Chapter 35: Raikiri Complete, Raiga Kurosuki Strikes

At the border of the Land of Fire.

Inside a small outpost, a Mist shinobi with green hair effortlessly ambushed and killed the Konoha ninja stationed there before the latter could even send out an enemy alert.

"Having one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen come all the way here just to kill a kid barely over ten... That’s honestly a little embarrassing."

Raiga Kurosuki disdainfully kicked the corpse of the Konoha shinobi beneath his feet away.

The Konoha guards stationed here were really that weak?

They hadn’t even noticed his ordinary ambush.

Earlier, the Fourth Mizukage had suddenly assigned him an assassination mission.

The target was a Konoha prodigy barely over ten years old.

What surprised Raiga was that the Fourth Mizukage had even provided detailed information about the target’s abilities and the location where the target was stationed.

Raiga once again took out the mission scroll and looked it over.

"Target: Uchiha Reiji. He should currently be stationed at the next outpost."

"Uchiha clan. Ten years old. Sharingan has already reached the Three-Tomoe stage. Proficient in taijutsu and ninjutsu without hand seals. Has killed multiple Kirigakure Jonin over the past period of time, and..."

When he read the information that followed, a sinister look appeared on Raiga’s face.

"He has mastered the forbidden technique, the Eight Gates!"

The moment he said those four words, Raiga’s face twisted with hatred, his teeth grinding together.

It was precisely because of that forbidden technique that four members of their original Seven Ninja Swordsmen had been killed on the spot by a mere Konoha genin!

Even he, along with Jūzō Biwa and Fuguki Suikazan, had only survived by fleeing in utter humiliation.

That green-skinned Konoha ninja had appeared in his nightmares countless times.

"Haa... Forget it. I don’t want to think about it."

Raiga shook his head, forcing the memories out of his mind.

His opponent this time was merely a kid barely over ten.

The Konoha genin who had beaten them into such a miserable state was nearly forty years old.

The two couldn’t possibly be compared.

Even if that kid had mastered the Eight Gates, there was no way he could be as terrifying as that green-clad genin.

Inside a small Konoha outpost.

Reiji looked at the blue arcs of lightning flashing across his palm, his face filled with satisfaction.

"I finally completed Raikiri."

His voice carried a hint of emotion.

He had already effortlessly completed his research into the various applications of Chidori, such as Chidori Sharp Spear, Chidori Current, and Chidori Senbon.

Raikiri, however, had been different.

Elevating Chidori from an A-rank technique to an S-rank technique had taken considerable effort.

Looking across the entire Naruto series, there weren’t many S-rank elemental techniques.

Naruto’s Wind Release: Rasenshuriken was one.

Kakashi’s Raikiri was another.

And Sasuke’s Kirin was one as well.

"The sound is much quieter now. The deafening cry of a thousand birds has been reduced to something more like an electric current."

"It can be released on the spot without requiring a high-speed charge."

"As for its piercing power..."

Reiji wasn’t entirely sure how powerful his improved technique actually was.

Ordinary targets were practically useless for testing it.

Both Chidori and Raikiri tore through them as easily as paper, making it impossible to distinguish the difference.

Suddenly—

A faint sound reached his ears.

Reiji immediately sensed that someone had infiltrated the area.

Without hesitation, he launched a signal flare to notify the neighboring outpost.

"So you noticed me."

A cold voice came from an unknown direction.

"But you can forget about reinforcements. I’ve already dealt with the shinobi stationed at the neighboring outpost. No one will be coming to help you anytime soon."

"Now, let me think..."

"What would be the best way to kill you?"

The voice seemed to come from every direction at once.

Reiji felt as though he were surrounded by a large number of Mist shinobi.

"Quit pretending to be mysterious."

Reiji curled his lips.

He immediately unleashed Fire Release: Great Dragon Flame Technique.

A massive fire dragon roared toward a location he had already identified.

BOOM!

The wall of the outpost was instantly blasted apart.

The ferocious fire dragon surged outside before gradually shrinking and disappearing beneath the rain.

"It’s raining."

Reiji immediately rushed outside.

There, he saw the Kirigakure shinobi who had come for him.

Green hair.

A pair of swords strapped to his back.

Reiji quickly searched through the intelligence reports on elite Mist shinobi that he had studied previously.

He soon identified him.

"Raiga."

Reiji stared at his opponent with a solemn expression.

"Oh? You actually recognized me."

Raiga’s lips curled upward.

"So, now that you know who I am, are you still planning to resist?"

Although his assassination attempt had failed, Raiga remained completely calm.

His opponent had indeed killed several Jonin.

But those had merely been ordinary Jonin.

He was one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

Even among Elite Jonin, he was an absolute powerhouse.

More importantly—

"It’s raining."

Raiga looked up at the dark clouds overhead, his expression becoming excited.

"This weather is perfect for my swords."

"And as for you..."

"Your specialty is Fire Release, isn’t it?"

"In this kind of rain, its power will be greatly reduced."

Reiji opened his Sharingan, adjusting himself to peak condition.

His expression remained unchanged as his mind rapidly analyzed the situation.

"You killed the people at the neighboring outpost first, leaving me isolated and without reinforcements."

"Then you came here to kill me."

"That means you came specifically for me."

"And you knew I’d be stationed at this outpost."

Clap. Clap.

Raiga applauded.

A mocking smile appeared on his face.

"That’s right."

"You guessed correctly."

A killer receiving such detailed intelligence meant only one thing.

There was a traitor within Konoha.

Someone had leaked the deployment information of its frontline shinobi.

When the Fourth Mizukage handed him the mission scroll, Raiga had already figured this out.

Whatever was happening behind the scenes was probably related to some internal struggle within Konoha.

Reiji wiped the rain from his face.

The crimson glow of his Three-Tomoe Sharingan became increasingly intense.

An anger he had been suppressing slowly became impossible to contain.

Ever since transmigrating into this world, he hadn’t formed any truly life-or-death grudges with anyone.

Even his time on the battlefield was his first real experience of war.

Yet now—

Someone had betrayed him from behind the scenes.

Someone had handed his information to the enemy and sent them to kill him.

If you want to read 60 Chapters ahead of the public release, head over to: Patreon.com/RedString