A fight to the death?
Hearing those words, Natsuhiko was momentarily stunned.
Then, a faint smile appeared on his face.
Interesting. Very interesting.
He had originally wondered whether these people were truly the remnants of Kubisaki Castle.
Now, he could be certain—they were exactly the people he was looking for.
And even if he couldn't get the scroll from them—
Wouldn't that actually be a good thing?
Luck was never something easy to evaluate.
What seemed like misfortune to others might, in your own hands, turn into the greatest opportunity.
If someone else had run into this group, they would think themselves terribly unlucky.
But Natsuhiko felt—
He was incredibly fortunate.
"You want to fight me to the death?" Natsuhiko's voice remained gentle, even carrying a hint of softness. "I understand. Just don't bluff. It only makes your weakness more obvious."
"You arrogant brat!" The middle-aged man's voice trembled slightly, anger rising within him. "You will die here!"
"Is that so?" Natsuhiko murmured quietly.
The senjutsu chakra within him had already begun to surge.
"Then… good night."
"Watch out!"
The moment Natsuhiko finished speaking, the middle-aged man felt a powerful sense of danger and shouted in warning.
But Natsuhiko's figure had already vanished.
Like a phantom, he silently appeared beside a ninja with genin-level strength.
His blade flashed from its sheath—
A silver streak cutting through the darkness of the graveyard.
The light flickered briefly as it brushed cleanly across the ninja's throat.
The ninja only felt a slight chill at his neck.
Then warmth spread rapidly across his upper body.
He opened his mouth to speak—
But only a rasping sound escaped.
Soon, his consciousness blurred.
He collapsed to the ground. Blood quickly stained the earth around him.
Fast.
Far too fast.
Natsuhiko's ghostlike speed was beyond their imagination.
One of their men had died without a sound.
Fear surged through the group.
But Natsuhiko didn't pause.
His speed increased again as he moved toward another ninja with chūnin-level chakra.
There were about eight of them in total.
Aside from the middle-aged man—whose chakra level was at jōnin—the rest were merely chūnin and genin.
Clear out the small fry first.
Deal with the jōnin last.
That was Natsuhiko's chosen tactic.
The lesser ones might not pose much threat, but he didn't want accidents.
And killing them might also test the jōnin's resolve.
Perhaps he wouldn't even need to finish them all—the jōnin might break first.
Unfortunately—
After cutting down another chūnin in a single stroke, Natsuhiko realized the middle-aged man showed nothing but fury.
There was no sign of surrender.
"Bastard! Don't underestimate us!"
As Natsuhiko flickered beside yet another chūnin, the man roared in defiance.
With a determined expression, he pulled out a kunai and tried to block Natsuhiko's blade.
"Slash!"
But Natsuhiko was in Sage Mode.
His perception, speed, and reflexes had all reached their peak.
He merely adjusted his blade mid-air—
And it pierced through the man's body like slicing tofu.
"Hm?"
Yet as Natsuhiko completed the strike, his brows furrowed slightly.
The chūnin wasn't dead yet.
With his final strength, the man grabbed onto Natsuhiko's blade.
At the same time—
Natsuhiko noticed something.
There were explosive tags tied to the kunai.
This man had fully intended to die—
Just to hold him in place.
"Boom!"
A massive explosion tore through the darkness of the graveyard.
For an instant, the entire cemetery was illuminated as bright as day.
Flames and smoke filled the air, engulfing everything in sight.
...
As the smoke gradually cleared, the chunin lay motionless on the ground. Half of his body had been pulverized by the blast, and the other half was a mess of charred flesh.
Natsuhiko landed steadily a short distance away, his expression dark. While he respected that kind of suicidal resolve, it was a massive pain to deal with. His ninja blade had been shattered by the point-blank explosion.
However, using the firelight from the blast combined with his sensory abilities, he had pinpointed the remaining enemies. More interestingly, they had used the same light to track his landing position and were already charging at him.
"Die!"
"Revenge for Hayato and the others!"
"Kill him!"
Four remaining ninjas lunged at Natsuhiko the moment his feet touched the ground. Even though they knew this masked Konoha Anbu was monstrously strong, they had something they had to protect. Three of their comrades were dead—their brothers, their friends. They wanted blood.
"Wait! Get back!"
The jōnin had also followed, but just before reaching Natsuhiko, he sensed something wrong.
His expression changed instantly.
He possessed strong sensory abilities.
It was through that perception that he had monitored passing shinobi all this time—
Preventing them from disturbing the fallen warriors of Kubisaki Castle.
Preventing them from disrupting Lord Kubisaki's rest.
That same ability had saved him countless times in battle.
He could detect disguises.
He could sense danger before it arrived.
And now—
He clearly realized that the Natsuhiko standing before them was fake.
It was a clone.
And inside that clone—
A terrifying amount of chakra was gathering.
"Boom!"
Even though he shouted the warning—
It was too late.
The chūnin and genin didn't possess his level of perception.
And Natsuhiko had already anticipated their movements, preparing in advance.
The time left for them to react was pitifully short.
A violent explosion erupted once more.
The shockwave shook the cemetery, dust rising high into the air.
Several nearby graves were blown apart—
Revealing the white bones buried beneath.
Natsuhiko stood calmly atop a tree branch.
Coldly, he looked down at the fallen shinobi.
He listened to their hoarse, weakening screams.
Then his gaze shifted to the remaining jōnin.
"Now it's just the two of us."
His voice was calm.
"I told you not to bluff. It only makes your weakness more obvious."