Chapter 10: It's Because Sensei Taught Me Well

Chapter 10: It's Because Sensei Taught Me Well

"Bastard!"

Kamakura watched his last comrade fall in battle. Enraged, he slammed his fist onto the ground, splashing mud and rainwater onto himself, "Another idiot wanting to challenge Lord Hanzō..."

Decades ago, Hanzō of the Salamander was hailed by the ninja world as the Ninja Demigod, the ninja closest to the God of Shinobi, the First Hokage. Because of this, he faced many assassination attempts and challenges.

The ninjas of Amegakure (Village Hidden in the Rain) were used to it.

Kamakura had also seen many young hotheads who thought they were invincible after mastering a few ninjutsu, entering Amegakure wanting to take Hanzō's head, but most of them would be killed by Lord Heiji, Lord Hanzō's right-hand man.

Kamakura immediately concluded that the boy holding the bamboo umbrella before him was also an ignorant fool wanting to make a name for himself by defeating Lord Hanzō.

Uehara Naraka didn't deny it. Instead, he walked towards Chunin Kamakura and chuckled, "You only guessed half right. I do want to take Hanzō's head, but also to use it as an offering for those he killed... That old geezer has lived long enough, hasn't he?"

"Bastard! How dare you insult Lord Hanzō!"

Kamakura gritted his teeth. As an Ame ninja, he absolutely couldn't tolerate someone insulting the Ninja Demigod they regarded with pride.

Just as Uehara Naraka thought the guy was about to fight desperately, Kamakura quickly threw the kunai in his hand and formed seals, "Rain Concealment Technique!"

A cloud of smoke rose amidst the rain...

As a ninja from Amegakure, Kamakura was very familiar with how to fight and escape in heavy rain!

This guy wanted to escape!

Facing a formidable enemy who had killed all the garrisoned ninjas at the Ame outpost, Kamakura was well aware of his own strength.

That kid easily dealt with six Genin and one Chunin, without even putting down the bamboo umbrella in his hand during the fight!

"I must get the intelligence back to the village..."

Kamakura's figure flipped, using the rising smoke to block Uehara's line of sight, while he leaped into a crevice between rocks—a spot he had already picked out.

As an ordinary ninja, when encountering an enemy one cannot handle, the priority is to send information about the enemy back to the village higher-ups as much as possible.

This was the code of the ordinary ninja.

The rain fell even harder.

Ame Chunin Kamakura didn't dare to breathe loudly, cautiously hiding in the rock crevice, listening as the sound of rain hitting the bamboo umbrella gradually faded.

Had the boy left?

Kamakura slowly let out a sigh of relief. He waited a little longer, only cautiously peeking his head out to observe the surroundings after confirming the boy was gone.

Besides the splashes of the torrential rain hitting the ground, there was no trace of anyone.

Amegakure Chunin Captain Kamakura finally relaxed and slowly walked out of the rock crevice. Then, he suddenly noticed the rain seemed to have lessened somewhat.

The sound of rain hitting a bamboo umbrella reached his ears once more...

He hadn't left!

That boy was still here!

Kamakura abruptly raised his head, looking towards the sky!

He saw a dark figure in the air, holding a bamboo umbrella and floating, causing Kamakura's pupils to instinctively contract...

That kid could actually fly in the air?

Uehara Naraka descended with his umbrella, positioning himself at eye level with Kamakura. He tilted his head and questioned, "Hey, even if you want to run away, shouldn't you ask my opinion first?"

"..."

Kamakura was too horrified to speak, staring wide-eyed at the umbrella-holding boy before him, merely stammering, "You... already sensed my location..."

"Yeah."

Uehara Naraka nodded, produced a card in his hand, and aimed it towards the Ame ninja headband on Kamakura's forehead.

The card, though clearly thin, sliced through the iron ninja headband with exceptional sharpness, slowly embedding itself.

Kamakura trembled all over watching his movements. Facing an enemy completely beyond common sense, he didn't dare move an inch.

Kamakura could clearly feel a shallow cut being made on his forehead, blood slowly trickling down from the gap in the headband.

Just as Kamakura thought he was about to be killed, Uehara Naraka stopped and said softly, "Alright. Go back and remember to tell Hanzō of the Salamander: twelve years ago, he escaped his fate. This time, he won't escape."

Kamakura mumbled numbly, "...Why... Why didn't you kill me... What kind of person... are you..."

"Hmm..."

Uehara Naraka pondered for a moment, held up a finger, and explained with a serious face, "Maybe... I'm a kind person?"

If it were over a month ago, when Uehara Naraka had just arrived in the ninja world, he might indeed have been a kind person; but after experiencing life in the Land of Rain, kind people couldn't survive in the ninja world. So, he could only become a different sort of person.

When a person witnesses a broken world firsthand, the flower of evil begins to bloom. The malice hidden within human nature will drive them to become a person whose good and evil are hard to distinguish.

"...K-Kind?"

Kamakura couldn't help lowering his head, looking at the Ame ninja corpses scattered around. What kind of kindness was this!

Uehara Naraka landed on the ground, twirling his bamboo umbrella, and walked step by step into the downpour. Halfway, he suddenly stopped, turned his head, and chuckled, "Rather than killing all of you, leaving just you alive to spread our terror to Hanzō of the Salamander is more effective, don't you think?"

"You!"

Kamakura was still terrified.

Uehara Naraka, however, waved his hand dismissively, "Go on. Go back and tell Hanzō of the Salamander that the avengers from twelve years ago have returned to claim his life!"

After speaking, the boy holding the bamboo umbrella slowly disappeared from Kamakura's sight, leaving behind a scene of devastation.

"Things from twelve years ago..."

Kamakura collapsed to his knees in the rain, recalling an old affair in Amegakure.

Twelve years ago, Hanzō of the Salamander had led many trusted Ame ninjas out on a mission; the specific task was unknown.

However, apart from Hanzō, the other Ame ninjas never returned. After that, Hanzō also issued an order to hunt down the Akatsuki organization; but the Ame ninjas never found any trace of Akatsuki, and the matter eventually faded away.

Now, had Akatsuki's members come for revenge?

The downpour grew heavier...

Just as Uehara Naraka finished his mission, he saw sheets of rain-soaked paper fluttering towards him, coalescing into a light-blue-haired woman. Strands of hair at her temples were wet with rain, clinging tightly to her face.

It was his teacher.

Konan reached out, took the bamboo umbrella from Uehara Naraka's hand, and pulled him close beside her, letting them share the umbrella against the rain.

"I saw everything just now."

Konan looked down at Uehara Naraka, putting her arm around his shoulder, and softly praised the boy beside her, "Naraka, well done."

"Not at all, it's because Konan-sensei taught me well."

(End of Chapter)