The wind sliced past, cold enough to cut bone.
Nara Suzaku had never imagined the mission could go this wrong.
The second he realized all four Root operatives were dead by Nara Shikage's hand, he knew he was screwed.
He ditched his team without a second thought and ran.
As long as he got out alive, Shikage was finished.
Killing Root shinobi? Danzō would never let that slide.
He didn't need to fight the brat face-to-face.
Burying the terror deep, Nara Suzaku sprinted forward without looking back.
He didn't get far.
Nara Suzaku skidded to a halt, face twisting as he stared at the four figures blocking his path. Real fear flashed in his eyes.
He understood exactly what they were now.
They were the shadows of the dead Root shinobi!
—What kind of fucked-up secret technique is this?
—Controlling dead men's shadows?
—Does the main branch have some monster jutsu they've been hiding from the rest of the clan?
Right then, envy and dread clawed through Nara Suzaku's chest at the same time.
Because the "person" chasing him had finally caught up.
Gritting his teeth, he slowly turned to face those blood-red eyes that terrified him and spoke through clenched jaws.
"Uchiha… Shisui…"
He'd figured out the "Uchiha's" identity.
Facing just the Root team and Shikage, Suzaku still believed he could break through.
But throw in Uchiha Shisui—the perfect hard counter—and even his arrogance cracked into despair.
—If I hadn't gone after Nara Shikage…
—If I hadn't sent my son to threaten Nara Shikamaru…
Regret flooded him.
But in the end every emotion narrowed down to one name.
—Uchiha Shisui.
Even if he'd never clashed with Shikage before, Danzō's orders would have sent him to the Naka River looking for Shisui's corpse anyway.
The same trap would have closed on him.
—So this is how it ends?
—Just because I chose Danzō?
For a moment Nara Suzaku remembered the old days.
When he and Shikaku were close, when the clan head still valued him, when…
Everything changed after he followed Danzō.
But…
"I had no choice."
Nara Suzaku exhaled the stale air in his lungs, eyes hardening with resolve.
He was going to live.
...
Minutes later.
Nara Suzaku leaned against a tree, body riddled with wounds.
He gasped for air, head hanging low, vision blurred by blood.
Even burning every ounce of strength, he couldn't escape "Shisui."
And there wasn't just "Shisui" to worry about.
Swish—swish—swish—!
Seven figures appeared in front of him.
Six were the shadow soldiers that had hunted him relentlessly.
They surrounded a tall, straight-backed teenager.
Nara Suzaku swallowed the metallic taste flooding his mouth and forced a weak grin.
"Shikage… you finally showed up."
Shikage looked down at him, face blank.
"Uncle Suzaku, you're still a well-known expert in the clan. If you pull some last-second death struggle and drag me down with you, that'd be inconvenient."
The last spark of hope in Suzaku's eyes died.
He glared up at Shikage, teeth grinding.
"Heh. Never thought the Nara clan's young master would be this scared of dying."
"Everyone's scared of dying."
The words made Suzaku's voice catch. His eyes filled with complicated emotion.
Nara Shikage was far more outstanding than he'd ever imagined.
With forty-plus years of experience, he was ninety percent certain the kid's future achievements would eclipse even Shikaku's.
Hell, with the Ino-Shika-Chō's influence behind him, the Hokage seat itself might not be impossible…
If only Shikage had been born thirty years earlier—or twenty, or even ten!
He would never have followed Danzō. He would have bet everything on this boy instead.
—Too bad…
With a silent sigh, Nara Suzaku's eyes suddenly widened. At blinding speed he finished his secret technique seals.
"Secret Technique: Shadow Sewing!"
His shadow exploded outward, turning into a thorny blade that shot up from the ground.
Less than a blink later it pierced straight through "Nara Shikage."
Watching the figure dissolve into scattering chakra, Nara Suzaku gave a bitter, helpless laugh.
"You…"
Before he could finish, No.2 flashed in front of him and ended his life with a single palm strike.
[Shinobi Nara Suzaku Eliminated]
[Experience Gained: …]
[Obtained: …]
Only after confirming no threats remained did the real Shikage step out from the shadows.
He looked down at Nara Suzaku's corpse and clicked his tongue.
"Good thing I'm careful."
"That desperate final secret technique was so fast I almost didn't react in time."
"If I hadn't used a shadow clone to test him, I might've actually gotten hurt."
"Shadow clones really are perfect, though. Even Kaguya couldn't tell the difference."
After his little victory speech, Shikage topped off his MP, then fired off three Shadow Extractions in a row, claiming Nara Suzaku's shadow for himself.
Then came cleanup.
Being ambushed by Root had hammered home how important it was to erase every trace.
With seven shadow soldiers helping, it still took a full hour of meticulous work before he finally dragged his exhausted body back to camp.
The campsite was wrecked, but he found a half-decent hammock still hanging.
He dropped into it, forced his tired mind to stay awake, and opened the system panel to check tonight's haul.
Five kills—including one full jōnin.
The experience surge pushed him straight to Level 15.
Jumping seven levels in one night felt good, but not that good.
Levels themselves didn't matter much—the attribute points they brought did.
From everything he'd learned tonight and over the past week, levels had way too much fluff.
If he were an average adult (all stats at base 10), not counting daily quest bonuses, at Level 15 his stats would sit around 25 each.
Which was roughly where he started when he first got the system.
Meaning a Level-15 civilian would have mid-chūnin-level body stats at best—and without any jutsu, they'd probably still lose to a real mid-chūnin.
You'd need Level 20 just to trade blows evenly.
So levels were whatever, but those sweet +5 attribute points per level were pure gold.
He happily reviewed his brand-new stats, then moved to the skill tab.
A bunch of techniques—Shadow Binding, Shadow Imitation, Shadow Neck Bind—had all reached Lv.2.
He'd also picked up a nice bonus skill stone: [Rune Stone · Shadow Sewing Technique].
He pocketed it for later. He had a theory he wanted to test.
After selling off the Root gear, weapons, and clothes, he finally opened the part he'd been waiting for.
[Shadow Lord]
[Current Compatibility: 9%]
[Class Quest · Stage One]
[Command Shadows: 7/5 (Completed)]
[Shadow Slots Unlocked: 5 → 20]
[Stage Two Class Quest Now Available]
[…]