rising flames drove away the darkness of the night. Haruto Saito was sent flying over twenty meters into the air, crashing through two thick branches before plummeting toward the ground. He looked completely broken, like a tattered sack, falling without any attempt to adjust his posture.
Smack! Smack! Boom!
He crashed through two more branches before hitting the ground heavily, bouncing and rolling another four or five meters before finally coming to a stop.
He looked like he had lost all ability to fight!
Half of his body was blown apart. His right leg was completely gone, while his left foot was a mangled mess of flesh and bone. Blood covered his entire body, and his spine was twisted unnaturally, likely broken from the impact.
"Maxed-out luck... It seems the heavens really favor me," Haruto Saito muttered as he slowly approached his fallen opponent, contemplating whether to use his Double Drop Rate Card.
The last time he was ambushed by an elite Rain Ninja assassin and managed to turn the tables, he had received a Double Drop Rate Card, but he had never used it.
Drop rates could stack!
Currently, his opponent was classified as a boss, which meant the drop rate for defeating him was already high. If he used the Double Drop Rate Card now, he could max out the drop rate, ensuring that he would obtain all of his opponent's abilities upon death!
Haruto hesitated because it might be a waste.
For example, if his opponent already had a 70% drop rate, doubling it would push it to 140%, which would be inefficient since drop rates could not exceed 100%.
If Haruto saved the card for another enemy, he could use it more effectively.
"You... you deserve to die... I... I won't accept this!" his opponent growled, writhing on the ground like a dying insect, his voice filled with rage.
"So what?" Haruto replied calmly.
"Why? Why was I the only one caught in the explosion? Why weren't you? This... this is impossible! Even if you're an Anbu from the Hidden Leaf, there's no way you could know the exact locations of every trap... Impossible!!" his opponent was losing his mind.
He was unwilling, resentful, and completely unconvinced by his loss!
After all, he hadn't lost to Haruto in direct combat but had instead been gravely wounded by a series of explosive traps.
"Heh! Have you ever heard of a Luck Aura? Have you ever heard of the Chosen One? That's me!" Haruto said coldly. He wasn't joking—his Luck Aura truly prevented him from stepping on any of the traps.
With that, Haruto flipped his wrist and pulled out the Double Drop Rate Card from his inventory.
He decided to use it. Maximizing the drop rate was worth it. Killing a peak-level Jonin was already an extremely rare opportunity, and obtaining all of his abilities would give Haruto a massive boost in strength.
Haruto placed the card beneath his mask and bit down, crushing it.
At that very moment, his opponent, who had been lying motionless, suddenly twisted his body violently. His hands were already clasped together in a seal, and as he moved, a terrifying surge of chakra erupted from him, carrying an ominous deathly aura.
He was preparing a final desperate attack!
An S-Rank Forbidden Jutsu!
"Secret Technique: Earth Prison Coffin!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground around Haruto exploded in all four directions. Four towering stone walls shot up into the sky, surrounding him in an instant. The walls began closing in rapidly, aiming to crush him to death inside.
His opponent sneered, but his eyes were filled with despair.
This was all he could do.
At most, he would take down this Hidden Leaf Anbu ninja with him. It was a one-for-one exchange—not a loss. Earth Prison Coffin was an Earth Release Forbidden Jutsu with sealing properties. Once trapped inside, there was no escape unless one possessed a teleportation technique like the Flying Thunder God Jutsu. Otherwise, death was inevitable.
Whoosh!
Haruto flickered and reappeared right in front of his opponent, amusement glinting in his eyes. "What are you doing?"
His opponent's eyes widened in absolute disbelief.
How did Haruto escape?
Because he possessed the Art of Evasion! The Earth Prison Coffin couldn't trap him.
"You—" His opponent barely managed to utter a word.
Slash!
A streak of silver cut through his body, extinguishing his life.
Blinding golden light erupted from his corpse, and over two hundred cards shimmered into existence, densely packed and floating above the lifeless body.
At the same time, the system's prompt rang in Haruto's ears.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for defeating a boss target. Reward: 10,000 Reputation Points, one Treasure Card."
"Ding! Host has performed a cross-rank kill. Reward: One random A-Rank Ninjutsu Card."
Haruto was stunned by the sheer number of cards floating before him. This was an unprecedented jackpot!
He quickly grabbed handfuls of cards, storing them in his inventory. Just as he was about to leave to find a quiet place to inspect his spoils, he suddenly sensed something.
Someone had entered his perception range.
300 meters away... 200 meters... 100 meters...
In the span of two breaths, the figure had already arrived in front of him.
This person was incredibly fast, moving at an inhuman speed without causing strong gusts of wind. Even their chakra fluctuations were minimal.
A figure flickered into view beside Haruto, holding a reverse-grip chakra short sword.
It was White Fang, the Anbu captain!
"What are you doing here?" White Fang rasped, using the disguised voice he employed on missions. "This place is dangerous. You should know that."
"I followed that guy in," Haruto replied, pointing at the corpse on the ground.
"Are you injured?" White Fang asked, glancing at him.
It was rare for an Anbu captain to show such concern, but Haruto was different—he was the Hokage's personal disciple.
"I'm fine," Haruto replied.
"Good." White Fang placed a hand on Haruto's shoulder. "This place is littered with traps. It's dangerous. I'll take you out."
"Thanks, Captain." Haruto didn't argue. He could leave on his own, but with his absurd luck, the heavens themselves wouldn't let him step on a trap.
"Captain, what about the body?" Haruto asked.
"Someone will collect it later. The battle isn't over yet. We need to leave first." White Fang took another glance at the corpse, then suddenly froze, his eyes flashing with shock. "It's him?"
He let go of Haruto and took two steps forward, crouching beside the corpse to examine the face closely.
The explosions had caused some disfigurement, but the overall facial structure remained. Though bloodied and gruesome, it was still recognizable. White Fang scrutinized the face carefully before confirming, "It's really him!"
He clearly recognized the dead man.
A ninja of his opponent's caliber, not being an official member of the Hidden Stone Village's Anbu, still had considerable notoriety. It wasn't surprising that White Fang knew him.
Recognizing him even after severe injuries? That was quite a skill in itself.
"Captain, you know him?" Haruto feigned ignorance.
"He was a powerful ninja from the Hidden Stone Village! His name was Sato, a top-tier reconnaissance ninja specializing in Earth Release. His strength was on par with our Anbu squad captains." White Fang stood up, gazing at Haruto with scrutiny. "How did you kill him?"