—This kid… how the hell is he this strong?
—He only graduated a few weeks ago!
—Even at his peak he should still be mid-chūnin!
Nara Suzaku's face tightened. Any trace of contempt vanished, replaced by dead-serious focus.
One exchange and the brat had instantly dropped a Root mid-chūnin.
Root mid-chūnin weren't some academy scrubs—they were forged in literal bloodbaths. Normal mid-chūnin couldn't even stand in the same ring.
He'd assumed Nara Kizashi lost because his son was useless.
Now it looked like Nara Shikage was far more dangerous than anyone had realized.
But that realization didn't make Suzaku hesitate. It only hardened his killing intent into stone.
—This threat cannot be left alive!
"Take him down!"
The words barely left his mouth before the other three Root members synchronized their seals.
"Water Release: Water Chaos Wave!"
Three high-pressure streams exploded from behind their masks, roaring straight at Shikage.
Shikage had been ready. He flickered backward in a blur.
The corpse of the dead Root member took the full hit instead—skin splitting open under the crushing torrent.
Nara Suzaku, still standing back and issuing orders, finally saw his opening.
His eyes locked on Shikage's airborne body. A cold smile curled under his mask.
"You're too green!"
Under the moonlight his shadow stretched less than ten meters from Shikage.
Fingers flew through seals, hands slamming together.
"Secret Technique: Shadow Imitation!"
His shadow shot forward like living rubber, sharpening into a lethal blade aimed straight at Shikage's back.
If it connected, even ten lives wouldn't save the brat.
But before Suzaku could taste victory, the sharp whistle of steel sliced through the air right beside his ear.
He had no choice—forced to cancel the jutsu and twist aside.
The giant shuriken grazed his sleeve as it spun past. Suzaku leaped backward, landing on a thick branch to steady himself.
He glared at the intruder.
A pitch-black figure stood there, faint purple light glinting across its surface under the moon. Those emotionless gray eyes sent a chill down even a veteran's spine.
"Who the hell are you?"
Suzaku wasn't born and raised in Root proper. In that split second he actually hesitated to attack and demanded answers instead.
No.1 didn't waste breath on conversation. As a shadow soldier, it existed only to obey its lord's will.
[Kill him.]
Curse Mark · Incomplete version—activate!
Deep purple lines crawled across No.1's arm like living veins, spreading and burrowing deeper.
The soldier, normally barely mid-chūnin, instantly climbed to full mid-chūnin strength.
Without a word it charged Nara Suzaku.
Seeing this suicidal shadow actually dare to rush him, Suzaku's eyes narrowed to slits. He formed seals again.
"Looking to die!"
Shikage heard the clash break out nearby and let out a tiny, hidden breath of relief.
The moment Nara Suzaku had cast Shadow Imitation, he'd known exactly who he was dealing with.
He might look down on the man, but he had to admit—Suzaku had real skill.
As a well-known jōnin of the Nara clan, his raw power might not match the clan head, but when it came to precise control of shadow secret arts, Suzaku was no slouch.
At least in that department, even Shikage wasn't his equal.
With Suzaku being the strongest on the field, letting him join the fight freely would be suicide.
That was why Shikage had ordered No.1 to stay hidden and strike the instant Suzaku tried to use his technique.
He didn't expect No.1 to actually kill the man—just buy him enough time.
Sacrifice the weaker piece to distract the stronger one, then crush the rest with your own stronger pieces.
That was Shikage's instant battlefield plan.
He shoved all other thoughts aside and scanned the remaining three. His gaze locked onto the weakest.
Feet slammed into the ground. He shot forward like a cannonball.
The Root members had clearly expected the move.
The one Shikage had marked as the "soft target" puffed his cheeks and formed seals.
"Water Release: Water Gun Technique!"
A head-sized water bullet formed in an instant, reflecting cold moonlight, and screamed toward him with a deafening roar.
Shikage couldn't dodge in time—he took the hit dead on.
But instead of a scream of agony, the figure exploded into a wooden log that was instantly shredded to splinters.
The real Shikage burst from the shadows between the trees, closing the gap in three strides.
And the enemy right in front of him wasn't the original "soft target"—it was the mid-tier Root member.
His feint hadn't rattled them. The Root operatives stayed ice-cold and professional.
The man jumped back to create distance, already forming seals for his strongest finishing move.
"Water Rele—"
Halfway through the seals, Shikage didn't retreat—he pressed forward even harder.
For the first time, a flicker of shock broke through the Root member's dead eyes.
Not at Shikage's "recklessness," but at the sudden, terrifying realization that his own body had locked up for a split second.
That tiny lag completely shattered his rhythm.
The jutsu that should have finished before Shikage reached him collapsed into nothing.
He could only watch in horror as Shikage's kunai flashed with cold steel, perfectly mirroring the gaping wound already opening across his own throat.
Shikage planted a brutal kick into the dying man's chest, then spun toward the last two.
"One down."
It sounded like a victory declaration—but it wasn't.
The instant the words left his mouth, unnoticed in the shadows, a pair of blood-red eyes slowly opened.
Three black tomoe spun and merged into a razor-sharp shuriken pattern.
[Mangekyō Sharingan · Kotoamatsukami]!
The Root special jōnin never noticed the genjutsu cast from the dark.
He kept his eyes locked on Shikage, brows furrowed tight beneath his mask.
He knew his teammate's strength. A mid-chūnin shouldn't have died that sloppily.
He had the vague feeling Shikage had done something to the man.
But before he could think deeper, a cold stab of pain exploded in his back.
Pure instinct made him whirl and kick the attacker away. His eyes widened in disbelief as he saw his own teammate.
"You betrayed us?!"
—What the hell is going on?!
The "traitor" said nothing. He simply formed seals and charged.
"Water Release: Water Shuriken!"
The Root special jōnin sucked in a sharp breath, ignoring the burning pain in his lower back, and answered coldly.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"