"Twenty-four… six full squads, huh?"
Natsuhiko silently counted the Sand ANBU before him, quickly settling on a rough assessment.
That was enough.
He had already made up his mind.
There was a technique he had long considered—one he had designed in theory but never actually used.
To be precise…
It wasn't something he had fully mastered.
In fact, it barely existed beyond the conceptual stage.
But now—
This was the perfect opportunity to test it.
The enemies before him were no weaklings. On the contrary, every one of them was an elite.
But in the world of shinobi, offense and defense were rarely equal.
Unless one possessed something like Gaara's absolute defense…
Or the Uchiha clan's Susanoo…
Then survival ultimately depended on reaction speed.
Especially against someone who could traverse space itself.
"Impressive. You actually made it this far."
At that moment, the leading Sand ANBU stepped forward, his tone calm and indifferent.
"Allow me to introduce myself. Sunagakure ANBU—Viper."
"Oh?" Natsuhiko smiled faintly.
"A division commander? I'm honored."
He gave a slight nod. "Konoha ANBU—Nightingale. It seems we hold similar positions."
"I'm aware," Viper replied with a small nod. "Your name has already spread throughout the Land of Wind. Especially within the ANBU. There's no way we wouldn't know of your existence."
"That's quite the honor."
Natsuhiko chuckled softly.
"To be remembered by your organization… I can't think of anything more flattering."
He paused briefly, then added with a hint of mockery:
"Perhaps your village should follow the example of Iwagakure regarding our Fourth Hokage. You could put my name in a little handbook under the section: Flee on Sight"
Natsuhiko's words were sharp and provocative, instantly stoking the flames of rage among the surrounding Suna Anbu.
To have one's name in such a handbook was the ultimate glory for a shinobi. For the village that wrote it, however, it was a brand of utter humiliation.
For an ANBU of the Konoha to demand such a thing was an admission that the entire Sunagakure's ANBU force couldn't match a single man.
"You should choose your jokes more carefully," Viper's voice turned colder.
"Yes, you're strong. I'll admit that. Facing you alone would be… unfavorable."
He took another step forward.
"But do you really think you can leave?"
"Is that so?"
The chakra around Natsuhiko, which had been faintly stirring, suddenly calmed.
Even his voice softened.
"You've been talking for quite a while… trying to stall for time until reinforcements arrive, I presume?"
He tilted his head slightly.
"But that's fine."
"Let me ask you two questions."
His gaze sharpened.
"Why are you so certain I can't leave?"
"And why do you think… that just because I'm alone…"
"…I can't deal with all of you?"
The moment his words fell—
His left hand rose.
In an instant, chakra surged within him once more.
At the same time, countless points of light appeared in his perception.
"Enough! Attack!"
Viper didn't hesitate.
The moment he saw Natsuhiko's movement, he issued the command without delay.
The ANBU were well-trained elites.
Almost instantly, they moved in coordinated squads, covering one another as they charged toward Natsuhiko.
Everyone feared the Flying Thunder God Technique.
But as shinobi of Sunagakure, none of them had ever truly faced it.
They only knew one thing—
It required a medium.
Like the marked kunai used by the Fourth Hokage.
And the man before them…
Had made no such preparations.
Naturally, they had no intention of giving him the chance to do so.
But in the very next instant—
Natsuhiko vanished.
The ANBU at the very front suddenly felt a chill brush across his throat.
Instinctively, he opened his mouth—
But what came instead was the warm flow of blood spilling past his lips.
No sound.
No strength.
His body began to give out, life slipping away in silence.
A single ANBU had been killed.
Instantly.
Yet no one saw how it happened.
But soon—
They understood.
As Natsuhiko formed his seals, chakra surged within him, rising and falling in relentless waves.
His figure began to flicker—
Appearing.
Disappearing.
Like a phantom drifting through the battlefield.
There was no pattern.
No trace.
No logic.
It was as if he didn't exist at all.
And yet—
Every time he appeared…
Another Sand ANBU collapsed.
Life after life was harvested without mercy.
The sheer contradiction of it—
The impossibility—
Drove fear deep into their hearts.
Even Viper, their leader, felt cold sweat run down his back.
Too strange.
Too incomprehensible.
And before he could even process it—
A blade suddenly rested against his throat.
Only then did he realize—
It was over.
Every Sand ANBU who had come to intercept Natsuhiko…
Was dead.
All except him.
They had fallen where they stood, many still maintaining their formations even in death.
But such formations meant nothing.
They couldn't form cross-cover.
They couldn't defend.
They couldn't even react.
Not against him.
"Seems I wasn't the one boasting," Natsuhiko's voice was as warm as before, as if he hadn't just committed a mass execution. Only the blood dripping from his blade betrayed the truth. "…Just that you overestimated yourselves."
"…Who… are you?" Viper asked, sounding as though he had accepted his fate.
And yet…
Chakra surged within him one last time.
A final gamble.
A desperate hope.
But Natsuhiko showed no hesitation.
Before that chakra could fully erupt—
Before Viper could make a move—
The blade flashed.
A clean cut across the throat.
In an instant, the flow of chakra within Viper's body collapsed.
His hands flew to his neck instinctively, trying to stem the bleeding.
But it was useless.
The artery had already been severed.
There was no saving him.
No matter what he did—
Death was inevitable.
"Apologies, Commander Viper."
Natsuhiko's tone remained soft.
Almost apologetic.
"But I possess a certain level of sensory ability."
He paused slightly.
"And any movement from you…"
"…makes me uneasy."
Natsuhiko flicked the blood off his blade before speaking calmly, "So I had no choice but to strike first. Besides, I don't have much time. Your reinforcements should be arriving soon… and I still have a sealing squad to deal with."
At the mention of the sealing squad, Viper's body twitched faintly.
But it was too weak to matter.
His life was already slipping away with the steady flow of blood.
Natsuhiko crouched down and began searching his body.
After all, a division commander might still carry something useful.
"As for your last question… I believe I've already answered it. But since you insist on hearing it again—"
He spoke leisurely as he rummaged through Viper's belongings. When he finally found an unopened letter, he stood up with a satisfied expression.
Then, slowly, he said:
"Konoha ANBU. Third Division Commander."
"Nightingale."
...
Stepping out of an inconspicuous room within the town, Natsuhiko casually shut the door behind him.
The stench of blood was sealed away, at least for now.
That room…
Had been the hiding place of the remaining ANBU members—and the sealing squad.
While Natsuhiko had been dealing with Viper and the others, his small lizards had already tracked the flow of chakra and the scent of those shinobi, leading him straight here.
Which was why—
He had been able to eliminate the entire sealing squad without a hitch.
...
He walked calmly toward the border of the Land of Rivers.
This town straddled two nations—one side belonging to the Land of Wind, the other to the Land of Rivers.
One more step…
And he would be out of Sunagakure's territory.
Of course, leaving didn't mean safety.
But the Land of Rivers served as a buffer zone between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire.
Konoha forces were stationed there.
Unless he was as unlucky as Kusunoki and the others—being chased across nations by someone like Sasori—then forced all the way into the Land of Fire…
He would be fine.
After all, Sunagakure couldn't deploy large-scale forces in the Land of Rivers.
Doing so would be no different from declaring an occupation.
...
"Looks like my new technique is even more effective than I expected."
Using the Flying Thunder God, Natsuhiko crossed the border in an instant.
Standing now within the Land of Rivers, he glanced back toward the Land of Wind and smiled faintly.
The reason he had been able to wipe out all those enemies so quickly—
Despite seemingly not placing any markers beforehand—
Came down to one thing.
Wood Release.
That's right.
Wood Release.
Without proper techniques or scrolls, Natsuhiko couldn't perform any advanced Wood Release jutsu.
The only thing he could do… was condense chakra into seeds.
But those seeds—
Had led him to something far more interesting.
He could scatter them across an area, centered on himself, with a radius of over thirty meters.
And within that space… dozens—no, hundreds—of seeds could exist simultaneously.
If combined with ninjutsu—
It became a nightmare for anyone caught inside.
And it wasn't limited to Wood Release.
For example, if he knew Fire Release, he could force those seeds to sprout—then ignite them all in an instant.
Everything within that zone would be consumed in flames.
And more importantly—
If, while forming those seeds…
He embedded Flying Thunder God markers within them—
Then that entire area… would become his Flying Thunder God domain.
As long as his chakra held out, Natsuhiko could appear anywhere within that space at will—launching attacks from any angle, at any moment, with absolute freedom.
A battlefield… completely under his control.
He had already tested this idea back in Rōran.
And the result?
It worked.
Perfectly.
The only issue was his lack of familiarity. Setting everything up required time.
Which was exactly why—
Even after noticing the signal flare—
He had still taken his time exchanging words with Viper.
"Still… maintaining this technique for too long is a bit of a burden."
He rubbed his temple slightly.
"I'm not fully used to Flying Thunder God yet. Moving too fast, too frequently… still makes me a little 'motion sick.'"
It was an odd drawback.
And one he couldn't do much about.
Fortunately, as his physical condition improved, the symptoms had lessened significantly.
During his fight with Viper and the others, he had used the technique at least thirty times—
And he was still in relatively good shape.
His current limit…
Was somewhere around fifty to sixty uses.
A massive improvement.
And once he fully adapted to the rhythm—
This weakness would disappear entirely.
...
As he walked, Natsuhiko pulled out the unopened letter he had taken from Viper.
He was genuinely curious.
What kind of message would a division commander guard so carefully?
If he hadn't searched thoroughly, he might have missed it altogether.
But just as he was about to open it—
His brows furrowed.
Someone was approaching.
...
"Damn it!"
Back in the town, Chiyo stood frozen, her eyes wide with fury as she stared at the fallen Sand ANBU.
They hadn't just been defeated.
They had been erased.
When Natsuhiko had summoned Lizardmaru and clashed with the Sand forces earlier, she had already sensed something was wrong.
He hadn't been trying to escape.
He had been stalling.
That realization had sent her rushing toward the town immediately.
And when the signal flare rose into the sky—
Her suspicions were confirmed.
But it was too late.
Even moving at full speed… she hadn't made it in time.
By the time she arrived—
It was already over.
Every ANBU lay collapsed where they stood, still arranged in formation.
No signs of struggle.
No signs of resistance.
Each of them bore only a single wound.
And that one wound… had taken their lives.
Without exception.
Even Viper.
Chiyo's fingers trembled slightly.
What kind of speed was this?
What kind of power… could do something like this?
"…No."
Suddenly, Chiyo realized something.
Her expression changed drastically.
Without hesitation, she rushed toward a small wooden house.
But the moment she reached the door—
A faint, lingering scent of blood drifted into her nose.
She froze.
For a brief moment…
She didn't dare push the door open.
Because she already knew—
What lay beyond it.
The sealing squad of Sunagakure…
Had been completely wiped out.
...
Chiyo took a deep breath, forcing herself to steady her emotions.
But how could she remain calm?
Two ANBU commanders.
Nearly two full divisions of elite operatives.
Over a hundred defensive shinobi.
And an entire sealing squad.
All…
Killed by a single man.
This wasn't just loss.
This was hatred carved into the bone.
A grudge that would never fade.
A vendetta that could only end in death.
...
Without another word, Chiyo turned—
And ran.
She had to catch him.
No matter what—
She had to do something.