"Heh... heh heh..." Nara Kazuki laughed.
Not because anything was funny—but because when you're truly speechless, sometimes laughter just slips out.
Next to him, Kakashi rolled his eyes.
The Shinobi World Mahjong Tournament? Was Fox trying to become the King of Gambling?
But seeing that she didn't seem keen to explain, Kazuki let it drop. Instead, he continued grinding his Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Jutsu proficiency. He wanted to get in as many reps as possible before they reached the mission target and see what kind of evolution this unique Fire Release jutsu might unlock.
Kazuki still remembered what the Third Hokage had once told him: "When you can use Great Dragon Fire to summon multiple flame dragons at once, I'll teach you another fire jutsu."
By the time their squad arrived at the target town, Kazuki finally stopped stacking his Dragon Fire reps and created a Shadow Clone to monitor the surrounding area from 500 meters away.
That way, if things went sideways, he could instantly swap positions using Shadow Flow Mastery, without abandoning his teammates.
The town, however, had a strange atmosphere.
Everyone walked carefully. Locals would flinch away when passing certain people dressed oddly. If they couldn't avoid them, they looked like they were about to drop to their knees in fear.
"This town's... off," Kazuki muttered, eyes narrowing.
"Not that unusual. Probably just some rogue-nin throwing their weight around," Fox replied calmly. She'd seen this kind of thing before.
The Land of Fire was a major nation, but the quality of law enforcement still depended heavily on proximity to the capital or to Konoha. The farther from Konoha, the more disorder.
There simply weren't enough Konoha shinobi to be stationed in every town. Some remote places inevitably fell into the hands of rogue-nin acting like tyrants.
"Let's go. Just look for the flashiest building," Fox instructed. She clearly had experience in these kinds of operations. Kazuki and Kakashi followed without question.
It didn't take long to find.
Or rather—it was obvious the moment they checked from a rooftop. The building stood out like a sore thumb, completely out of place.
"In broad daylight..." Kazuki clicked his tongue, though his eyes gleamed with a hint of excitement.
These idiots had openly dragged in a few women and were getting busy with the doors wide open. The locals passing by either looked away in silence or clenched their fists, helpless.
"Deer Wolf, you're with me on the two jōnin. Red Deer, the rest are yours. Any issues?" Fox said, her voice calm, but Kazuki could hear the anger tightly coiled beneath her words.
"No problem," Kazuki replied immediately. Four enemy ninja meant a 4% increase in his total chakra pool. That, plus the reflexive feedback to his physical and mental energy, was a fantastic deal. He'd already noticed himself getting physically stronger lately—partly due to training with Gai, sure, but this was also a factor.
Meanwhile, Kazuki's clone had already crawled onto a nearby rooftop, lying in wait for a position swap.
Fox and Kakashi crept in from one direction; Kazuki circled around to the other. His plan? Use a Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu to greet the three who were currently competing over who could defile a woman faster.
His enhanced Fireball jutsu packed far more heat and coverage than most. Four targets in one go? Easy.
These three fools were grouped up perfectly.
As for the last one...
Kazuki glanced toward a separate building. That one held a shinobi playing the "husband in the other room" fantasy. The muffled groans of a man came from inside, equal parts angry and humiliated.
Fox and Kakashi were waiting for his move. The moment his Great Fireball launched, the operation would begin.
Kazuki channeled a bit more chakra than usual. He didn't want to risk any of them surviving.
The result was a monstrous inferno that practically blanketed the entire compound. The air warped from the heat. At the same time, Kazuki's Shadow Possession Jutsu surged out, snaking toward the interior.
"Enem—!" one rogue-nin managed to shout before his voice faltered, eyes going glassy. The genjutsu embedded in the fireball had taken hold.
Then the fireball hit.
Flames exploded outward in a devastating tide, incinerating everything. The three women inside didn't even have time to scream—they were reduced to cinders.
That was the Great Fireball Jutsu?
Her original plan was simple: Kazuki would launch the Fireball, signal the strike, and she and Kakashi would move in to engage the jōnin. Then Kazuki could back them up.
She hadn't expected his jutsu to be this wide-ranged. The entire compound was engulfed. Nearby buildings blackened, charred, and collapsed before they could even catch fire.
Problem was, the overwhelming heat also blocked Fox and Kakashi's path.
Fire didn't differentiate friend from foe.
"Not bad," Kazuki smiled, inhaling deeply. The searing air stung his nose, but the rush of increased chakra reserves made it all worth it.
The three lecherous rogues, so caught up in their sadistic game that they hadn't even pulled out in time, were now nothing but burnt corpses.
As for the last one...
Kazuki began to dance.
The final rogue was weak. His Shadow Possession locked the man in place easily.
So Kazuki performed the Ritual Dance of Offering—hoping perhaps Nyarlathotep would bestow another blessing.
Elsewhere, a young boy crouched at a windowsill, eyes wide with terror.
He had been spying on the ninja compound, curious and afraid.
Now the building burned bright, tongues of fire licking the heavens. A strange man danced by the wall, shadows writhing like tendrils.
Screams echoed from inside, twisted and unnatural.
Flames. Madness. A horrifying ballet.
The image seared itself into the boy's soul forever.
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New translation : Naruto: I Can Use Corpse Release !
Give power stones to that new story if you want bonus Chapter in all current translated fanfics !
300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter