Haruto Saito had the feeling that the entire world had gone mad. An Elite Jonin? The assassin that little brat had stabbed over four hundred times was an Elite Jonin?
Silence!
A strange atmosphere enveloped everyone by the lake.
It was something that no one could comprehend!
It made absolutely no sense.
If Haruto had been hiding his true strength before, how could the Konoha Anbu have captured him so easily? Even in the Anbu, there were very few Elite Jonin, and the one who caught Haruto back then was merely a Jonin.
There was no way Haruto could have hidden his strength before joining Konoha. And since joining Konoha... it had only been a little over half a month. In half a month, he had grown from a Genin to someone capable of killing an Elite Jonin?
That was absolutely impossible!
"Captain, are you..." Shenhe suddenly spoke, hesitating before asking, "Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
The Anbu members never dared to question White Fang. As the youngest and strongest Anbu captain in history, White Fang's abilities were unquestionable. But today's situation was too bizarre.
"There's no mistake!" White Fang said with absolute certainty. "Uesugi Kama, before he defected from Kirigakure, wielded a scythe. In his first year as a rogue ninja, he was relentlessly pursued by the Kirigakure Anbu. Since there were very few scythe-wielding ninjas, it became an easy trait to track him. To avoid being identified, he abandoned the scythe and trained in the more common katana. He could use a katana with the same techniques as a scythe, which earned him the title 'Hookless Scythe.'"
"Captain, you..." Shenhe sensed something was off. White Fang knew way too much about this guy.
"There's a mission record in the Anbu intel archives. I once fought Uesugi Kama during a mission four years ago. At that time, I wasn't the Anbu captain yet. Since that mission involved classified intelligence, the report was sealed as top secret. Only I and the Hokage have access to it."
Four years ago?
Shenhe thought back. Four years ago, White Fang had just become an Elite Jonin!
If White Fang, as an Elite Jonin, had fought Uesugi Kama, and neither side could defeat the other, then Uesugi Kama was undoubtedly an Elite Jonin!
...
Inside the bathhouse, Haruto Saito was still soaking in the wooden tub.
He had already consumed most of the jutsu cards, leaving only two secret technique cards. Both were C-rank, and since secret techniques had unique properties, he had to carefully read their descriptions before using them.
Secret Technique: Water Concealment Jutsu - This technique allows the user to become invisible underwater by using water refraction. It leaves no ripples, chakra signature, or breath traces. While in Water Concealment, the user cannot use other jutsu, and it will deactivate if attacked.
Secret Technique: Instant Outfit Change Jutsu - This technique allows the user to change their entire outfit instantly.
Both were non-offensive support jutsu. Though C-rank, they were quite practical. Between underwater invisibility and instant outfit change, Haruto preferred the latter. As someone with an obsession for cleanliness, changing clothes multiple times a day was a hassle.
Crack! Crack!
After consuming both secret technique cards, Haruto now possessed one A-rank jutsu, four B-rank jutsu, and nearly thirty C-rank jutsu. Among them was Fire Release: Flame Bullet, which he had upgraded three times, making it as powerful as a B-rank jutsu.
In terms of the number of jutsu he had mastered, Haruto was at least at Jonin level.
However, due to his chakra reserves, it was unclear if he could actually fight a Jonin head-on. His chakra might be slightly higher than that of a normal Chunin, but it was likely still lower than that of an Elite Chunin.
Lying back in the tub, Haruto opened the Reputation Store.
At that moment, he had 13,000 reputation points. Of these, 3,000 came from the achievements he unlocked while killing sixty-seven enemies over the past half-month. The remaining 10,000 were from the Supreme Kill reward.
Haruto still had two store-related cards he could use: the Lock Card and the Refresh Card. The Lock Card allowed him to keep one item fixed in the store for a month, meaning it wouldn't change during daily refreshes. The Refresh Card, on the other hand, allowed him to refresh the store immediately.
"Oh! Right! There's still the Supreme Kill reward."
Haruto thought, then pulled out the A-rank Random Jutsu Card from his inventory.
"Heaven and earth, bless me!" Haruto muttered, spinning the card into the air. It ricocheted off the ceiling, spun back down, and landed in his hand.
With great ceremony, he raised the card, closed his eyes, and bit down hard.
"Ding! Congratulations, host! You have obtained A-rank Forbidden Jutsu: Rasengan!"
"Rasengan!" Haruto's eyes shot open.
The signature jutsu of Naruto Uzumaki! Developed by the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze! Haruto's eyes gleamed with excitement. It wasn't just about the power of the jutsu—it was the fact that he could actually use it!
Although Rasengan was an A-rank jutsu, its power came from the compression and rotation of chakra rather than chakra nature transformation. Its effectiveness depended entirely on how fast the user could make it spin. In other words, the jutsu relied on technique rather than sheer chakra reserves.
And since Haruto had gained Rasengan through a card, the technique was automatically granted to him. He didn't need to train—he could use it flawlessly from the start.
Rasengan was classified as a Forbidden Jutsu because of its difficulty—one mistake and it could explode in the user's hand.
Haruto had no such problem!
"Haha! An A-rank jutsu! Rasengan! Hahaha!" Haruto laughed for two reasons. First, the jutsu was one of the most powerful close-combat techniques. Second, in the current timeline of the Naruto world, Rasengan didn't exist yet!
That meant Haruto could openly use it and claim it as his own original creation!
Splash!
Haruto excitedly splashed water all over the bath.
Swoosh!
A figure suddenly appeared right in front of him, staring at him with a calm, unreadable gaze.
White Fang!
He arrived too suddenly!
Haruto jumped in surprise, freezing mid-splash. Then, he quickly crossed his arms over his chest and shrank into the water, glaring at White Fang like he was some kind of pervert.
"White Fang-sama, can't you at least knock before coming in?" Haruto asked.
"How did you kill the 'Hookless Scythe'?" White Fang asked bluntly, skipping any pleasantries.
"Who?" Haruto feigned ignorance, but his heart skipped a beat.
White Fang had figured out that guy was an Elite Jonin? No way! The corpse was nothing but shredded meat! But if that wasn't the case, why else would White Fang ask this question?
"He was an Elite Jonin, a professional assassin from the black market! How did you kill him?"
So White Fang knew!
Haruto immediately put on a shocked expression, blinking in disbelief before exclaiming, "An Elite Jonin?"
"Yes!"
"White Fang-sama, how do you know he was an Elite Jonin? That's impossible! You must have analyzed it wrong! How could I have killed an Elite Jonin?"
"It's not an analysis—I knew him personally!"
"What?!"
"I said, I knew him!"
"Oh, for f***'s sake!" Haruto nearly cursed aloud, his eye twitching. Of all the people he could have killed, why did it have to be someone White Fang recognized?
Definitely a bad day.
"Answer me. How did you kill him?" White Fang's voice turned cold.
"Uh... he choked on water."