Nishiki carefully examined the corpse. Since there were no identifying documents, he had to rely on the man's skin tone, the texture of his clothing, the calluses on his hands, and the old scars covering his body to determine his identity. Not every ANBU ninja had such skills, but within Konoha's Black Ops, at least one member per squad was trained in forensic analysis.
Haruto Saito steadied his thoughts and looked at the corpse again. The B-Rank Ninjutsu Random Card was already stored inside his Item Space, but he couldn't just take it out in front of everyone. Even though others couldn't see the cards, making any suspicious movements would undoubtedly attract attention.
Name: Shigure Affiliation: Assassination Recon Squad, Amegakure, Land of Rain Reputation: 1,360 points Relationship: Hostile
This was the information Haruto saw about the assassin from Amegakure. 1,360 reputation points—according to the evaluation system, this meant he was most likely a Chunin-level ninja!
Shigure's body hadn't been burning for long. His face had been completely disfigured by the explosion, but while his body had burn marks, his skin hadn't been entirely charred.
Nishiki continued his examination for a long time without standing up.
Both ends of the street were crowded with spectators. The fifty-meter-long section of the road where Haruto and the others stood was now completely empty. The discussions about Haruto hadn't stopped since they began—if anything, they were growing louder.
Whoosh!
A figure suddenly appeared to Haruto's right, draped in a black cloak, wearing a mask. His tall and imposing presence radiated a deep and powerful aura.
"Captain!" Shenhe immediately greeted him with respect.
The newcomer was none other than ANBU Captain Sakumo Hatake—Konoha's White Fang!
"What's going on?" White Fang asked calmly, his gaze briefly sweeping over Haruto.
"Captain, here's what happened…" Shenhe quickly explained the situation in a concise manner. "This man walked past him, bumped his shoulder, and then… Haruto took out an Explosive Tag… He claims this man slipped it into his pocket…"
"Oh?" A flicker of interest flashed through White Fang's eyes as he glanced at Haruto.
To catch an Explosive Tag barehanded and instantly kill the attacker—this was not an easy feat.
Even most Jonin wouldn't attempt to throw an Explosive Tag by hand. That's simply not how it was used. The standard ninja technique involved attaching an Explosive Tag to a kunai with chakra threads and throwing the kunai to guide the explosion toward the target.
Explosive Tags were paper—and paper was soft. You couldn't throw them far by hand alone.
A few meters ahead, Nishiki finally finished his examination and hurried back to White Fang, bowing respectfully before reporting:
"Captain, upon examination—this man's hands have calluses, his elbows and knees show signs of repeated impact training, and he has over forty old injuries. Among them, more than ten are from ninjutsu. His boots are made of leather not native to the Land of Fire, while his outer clothing was purchased from Konoha… Given his slow reaction and failure to dodge the Explosive Tag attack from behind, I assess that he was a rigorously trained assassin, but his strength likely does not exceed Chunin-level."
"Hmm." White Fang nodded, then suddenly flickered to the corpse's side, crouching down for a closer look.
Seeing this, Haruto made his move.
Shenhe did not stop him.
With White Fang present, Shenhe wasn't worried about Haruto trying anything reckless.
Haruto approached the corpse, pretending to stretch his shoulder as if he were sore. He then flipped his wrist downward as if shaking off stiffness…
In reality—he had just grabbed the three cards floating over the corpse, invisible to everyone else, and stored them in his Item Space.
White Fang soon stood up, glanced at Haruto, and said:
"You can go."
"Huh…? That's it?" Haruto blinked in surprise.
"Yes." White Fang nodded.
"Alright then, I'm outta here!" Haruto turned and walked away.
Shenhe watched Haruto leave, then leaned in closer to White Fang, lowering his voice:
"Captain…"
"It was an assassination attempt by an Amegakure suicide squad." White Fang murmured, his eyes cold. "We only spread the news of his recruitment this morning, and they attacked at noon—this means they were already inside Konoha beforehand. And if there was one… there may be more."
"I'll report this to the Hokage. Keep a close eye on that kid."
A Hidden Kill Order
Under countless scrutinizing gazes, Haruto forced his way through the crowd, leaving the marketplace as quickly as possible. Turning a corner, he slipped into an alleyway.
Before the ANBU agents monitoring him could catch up, he swiftly retrieved his four new cards.
One B-Rank Ninjutsu Random Card (Reward for his first cross-level kill). Three cards dropped by the assassin he killed.
Without hesitation, Haruto consumed the B-Rank Ninjutsu Random Card.
Ding! The host has acquired the B-Rank Ninjutsu: Lightning Release—False Darkness!
"False Darkness?" Haruto's eyes lit up in excitement.
This technique had been showcased as incredibly powerful in the original Naruto story. Despite being only B-Rank, it had an insanely high attack speed and could be used for both close-range and long-range combat.
In the original series, Kakuzu of the Akatsuki had used this technique to fight Kakashi Hatake—and Kakashi had needed to use an S-Rank jutsu, Twin Lightning Blades, just to counter it.
This didn't mean False Darkness was stronger than an S-Rank jutsu, but its nature as a piercing, long-range technique made it incredibly deadly in the right situations.
B-Rank ninjutsu were typically only learned by Jonin, unless you were a genius. But thanks to the Card System, Haruto had instantly mastered it.
However… he wasn't sure if he had enough chakra to use it.
Next—he checked his other three cards:
C-Rank Taijutsu Card: Twin Blade Strike
D-Rank Ninjutsu Card: Water Release—Hiding in Mist Technique
Basic Healing Card
Given the urgency of his situation, Haruto immediately absorbed the C-Rank Taijutsu Card and D-Rank Ninjutsu Card.
Then, he held the Basic Healing Card and asked mentally:
"What does this do? How do I use it?"
"The Healing Card removes negative status effects—including but not limited to physical injuries, sealing damage, curse damage, and poison damage. It must be consumed after sustaining an injury."
"Got it." Haruto nodded, storing it back in his Item Space.
An Unexpected Ambush
As Haruto walked deeper into the alley, a sudden sense of terror engulfed him.
Whoosh!
A razor-sharp kunai whistled through the air, aiming directly at his head.
Instinct kicked in.
Haruto twisted his body, dodging slightly—then caught the kunai mid-air with one hand!
At the alley's crossroad, standing in the shadows, was a cloaked figure. His eyes glowed white under his hood.
Name: Hyuga Renji Affiliation: Hyuga Clan Internal Affairs Unit, Konoha Reputation: 2,987 points Relationship: Hostile
"The Hyuga Clan…?"
Haruto's expression darkened.
They had sent someone this quickly to kill him?!