Haruto Saito exhaled sharply, his breath ragged as he stepped onto the grassy ground and carelessly tossed aside the corpse. Within moments, four figures appeared soundlessly around him—Shenhe and the other three ANBU operatives materialized, encircling him.
Shenhe's gaze fell on the mangled body, and his eye twitched involuntarily. It was a gruesome sight—at least a hundred stab wounds covered the body, and half of the assassin's head had been crushed. From his experience, Shenhe could immediately tell that most of these wounds had been inflicted post-mortem.
This brat had defiled another corpse.
"Another assassin sent to kill me. You guys check it out," Haruto remarked nonchalantly, his tone indifferent as he wiped his face. Without another word, he turned and walked towards the bathhouse next to the wooden house.
Too filthy.
At that moment, Haruto looked utterly disheveled. The blood had been partially washed off by the lake water, making it difficult for Shenhe to determine if he had suffered any injuries or if the blood belonged to the slain assassin.
Haruto had deliberately mutilated the assassin's body beyond recognition and torn his own clothing. That way, Shenhe wouldn't be able to tell that the assassin had died from Shikotsumyaku techniques, nor would he realize that Haruto had sustained a fatal chest wound that had miraculously healed.
Some things were simply too difficult to explain.
The best way to deal with them? Make sure no one notices. No need for explanations.
Haruto entered the bathhouse.
Shenhe and the others crouched beside the corpse, inspecting it. Given the horrendous state of the body, they weren't sure where to start. But it was their duty to confirm certain things—such as whether this assassin was an outsider or a hidden operative within the village.
Shenhe reached down and removed the shattered mask from the corpse, revealing the assassin's face.
Despite the damage to the head, the features were still somewhat recognizable—a man in his forties, gray-haired, blue-eyed, with average looks, neither handsome nor particularly ugly.
"Do any of you recognize him?" Shenhe asked.
The other ANBU operatives shook their heads.
"Definitely an outsider."
"If he dared to come after Haruto Saito, he must be at least Chunin level."
"Wait, what's this?" The ANBU operative codenamed Uta rummaged through the corpse's tattered robes and pulled out a wad of torn and bloodstained ryo bills. He quickly counted the money, then looked up, shocked. "Why would an assassin be carrying so much money? He has 200,000 ryo!"
Shenhe stiffened, his eyes snapping to the money. A sudden realization struck him, and his expression darkened. He abruptly stood up. "Call the Captain. Now."
"Yes!" One of the ANBU nodded and immediately disappeared, forming hand seals before vanishing into the shadows.
Normally, Haruto killing another assassin wouldn't warrant White Fang's immediate attention. After all, this wasn't a new occurrence—Haruto had been killing someone almost every day, and the ANBU had been left to clean up the mess.
But this time was different.
That bundle of cash reminded Shenhe of something White Fang had mentioned before.
The Hyuga clan had sent several elite Jonin on a mission to the black market, and they had returned to Konoha earlier that day. It was highly likely that they had hired a black-market assassin to eliminate Haruto.
The mutilated corpse before them could very well be the assassin the Hyuga clan had paid to do the job, which would explain why he carried such a large sum of money—it was his commission.
"Could he have been a Jonin?" Shenhe muttered, unable to believe his own words.
Did Haruto really survive an assassination attempt from a Jonin… and manage to kill his attacker?! Impossible!
Becoming a Jonin was the greatest hurdle for most elite Chunin. It wasn't just about skill—it required vast experience, advanced combat intuition, and extraordinary adaptability. The gap between Chunin and Jonin was enormous.
Many child prodigies had reached Chunin rank within two or three years of becoming Genin. But making the leap to Jonin? That could take eight years… ten… twenty… or even a lifetime.
That was why Special Jonin existed—a rank for those with partial Jonin-level abilities but lacking in certain crucial areas.
For a Chunin to assassinate a Jonin was virtually unheard of. Whether by ambush or intricate scheming, the success rate was abysmally low. And for a Chunin to survive a direct assassination attempt from a Jonin? The probability was less than 1%!
And to make things even worse—
If Shenhe's theory was correct, this wasn't just any Jonin. This was a black-market assassin, an elite killer specialized in silent execution!
How could Haruto possibly defeat someone like that?!
"No, no, no… I must be wrong. There's no way. Just half a month ago, he was a Genin. Now he's capable of killing a black-market Jonin? That's impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Shenhe shook his head fiercely, dismissing his own theory.
There had to be another reason for the assassin carrying such a large sum of money. Perhaps he was just a Chunin.
"Shenhe-sama, what's wrong?" Uta asked in a low voice, noticing his superior's unsettled expression.
"Huh?" Shenhe glanced at Uta and forced a self-deprecating smile. "Nothing. I was just overthinking. Let's continue examining the body."
"The condition of the corpse is too poor. Besides the face, there's little useful information to be gained," Uta commented.
"That's fine. The Captain will be here soon. With his expertise, he'll likely determine the assassin's identity. Let's just catalog the wounds for now…" Shenhe instructed.
Inside the bathhouse, Haruto sank into a wooden tub filled with steaming water and let out a long sigh of relief.
"So relaxing…"
Leaning back, he closed his eyes and let his body unwind. Only after the fatigue had completely faded did he open his eyes and wave a hand. A thick stack of cards materialized before him.
Killing the elite Jonin Uesugi Kama had not only earned him an "Ultra-Kill" achievement—rewarding him with 10,000 reputation points and an A-rank Jutsu Card—but had also resulted in a massive loot drop: over thirty new cards!
A massive jackpot!
He began sorting through his spoils:
5 D-rank Jutsu Cards, including Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu.
14 C-rank Jutsu Cards, including eight Water Release techniques, four Wind Release techniques, and two secret arts.
2 B-rank Jutsu Cards: Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet and Wind Release: Vacuum Wave.
1 A-rank Jutsu Card: Water Release: Great Waterfall Jutsu.
In total, 22 Jutsu Cards—one of which was an A-rank technique he had been dreaming of! Given that Uesugi Kama had likely mastered multiple A-rank Jutsu, he suspected the drop rate had limited him to only one.
The remaining 11 cards were utility-based:
3 Minor Healing Cards.
2 Minor Chakra Recovery Cards.
2 Mental Enhancement Cards.
1 Unique Weapon Card.
1 Double Drop Rate Card.
1 Reputation Store Lock Card.
1 Reputation Store Refresh Card.
"Two Mental Enhancement Cards?!" Haruto's eyes gleamed with excitement.
Without hesitation, he brought both cards to his mouth and bit down hard, crushing them instantly.
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