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Chen Xing's body dropped down to the forest floor, his sharp gaze sweeping over the fallen enemy.
Natural selection, survival of the fittest—an unchanging law. In the world of shinobi, this law is absolute. Chen Xing had not only adapted to it but had begun to relish the feeling of becoming stronger through it.
"Check it first."
Although the target seemed long dead, Chen Xing followed habit. Channeling a thin thread of chakra to his eyes, he scanned the corpse carefully, ensuring there were no lingering traps or surprises.
Once certain it was safe, he began to inspect his spoils.
Yesterday's mission had yielded a decent haul. Over time, Chen Xing had become a specialist at "plucking geese without leaving a feather"—taking everything useful from a kill. While he hadn't yet taken on an official A-rank mission, this latest bounty was worth over 22 million ryō—quite the profit.
What he didn't realize was that his streak of perfect, injury-free completions had begun to make waves in the underground world. In just two days, he had completed two high-value targets, each on par with an A-rank mission in difficulty. While such feats weren't unheard of among seasoned jōnin, the fact that the hunter in question was a fourteen-year-old boy made it… suspiciously impressive.
(Chen Xing, inwardly: "Please! I'm not twelve, okay?!")
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By midday, the summer sun beat down mercilessly. The land of Bird was quiet, its heat pressing on the air.
Beneath a towering tree with a lush canopy, golden sunlight speckled the upper leaves while the shade below remained cool. A crystal-clear stream trickled through the secluded forest, its soft murmurs breaking the silence.
On a smooth boulder by the stream sat Chen Xing, shirtless, eyes closed, his breathing long and steady, following a special rhythm. His lean frame carried defined muscle—coiled and firm like young dragons under pale skin—powerful yet not overdone, the kind of natural physique that came from relentless training rather than showy flexing.
Gradually, the muscles along his arms and torso began to tense in sync with his breath. A faint tremor rippled across his flesh, subtle but there—blood rushing faster than normal, his skin flushing slightly. For an ordinary person, such internal pressure might rupture vessels.
After an unknown stretch of time, his pale skin darkened with congestion, veins standing out faintly. Sweat beaded his forehead. This "congestion state" was far from comfortable—it was the edge of his current limit.
Finally, he exhaled, letting his muscles relax. The heat in his skin faded, his breath evened out, and the subtle undulation of his body stopped. Opening his eyes, a brief gleam flashed in the darkness of his gaze.
"Right now, my raw physical durability is close to the level of someone who's mastered their body's self-protection. I'm still a distance away from the first body limit, but I'm not in a rush."
He wiped the sweat from his brow, a relaxed smile tugging at his lips.
This "congestion training" was a method he had developed over years to improve physical strength. The accelerated blood flow forced his body to adapt, toughening it beyond normal limits. However, staying in that state too long risked internal damage and long-term injury.
Through trial and error, Chen Xing had formed his own theory: the human body had several limits—thresholds of physical capability. He called them the First Body Limit, Second Body Limit, and Third Body Limit. Beyond that, he didn't know—no one in history, to his knowledge, had survived pushing past the third.
In his estimation, Might Guy, even after opening the Eighth Gate of Death, had barely touched the Third Body Limit, delivering that legendary blow to Madara Uchiha in his Ten-Tails Jinchūriki form. The price was the destruction of his body; without Naruto's Six Paths power to heal him, Guy would have died. Even now, Guy's crippled leg was proof of the cost.
Chen Xing's rough scale went like this:
Breaking the First Limit — strength on par with a solid jōnin.
Breaking the Second Limit — physical combat power reaching the kage level.
Breaking the Third Limit — the ability to challenge far above one's tier, but only briefly, and often fatally.
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The "Peacock King."
That was the name whispered in the underground lately.
According to intelligence reports, this mysterious bounty hunter had gone from an unknown rogue-nin to a feared elite in just two to three months. Every target he marked was eliminated—most of them high-profile nukenin. The pattern was consistent: no survivors, no leaks.
The title "Peacock King" spread quickly through the underworld and even caught the attention of major hidden villages. Despite the recent uproar in the shinobi world over the Akatsuki's activities and the return of Uchiha Itachi, the Peacock King's exploits still managed to make waves.
For someone to consistently hunt down elite-level nukenin—many with high bounties—was no small feat, especially if that "someone" was, according to rumors, a teenager.
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Konohagakure, Hokage's Office — Land of Fire
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, sat behind his desk, pipe in hand, his expression unreadable as he studied the file before him.
On top was a half-length photograph: Chen Xing. The dimly lit background hinted at an underground auction hall—the first time his image had been captured by bounty hunter networks.
Below the photo was a dense block of text:
> Codename: Peacock King
Name: Unknown
Age: Unknown (estimated 14–15)
Strength: Estimated above elite jōnin
Origin: Unknown (possibly Bear Country)
Height: ~165–170 cm
Notable Records:
June 5, Konoha Year 56 — First recorded appearance at Yuye City near Bear Country's border. Registered as a bounty hunter. On the same day, killed Iwagakure missing-nin "Yamakajima Kaze" (bounty: 8 million ryō).
June 6, near Baihua City on the Bird Country border — killed Sunagakure missing-nin "Kakuro" (bounty: 9.5 million ryō).
August 12, outside Babed City, Fire Country — killed Kirigakure elite missing-nin "Hōbi" (bounty: 12 million ryō).
Behavioral Notes: Targets are primarily nukenin, with no confirmed kills against active shinobi from the Five Great Nations. Possible deliberate avoidance of political conflict.
Chakra Affinity: Lightning, Fire
Specialty: Unknown (battlefield damage analysis suggests extreme physical power, possibly taijutsu-based)
Threat Level: Class A — Very Dangerous
If Chen Xing could see it, he would have been stunned. He'd expected some of his activities to be tracked, but not with this level of detail. In the Land of Fire—Konoha's own territory—intel capabilities were, unsurprisingly, top-tier.
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