Chapter 20: Godspeed

The kunai infused with Hikaru's chakra slammed straight into the chest of one of the "Iwa-nin."

It didn't just pierce him—it ripped through, tearing open his torso and carrying a spray of blood as it continued forward toward the man behind him.

"Damn it!"

Another shinobi in Iwagakure attire cursed loudly, instantly raising his blade to block.

But in front of that faintly blue-glowing kunai, his defense was laughably fragile.

The moment steel met steel, cracks spread across his sword like a spiderweb. In the next heartbeat, the blade snapped cleanly in half.

If not for a nearby companion reacting fast enough—yanking him sideways—the kunai would have punched straight through his chest.

The middle-aged Konoha captain was still dazed.

One second earlier, death had been unavoidable.

The next, the situation had flipped completely.

The whiplash was intense—but he was still a shinobi.

Even gravely wounded, even shaken, this was no time to collapse and watch.

He forced himself upright and swept his gaze over his subordinates, a bitter sigh escaping him.

Three men. A standard cell.

One already dead.

The other two—including himself—badly injured.

"…Still," he thought grimly, "reinforcements are here."

The next moment, two figures dropped in front of him.

Black-and-white armor.

White animal masks.

Both with pale hair.

They looked young—but the chakra radiating from them made the captain's heart tighten.

"ANBU…" he realized. "And not ordinary ones."

Hikaru didn't spare him a glance.

He took in the battlefield in a single sweep, then calmly drew his blade.

Kakashi stood beside him, silent and alert, making no move to attack—clearly waiting for orders.

That alone made Hikaru inwardly nod in approval.

In the original timeline, Kakashi in ANBU had been infamous for ignoring commands—killing targets even when ordered to stand down.

The fact that he waited now meant one thing:

He trusted Hikaru.

That was good.

"Leave one or two alive," Hikaru said evenly.

"Kill the rest."

"Yes, Captain."

Kakashi's reply was cold and sharp.

In the next instant, he vanished in a streak of lightning, charging straight into the enemy ranks as arcs of electricity crackled around his wrist.

Hikaru moved at the same time.

A single Body Flicker, and he was already beside one of the "Iwa-nin," his blade flashing out without hesitation.

His speed was terrifying.

Years ago, the countless base-attribute fruits he'd cultivated had reshaped his body beyond normal limits. Combined with his mastery of Body Flicker, his movement was so fast it left no afterimage at all.

Slash.

A spray of blood.

With one clean cut, the enemy's head flew free.

Before anyone could react, Hikaru pivoted, his blade howling through the air as it carved toward another target.

Now the "Iwa-nin" finally reacted.

Several rushed him at once—but by the time they moved, Hikaru had already killed again.

His sword slid across a throat, precise and controlled, severing the artery in a single stroke.

Blood splashed past the edge of his mask.

In the same motion, he twisted, catching a surprise strike on his blade—while multiple kunai screamed toward him from different angles.

Hikaru didn't panic.

The moment the kunai struck, his body dissolved into smoke.

A log dropped to the ground.

"Substitution—watch out!" one of the enemies shouted.

Too late.

Behind him, chakra surged.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"

"What? Using Water Release without a water source?!"

A massive dragon of water formed instantly, roaring as it slammed into the cramped monitoring post.

BOOM!

The tower couldn't withstand the onslaught.

As it collapsed, Hikaru snatched the wounded captain and another severely injured Konoha shinobi, pulling them clear.

The last surviving defender was less injured—Hikaru ignored him.

Landing smoothly, Hikaru flicked several kunai to suppress the enemy's advance, then formed seals again.

"Water Release: Exploding Water Dragon!"

A violent whirlpool erupted from the ground.

Several "Iwa-nin" who hadn't yet regained their footing were flung skyward as the vortex rose, condensing more and more water—

Until, more than ten meters up, it shaped itself into a massive water dragon.

The dragon roared.

Then crashed down.

At least three enemies were crushed outright, their bodies swept away by the impact.

Two others barely managed to evade—but the floodwaters surrounded them, forcing them to stand on the water's surface to continue fighting.

They looked… uncomfortable.

"Not used to fighting near water?" Hikaru observed, brow lifting slightly.

That narrowed things down.

Few shinobi struggled this badly in such terrain—but those from the Land of Wind or the Land of Earth often did.

By now, Hikaru had a pretty good idea where these people actually came from.

Two enemies remained.

One was already enough.

Living captives were far more valuable than corpses—interrogation could extract things no amount of post-mortem analysis ever could.

Only when capture was impossible did ANBU settle for heads.

Hikaru gauged his chakra reserves and quietly exhaled.

Strong in every area… except one.

Chakra's still not enough.

"But," he thought calmly, lowering into a forward stance while his left hand formed seals behind his back,

"that's fine."

"Because this—"

"—ends now."

Water Release: Water Flash

His remaining chakra surged violently.

In the blink of an eye, Hikaru vanished.

When he reappeared, it was directly behind one of the enemies.

The man didn't even realize what had happened.

Only when a sharp pain blossomed across his neck did his vision begin to fade.

As consciousness slipped away, a single thought echoed in his mind:

So fast…

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