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The whole Icha Icha Paradise incident was finally over.
After subtracting the cost of buying the books, Ken figured he'd made a bit over twenty thousand ryo. Not a huge haul, but still a nice profit.
Of course, he wasn't stupid enough to price each copy at one or two hundred thousand ryo.
Kakashi wasn't an idiot.
There was no way he'd pay that much.
Fifty thousand per book was just right. Painful, sure, but still within Kakashi's tolerance.
Teaching Kakashi a little lesson had also put Ken in a much better mood.
On top of that…
The fact that Itachi had hidden Icha Icha Paradise under his pillow had been discovered by Fugaku and Mikoto.
Even though Itachi tried his best to defend himself using Ken's earlier explanation…
His parents still didn't believe him.
The way they looked at him carried this faint, unspoken message:
"Our son's growing up…"
…
Uchiha district.
Weapon shop.
"Hello, Granny. I'm heading out on a trip soon, so I came to buy some ninja tools."
Ken smiled politely as he greeted the old woman in front of him.
This was the Uchiha clan's dedicated weapon shop, run by the well-known Cat Granny (Nekobaa).
"Ken, heading out to train again?" she asked, taking a long pull from her pipe before exhaling a thin stream of smoke.
Cats of all colors lounged around her, some playing, others dozing off. The place felt oddly cozy.
"Yeah." Ken nodded. "I'm planning to push my Sage Body to level three."
"Then bring out your best-quality gear," he added.
If you want to do a good job, you need the right tools.
High-quality ninja tools could directly boost his combat strength.
And after fleecing Kakashi yesterday, now was the perfect time to spend some money.
"Of course we've got the good stuff…" the Cat Granny paused, then added with a grin, "But it'll cost extra."
She liked this polite kid.
But business was business.
No merchant ever complained about making more money.
"No problem." Ken patted his bulging wallet.
Then he suddenly asked, "Oh right, Granny. Is the mask I ordered ready?"
When he trained outside, he sometimes used Wood Release, which he couldn't risk exposing. Wearing a mask kept his identity hidden.
The last one had been destroyed during his previous trip, so he'd commissioned a new one.
"We're efficient here," she said, pulling a mask from a nearby cabinet and handing it over.
It was a black cat mask—sharp, intimidating, with a hint of menace.
"Thanks, Granny."
After stuffing his pouch full of ninja tools and paying up, Ken left Konoha.
Over the past two years, he'd relied on these trips outside the village—devouring the chakra of enemy ninja and rogue shinobi—to rapidly upgrade his three bloodline abilities to level two.
Even his Sage Body was just one step away from reaching level three.
This time, his destination was a village near the northeastern border of the Land of Fire.
Wandering ninja often roamed that area, preying on nearby settlements.
Taking them out would let him absorb chakra to grow stronger, while also bringing some stability to the region.
A win-win.
Once outside the village, Ken picked up speed, weaving through forests and mountains toward his destination.
In less than a day, he arrived at a border village—and immediately caught the scent of blood in the air.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
The moment he stepped in, villagers armed with sickles and hoes surrounded him.
"I'm just passing through. No bad intentions," Ken said, raising his hands slightly.
Seeing that he was just a kid and didn't look dangerous, their guard eased a bit.
Ken frowned and asked, "Grandpa, what happened here?"
There were bloodstains on the ground.
Some villagers were burying bodies.
The air was thick with grief.
Something had definitely happened.
"Kid… don't get involved," an old man sighed.
But after repeated questioning, they finally told him.
A group of rogue ninja—around a dozen—had been living in the nearby mountains. They regularly came down to loot and terrorize the surrounding villages.
Just yesterday, they had attacked, killing several villagers and taking whatever valuables they could find.
"Didn't you ask Konoha for help?" Ken asked, his expression turning serious.
"With what money…" the old man replied bitterly.
They barely survived on farming.
Sometimes they didn't even have enough food.
Hiring ninja was completely out of the question.
Those rogue ninja knew this.
That's why they acted without restraint.
After hearing the full story, Ken walked out of the village.
He put on the black cat mask.
Then, using the Body Flicker Technique, he shot toward the mountains.
These people preyed on the weak.
That alone was enough to ignite a cold anger inside him.
They had gone too far.
Before long, he reached the mountains.
After quickly assessing their numbers and possible escape routes, he struck without hesitation.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A massive blaze erupted from his mouth, roaring forward and instantly setting their wooden huts ablaze.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
More than ten figures leapt out of the burning buildings, some still covered in flames.
The moment they landed—
They triggered his explosive tags.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The explosions tore through the area.
Two of the rogue ninja failed to dodge in time, their legs blown clean off as blood gushed out in gruesome streams.
Ken moved like a god of slaughter, his face completely devoid of mercy as he formed hand seals again.
"Wood Release: Binding Strangle!"
Three enemies were instantly entangled by thick, twisting wood.
They struggled desperately, but the sheer force of the technique left them completely immobilized.
"Devour."
"Sage Body energy +200."
"Sage Body energy +500."
"Sage Body energy +550."
A typical chunin had around 500 chakra, while a genin had about 200.
Individually, it wasn't much—but growth came from accumulation.
Ken plunged into the crowd.
Every swing of his kunai claimed another life.
"Die!"
The leader of the rogue ninja—a pale, effeminate-looking man—appeared behind him at some point.
Chakra gathered in his right hand, forming a sharp, invisible blade.
"Chakra Scalpel. An A-rank jutsu!"
Ken showed no sign of panic. A faint smirk tugged at his lips.
"Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!"
Rows of wooden pillars burst from the ground, forming a curved barrier that easily blocked the attack.
When his Wood Release reached level two, Ken had gained two new techniques.
One was the highly defensive Wood Locking Wall.
The other… Deep Forest Emergence.
He clasped his hands together.
Trees surged from the ground like writhing tentacles, sweeping toward the enemy.
The man frantically slashed at them with his chakra scalpel, cutting through several—
But there were too many.
They kept coming, endless and overwhelming.
Ken's chakra reserves were vast.
The man, just an ordinary jonin, was no match for him.
"Spare me! I'll give you everything I have!" the man cried, his face drained of color.
"Kill you, and it's all mine anyway," Ken replied coldly.
"Devour."
"Sage Body energy +1150!"
"....."