sense the aura of that Caz, but he couldn't be sure.
After a moment's thought, Setsuna shook his head slightly, 'It doesn't matter. After this ordeal, would Yugakure dare not count our mission as completed?'
Sure enough, after dealing with the remaining Rogue Ninjas and samurai, the village chief of Yugakure came out, thanking them profusely and holding their hands as if he never intended to let go.
On the way back, Obito still felt a bit dazed. "What was the village chief of Yugakure trying to say earlier?"
Kakashi summarized succinctly, "Idiot, he wants to become Konoha's subordinate."
"The way adults talk is so roundabout. Can't they just be direct?" Obito sighed helplessly, then suddenly realized something belatedly, "Wait, Setsuna-san, Minato-sensei, how did you two manage to escape in the end?"
"Escape?" Minato was silent for a moment before smiling wryly. "If you defeat all the enemies, you can naturally escape."
"Defeat all of them?" Even Hizashi, who had the most confidence in Setsuna, couldn't help but be surprised. He had assumed Setsuna had simply outrun the enemies.
Minato nodded, filled with emotion. "Over a hundred Ninjas, including top-tier experts like the next Raikage candidate and the Eight-Tails' Jinchuriki, were all defeated by Setsuna alone. If the Third Raikage hadn't arrived, perhaps none of them would have left alive."
Everyone looked at Setsuna with shocked expressions. Although they knew he was strong, they never imagined he was powerful to this extent.
Setsuna laughed. "You flatter me too much, Minato-senpai. If it weren't for the deterrence of your Flying Thunder God Technique, I might not have been able to defeat them."
"I didn't help much," Minato said with a bitter smile, shaking his head. "By the way, you don't need to call me 'senpai' anymore. It feels too distant."
"You're right. We've been through life and death together now."
Just then, Kakashi suddenly thought of a question, "Senpai, you aren't a Chunin yet, are you?"
"Stupid Kakashi, you don't even know if Setsuna-san is a Chunin? We haven't taken the Chunin Exams yet!" Obito seized Kakashi's mistake and laughed at him loudly.
Kakashi rolled his eyes and sneered, "So you'd better pray you don't get matched against Senpai in the Chunin Exams."
Hearing Kakashi's words, everyone finally realized they would still have to compete against Setsuna in the Chunin Exams.
'Was such a thing even possible?'