"What?!"
"Konoha's Ghost?!"
The others exclaimed in panic upon hearing the name, their faces immediately turning pale.
As the lightning faded, darkness once again swallowed their surroundings, and everything went pitch black.
"Hurry, sound the alarm!"
The captain didn't have time to think—he shouted, trying to warn the village of the impending danger. But suddenly, his voice was cut off.
With the next flash of lightning, his eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the masked figure that had appeared in front of him.
His mouth opened, as though he wanted to say something, but all that came up was a gush of blood blocking his throat. He collapsed to the ground, unable to utter a word.
It wasn't just him—several other Chunin had fallen as well. In the brief seconds of darkness, all of them had been silently killed.
"Wasn't that just Captain Light? The captain's so strong!"
One of the Konoha Anbu below commented in awe, his eyes filled with admiration.
He was a sensory-type ninja, yet in that brief moment, it was as if Hui hadn't existed at all in his sensory range. But Hui had been in his line of sight the entire time!
"No wonder he's called the Ghost, by the others."
Such stealth abilities, paired with his lightning-fast attacks, made the Anbu understand why the Iwagakure shinobi had dubbed Hui the "Ghost." In the darkness, Hui was a phantom, an unseen killer capable of ending lives before anyone even realized.
"Move!" Hui's voice came from above, snapping the Anbu out of his daze. His expression grew cold as he drew his blade and rushed toward Village of Waves with his comrades.
But the gate wasn't the only entry point. Hui had divided his 31 subordinates into three teams, each attacking from a different direction, ensuring that no one from the Village of Waves would escape.
The slaughter began.
That night, amidst the torrential rain and frequent thunderclaps, any smaller sounds were perfectly masked by the storm. The rain poured relentlessly, beating down on the rooftops, the leaves, and the ground, muffling the softest of noises.
Most of the villagers had already gone to sleep, with only a few restless souls still awake. For many, this was a night of silent death.
The Konoha Anbu infiltrated homes silently, one by one, eliminating the villagers as they slept.
If the lives of the Village of Wave's inhabitants were like candles, then from a higher vantage point, it would appear as though those candles were being snuffed out one by one, from the village's perimeter toward the center.
Hui himself joined in the slaughter. Without using any chakra, his small frame moved swiftly and silently through the night, killing like a ghost.
One by one, people were slain by his blade. Even those who were startled awake barely had time to react before Hui's sword cut their throats.
The Slaughter continued until Hui entered a particular house, where the violence momentarily halted.
This house was sparsely furnished, cold, and empty. Inside, there was no one visible. But upon entering, Hui could feel the rapid breathing coming from beneath the floor.
He stood still, his eyes landing on a picture frame on the wall.
The photo showed a family of three—one adult and two children—sitting on a grassy field in a neat row, arranged from smallest to largest. The adult, a middle-aged man, was the Chunin captain whom Hui had just killed at the gate.
The two children—a boy of about twelve or thirteen and a little girl, perhaps five or six years old—sat in front of him.
The girl's big, innocent eyes sparkled with curiosity, while the boy looked proud but held the girl protectively in his arms, as if afraid she might fall.
It was a happy family, or at least it had been.
Hui stared at the photograph, momentarily dazed.
He could hear the labored breathing and frantic heartbeats coming from beneath the floorboards, and in his mind's eye, he could almost see the boy holding his hand over the girl's mouth, trying to keep her quiet, trying to keep her from crying.
A heavy weight settled in Hui's chest. His own breathing grew rougher.
He gripped his sword tightly, feeling a dampness in his palms. To his surprise, he realized that, despite being the Ghost who had killed countless people, his hands were sweating.
For what seemed like several minutes—though it may have only been a few seconds—the room was silent, save for the sound of heavy breathing.
Then, a flash of light flickered, and a cold-faced Hui emerged from the house, heading toward the next target.
The slaughter resumed.
As the massacre continued, the flickering lights of life in the village slowly dimmed, one by one, until only a few remained.
When Hui finally reached the innermost part of the Village of Waves, he heard the sound of clashing metal.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Two figures were locked in fierce combat in the rain. Sword and kunai clashed, creating a rapid series of metallic ringing sounds.
The two combatants were Village of Waves's elite Jonin and one of the First Division's elite Jonin.
Trying to silently assassinate an elite Jonin was nearly impossible, especially one who had been on edge, filled with paranoia.
The elite Jonin of Village of Waves had laid many traps around his residence. While the thunderstorm helped mask the sounds of the Anbu's approach, it also concealed the sound of the traps being triggered.
When one of the Anbu inadvertently set off a trap, the Jonin had been alerted.
But it was too late. By the time he woke, nearly the entire village had already been slaughtered. Now, he was surrounded by over ten Anbu.
"Konoha! Damn you, you bastards!" the elite Jonin roared in fury, his voice hoarse with rage. He could feel the bloodlust emanating from the Konoha shinobi around him, and their bloodstained swords and uniforms told him everything he needed to know.
The village… it had already fallen.
"Captain!" Several Anbu greeted Hui respectfully as he arrived, further tightening the elite Jonin's nerves. Distracted, he was caught off guard, and the Konoha Jonin landed a deep cut on his arm.
But instead of pressing the attack, the Konoha Jonin retreated to stand behind Hui.
The elite Jonin clutched his wounded arm, panting heavily, his gaze locking onto Hui. His pupils contracted, and a name escaped his lips.
"Ghost…"
Then, his face paled as he realized the truth.
"Konoha will never spare Village of Waves, will it?"
Hui's presence—his small stature, his mask, and the way the other Anbu deferred to him—was unmistakable.
"No. There will be no Village of Waves left to spare," Hui replied coldly, moving swiftly as he spoke.
His speed was terrifying.
As he moved, a flash of light briefly blinded the elite Jonin, forcing him to squint and turn his head away.
In that moment, Hui was upon him, his sword plunging into the Jonin's heart.
One strike—instant kill.
From this day onward, there would be no Village of Waves on the land of Waves.
join my patreon for 65+ advanced chapters: patreon.com/HyppoTL