Naruto: The Hidden Shadow Style

Haseo braced his elbow firmly against the enemy's back, then gave him a light push forward. As he pulled his short sword free, the enemy's body, now without support, collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

See? Humans really can die this easily. It was exceedingly rare for a ninja like The Second, who could still pull off a maneuver even in the midst of cremation.

At this moment, the first enemy charging ahead finally realized someone had circled behind their forces. His eyes, moving with noticeable delay, followed the lingering lightning glow left by Haseo's high-speed movement… Then he saw his fallen comrade on the ground.

Just one glance was enough for him to confirm his teammate was already dead.

"A Lightning Release ninja!"

The enemy's pupils slightly constricted. He didn't care about his comrade's death—their mission tonight was always one of "failure means certain death," no retreat allowed. What surprised him was how his companion had died—without even having time to react. In other words, just how fast could this Lightning Release ninja be?

That meant this young Konoha ninja couldn't be underestimated.

Intense Lightning Release chakra surged along Haseo's hand and enveloped his short sword. Even under the cover of night, the glowing blade stood out starkly. The corpse of the slain enemy lay right there on the ground. The remaining foe had no intention of ending up the same way.

Haseo stared intently at the enemy. Although he had eliminated the first opponent with a surprise attack, in truth, it had been an ambush relying entirely on catching him off guard. If his guess was correct, every Sunagakure ninja involved in tonight's attack on the Konoha base should be a key battlefield asset—likely at least the level of an elite Chunin or higher.

Therefore, Haseo stayed razor-sharp with caution.

The enemy felt the same way. Instantly, he had already deduced that Haseo's speed was far beyond his own. When facing such a speed-type ninja, even a second's recklessness might lead to immediate decapitation. Therefore, this enemy too remained highly alert.

And that's exactly why, facing a faster opponent, he had to strike first and fight head-on!

Although it sounded complex, both sides' mental shifts were actually completed in an instant. The enemy turned his head, located Haseo's figure, glanced at his fallen comrade on the ground, then forcibly halted his rush toward the hospital barrier and charged straight at Haseo instead.

At the same time, his hands had already started forming Hand Seals.

Seeing the enemy's decisiveness, Haseo naturally wouldn't hesitate either. Almost simultaneously, he once again dashed toward the enemy at an undetectable, blinding speed. In the blink of an eye, the distance between them closed until they were practically face-to-face.

At this point, the enemy's technique was complete. A wide-range Ninjutsu surged straight at Haseo... Clearly, this timing and proximity were exactly what the enemy had planned:

[Wind Release: Net of Blades]

A dense web of wind blades descended upon Haseo like a net.

The frequency and intensity of this Wind Release attack would be more than enough to slice even someone as fast as Haseo into a bloodied mess.

Putting aside the issue of the jutsu's range, choosing Wind Release to counter Lightning Release was naturally the most orthodox and correct choice.

"Yeah, Wind Release counters Lightning Release. Who doesn't know that?"

A response using Wind Release against Lightning Release was such a textbook reaction that Haseo certainly anticipated it... Unless the enemy didn't know Wind Release at all, he'd obviously use Wind Release in a situation like this.

Therefore, Haseo's technique and the enemy's Wind Release were actually released simultaneously.

[Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!]

Surging heat directly met countless wind blades, crimson trails carving through the pitch-black night sky. Then the wind blades exploded the fire dragon into a shower of burning embers, while the fire dragon's high temperature and rising hot air likewise rendered the wind blades ineffective.

Haseo had never seen this Wind Release ninjutsu before, but as long as it wasn't Kekkei Mora, there was no reason for him to hesitate. When the Fire Dragon Flame Bullet suddenly expanded like fireworks exploding, mingling wind blades with the heat wave, Haseo didn't stop his forward charge—quite the contrary, his lightning-wreathed form accelerated even further.

Thus, within the scarlet flames, another hue of glowing patterns appeared... As long as the opponent let his guard down around the fire, Haseo could charge straight through its center.

Haseo's speed pulled surrounding air currents along; under fluid pressure effects, the flames gathered toward his trajectory. Thunder crackled around his body, while embers dotted his path. At this moment, the enemy was genuinely shocked.

How?! How is it that both of us are using ninjutsu, yet yours carries these additional effects?!

Oh right—what he meant was, how can this ninja wield both Lightning Release and Fire Release? By the Sage of Six Paths, that breaks the rules of chakra affinity!

A lightning-wreathed short sword slashed toward the enemy's throat, but at the last moment, hardened instincts kicked in and saved his life. Although his eyes couldn't keep up with Haseo's movement, almost subconsciously, he tilted his body sideways. Just like a hot knife slicing through butter, Haseo's blade effortlessly pierced his shoulder.

Did he actually miss?

Haseo felt somewhat surprised, but immediately followed up by driving his knee into the opponent's abdomen, instantly kicking him flying. The enemy's reaction speed was impressive—but that's all it amounted to, because... Haseo wasn't fighting alone. To be precise, this was currently a 2-on-2 battle.

When he was unexpectedly sent flying, he couldn't adjust his posture midair at all—and that's when Sakumo Hatake had already appeared behind him.

This guy's swordsmanship was far superior to Haseo's… or rather, when it came to sword techniques, they belonged to completely different tiers.

Watch as Sakumo's short blade danced up and down—he severed the enemy's four limbs' meridians in the blink of an eye. Then, as the enemy crashed onto the ground like a broken sack, he pressed his tanto against the man's throat and coldly demanded:

"How many of you are there? Your objective? Your commander?"

"This simple interrogation method actually expects results?" Just as the enemy was about to voice his determination to never surrender, he felt a cold blade gently glide across his neck. The next moment, he could no longer speak.

Haseo silently stood by the enemy's side and pulled the dagger out of his shoulder. He cast a slightly surprised glance at Hatake Sakumo, as if questioning in his mind whether the man truly intended to interrogate or not.

As though reading Haseo's thoughts, Hatake scratched his head and said, "Konoha has rules—we should try our best to extract information from enemies. That's why I asked him. But honestly, I thought he wouldn't talk anyway, so I just killed him quickly instead."

Now that's some brilliant logic—how could anyone possibly argue with that?

Yet... Haseo sheathed the dagger and gave Hatake an even odder look.

At this moment, two thoughts unavoidably came to mind:

First: If you're really that ruthless, how could you ever consider taking your own life?

Second: So you're one of those head-collecting freaks too.

P.S.: 

Still hunting for recommendation votes!

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