Chapter 38

"Do it!"

A harsh command rang out.

The elderly shopkeeper, seemingly frail just moments ago, suddenly moved with inhuman speed, lunging directly at Yūgao Uzuki.

She was gone.

She never expected that the old man before her had been concealing such immense power.

At this close range, evasion was impossible.

A sinister grin spread across the old man's face.

In his mind, all he needed was a single hostage.

With that, handling the two young brats would be trivial.

"Lariat!"

A thunderous crack split the air.

Lightning chakra surged, coiling around a clenched fist. The sheer force of it distorted the very air.

BOOM!

The old man was sent hurtling hundreds of meters away.

Every obstacle in his path—wooden walls, thick trees—shattered upon impact.

His flight ended with a devastating crash against a rock face.

Blood gushed from his mouth.

His body slumped lifelessly.

The tension in the outpost was palpable.

Dozens of rogue ninja—mercenaries disguised as traders—stood frozen.

Their intel had indicated they would only be facing three Konoha shinobi.

What's more, they had confirmed that Minato Namikaze, the feared Yellow Flash, had already left.

In their minds, this mission had seemed easy.

"Boss… who the hell is that guy?" one of the rogue ninjas muttered, voice trembling.

Their leader—a middle-aged man dressed in merchant robes—narrowed his eyes at Qin Yu.

A dark glint flickered in his gaze.

"Hmph. He's just a little fast. Don't forget—our clan is on the verge of extinction! The bounty on that kid's head is enough for us to survive this war!"

"Yes! We fight for survival!"

The rogue ninja riled up instantly.

Their leader barked, "Attack at full force! Don't let him claim our reward!"

The moment he finished speaking, a chill ran down his spine.

The air turned suffocating.

"It seems you're not the main dish," Qin Yu mused, his tone almost amused. "Which means you don't get to ask questions."

The ground beneath his feet cracked.

In a blink, he vanished—disappearing like a specter.

By the time he reappeared, he was already in front of the rogue ninja leader.

"Rasengan!"

This was Qin Yu's weakest attack.

Yet infused with chakra, it swirled into a deadly sphere of compressed energy.

No fancy tricks.

Just raw, destructive force.

"No—!"

The rogue ninja leader's pupils contracted in horror.

This was nothing like the Chūnin-level enemy he had anticipated.

BANG!

The moment Rasengan made contact, the leader instinctively crossed his arms to shield himself—only for them to snap like twigs.

The impact sent him flying.

He smashed through a wooden beam and crashed into a tree 100 meters away.

Unlike the old man earlier, he didn't even get the chance to spit blood.

His chest had caved in completely.

His body was still.

Dead.

A suffocating silence filled the air.

Panic erupted among the remaining rogue ninja.

"The boss is dead?!"

"Run! We have to escape, or we'll all be slaughtered!"

Terrified screams rang out.

The mercenaries scattered like frightened rats.

"Qin Yu, go after them!" Yūgao Uzuki urged.

"If these rogue ninja are brazen enough to attack this close to Konoha, they might ambush others weaker than you!"

After recovering from her initial shock, she drew her chakra-enhanced blade and stood ready.

By now, she wasn't even surprised that Qin Yu had instantly killed the rogue leader.

"Qin Yu, go! I'll guard Yūgao!" Hayate Gekkō added quickly.

This was the perfect chance to earn recognition.

But the subtle tremor in his legs betrayed his bravado.

Qin Yu didn't even glance at them.

"No need." His gaze flickered toward the darkened forest.

"They won't be getting far."

Just as he spoke—

"Aaaaghh!"

A series of horrified screams echoed from the trees.

Yūgao's face paled. "Qin Yu… could it be that Lord Minato has arrived?"

She knew that Minato Namikaze possessed the Flying Thunder God Technique.

They were still on the outskirts of Konoha.

It wasn't unusual for hidden sentries to be stationed nearby.

With the intensity of their battle, it would have been enough to draw Konoha's attention.

If Minato was aware of the fight, he could reach them in seconds.

Just one Flying Thunder God teleportation, and—

BOOM!

The ground exploded.

Dirt flew as something massive burst forth.

A monstrous pair of arms, thick with black tendrils, lunged—grasping at empty air where the three had stood moments before.

Qin Yu had already reacted.

In a single motion, he snatched Yūgao into his arms and vanished.

Seven meters away, they landed smoothly.

Hayate, however, wasn't as lucky.

He crashed clumsily outside the outpost, his breath ragged.

His eyes locked onto the grotesque hands that had emerged from the dirt.

His face turned ghostly pale.

If Qin Yu hadn't acted in time, he would have been crushed.

"You're quite the money-driven scumbag," Qin Yu remarked.

His gaze shifted to the forest.

The massive hands flexed, then tore apart the soil as their owner emerged.

A cloaked figure, face obscured beneath a deep hood, stepped into the clearing.

Behind him, the tendrils twisted and curled—each holding a lifeless corpse.

These were the rogue ninja who had fled just moments ago.

Yūgao's breath hitched. "Qin Yu… who is this? He's terrifying."

The mercenaries earlier had been ordinary enemies.

But this one—this monster—was on another level entirely.

In mere seconds, he had annihilated seventeen rogue ninja.

Such a feat wasn't something an average shinobi could achieve.

Qin Yu's lips curled into an intrigued smirk.

"Tell me," he mused. "Have you ever heard of Takigakure?"

Yūgao stiffened.

"Takigakure? The Village Hidden in the Waterfall?"

A deep chill settled over her.

"It was said that around twenty years ago, Takigakure suffered a devastating betrayal—a rogue faction turned against their own. Ever since, they've been rebuilding in secret."

She swallowed hard.

But her next words came out as barely a whisper.

"Qin Yu… don't tell me that he is one of them."

For the first time that night, her hands trembled on the hilt of her blade.