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At this moment—
Whether it was Ken or the rogue ninja from the Hidden Mist, both sides had completely lost themselves in the killing.
It was kill or be killed.
Especially the Mist defectors.
Watching their comrades fall one after another at Ken's hands, their eyes burned red with rage. They looked like they wanted to tear him apart alive.
"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu!"
Chojuro formed hand seals, and thick mist quickly spread across the area.
Visibility dropped instantly.
You could barely see half a meter ahead.
Every rogue ninja vanished into the fog.
The Hidden Mist Village was shrouded in mist year-round, so their shinobi had exceptionally sharp hearing. This created a battlefield that favored them completely.
Ken gripped his kunai, eyes sharp as he scanned his surroundings.
At the same time, he slowed his breathing, sensing everything around him—feeling for fluctuations in chakra.
A Mist rogue silently slipped behind him to his left.
No footsteps. No sound.
Like a ghost.
A savage grin spread across his face as he suddenly lunged, bursting forward at incredible speed. His kunai shot straight toward Ken's back.
"You're dead!"
Bang!
Ken's body turned into a log.
Substitution Jutsu!
"When did he—?!" The rogue's pupils shrank in shock. Every hair on his body stood on end as he realized the danger. He immediately tried to retreat back into the mist.
Too late.
Ken was already behind him.
A flash of cold steel.
The rogue's throat was slit open, blood spraying across the ground.
He tried to clutch the wound, but it was useless. The light faded from his eyes as he collapsed with a dull thud.
Ken disappeared into the mist once more.
All around, the sharp clang clang of weapons colliding echoed through the fog.
With his heightened senses and sensitivity to chakra, Ken moved like a tiger among sheep.
Every swing of his blade could claim a life.
"This can't go on—we'll all die like this!" Chojuro roared angrily, immediately dispersing the mist.
When the fog cleared—
Only two Mist rogues remained.
Chojuro himself was a Jonin, with just a small cut on his arm.
The other was only Chunin level. His body was covered in deep, bone-exposing wounds. He had already lost most of his fighting ability.
"Kid… let us go. I'll give you all the wealth I've gathered!"
Chojuro knew.
If they kept fighting, the two of them might not make it out alive.
The boy in the black cat mask in front of them was far stronger than they had imagined.
Ken didn't answer.
He simply looked at them with a faint smile that sent chills down their spines.
Their chakra was fuel for his bloodline upgrades.
Let them go?
Not a chance.
Chojuro roared, furious. "Don't push your luck, brat!"
Since there was no way out, he chose to fight to the death.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
The river surged violently, rising into the air and forming a massive water dragon over ten meters long.
He pointed at Ken.
The dragon roared as it crashed down from above, its massive body lunging to devour him.
Ken let out a cold, mocking smile and formed hand seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
It was only a C-rank technique.
Nothing special.
But with Ken's immense chakra, its power became terrifying.
Water and fire collided.
A sharp sizzle filled the air.
Steam billowed everywhere, heat distorting the surroundings.
"Body Flicker!"
Ken vanished.
"So fast! He's coming—watch out!" Chojuro shouted in alarm.
Too late.
Ken moved like lightning, appearing beside the remaining rogue in an instant.
His voice whispered like death itself.
"Wood Style: Impalement."
A wooden spike pierced through the rogue's body.
Then another.
And another.
Spikes burst out from within him, turning him into a grotesque porcupine.
"Water Style: Great Waterfall Jutsu!"
Chojuro panicked, forming seals as a massive surge of water poured from his mouth.
Just as it was about to hit—
Ken leapt high into the air, landing calmly atop the water's surface.
"Hm? Explosive tags?"
His eyes narrowed.
At some point, several tags had been stuck onto his body.
"Die!" Chojuro laughed madly.
BOOM!
The tags detonated all at once, a terrifying explosion ripping through the water, even blasting open a temporary gap in the current.
Soon—
A mangled corpse floated to the surface.
Blood dyed the water red.
"Hahaha! Brothers, I've avenged you!" Chojuro laughed like a madman.
Then—
A soft voice sounded behind him.
Gentle.
But it sent him plunging into despair.
"Done laughing? Then I'll send you on your way…"
His vision blurred.
Then cleared.
Ken stood right in front of him, a kunai pressed against his chest.
In those crimson eyes, two tomoe slowly spun.
"Genjutsu: Between Illusion and Reality."
This was a newly learned A-rank genjutsu.
It trapped the enemy in an illusion so real it felt like actual events.
Just now, Ken had used it to make Chojuro believe he had killed him.
"You… what are you?" Chojuro gave a bitter laugh. "Senju… or Uchiha?"
After seeing both Wood Style and the Sharingan, he couldn't make sense of it.
Ken smirked.
"I'm your dad."
The kunai plunged into his heart.
All thirteen Mist defectors—
Wiped out.
Afterward—
Ken used Wood Style to absorb their chakra.
"Energy +1370."
"Energy +520."
"Energy +476."
…
Sage Body: Lv.2 (995,400 / 1,000,000) → Sage Body: Lv.3 (1,210 / 10,000,000)
Level up!
Ken opened his system panel.
Host: Uchiha Ken Gender: Male Age: 8 Appearance: Extremely handsome Affiliation: Uchiha
Ninjutsu: Substitution Jutsu, Clone Jutsu, Transformation Jutsu, Shadow Clone Jutsu,Fire Style: Great Fireball, Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation,Wind Style: Gale, Mystical Palm Technique,Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes, Genjutsu: Between Illusion and Reality,Wood Style: Impalement, Wood Style: Strangling, Wood Style: Wood Locking Wall, Wood Style: Great Forest Technique
Bloodlines:Sharingan Lv.2 (712 / 1,000,000)Sage Body Lv.3 (1,210 / 10,000,000)Wood Style Lv.2 (1,876 / 1,000,000)
Chakra: 200 / 8000 (Average Jonin: 1000) Chakra Storage: 4280 / 40,000 (Can store up to 5x own chakra)
Finally—
His Sage Body reached Level 3.
Clenching his fist lightly, Ken felt endless strength coursing through him.
More importantly—
His chakra reserves had increased several times over.
With a daily total of 8000 chakra, and only one-tenth needed to sustain his body, he could use 7200 chakra each day to upgrade his bloodlines.
At this rate—
In just one year, he could raise both his Sharingan and Wood Style to Level 3.
By then, he would gain the Three-Tomoe Sharingan and two new Wood Style secret techniques.
Looking at the panel, Ken couldn't help but complain.
"The energy needed from Level 3 to 4 is insane…"
Ten million energy points.
If he relied only on his own chakra, it would take at least four years to upgrade a single bloodline.
Way too long.
Still—
He was young.
He had time.
Or…
He could consider devouring Tailed Beast chakra.
Of course, that would only be an option if it was safe.
After all, every Tailed Beast was incredibly powerful.
Just as Ken finished cleaning up and was about to leave—
A figure approached from the distance.
Her voice rang out, clear and pleasant like a silver bell.
"Never thought I'd live to see Wood Style from Konoha again… what an honor."
"....."