We made it to chapter 100!!!
"By the way, how did you know Lord Ink would be nearby on a mission? Isn't Lord Ink an Anbu squad captain? His movements shouldn't be something you could know," the hot-tempered shinobi asked after the calm shinobi had cooled down a bit, expressing his confusion.
"Hmph, it's clear you don't pay any attention to Lord Ink!" the calm shinobi said proudly. "Before I took on this mission, I already knew Lord Ink would be working in this area!"
"How did you know?" The hot-tempered shinobi couldn't help but ask. If there was advance intel like this, he wanted to know for future reference—it could be life-saving information!
"Hmph, Lord Ink is the guardian of all Genin and even Chūnin. No, I think even some special Jōnin regard him as their protector!" The calm shinobi couldn't help but grow more fanatical as he spoke.
"That's true..." The hot-tempered shinobi thought back to the speed with which Natsuro had arrived and handled all the enemies. As one of those who had been rescued, he had no choice but to believe it.
"So, in fact, other squads in this area have already been rescued by Lord Ink before. That's how I knew! I've always kept an eye on Lord Ink's movements, unlike you—you know nothing!" the calm shinobi shot a glare at the hot-tempered shinobi.
The hot-tempered shinobi wiped the sweat from his brow. He wanted to retort, but he wasn't a fanatical follower like his partner. Why would he pay attention to such information?
However, after some thought, the hot-tempered shinobi figured he could start following Lord Ink too. After all, even through the mask, the way he carried himself was undeniably cool!
"Hmph, I'll let it slide since you're my friend, but listen—never speak ill of Lord Ink in front of other Chūnin or Genin," the calm shinobi warned.
"I haven't even said anything bad about Lord Ink! And why would that be an issue?" the hot-tempered shinobi asked, puzzled.
"Because Lord Ink's popularity is just too high! If you badmouth him in front of them, they'll definitely challenge you to a duel!" the calm shinobi said seriously.
"That intense, huh?" The hot-tempered shinobi felt it was getting a bit exaggerated.
"It's not exaggerated at all! Don't you know that Lord Ink has directly reduced the death rate of Konoha's Chūnin and Genin by around 70% over the past year? That's all thanks to him!" the calm shinobi glared at him again.
"70..%?" The hot-tempered shinobi's eyes widened in disbelief. Before, he hadn't fully understood what Lord Ink represented, but now these numbers shocked him. Could one person really accomplish that?
"Exactly. That's why almost all Chūnin and Genin want to pick missions in areas where Lord Ink might be, because it's like having an extra life-saving talisman!" the calm shinobi said with pride.
The hot-tempered shinobi remained silent for a long time, seemingly trying to calm the emotions stirring within him.
"Uh... do you have any ways to keep up with Lord Ink? I'd like to learn more too..." the hot-tempered shinobi finally spoke up, somewhat shyly.
"Hm?" The calm shinobi's eyes lit up, and he eagerly started to share every bit of information he had, chatting away endlessly.
If Natsuro were here to witness this, he'd probably complain that this felt like some kind of cult... with the god they were worshipping being none other than himself.
But Natsuro wasn't there. He was far away, walking back to Konoha one step at a time. As he walked, he maintained his Void State, constantly calming the raging killing intent within him.
Natsuro hadn't kept his eyes closed earlier to show off—it was because the moment he opened them, the bodies of those two Konoha shinobi would immediately appear in his mind.
And not their normal appearances, but images of their bodies after being cut down. He couldn't help but think about the cleanest, most efficient angle to make such a cut...
That's why Natsuro felt it was time to take a break, to let things settle, and to begin a new round of training.
Now, he was still a little distance away from Konoha, and he had no intention of using the Flying Thunder God to speed up his journey. He decided to walk slowly, step by step, using the time to relax.
...
The Third Hokage looked at Natsuro, who stood before him, and fell silent. The killing intent continuously emanating from Natsuro wasn't directed at him, but even so, it made the Third Hokage sigh deeply.
Jiraiya had left Natsuro in the village, but seeing him like this... the Third Hokage wondered if Jiraiya would blame him when he returned.
The Third had some regrets. He had heard the concerns raised by the Anbu commander, but when he had asked Natsuro about stepping down from the Anbu, Natsuro had refused, insisting he could handle it.
At the time, the Third Hokage had believed him. But now, seeing how severe Natsuro's condition had become, he wished he had forced him out of the Anbu sooner.
Moreover, he shouldn't have allowed Natsuro to participate in so many rescue missions. While it had certainly improved the survival rate of Konoha's shinobi...
The Third Hokage took a deep drag from his pipe. But was it really worth it to let a genius shinobi turn into this? Normally, standard missions didn't necessarily involve killing, but in rescue missions, there were always enemy shinobi.
Killing was inevitable!
At first, both he and the village's advisors believed that Natsuro shouldn't have participated in rescue operations, even though his speed made him ideal for the job. One or two missions might have been fine, but constantly putting him in danger would eventually draw the attention of other villages—they weren't fools.
What ultimately convinced them to allow Natsuro's participation was when he used the Flying Thunder God to escape a sealed space during a mission, proving that he could ensure his own safety.
Even the Third Hokage couldn't argue after that. Even if he disagreed, the advisors would pressure him into agreement. After all, this directly increased the survival rate of Konoha's shinobi as a whole!
The Third Hokage understood that the advisors weren't shortsighted enough to disregard the life of a genius. The danger wasn't from ordinary enemies but from villages that would try to trap Natsuro with sealing techniques. They could use captured shinobi as bait to trap him in an isolated space for execution...
But now that he had proven he could escape such traps, how could the Third Hokage stop him? After all, Konoha's sealing techniques were second only to those of the Uzumaki Clan. And with the destruction of the Uzumaki Clan, Konoha's were now the best.
If Natsuro could escape Konoha's seals, how could the other villages hope to trap him? It would be a fool's dream!
This was what the Third Hokage and the advisors had believed, which led to their final decision to allow him to take part in rescue missions.
From that day on, Natsuro became involved in rescue operations, and his presence as Ink became more and more visible.
As his reputation grew, even within the village, people began to call him "Little White Fang," as his fighting style was so similar to the legendary White Fang.
Enemy shinobi had even added the term "Crimson" to his codename, referring to him as the "Crimson Ink."
The reason was clear to the Third Hokage: Natsuro never left any survivors in his missions. So how did his reputation spread despite there being no survivors?
Well, every village had a few traitors, and sometimes Natsuro's missions didn't involve killing everyone present—there were neutral parties too.
Besides, word about Ink had spread widely within Konoha, and it was impossible to keep it completely hidden. Anyone looking for information could easily learn some details about him.
Now, the Third Hokage realized that Natsuro... no, Ink's reputation in the village had surpassed the "Little White Fang" moniker. He had carved out his own title: "The Ink of Konoha."
Though the title wasn't widely known yet, it was already beginning to spread...
The Third Hokage thought about all this and couldn't help but feel astonished. Natsuro had brought him so many surprises that it was almost frightening.
"So, Little Natsuro, have you made up your mind about leaving the Anbu?" The Third Hokage asked.
"Yes, I've thought it over, Grandpa Third," Natsuro nodded decisively. "I need some time to rest given my current state."
"Hmm, it seems you're still aware of your own condition. That's good," the Third sighed in relief with a warm smile. In general, a shinobi can't stay away from killing.
But no other shinobi had been like Natsuro. Normally, after each mission that involved killing, shinobi would take some time to rest and recover mentally before continuing with their missions.
However, in Natsuro's case, he had hardly taken any breaks. Every day, lives slipped through his hands. If the Third hadn't instructed the Anbu Commander to report on Natsuro's state the moment anything seemed off, he might've believed from Natsuro's reports that he had become completely lost in the cycle of killing.
"Yeah, I overestimated my tolerance for it," Natsuro openly admitted his mistake. He had believed his mind was strong enough and that the 'Void State' would keep him calm, so he was reckless, but now it had caught up with him.
"Overestimated? No, you underestimated yourself!" The Third said seriously. "You are even more exceptional than you realize."
Natsuro remained silent for a moment before nodding without further comment.
"After this, the 'Ink Squad' will be disbanded. It's just you in the team anyway," the Third added.
"Alright." Natsuro nodded again. Even though he had become the right-hand man to the Anbu Commander, he had never really commanded any subordinates. However, if he truly needed help, he trusted that many in the Anbu would be willing to assist him.
Though he hadn't paid much attention to it, Natsuro had heard that his popularity, both among the village's shinobi and within the Anbu, was quite high...
"Hmm, then after this, you can go back to living as Natsuro, holding the rank of Special Jonin," the Third continued.
"Okay." Natsuro wasn't surprised by the Special Jonin rank. His strength had already reached that level, and based on his merits, he might even have enough to be promoted to full Jonin...
The Third Hokage looked at Natsuro and sighed to himself. A 12-year-old Special Jonin. And this time, he hadn't protected or shielded him in any way. In fact, he had even held him back a little. Otherwise, with his previous feat of killing an Iwagakure Jonin, his strength was already enough to make him a Jonin.
As for merit? Reducing the death rate of the village's shinobi by such a large margin through his own efforts—what greater merit could there be? Even the Third Hokage found it hard to believe when he first saw the statistics, but the data didn't lie...
However, if Natsuro were promoted to full Jonin immediately, he would certainly draw the attention of some troublesome individuals. Given his current state, the Third Hokage thought it would be best not to put too much pressure on him just yet.
Thus, he decided that Special Jonin would be the appropriate title for now. When the time was right, he could be promoted to full Jonin without issue. After all, his strength and reputation were already there—once the opportunity arose, a promotion would come naturally.
At this moment, the Third Hokage couldn't help but think of another young prodigy, Kakashi. He had also become a Jonin at the age of 12, but Kakashi's case had been more unique, as it had occurred during a time of war, when the standards and difficulty had been lowered considerably.
As for Natsuro, he had become a Jonin at 12 during a time of peace, relying on sheer strength and merit!
And with this reputation, once Ink's true identity was revealed...
The more the Third Hokage looked at Natsuro, the more satisfied he became. Once that aura of killing intent was tempered, He would become truly remarkable!
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Currently on Chapter 149 - The Aftermath
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