Looking at the four Amegakure shinobi closing in with grim expressions, vaguely forming a circle, Reiji grinned, revealing a row of sharp white teeth.
"You guys are seriously the worst undercover agents I've ever seen."
He shook his head with a chuckle.
"From the start, you weren't on guard at all. A seven- or eight-year-old kid wandering alone outside the village, and not a single red flag?
Think for a second—would someone bold enough to do that be so easy to catch?"
He glanced at the Genin beside Amegawa, a look of disappointment on his face.
Then he turned to Amegawa.
"And you—you couldn't even sneak into the target village. Makes me seriously question your competence.
And let's talk about this temporary base. A cave? Right next to Konoha? What, are you picking out a nice grave for yourself?"
"Enough!"
Amegawa cut him off coldly before he could finish.
Just thinking about how they still needed Reiji to get into Konoha made Amegawa grit his molars.
Keep this brat in check for now. Once I'm inside Konoha, you're dead!
With that thought, he forced a stiff smile.
"Kohei, don't be mad. We're all just trying to carry out Hanzō-sama's mission.
Go back for now. When we're ready, come find us again."
Reiji slapped a hand to his forehead and doubled over in laughter.
"Haha! Are you trying to kill me with that joke?"
He laughed for a while, and when Amegawa's face had darkened like the bottom of a scorched pot, Reiji finally straightened up and exhaled deeply.
"Amegawa, you're not just dumb, you're painfully naive. And even now, you're still thinking about sneaking into Konoha?"
Amegawa's expression turned ice cold, his gaze sharp with a chilling fury.
"In that case, you're useless. Die!"
He flung a kunai straight at Reiji.
Reiji pushed off lightly from the ground, retreating rapidly toward the cave entrance and narrowly dodging the blade.
Amegawa's eyes narrowed as his resolve hardened.
Fine then, Shuku Kohei—you're dead!
In that instant, Amegawa made up his mind.
Forget the mission. Kill the damn brat.
Once back in the village, he'd report to Hanzō-sama that Shuku Kohei had betrayed them and led Konoha's forces in pursuit. They had no choice but to fight back, since the battle happened so close to Konoha. He'd spin it as a desperate withdrawal.
And with Hanzō-sama enraged, that Mizukuma Sakuhō would be executed to vent his fury!
With the plan taking shape, a cruel smirk curled at Amegawa's lips.
"All of you—attack! Kill that little bastard!"
At his order, the four shinobi struck in unison. Kunai and shuriken flew toward the fleeing Reiji.
Just as he cleared the cave entrance, seven or eight kunai pierced through his body.
At that moment—
Poof!
A puff of smoke erupted, and Reiji turned into a log.
"Body Replacement Technique! After him—don't let him escape!" Amegawa barked, eyebrows tightly furrowed.
The four of them rushed out of the cave.
Reiji now stood atop a tall tree branch, looking down at them from above.
"Make it quick. Don't let Konoha's hounds catch wind of this!"
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
With that call, the four attacked again.
From his perch, Reiji leaned on the tree trunk, watching the shuriken fly up toward him, followed closely by the water technique. Clicking his tongue in boredom, he reminded himself of why he was here.
The first goal: test the quality of Amegakure's forces. If they were worthless, eliminate them.
The second? Time to bare his fangs.
Of course, that was for the ANBU lurking in the shadows to see.
He had to raise his value in the eyes of Konoha's leadership from every possible angle.
Power was part of that equation.
As these thoughts raced through his mind, Reiji muttered to himself.
"First, ninjutsu."
The words had barely left his mouth when a barrage of shuriken flew at Reiji, striking him head-on. A split second later, a surging torrent of water burst from Amegawa's mouth, engulfing Reiji completely.
Got him!
Amegawa felt a surge of satisfaction.
But in the next instant, a sharp poof! rang out, and a thick wooden log emerged from the fading water.
"Body Replacement Technique again? Damn it—our intel was wrong! This brat's hand seal speed is insane!"
According to the intelligence Amegakure had gathered, Reiji was supposed to be a novice, just a rookie trained as an assassin who had only recently started on the path of a ninja.
But the reality in front of them told a different story.
Reiji's speed with hand seals far exceeded the norm.
As the water receded, the branch he had stood on was now empty.
"Where is he? Find him!"
Amegawa's brows furrowed as he barked rapid-fire orders, scanning the surroundings.
His three accompanying Genin also swept their gazes across the area, searching for any trace of Reiji.
Elsewhere, the ANBU who had linked up with Hiruzen were also scouring the area.
Hidden among the dense branches, their vantage point offered a much clearer view than Amegawa and his men on the ground.
Yet even with that advantage, they couldn't catch sight of Reiji.
"Any sign of him?"
"Nothing!"
"Did he escape?"
"Probably. Honestly, a smart move."
The ANBU, wearing their animal masks, whispered among themselves.
Hiruzen's gaze moved subtly across his men. A flicker of disappointment crossed his face before he let out a quiet sigh.
"In the sky."
A barely audible voice cut through the silence.
Startled, the ANBU immediately looked up, eyes scanning through the thick canopy toward the heavens.
On the ground, Amegawa and his team also raised their heads belatedly, eyes lifting to the night sky.
There, under the glow of the full moon, Reiji floated, body fully extended.
For a moment, time seemed frozen. The moonlight bathed him in silver, casting an ethereal glow over his form. Around him, countless senbon hovered, aimed downward, their sharp tips gleaming ominously, poised to strike.
"The wind and rain come at night—who knows how many blossoms fall?"
His voice carried like a whispered verse, almost like a chant. As he brought his hands together, a cruel smile crept across his face.
"Magnet Release: Drizzling Flowerfall Technique!"
In the blink of an eye, a flurry of senbon poured down like fine rain.
Amegawa's eyes widened in terror, pupils shrinking to pinpricks. His heart dropped.
Damn it—this kid was planning to kill them from the start!
"Dodge, now!"
A desperate, shrill scream tore from Amegawa's throat.
But it was too late.
As his figure descended, so did the storm of senbon.
Whsst, whsst, whsst... The air was filled with a chorus of sharp, piercing sounds.
In an instant, the countless senbon pierced clean through the four Amegakure ninja. Their bodies remained standing, frozen in place.
A single senbon isn't that lethal—but what about thousands, densely packed?
The numbers might not have been quite so extreme, but against just four enemies, Reiji didn't need more.
Drip.
In the silence that followed the assault, a faint sound broke through.
A single drop of blood fell, hitting the forest floor and bursting apart like a crimson flower, its petals soaking into the earth.
Then came more—drip, drip—a steady rhythm of falling blood.
The Amegakure shinobi, already dead yet still upright, now stood surrounded by blooming flowers of coagulated blood.
The ANBU hidden in the shadows felt their scalps go numb.
They were professionally trained, yet the eerie and tragic beauty of the scene before them quietly chipped away at their psychological defenses.
Putting themselves in the situation—if they had been the ones facing Reiji Sakuhō—they'd be the ones now standing stiffly as blood bloomed beneath their feet.
Realizing this, several ANBU glanced toward the figure ahead, eyes filled with admiration and quiet gratitude.
If not for Hiruzen's warning, they might not have noticed Reiji's attack in time.
After all, very few shinobi excel at launching attacks from the air.
For one thing, aerial targets are highly exposed—especially in open terrain, they stand out too easily.
For another, there's no footing to maneuver. Unless you can fly, most ninja can't adjust their posture mid-air, which makes evasion-based fighters especially vulnerable.
Up front, watching Reiji descend from the sky, Hiruzen himself felt deeply impressed.
His insight far surpassed that of the average ANBU.
What amazed Hiruzen wasn't the ninjutsu itself—but Reiji's sharp, efficient battle instincts.
The air is a blind spot for most shinobi.
But Reiji had done the opposite—using the dense forest to first perch on a branch, drawing enemy focus upward.
Then, with a Body Replacement Technique, he vanished.
At that moment, any trained ninja would instinctively brace for a sneak attack.
In their minds, the sky above the trees Reiji had just occupied felt like a safe zone.
After all, that space had just been hit by ninjutsu—surely it couldn't still be dangerous.
So their focus shifted to other, seemingly riskier areas—allowing Reiji all the time he needed to form hand seals.
While Hiruzen considered this, Reiji landed lightly on the ground.
He glanced back at the shadowed corners behind him, then strolled casually toward the corpses of the Amegakure squad, leisurely picking his nose as he admired his own work.
From the shadows, Hiruzen let out a quiet sigh and looked toward Reiji, preparing to step in.
This kid's got power—but his lack of experience is obvious.
...
Just then, among the corpses of the four Amegakure shinobi, Amegawa's body suddenly turned translucent, then burst apart into a splash of humanoid water.
"A water clone?!"
Reiji's brow lifted. He quickly turned to look behind him.
Not far away, within the dense woods, Amegawa staggered forward, drenched in blood, battered and barely standing. His eyes were red with rage, and though his hands were pierced by senbon, he forced out one final hand seal.
"Die! Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"