Chapter 71

This wasn't the effect of any Earth Release technique—it was raw power, concentrated and devastating, delivered through Tian Yu's massive black hammer!

The rugged terrain, previously gouged by Water Release jutsu, suddenly twisted and gave way. Water from the shattered ground flowed along the cracks like blood returning to a wound, swallowed whole by the battlefield.

The battlefield—already a graveyard of ruined earth—took on a red hue.

It wasn't a sunset or a jutsu illusion.

It was blood.

Like a garden of cursed blossoms, crimson flowers bloomed amid shattered stone and broken weapons—each one fed by the corpses that lay in twisted heaps beneath.

The ambushers, who had surrounded Tian Yu with such confidence, were now little more than scattered remains.

Nearly all of them were wiped out right here.

And most of those deaths were wrought by Tian Yu alone.

He had eliminated more enemies single-handedly than Sunflower, Kaidao, and Ao combined had in all their battles.

It had all happened so quickly, in the span of a breath.

Tian Yu stood alone amid the chaos, his power cutting through the enemy like a scythe through dry grass. Not even ash remained.

And yet…

One opponent still drew breath on the battlefield.

It was the enemy who had wounded Haru—the jōnin named Kawasuke.

Among the entire ambush party, Kawasuke had clearly been the strongest. Even then, he had barely survived the final arc of Tian Yu's hammer swing. Unlike the others, he hadn't died immediately.

But that didn't mean he was unharmed.

His ribs were shattered. His organs were bleeding inside his body. Each breath was a fight against collapse. His legs trembled just to keep him upright.

"You… Who are you… really?"

He spoke through clenched teeth, barely a whisper, his voice frayed with disbelief and pain.

Despite a life spent killing, a thousand blades bathed in blood, he found himself powerless before a boy barely older than a genin.

Tian Yu stepped forward with the casual calm of someone brushing dust from their sleeve.

"Me?" he said with a faint smile. "I'm just a squad leader from Anbu."

His voice was light, almost mocking. But he could see the defiance still flickering in Kawasuke's eyes. He knew that wouldn't be enough.

Death should not come with regret.

So Tian Yu knelt slightly, leaning in to whisper just loud enough for only Kawasuke to hear:

"Maybe you've heard another name for me—Black Death God."

The name struck like lightning.

Kawasuke's eyes bulged as if he'd been struck by genjutsu. His pupils dilated. His lips parted, desperate to speak, to scream, but no words came.

His body was locked in horror.

Tian Yu's hand snapped forward.

One twist.

A clean, cold crack.

And Kawasuke dropped like a marionette with cut strings.

Silence.

As the echoes of the battle faded, a deep, eerie silence blanketed the field like snow falling on a scorched battlefield.

Sunflower, Kaidao, Ao, Shizune, and the Konoha scout medic stood still among the smoldering ruins, their wounds freshly bandaged, their hearts shaken.

Not one of them could speak.

The awe, the terror, the sheer magnitude of what they'd witnessed had silenced even their thoughts.

It wasn't until half an hour later that someone finally broke the silence.

Sunflower's voice trembled like a broken string.

"Kaidao… What… what did we just see?"

Kaidao sighed heavily, as though exhaling the weight of the impossible. "We saw our captain… destroy them. Alone."

"You saw it too?" Sunflower's voice cracked. "Then I wasn't dreaming? He really… he really wiped them all out by himself?!"

Ao chuckled bitterly from the side, rubbing the back of his neck.

"We knew he was strong," he muttered. "Anyone who can beat Captain Yamato in a head-on fight isn't ordinary."

"But this…" Kaidao interrupted. "This is not something we could have imagined!"

"Imagined?!" Sunflower practically shouted. "I couldn't even dream of that kind of power!"

"I'm still not sure if I actually saw it or hallucinated it!" Kaidao yelled. "He crushed them with a hammer—a hammer, of all things! And that wasn't even his sword style!"

"Captain is terrifyingly strong…"

Sunflower's voice trembled again—this time not with fear, but admiration. She had completely transformed into Tian Yu's number-one fan.

Shizune, though quiet throughout the battle, had watched everything unfold with wide eyes. She was Tsunade's assistant, someone who had seen the legendary Sannin fight firsthand.

But even she had never seen such brutal grace.

Her gaze locked on Tian Yu. Her sharp instincts, honed by years at Tsunade's side, picked up something crucial.

The ninja tools.

The dark, heavy hammer.

The refined and precise swordsmanship.

The strange, lightweight boots that allowed him to vanish and strike at near-impossible angles.

None of these items were ordinary.

They were more than just tools—they were masterpieces.

She had been around Tsunade long enough to recognize the value of custom-crafted ninja weapons, and these weren't just expensive. They were priceless.

Who was this kid?

Not even Sarutobi Asuma, the son of the Third Hokage, had access to so many advanced weapons.

The mystery deepened. Shizune's curiosity burned.

Then Tian Yu approached her quietly and asked, "How is Tsunade? Is she still dealing with her hemophobia?"

"She's fine," Shizune replied instinctively—then blinked. "Wait, how do you know about Lady Tsunade's hemophobia?!"

That wasn't public knowledge.

It was a secret guarded tightly—even among allies. If that weakness were to fall into the wrong hands…

Shizune tensed instantly, her body ready to react.

But Tian Yu waved her concern away.

"With everything that happened just now, do you really think something like that could go unnoticed?" he asked casually.

He moved past her, walking to Tsunade's side. "Are you alright?"

"…Yes."

Tsunade's voice was calm, her breathing steady.

"Can you still fight?" Tian Yu asked again.

"I can," she said, "but… I can't look. I'm sorry."

Her voice lacked its usual strength. There was no sign of the legendary gambler or the proud slug princess. Just a vulnerable woman trying to control her trauma.

"What if you kept your eyes shut?"

"If I don't see the blood, I might manage," she whispered. "But… if it splashes on me… I… I can't promise."

She hugged her knees tightly, a haunted look in her eyes.

"I won't let that happen."

Tian Yu pulled out a clean white cloth and gently tied it around her eyes.

"I need your help in the next fight."

"The next… fight?" Shizune repeated quietly.

Everyone else looked stunned.

Hadn't they just survived an overwhelming battle?

Kaidao frowned. "Captain, didn't you just kill every last one of those bastards?"

Even Ao, with his injuries, stood up. "If anyone else shows up, we still have chakra. We'll fight beside you!"

"I can still control my insects," Ao added. "My wounds won't stop me."

"Thanks to medical ninjutsu, I'm fine too," Kaidao nodded.

But Tian Yu shook his head.

"No."

His tone was final.

"The enemies just now were nothing but pawns. They weren't the real threat."

He narrowed his eyes.

"What's coming next… is beyond anything you can handle. My order is simple: stay away from the battlefield. Protect yourselves."

Sunflower, Kaidao, and Ao froze.

What kind of monster was strong enough to make Captain Tian Yu so cautious?