Yakura

The clear river burbled softly, like a gentle solo played by water.

"Swish, swish, swish…"

In the forest near the riverbank, a fifteen-man elite Sand Shinobi squad leaped through the trees, advancing along the river.

"Lady Yakura, I sense a Chakra signature on the riverbank three li ahead… There’s only one. It should be the enemy mentioned in the intelligence." The Sand Shinobi in charge of sensing reported to the beautiful young female ninja with greenish-yellow hair and a graceful figure leading the group.

"Our mission target should be this person. Keep moving, but everyone must be careful. According to the intelligence, in the past five days, at least thirty of our comrades have died on the riverbank ahead, including ninjas sent to investigate and companions who passed through here. The only ones who survived to relay information were three Genin from five days ago."

"Moreover, the Sixth Harassment Squad, consisting of thirty-one elite ninjas—including two Jonin and one Elite Jonin—was completely wiped out by this enemy. Another thirty-man patrol squad led by an Elite Jonin was also very likely annihilated by him." Hearing this, the beautiful female ninja named Yakura laid out the intelligence she knew and concluded, "This enemy is very strong. He possesses an unknown and powerful Bloodline Limit, and his strength is already extremely close to that of a Kage."

"Yes!"

The other Sand Shinobi answered in low voices. This was a powerful enemy who had already killed more than a hundred ninjas. None of them dared to underestimate him. Otherwise, their names would soon be carved onto the heroes’ monument.

Damn it, he actually lured in and killed so many of our ninjas.

When Yakura led the elite Sand Shinobi squad to the location described in the intelligence, she and the others could not help clenching their fists, their hearts filled with hatred for the murderer who had killed ninjas from their village.

The entire riverbank was littered with Sand Shinobi corpses. Their number had far surpassed the thirty mentioned in the intelligence. More than one hundred and thirty bodies lay scattered among the gravel of this short stretch of riverbank, as though a medium-scale encounter battle had taken place here.

These had all been Sand Shinobi who did not know the situation here. After seeing their comrades’ corpses, they had either failed to detect danger or assumed that the Chakra they sensed from Yueguang Han belonged to an injured comrade, so they had come to investigate and collect the bodies. Unfortunately, all of them had now become ghosts beneath Yueguang Han’s weapon. Among them were squads of more than ten Sand Shinobi, as well as powerful Jonin.

"The only Chakra signature is near the center, close to the river. That boy… There are also a large number of forehead protectors beside him." Without waiting for Yakura to ask, the Sensory Ninja pointed out Yueguang Han’s location, where he lay among the gravel as if dead.

Though they were shocked by the enemy’s age, they felt even more hatred—and jealousy. Konoha always produced an abundance of astonishing geniuses.

Yakura did not immediately launch an attack. She made a hand signal, and the Sand Shinobi began carefully observing the surroundings, especially this stretch of riverbank covered in their comrades’ corpses. Since the enemy had lured and killed Sand Shinobi here, he would surely have made preparations nearby.

Yet they had encountered no traps on their way here, and after observing for a long while, they still found no trace of any traps.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!" After observing for a long time without finding any opening, Yakura flicked her hand, sending two Kunai flying toward Yueguang Han, who was pretending to be a corpse.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

Two sounds of blades piercing flesh rang out as the two Kunai struck true, embedding themselves in Yueguang Han’s neck. This also delighted Yueguang Han. More enemies have come.

This place was already far from the center of the battlefield and close to territory occupied by the Sand Shinobi. Over the past five days, everyone he had encountered had been Sand Shinobi. Even if Konoha Ninja had infiltrated this far and passed through, seeing so many Sand Shinobi corpses would have made them hesitate to come investigate recklessly.

Seeing the Kunai accurately strike the enemy’s neck, Yakura frowned.

Beside her, the Sensory Ninja immediately checked and said, "The enemy isn’t injured. His Chakra fluctuations are still steady."

"The intelligence says the enemy possesses an unknown Bloodline Limit. We cannot let our guard down. Continue observing and keep watch on the surroundings," Yakura said quietly. Rather than reveal herself, she led the Sand Shinobi in cautiously shifting positions and continuing their observations, even though the Kunai had already exposed their presence.

Yakura’s words were also a reminder to the other Sand Shinobi. She did not mention the possibility that he was a puppet because, within several kilometers of the area, the Sensory Ninja had sensed only a single enemy Chakra signature. In battles between ninjas, intelligence and carelessness could both cost lives. In wars between ninjas, their goal was to kill as many enemies as possible.

"How cautious of you. Come out. There are no traps!" Seeing that the enemies hidden in the forest still refused to emerge after their test, a cold voice rang out from the riverbank. Yueguang Han, who had been pretending to be dead while basking in the sun, sat up and turned his gaze toward the forest concealing the Sand Shinobi.

He had already seen them through the Infrared Electronic Eye, though daylight significantly impaired it.

There was no response, nor was there any movement in the forest. The only sounds in the area were the wind and the flowing water.

Seeing that the enemy still refused to come out, Yueguang Han stood and kicked at the pile of Sand Shinobi forehead protectors beside him. In a cold voice, he said, "They were all killed by me on this riverbank. They never even had a chance to escape into the forest. You… do you have the nerve to come over?"

Hearing Yueguang Han’s words, the Sand Shinobi clenched their fists in fury. It was not his taunting words that angered them, but the way he kicked the forehead protectors of their fallen comrades.

Seeing this, and seeing that the enemy’s gaze remained fixed on the forest where they were hiding, Yakura knew they had been discovered. She gave several hand signals to the other Sand Shinobi, then led eight of them out of the forest and onto the riverbank.

Yakura of Sand Hidden’s Scorch Release. So they really came specifically for me. The Sand Shinobi already know what happened here. Looks like I can’t stay here any longer. Yueguang Han thought regretfully as he watched the Sand Shinobi leader appear.

"Not everyone came out. Did you leave them behind to run away? Or are you trying to break the record that no Sand Shinobi has managed to escape into the forest from my hands? Then congratulations, you’ve succeeded."

"No. Today, you will die on this riverbank and be buried alongside the heroes of Sand Village who have fallen," Yakura replied just as coldly. With a wave of her hand, four orange-red fireballs appeared and floated beside her.

"Swish, swish, swish…!" The eight who had emerged with Yakura moved swiftly, turning into afterimages as they formed a semicircle around Yueguang Han. Four of them were Jonin, while the rest were all Elite Chunin.

"No. I think you’ll only become one of them. Your forehead protectors will surely become my trophies as well." Yueguang Han pointed at the corpses on the ground and the pile of forehead protectors beside him. His voice held no fluctuation, remaining as cold as ever.