Chapter 4: Trail of Fire(Part 1)
The severed head tumbled to the ground, its expression frozen in a mixture of pain and confusion. The whole scene carried an indescribable sense of irony—perhaps even mockery.
For the enemy, this was undoubtedly a case of underestimating their opponent and paying the ultimate price. No matter how confident a ninja is in their skills, there's always a chance for the tables to turn in the most brutal way. This death was simply one of the inevitable costs.
Startled at first, then enraged, the remaining enemies launched a fresh barrage of shuriken toward Yugami Genshin.
But Genshin had anticipated this. The moment he landed, he didn't hesitate—chakra burst beneath his feet as he sprinted like a gust of wind toward a thick tree, positioning it between himself and the incoming projectiles.
Thunk-thunk-thunk!
Shuriken stabbed into the ground, trailing Genshin's path until they riddled the outer side of the tree trunk like metallic thorns.
One enemy ninja, however, didn't join the attack. He calmly watched Genshin's movement, then quickly formed hand seals. Shifting only slightly to the side—just two or three body lengths—he realigned his aim as Genshin unknowingly exposed himself again.
"Water Style: Water Bullet Technique!"
A massive orb of water surged toward Genshin with crushing force.
But Genshin remained calm. After a year in the Shinobi World, he might not be a seasoned veteran, but he had the fundamentals down. His hands moved naturally, fingers gliding into familiar positions as he prepared to counter:
"Fire Style: Great Flame Bullet!"
A blazing orange fireball over two meters in diameter shot forth, colliding directly with the incoming water sphere.
In the world of Fire Style users, most clans had nearly identical techniques—similar seals, similar chakra flow, similar results. Whether it was called Fireball, Grand Fireball, Exploding Flame, or Great Flame Bullet—it was all the same in essence.
Flames clashed against water. The fire hissed and sizzled as it evaporated, while the water burst into clouds of steam. The sheer energy from the collision blanketed the forest in a dense white mist, rapidly spreading and reducing visibility to almost zero.
With no sensory-type enemies in the area, the tide of battle shifted in Genshin's favor—limited vision neutralized the enemy's numbers, and Genshin specialized in ambush tactics.
Pressing his back against a tree trunk, Genshin activated his Mayfly Technique once more. Like a swimmer slipping into a pool, his body silently melted into the wood.
Relying on his memory of the terrain, Genshin tunneled through the trees and earth, quickly locating the ninja who had used the water technique.
Without a sound, he emerged behind his target—just as the enemy cautiously stepped back and leaned against a tree for cover. It was a smart move. In poor visibility, guarding your back was standard procedure.
Unfortunately, this time, it worked against him.
Genshin's upper body rose from the tree above like a phantom. His right arm wrapped tightly around the enemy's neck, locking him in a chokehold, while his left arm swung forward and began pummeling the man's chest—again and again, over twenty strikes in just a few seconds, like hammering mochi dough.
The sound of each blow sinking into flesh echoed with cold precision. Mechanical, efficient, and merciless.
In an instant, the man's fate was sealed. Whether he lived or not didn't matter—his internal organs were a shredded mess, unfit for anything but the hot pot.
Genshin's figure vanished again into the shadows.
The more he fought, the more he noticed something strange—his body was changing. In the past, every time he used ninjutsu, he felt a harsh sensation of being drained, as if his energy—his very soul—was being siphoned away.
Afterward, he would always feel hollow and weak.
But this time was different. During the battle, he felt energized. His cells seemed to come alive, surging with vitality. With each technique, he felt stronger, more powerful—like he was finally beginning to fit into this world.
If his old self had been flat and lifeless, now… he could at least feel like a solid 36D.
He understood in that moment: maybe most people were never meant to be shinobi. Chakra use drained life itself—but not from him, not anymore.
"Who was attacked? Report! What's the situation and location?" one enemy shouted through the mist.
Announcing your position in a steamy, obscured battlefield? A rookie mistake.
Genshin zeroed in on the voice and moved toward it swiftly.
"Three more," he counted silently.
Just as he neared the target, preparing for another silent kill, a faint hissing sound pricked at his senses.
"Damn—it's a trap!"
Out of sight, the enemy ninja wore a cruel smile. He completed the final hand seal.
Genshin immediately activated Mayfly to escape, already guessing what kind of jutsu was about to be unleashed.
That enemy had deliberately used himself as bait, luring Yugami Genshin in. Attached to his body, a stack of explosive tags had already begun their pre-ignition sequence. Moments later, seven or eight overlapping tags unleashed their stored energy all at once.
A blinding white light flared to life—then, under the massive radial blast, the ninja's body, the falling leaves, and the surrounding soil were all torn apart. Several large trees were blown in half, splintering with agonizing creaks as they toppled. From within one such shattered trunk, Yugami Genshin's body was forcefully expelled.
His mastery of the Mayfly Technique was far from perfect. Though he had reacted quickly and avoided the core of the explosion, the shockwave still caught him, forcing him out of concealment.
The intense blast even dispersed the lingering steam, restoring visibility to the battlefield.
This kind of reckless abandon—treating one's life like it meant nothing—was almost unimaginable.
The enemy had no clear understanding of how Yugami Genshin carried out his assassinations. He had simply noticed the death of his second comrade, roughly estimated Genshin's movement speed by comparing past positions—and with nothing but this vague guesswork, he triggered a suicide attack.
No… it wasn't recklessness. It was numbness. In the face of such limited intel, he wagered his life on a hunch. Was there really a difference between that and suicide? Most likely, his self-destruction would've hit nothing but empty air.
Of course, Genshin had kindly offered him a bit of dignity. Due to his own inexperience, Genshin's movements were still quite linear—his path had nearly been predicted by sheer luck. Fortunately, he'd stayed cautious and avoided any real damage.
In other words, the enemy's death had been utterly meaningless.
Life felt like something weightless, disposable. Death, on the other hand, almost seemed like relief.