"I've been spotted."
Night Namikaze's heart went cold the moment he heard the voice. He didn't hesitate for a second—he immediately backed off, putting distance between himself and the intruder while keeping his guard up.
The newcomer was dressed in standard Mist ANBU gear. He had clearly tailed the Seven Ninja Swordsmen here to clean up the mess.
Night didn't waste time hoping for mercy. He struck first.
His hands flew through seals, launching the only Fire Style jutsu he knew.
"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!"
A blast of scorching fire erupted from Night's mouth, roaring straight at the Mist ninja.
But the ANBU didn't dodge. The flames swallowed him whole, but instead of burning flesh, the figure dissolved into a splash of water that evaporated instantly in the heat.
A thin mist began to rise. Night cursed internally. Bad news.
The enemy had used a Water Clone as bait and seamlessly transitioned into the Hidden Mist Jutsu.
Thick fog rolled in, turning the area into the Mist ninja's playground. He now controlled the battlefield completely.
Senbon needles and shuriken flew out of the white haze from every direction. Night dodged frantically, forced to stay on high alert for a sudden strike from any angle.
Luckily, thanks to the system upgrade, his chakra reserves were on a whole different level now. He could afford to keep spamming Flame Bullet toward where he suspected the enemy was hiding.
In the past, two or three jutsus would have tapped him out.
The Mist ninja was secretly shocked. He had assumed Night was just a kid he could toy with. He hadn't expected the boy to have such monstrous chakra reserves, spamming ninjutsu like they were free.
Still, the Mist ninja figured he was safe. As long as he stayed hidden in the mist and the kid didn't have a Byakugan to counter it, he could just wait until Night exhausted himself. It was a guaranteed win.
Night was getting anxious. He was on the edge of the main battlefield; if enemy reinforcements showed up, he was done for.
In the standoff, Night focused everything on trying to locate the enemy. Suddenly, he felt something shift.
A strange, mystical sensation bloomed in his mind. Like a radar ping, he locked onto the Mist ninja's exact position.
Night didn't react visibly. Instead, he slowed down his attacks, panting heavily as if he were running out of chakra.
The enemy didn't drop his guard immediately. He sent another Water Clone to attack while the real body circled silently to Night's flank, preparing for a killing blow.
But Night saw it all. Every movement was clear in his mind's eye. He pretended not to notice, secretly preparing a jutsu.
Night clashed kunai with the Water Clone. As he was knocked back, "losing" his balance, he sensed the real Mist ninja lunge from behind to capitalize on the opening.
"Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!"
The sphere of water formed instantly—but before the Mist ninja could smirk, he realized he had trapped a wooden log.
Substitution Jutsu!
At the same time, the explosive tag Night had left on the ground beneath the ninja's feet detonated. BOOM!
Night, having teleported away, didn't let up. He flared his chakra again.
"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!"
The double tap—explosion followed by fire—engulfed the Mist ninja. A scream of agony pierced the air.
The mist that covered the area began to fade.
The Mist ninja was in bad shape. One leg had been blown off, and his upper body was covered in burns and blisters. He lay on the ground, barely breathing.
Night's sensory ability confirmed the threat was neutralized.
Only then did he relax and focus on the new power he had awakened.
Mind's Eye of the Kagura!
As a hardcore Naruto fan, Night knew exactly what this was. Even among the Uzumaki clan, this sensory technique was rare.
In his past life, he had argued on forums that this skill, despite its limited screen time, was arguably the strongest sensory jutsu in the ninja world.
He poured more chakra into the ability. His mental radar instantly expanded, covering a radius of over ten kilometers.
After confirming no other enemies were nearby, he walked over to the dying Mist ninja.
[Scan Complete. Pawnable Items Discovered:]
[Ding! Dying Elite Chunin ... Valuation: 0]
[Ding! Unrecorded Ninjutsu (Extractable) ... Valuation: 20]
"Pawn."
The Mist ninja's head dissolved into particles of light. The system interface refreshed.
[Redeemable Items:]
[Water Style: Water Clone — Cost: 10 Points]
[Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu — Cost: 10 Points]
[Water Style: Water Prison — Cost: 10 Points]
[Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet — Cost: 10 Points]
[Uzumaki Clan Sealing Techniques — Cost: 4000 Points (Purchasable individually)]
"Damn scalper!" Night cursed.
The system bought the jutsus for 20 points and was selling them back to him at double the price.
Night was starting to understand how this system worked. It wasn't creating things out of thin air; it was a cosmic pawn shop acting as a middleman.
He didn't hesitate, though. He bought all four Water Style jutsus. Instantly, the knowledge flooded his brain, as if he had practiced them for years.
[Current Pawn Points: 870]
Even more surprising, Night, who originally only had Wind and Fire affinities, now suddenly possessed Water chakra nature.
"You get what you pay for, I guess."
Not only did he skip the training time, but gaining a whole new chakra nature saved him years of grueling cultivation.
The only downside was the Water Dragon Bullet. No wonder the Mist ninja hadn't used it. It was the "honest man's version"—the one that required a ridiculous 44 hand signs.
Night quickly looted the body and patched himself up. Since Captain Ito still hadn't returned, Night decided to leave a marker and retreat first.
With the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, Night moved like a ghost. He weaved through the battlefield, avoiding every skirmish.
He was like a battlefield janitor; wherever he passed, Uzumaki corpses mysteriously vanished.
---
"Captain Ito isn't back yet. It's past the rendezvous time. We need to retreat."
Ken Shimizu spoke to Taka Kato, who had stopped shaking but was still strung tight with fear.
Both of them were traumatized by the brutal warfare. They agreed instantly and turned to flee back the way they came.
Just as they thought they were escaping hell and started to relax, a cold voice cut through the air:
"Longsword Ninja Art: Earth Spider Sewing."
Countless steel wires burst from the ground, shattering their escape plan. The tough wires instantly ensnared them.
When they struggled, the razor-sharp wires sliced into their skin, dyeing their clothes red with blood.
Out of the mist walked a slender but powerful figure. Behind a pale mask, his eyes were unreadable. In his hand, he held a long, needle-like sword.
The signature wires and the needle sword... anyone would recognize him instantly as one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Kushimaru Kuriarare tightened the wires in his hand, his voice freezing:
"Two little rats from Konoha? Why don't you tell me where your friends are?"