Living in Konoha: Picking Up Abilities Starting from the Anbu

In an instant...

Tens of thousands of brown snakes slithered out of Orochimaru's mouth, forming a terrifying sea of serpents that surged toward Jiraiya.

Creepy!

Grotesque!

Horrifying!

It made everyone's skin crawl!

At that moment, not only were the ANBU taken aback, but even Orochimaru's followers were pale with shock.

Their sanity was dropping fast!

"What the..."

Uzuki Yugao's face twisted in disgust.

As young as she was, she was still just a girl. Facing such a grotesque sight pushed her tolerance to its limits.

Between this sea of snakes and the task of collecting bodies after battles, she'd rather take the latter.

At least she was used to that.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield...

[You have picked up 300 points of Chakra]

[You have picked up 300 points of Chakra]

[You have picked up 100 points in Battle Talent]

[You have picked up 200 points of Chakra]

…

Golden lights kept spilling from Orochimaru, with over 1000 Chakra points already collected!

Orochimaru had unleashed his ultimate move!

Yet Kazuya's expression remained indifferent.

Here we go again.

Another creepy, underworld-level technique.

Sigh...

Such a shame.

If only it had been Tsunade who defected instead...

Kazuya couldn't help but think how much better the rewards would have been if it had been Tsunade fighting Jiraiya instead. The amount of golden light dropped from such a fight would surely have been far more useful than what he was getting now!

Whoosh!

In a flash of speed, Kazuya appeared beside Jiraiya.

He couldn't wait any longer. If he didn't act now, none of the ANBU present would make it out alive—and that would be a real mess!

"Kazuya!" Jiraiya said sternly, "Let's attack together!"

"Alright!" Kazuya nodded.

In an instant, Jiraiya's aura shifted dramatically. He clapped his hands together, and mysterious markings appeared on his face.

Sage Mode—activated!

"Take this!" Jiraiya roared, "Fire Style: Giant Flame Bullet!"

Beside him, Kazuya quickly formed hand signs: "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Side by side, their fire techniques exploded forth!

Two massive fireballs, each spanning tens of meters in diameter, surged toward the sea of snakes, unleashing an uncontrollable inferno.

"This is insane!" Jiraiya was shocked.

Even with Sage Mode boosting his strength, Kazuya's fire technique was just as powerful. How was that possible?!

In mere moments, the two fireballs collided violently with the sea of snakes, creating an intense explosion.

BOOM!

BOOM!

A towering column of fire erupted into the sky!

The entire area within a ten-kilometer radius was illuminated by the fierce blaze.

Ash and dust blasted outward, while the swamp itself was blown apart, leaving behind a crater several meters deep.

The combination of Jiraiya's Sage Mode-enhanced Fire Style and Kazuya's max-level Fire Release created a force that was beyond terrifying.

It was no longer just Kage-level; this had reached a whole new tier!

The snake sea was vaporized instantly.

[You have picked up 500 points of Sage Energy]

[You have picked up 500 points of Sage Energy]

[You have picked up 300 points of Sage Talent]

[You have picked up 200 points of Sage Talent]

[You have picked up 300 points of Fire Style: Giant Flame Bullet skill experience]

…

Amidst the clouds of smoke and dust, beams of golden light flew toward Kazuya.

A thousand points of Sage Energy!

And 500 points of Sage Talent!

Don't underestimate those thousand points of Sage Energy. In terms of combat, Sage Energy far outstripped regular chakra. A thousand points of Sage Energy was almost equal to the chakra of an elite Jōnin!

As the dust settled, Jiraiya's expression grew serious. "Orochimaru is trying to escape. I'm going after him!"

"And here?" Jiraiya glanced back at the remaining rogue ninjas.

"Don't worry. I've got this," Kazuya replied calmly.

"Good!" Jiraiya nodded and disappeared in an instant.

Orochimaru... this time, I'll break your legs if I have to, but I will drag you back to the village!

…

Underneath his mask, Kazuya's gaze shifted to the rogue ninjas. He had already collected plenty of golden drops from them—now it was time for them to complete their final duty as "workers."

The real action was still happening between Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

The gains from Jiraiya's Sage Energy alone were far better than the rewards from these rogues!

Kazuya remained calm, but there was an oppressive air about him, spreading throughout the battlefield. Orochimaru's followers could feel a chill creeping down their spines, an inexplicable fear washing over them.

"Kazuya!" Yūhi Kurenai's voice was filled with relief as she called out to him. She was glad to see him unharmed.

While she had her share of enemies to fight, the level of danger on her side was nothing compared to what Kazuya was dealing with in the main battle. The battlefield of Kage-level shinobi was a place where even a single misstep could mean death.

"Captain Kazuya!" Uzuki Yugao called out, just as excited. When Kazuya's eyes passed over her, the fatigue in her body seemed to vanish, replaced by newfound strength.

Then, under the astonished gazes of Kurenai and Yugao...

Kazuya leaped into the air.

As he spun, countless kunai shot out from his hands, raining down like a storm.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

The kunai clashed in mid-air, bouncing off one another and altering their trajectories. Their speed and strange angles made them nearly impossible to predict as they hurtled toward the rogue ninjas.

"What's that ANBU trying to do?!"

"Does he think he can defeat us with just kunai?"

"Even a Kage can't take us down with kunai alone!"

Several of Orochimaru's followers were enraged. They felt Kazuya was outright disrespecting them by not even bothering to use ninjutsu.

We're Jōnin! Do you think kunai can kill us?

Just as the rogue ninjas were about to strike down the incoming kunai...

Whoosh!

Kazuya's figure vanished from mid-air.

The next second...

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The deafening sound of shockwaves burst through the air.

"W-What is that...?" Kurenai's eyes widened in shock.

All she saw was an impossibly bright flash of white light, enveloping the entire battlefield like a sun, illuminating everything.

And then...

In the blink of an eye, the throats of the remaining 17 rogue ninjas had all been slashed, crimson blood spraying from their wounds.

It was eerie.

It was sudden.

It was utterly unbelievable.

Each rogue ninja clutched their neck in terror, eyes wide with disbelief, as they desperately tried to stem the flow of blood. But there was no stopping the inevitable.

Seconds later...

Their eyes dulled, and one by one, their lifeless bodies fell like deadwood into the swamp below.

In an instant!

17 kills in a single second!

Shock!

Madness!

Awe!

Everyone's pupils seemed to quake with disbelief!

The ANBU members of Konoha stood frozen, their eyes wide as they stared in awe at the familiar figure now standing among them. Their minds had gone blank, unable to form even a single coherent thought.

Was this... a miracle!?