"Mist Hidden Infiltration Unit Ninja?" Byakugan's expression froze for a moment before he replied, "That depends on the target's strength and rank within the infiltration unit. Killing a genin versus killing a jōnin—the merits awarded would be completely different..."
"For example, what about a chūnin from the Mist Hidden Infiltration Unit?" Haruto Saito pressed.
"Equivalent to an A-rank mission!" Byakugan answered. "But since it's not an assassination mission, the merit is only equal to a standard A-rank. Two regular A-rank missions would equal one A-rank assassination mission."
"That high?" Haruto raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Killing an ordinary chūnin wouldn't be rated so highly!" Byakugan explained. "But infiltration unit ninja are all exceptional talents. Beyond their combat rank, they possess advanced skills in intelligence gathering, counter-surveillance, disguise, and the ability to cultivate informants..."
"And the most crucial point—they're incredibly hard to find!" he continued. "They blend in among civilians, hiding in ordinary villages. Tracking them down is extremely difficult!"
"Got it." Haruto nodded.
"So… did you kill a Mist Hidden Infiltration chūnin?" Byakugan asked with a smirk.
"Yes." Haruto confirmed.
"Where? I'll log it for you." Byakugan immediately picked up his notebook.
"In the northern region of the Whirlpool Country, in the village of Kitamizu. I took out one Mist Hidden Infiltration chūnin… and one genin."
"Not bad!" Byakugan grinned as he scribbled in his notebook. "To find and eliminate hidden operatives without intel support—impressive! You've earned one B-rank mission merit and one A-rank mission merit."
He then looked up and added, "However, our own infiltration unit will need to verify this. I'm just recording it for now. Not that I doubt you, but protocol is protocol."
"There's more." Haruto said.
"Oh? Go on." Byakugan poised his pen.
"Also in the north, in Kaisui Village—two Mist Hidden Infiltration chūnin."
Byakugan's expression turned to surprise, but his hand kept writing.
"That's two more A-rank merits, which can be combined into one A-rank assassination mission—"
"Wait, I'm not done yet. Let me finish before you tally it all." Haruto interrupted.
"There's more?!" Byakugan stared at him in shock.
"Haryū Village—one genin…"
"Mokusei Village—one elite chūnin…"
"Kaichō Village—two chūnin…"
Haruto continued listing names while Byakugan frantically jotted them down. The surrounding Anbu operatives stared at Haruto, their expressions shifting from astonishment to outright disbelief.
If all these kills had happened in one place, it wouldn't be as shocking—just an unusually large encounter. But the fact that they were spread across multiple locations begged the question: How did he find them all?
Haruto didn't stop.
"Sashio Village—one jōnin, two genin…"
"Tōha Village—two chūnin!"
"Gōsō Village—one elite chūnin!"
"Danran Village—one genin!"
After mentioning Danran Village, Haruto finally stopped. There was still Dankai Village, where he had killed four operatives—three jōnin and one elite jōnin—but he decided to withhold that for now. It involved Hattori Tatsuno and the treasure intelligence.
"That's it?" Byakugan's voice was numb as he finished writing.
"For ninja, yes. Fifteen in total." Haruto added, "Oh, and along the way, I also eliminated twenty-one informants working for the Mist Hidden Infiltration Unit—fourteen civilians and seven samurai (or merchants under samurai protection). Not sure how much merit that's worth?"
Byakugan's face seemed to stiffen as he looked down at his notebook, scribbling calculations.
The other Anbu operatives couldn't hold back their questions.
"How did you pull this off?"
"Haruto, did you get intel on their infiltration network?"
"How many days did this take?"
"Less than four days." Haruto began spinning another half-truth. "I got lucky—stumbled upon intel about the Mist Hidden's communication network in northern Whirlpool Country. Plus, I'm good at reading people. Analyzing their appearance, demeanor, and behavior… Shinkawa can vouch for that. So, it went smoothly. Didn't run into any overly strong targets."
"Seriously?"
"That's… hard to believe."
"Just by looking at them?"
The Anbu operatives exchanged skeptical glances. Haruto's explanation had holes—it wasn't convincing. If he had taken thirty days to eliminate fifteen targets with prior intel, that would make sense. But less than four days? When did he even have time to scout them?
Several operatives turned to Shinkawa for confirmation.
"Haruto does possess an extraordinary ability to assess people." Shinkawa spoke up. "Back in Konoha, he hunted down dozens of foreign spies without any prior intel—purely by observation. It's a unique talent of his."
Shinkawa had witnessed it too many times—Haruto would suddenly fixate on a target, tail them, and engage without hesitation. If it wasn't an unparalleled skill in reading people, what else could explain it?
"A skill like that…"
"Unbelievable!"
"Damn, that's impressive!"
The Anbu operatives murmured in amazement.
"Done calculating!" Byakugan finally looked up, first at Haruto, then at the others. "Haruto's total mission merits will far surpass Kaede's, putting him just below Kirimizu-sama—still in second place."
"Still second?!" Haruto wasn't satisfied.
What the hell did Kirimizu do earlier this year to rack up so many merits?!
"Let me update this." Byakugan turned toward the mission board.
"Wait—one last thing." Haruto cut in.
"What now?" Byakugan glanced back.
"I was cutting a path through the north—starting from Kitamizu, moving along the coast, then west toward the northwestern border of Whirlpool Country. Every village I passed, I left bodies behind. Effectively, I've completely dismantled the Mist Hidden's entire northern coastal infiltration network. Does that count for anything?"
Haruto wasn't exaggerating—he had indeed crippled the Mist's intelligence operations in the northern coastal region. Given that most of Whirlpool Country's villages were concentrated along the coast, the damage was near-total.
"That's…" Byakugan hesitated. This was beyond his usual scope.
"Count it as an Ultra S-rank War Mission Merit." A deep voice cut through from behind.
Haruto turned—his eyebrow twitching slightly.
It was Kirimizu.
As the leader of the Assassination Unit, captain of the First Squad, and the third-highest authority in Konoha's Anbu, his word was final.
"In that case…" Byakugan spoke slowly, glancing between Kirimizu and Haruto. "Haruto's total merits would surpass Kirimizu-sama's, making him the top-ranked operative in the Assassination Unit for this year." His tone was laced with disbelief.
The atmosphere instantly shifted.
Before, the others had merely been amazed by Haruto's luck and unique skill. Moving into second place was one thing—but first?
Because according to the Assassination Unit's rules—
The operative with the highest annual merits automatically becomes the next Assassination Unit leader.