South of Great Wave Village, the forest lay in ruins.
Thick mist swirled and churned.
The roaring sounds continued!
The area under attack expanded, gradually reaching the already devastated Great Wave Village. Fierce winds howled, and surging floods rushed through… Before long, everything returned to silence.
The intense chakra fluctuations vanished, and the thunderous sounds of ninjutsu attacks ceased. A deep quiet settled over the area.
The once extremely dense mist had spread due to the continuous wind release ninjutsu attacks. It now covered an area of about five kilometers in radius. Although the mist had thinned significantly, visibility within it was still severely limited.
Within the mist.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist regrouped.
The only female member of the group unrolled a large scroll she carried and sealed Kuro's body inside it. After sealing it, she slung the scroll back over her shoulder.
Momochi Akahara, the team leader, stood expressionless, his gaze icy. It was he who had ordered the attacks to stop. After so much time had passed without the assassin reappearing, there were only two possibilities: either the assassin had died underground, failing to escape in time, or he had already fled far away.
With Kuro dead, none of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen could sense anything underground, so they couldn't determine the exact situation.
But regardless, there was no longer any need to continue attacking.
The others looked at Momochi Akahara, waiting for his next command.
In truth, Momochi Akahara wasn't the strongest among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, but he was the most experienced, renowned, and respected. He had served in the Hidden Mist's ANBU for twenty years. If not for the rule that members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen couldn't serve as the ANBU captain, he would have already held that position.
"Perhaps he's already dead," the dark-skinned, thin ninja beside Momochi Akahara said.
"But he might still be alive. And based on his earlier performance, the likelihood of him being alive is higher," a burly ninja over 1.9 meters tall added.
"Lord Kuro is dead. I'm afraid Lord Hōzuki Iekatsu already knows."
"We must confirm the assassin's death. Otherwise, it will be hard to explain."
"If the assassin is still alive, how do we find him?"
"His characteristics are quite distinctive—his left eye is an unusual red. But… if he leaves the Land of Whirlpools, it will be difficult to track him down."
"An assassin with such abilities is most likely from the Rain Village, but we can't rule out the possibility of him being from the Cult of Jashin or even the Leaf Village. The Leaf has recently sent many ninja to the Land of Whirlpools…"
The group chattered among themselves, but Momochi Akahara remained silent.
He was the one who had to make the decision. Once he spoke, it would determine the next course of action for the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. "He's not dead. If he could kill Kuro in such a short time, his strength far exceeds our expectations," Momochi Akahara finally said, his voice low and hoarse. "Since he dared to kill Kuro right under our noses, it means Kuro was the key to his escape. With Kuro dead, he can flee!"
Momochi Akahara was no ordinary figure. With just a few words, he had deduced Haruto's earlier thoughts.
"So… he must be confident he can escape!" Momochi Akahara paused, then turned to look east. "First, we'll return to the vanguard camp. I'll explain the situation to Hōzuki Iekatsu. Then… we'll contact the ANBU intelligence unit. No matter who this assassin is, no matter where he's from, no matter where he flees to, we will find him! And kill him!"
Momochi Akahara's words were cold but no longer filled with rage. He had already passed the peak of his anger. Now, his heart was filled with nothing but killing intent!
"Let's move!"
The seven figures dashed off one after another, quickly disappearing into the distance.
On a distant cliff.
Haruto Saito stood with his hands clasped together, his eyes white and surrounded by wrinkles, gazing toward the northeast. In Haruto's vision, the world was reduced to shades of gray and white, with everything composed of lines.
He saw the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist leaving. Seeing that they were truly gone, the tension in his heart finally eased, and he let out a long sigh of relief.
The crisis was over!
The wind swept across the cliff, rustling Haruto's tattered clothes and carrying the strong scent of blood with it.
"Those bastards!" Haruto cursed, then slumped onto the grassy cliffside, lying back to relax.
He was exhausted!
This exhaustion wasn't physical but mental and emotional. Being hunted by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist was no easy ordeal. Those guys were too strong, and each of them was ruthless and unrestrained in their actions!
However, after facing the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist head-on, Haruto wasn't as afraid as before.
Back in Ryūsui Village, Haruto had killed his target and fled without being detected, running for hours without stopping.
This time, however, he hadn't done that. He wanted to see if the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist could continue tracking him without their ninja hound.
The answer was no!
Although the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were exceptional ninja, they were primarily combat-oriented. Even if they knew sensory techniques or unique tracking methods, they couldn't compare to specialized sensory ninja. Most ninja in the world excelled in one area while being significantly weaker in others.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were no exception. Combat was their primary strength.
Ninja like Tsunade, who excelled in both taijutsu and medical ninjutsu, were extremely rare.
Haruto lay on the cliff for a full half hour before sitting up. With a flick of his wrist, he pulled out several cards from his inventory space.
Killing a ninja beast could also drop cards!
But not just any ninja beast. Ordinary low-level ninja beasts, or even mid-level ones with some intelligence but insufficient strength, wouldn't drop cards when killed. Only powerful high-level ninja beasts would.
Back in the Land of Rain, Haruto had killed a Rain Falcon and obtained cards that enhanced his vision and made him more agile and faster—only two cards in total.
This time, after killing the Hidden Mist ninja hound, he had obtained a total of five cards.
**Kuro's Legs Card!**
**Kuro's Scent Card!**
**Kuro's Strength Card!**
**Kuro's Tracking Card!**
**Ninja Art: Vanishing Card!**
Haruto could understand the first four cards, as he had obtained similar ones before. But the fifth card puzzled him. It was a ninjutsu card, which was normal, but why would a ninja hound drop a ninjutsu card?
Like before, none of the five cards had any explanations written on them.
"System, explain this," Haruto thought. "What's going on?"
"Using the **Kuro's Legs Card** will grant the host increased running speed. Using the **Kuro's Scent Card** will grant the host an extraordinary sense of smell. Using the **Kuro's Strength Card** will enhance the host's physical strength. Using the **Kuro's Tracking Card** will improve the host's sensory abilities," the System explained.
"What about the **Ninja Art: Vanishing Card**?" Haruto pressed.