"It really does feel better after a fight."
Amamiya Raizen stretched his arms, feeling his heartbeat slow. His clothes were torn, his chakra reserves half-spent, but his grin was lazy, almost satisfied. "Guess I really was born for this mess."
He took one step forward—then stopped.
"...But it seems a few rats survived the purge."
His eyes narrowed at a large boulder up ahead. Chakra stirred faintly behind it.
"Alright, enough hide-and-seek," Raizen said, voice sharp as a blade drawn across ice. "I don't know who you are or why you're tailing me, but step out now. If I count you as an enemy, I won't hesitate."
Silence. The kind that only guilty people create.
Raizen frowned. "Tch. Guess I'll—"
Before he could move, a small figure stepped out.
A boy—no older than him, maybe twelve or thirteen—dirt-smudged face, eyes burning with anger.
"Kid," Raizen said flatly. "Name yourself."
The boy ignored the question, pointing straight at him. "Why did you attack that clan? Do you even know what you've done?! The Morishita are finished now—your actions will drag your clan into the same pit!"
Raizen blinked. "Oh, great. A moral lecture. From a child."
The boy clenched his fists. "They were greedy! They deserved it!"
Raizen tilted his head, unimpressed. "Huh. So you do understand greed. Thought you might still believe in heroes and sunshine."
The kid's cheeks flushed crimson. "Y–You—!" He couldn't even find words to fight back.
Raizen sighed and cracked his neck. "So? You from that clan?"
His tone was casual, but there was killing intent woven into it—thin, deliberate, like a wire around the throat.
The boy flinched. His instincts screamed danger. This was the kind of monster even adults feared—the kind who smiled before they killed you.
"I'm not a Morishita ninja!" the boy blurted. "I just... couldn't stand watching someone slaughter them like that!"
"Cute," Raizen said, vanishing in a flicker of light.
Before the boy could react, Raizen's hand was around his neck, lifting him effortlessly off the ground. "Bravery doesn't suit you, brat."
He squeezed—and the boy's body dissolved into mud.
Raizen's brows rose. "Earth-Style substitution, huh?"
He turned sharply, spotting the boy reappearing a few meters away, fingers flying through hand seals.
"Fire Style: Twin Flame Jutsu! Wind Style: Piercing Gale!"
Two C-rank techniques burst forth in unison—fire and wind intertwining in midair until the flames sharpened into a blazing spear. The fusion roared toward Raizen like a meteor.
Raizen's lips curved. "A fusion jutsu? Not bad."
His own hands blurred.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
A dragon of churning water surged from the ground, crashing headlong into the hybrid flame spear. The collision split the night sky with a blinding flash. When the mist cleared, the boy was staring in disbelief—his attack utterly erased.
"Impossible..." he breathed.
Raizen appeared beside him before the words were done. One swift kick sent the boy tumbling backward, dirt spraying into the air.
"Name," Raizen ordered, voice low.
The boy coughed, clutching his ribs, trembling as he looked up into Raizen's calm, predator-like gaze. "M–My name's Nao!"
"Nao, huh?" Raizen repeated, crouching. "Why are you here?"
"I—I was traveling with my sensei," the boy stammered. "I saw your fight and... I just wanted to see the one who defeated the Morishita."
Raizen exhaled slowly through his nose. "So... a wannabe hero."
He stood, dusting his hands. "Try not to die for ideals that don't pay, kid. The world doesn't care about good intentions."
He turned to leave—
"Earth Style: Hell Burial!"
The ground erupted beneath his feet. Mud twisted into a whirlpool, swallowing him waist-deep in seconds.
"Persistent brat."
With a shimmer of light, Raizen vanished—Flying Thunder God.
A heartbeat later, the spot where he'd been standing was empty.
A middle-aged man stepped out from behind the trees, scanning the area with cold precision. His presence radiated experience and danger—the kind of man who'd survived too many wars to count.
"Nao!" he barked.
"Sensei!" The boy scrambled up, bowing quickly.
"You idiot! Running off like that!" The man—Libra Jirou—snapped, grabbing the boy's collar before looking around. "Still… you weren't wrong. That Amamiya kid went too far. He'll pay for slaughtering a clan under my protection."
A lazy voice drifted from the treeline.
"Oh? And what price are we talking about?"
Raizen stepped out from the smoke, hands in his pockets, smile easy and eyes sharp. "Because if we're keeping score, you people owe me plenty already."
"Blood," Jirou growled, slamming his hands into a seal. "That's the only price worth paying."
The earth shuddered. A colossal dragon of stone tore free from the ground, jaws gaping as it lunged at Raizen.
Raizen's expression shifted from mockery to sharp focus. "That chakra density… a Kage-level opponent?"
His blood hummed. "Finally, something worth my time."
Lightning crackled along his arm, a thousand birds screaming in chorus. "Chidori!"
He charged, the sound of thunder drowning out the dragon's roar. The Chidori pierced straight through the creature's head in an explosion of sparks and shattered rock. Raizen didn't stop—he dashed straight toward Jirou.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
A wall of packed stone shot up, blocking the strike. Raizen's blade of lightning drilled through halfway before getting stuck, the energy dispersing.
"Tch. Tough bastard."
Before he could withdraw, six stone pillars erupted from the ground, slamming inward around him like a cage.