The seven ninjas who suddenly appeared were all dressed the same, with a "fire" character on their waistbands.
"Leaf Village ninjas... what are you doing here?" a black-haired ninja asked coldly.
At the same time, the other six slowly formed a semicircle around them.
"The Anbu received intelligence that Sand ninjas had colluded with ninjas from the Land of Fire, intending to assassinate the Daimyo. Under orders from Lord Hokage, we've come to investigate," Tatsumi said casually while replenishing his chakra.
The black-haired ninja's face stiffened slightly. "We are the Guardian Ninja Twelve—the Daimyo's personal guards. Since this happened in the Daimyo's palace, leave it to us. You can go back."
"Is that so?" Tatsumi smiled. "But I have my doubts. You're not secretly working with the Sand ninjas, are you?"
"What did you say?! Want to die, brat?" a dark-skinned middle-aged man stepped forward aggressively.
"What, trying to kill us to silence us?" Tatsumi crossed his arms, his face full of disdain. "Or are you thinking you can handle the wrath of the Leaf Village?"
The ninja hesitated upon hearing the words "Leaf Village," clearly wary of provoking it.
"And that rat hiding in the tree, come out too. I noticed you long ago," Tatsumi added, glancing toward a large tree.
Swish.
A figure appeared on a branch, looking down at Tatsumi.
"Don't act smart, kid," came a cold voice. "Wouldn't it be better to leave quietly, Leaf brat?"
Tatsumi looked up to see a white-haired man with a gloomy expression.
It seemed this middle-aged ninja was none other than Ryoma, the Daimyo's most trusted Guardian Ninja.
"Moreover, we, the Guardian Ninja Twelve, have always stayed out of the Leaf Village's affairs. This is the Daimyo's territory. Don't meddle in what doesn't concern you."
"Really now? Collaborating with the enemy and still trying to act dignified?" Tatsumi shook his head.
"It's ironic, isn't it? That ninjas of the Land of Fire would one day partner with Sand Village shinobi for profit."
Ryoma's face darkened. He had assumed the Leaf Village ninjas could be deceived using the name of the Guardian Ninja Twelve, and that he could clean up the Sand ninja mess afterward.
But judging from Tatsumi's words, it seemed they already knew the truth. That meant letting them go wasn't an option.
Still, Ryoma felt uneasy. Could the Leaf Village really know everything?
Tatsumi clapped his hands. "Watching you squirm already makes me feel a little better… but it's not nearly enough to calm my anger."
"But it doesn't matter," Tatsumi said coldly. "Because I'll kill you here and report your crimes to the Leaf."
"So—are you ready to die... trash?"
The moment Tatsumi's words fell, a kunai shot from his hand with a piercing whistle toward one of the approaching ninjas.
The ninja raised his long sword to deflect it. But he was overconfident. In today's ninja world, only freaks like the Raikage could catch a kunai moving at that speed barehanded—and he clearly wasn't one of them.
As expected, the spinning kunai penetrated the blade and shot clean through his head.
Bang. His entire head exploded.
Even in death, the ninja couldn't believe he was the first to fall so easily.
Tatsumi stood next to the corpse, blood pooling beneath his feet, the splatter painting his surroundings crimson.
The gruesome scene shocked the remaining ninjas.
"How is he this strong? That was over in an instant..." they thought, stunned.
"So these are the so-called Guardian Ninja Twelve? Pathetic," Tatsumi scoffed.
Truthfully, they weren't that weak. Facing a mere Chunin, outnumbering him, few would think to be cautious.
Before his words had even finished echoing, another ninja flashed behind Tatsumi and drove a kunai at his back.
Clap.
A sharp snap of fingers rang out. The world around the ninja blurred. The Tatsumi before him vanished—replaced by the familiar old face of the Third Hokage.
"Genjutsu? Damn it!"
Before he could react, a kunai sliced across his throat. Blood sprayed. The ninja died in a dream he never woke from.
Two kills in an instant.
The confidence of the remaining ninjas faltered.
"...Go notify Beiyun. Tell the four of them to prepare that jutsu immediately. We'll lure him there," Ryoma ordered urgently.
He was afraid now. In mere moments, two comrades had been slaughtered by that boy. A sense of helplessness washed over him.
Only that jutsu could restore his confidence. After all, no one survived it.
With a wave of his hand, Ryoma commanded a volley of shurikens and kunai to launch toward Tatsumi from all directions.
"Trying to outmatch me with shuriken? You really are stupid," Tatsumi laughed.
He rarely showed off his shuriken skills nowadays—his enemies usually weren't worth it. But that didn't mean his technique had dulled.
Tatsumi crossed his arms, brushing the straps on both wrists. Two black shurikens instantly appeared at his fingertips.
Swish swish swish!
He flung them without hesitation. His arms blurred, and the number of flying shurikens multiplied from a few to dozens.
Faster and faster, his movements became an illusion. The shurikens swelled into hundreds, filling the air like a storm of black insects.
Weapons collided—kunai struck shuriken, shuriken deflected shuriken. Sparks exploded mid-air from the constant impact.
Incredibly, the eight enemy ninjas found themselves suppressed by a single boy.
Moments later, the area was littered with embedded shurikens. Both sides halted.
"Are you ready to die?" Tatsumi's cold voice sliced through the air, killing intent radiating. Then, he vanished.
"Be on guard!" Ryoma barked the instant Tatsumi disappeared.
The eight formed a defensive circle, back to back, eyes scanning warily.
Swish. Tatsumi appeared briefly.
"Where is he?!" the black-haired ninja cried.
Tatsumi vanished again. A kunai flew out in his wake.
He reappeared, disappeared, then reappeared again—so fast it seemed like he was attacking from a dozen directions at once.
Ryoma's heart trembled. He whispered, "After the Second Hokage… is a new fastest ninja about to be born?"
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