Chapter 12: I Will Kill All of Them
After killing the elite chūnin, Uchiha Kenzo stood atop a tree branch.
His mind raced at a terrifying speed.
With the death of the elite chūnin, his understanding of the Path of Killing rose to 5.24% — a substantial increase compared to what the bandits had given him.
Further proving one thing:
Quality over quantity.
He had even received a reward of mental strength corresponding to his previous understanding of the Path of Killing.
Meaning he gained 2.32% of the elite chūnin's mental strength.
At that moment, Uchiha Kenzo came to another realization.
The mind and the soul were two different entities.
The soul was the power source and the core identity of a person.
The mind, however, was like software — processing and perceiving information.
Yes, the two were interconnected. But that did not mean one would automatically improve the other.
Take Shikamaru and Naruto, for example.
Even with vast spiritual power, Naruto's thinking was often superficial, acting mostly on instinct.
Shikamaru, on the other hand, relied on strategies and rapid analytical responses to different situations.
Yes, environmental factors mattered.
But that did not mean there was no inherent difference.
After receiving the reward for mental strength, all traces of fatigue vanished like smoke.
In their place was a cool, accelerated sensation within his mind.
His thoughts became faster. Sharper.
It felt as though it had always been part of him.
There was no need for adjustment during combat.
The change had happened instantly after killing the elite chūnin.
Truly making him a perpetual motion machine for killing.
Like an infinite devourer — the more enemies thrown at him, the stronger he became.
Numbers were almost meaningless against him.
Unless unconventional methods were used, killing him through ordinary means would soon become nearly impossible.
All these thoughts passed through Uchiha Kenzo's mind in less than a second in real time.
Meanwhile, the remaining elite chūnin — who had just killed his own comrade without hesitation — didn't even glance at the corpse.
He vanished with a Body Flicker toward the trees.
In a short moment, with practiced coordination, the three of them moved in perfect sync.
They encircled him in a triangular formation.
The two elite chūnin attacked again — but this time not to kill.
There was only one goal:
To delay him.
While the jōnin prepared a large-scale ninjutsu meant to obliterate him — along with his own subordinates.
Truly ruthless.
Kenzo thought calmly as he blocked their attacks.
The jōnin had already formed hand seals at an incredible speed — impressive even for a jōnin.
He took in a deep breath.
And released a massive sea of flames that expanded outward like a tsunami.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
(Katon: Gōka Mekkyaku)
The inferno surged forward, devouring everything in its path.
Kenzo attempted to use Body Flicker to escape from his position atop the tree branch—
But the two elite chūnin, using their own bodies as tools, grabbed him tightly.
Using their full body weight.
Using their lives.
Just to delay him for a fraction of a second.
The flames arrived like a tidal wave.
Trees and branches turned into blackened husks.
Everything the fire touched was reduced to ash.
The jōnin, having depleted a significant portion of his chakra, exhaled deeply and descended from his branch.
He moved cautiously toward the destroyed area where Uchiha Kenzo had stood.
Through the smoke, he saw two charred corpses.
His own subordinates.
But Uchiha Kenzo was nowhere to be found.
In that single moment of hesitation—
Kenzo struck from behind.
With terrifying force, his kunai severed the jōnin's neck.
The head separated cleanly from the body.
As it flew through the air, the jōnin had only one thought:
How?
Seeing the confusion in his enemy's fading eyes, Kenzo thought calmly:
Simple.
In that fraction of a second, he had redirected the two chūnin in front of the flames, using them as human meat shields.
That bought him the precious moment he needed to escape with Body Flicker.
He then hid within the smoke and fire, using the chaos as cover.
And waited.
The instant the jōnin relaxed — even for a heartbeat —
He struck.
No ordinary elite jōnin could have pulled that off.
It happened because it was Uchiha Kenzo.
With his insane reaction speed.
In a battle between shinobi, speed was supreme.
Namikaze Minato proved that during the Third Great Shinobi War.
The jōnin's body fell with a heavy thud.
Immediately, another rush of mental strength surged into Kenzo's mind.
Sharper.
Faster.
Reaction speed depended on three things:
The soul.
The mind.
The body.
The soul enhanced instinct and sensory perception.
The mind determined how quickly information was processed and patterns recognized.
The body depended on neural response, nervous system efficiency, and the explosive power one could exert at the moment of attack.
And with a fully developed three-tomoe Sharingan — enhanced dynamic vision and predictive ability —
Uchiha Kenzo's reaction speed was utterly inhuman for most jōnin.
Kenzo calmly digested this realization.
Practical combat experience was the greatest catalyst for growth.
He then looked expressionlessly at the corpse of the jōnin, which had not yet grown cold.
He did not believe for a second that this was the only force sent to kill him.
With the level of surveillance placed on him yesterday, it was impossible they would send only a standard squad.
Just as the thought crossed his mind—
His perception caught multiple chakra signatures approaching in a tight circular formation.
Judging by the intensity, there were at least a dozen shinobi.
Kenzo took a slow breath, discarding unnecessary thoughts.
He entered a state of absolute calm.
His senses sharpened to their highest level.
Only one cold thought remained in his mind.
He would kill them all.