MTLNOVEL Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Loyalty! Devotion!
If I'd only moved a second faster…
On the shadowy street under the pale moonlight, a golden blur dashed silently across the rooftops at blinding speed—alone.
As the scene from earlier replayed in his mind, Minato Namikaze clenched his fists in frustration.
Whether it was his age, his experience, or the subtle gaps in his tactics, he now saw it clearly—so many things he could have done better.
Things he should have done better, but never noticed before.
They were targeting the Hokage…
And I—
Was I too caught up in being the strongest among my peers?
What shame. What arrogance.
It never should've gone this way.
Landing on the cold ground with a spin, Minato pressed one finger to the street and released a pulse of chakra.
Despite the enemy's mastery of Earth Style underground evasion, their chakra trail wouldn't vanish so easily.
Minato, as one of Konoha's most refined chakra and space-time sensors, could pick up the faintest anomalies left behind by their escape.
With a burst of chakra beneath his feet, he vanished again—using Body Flicker to pursue at full tilt.
He didn't care about chakra expenditure now.
He was the fastest, and he would make up for letting them escape.
BOOM!
Suddenly, a thunderous explosion echoed in the distance.
A massive pillar of earth and rubble shot skyward like a reversed waterfall, dust spreading wide in the moonlight.
Minato's eyes narrowed instantly.
"There!"
He raised his flare gun without hesitation and fired a signal round into the air.
A bright beacon burst in the sky, lighting up the night—a rally point for the rest of Konoha's forces.
He didn't wait for backup. He knew exactly how dangerous their target was.
Even trying to stall someone like that would cost most ANBU their lives.
Swish!
He disappeared again.
And he wasn't the only one on the move.
From atop the Hokage Monument, one could see dozens of lights darting across the village, streaming toward the source of the blast.
Clan elites pushed forward, flanked by squads of ANBU and Uchiha Police, closing in from all directions.
Behind them, Uchiha Yayoi and her team followed, guided by Hyūga scouts.
Konoha's thorns were weaving a net.
A net meant to bind and crush all who dared disturb the peace within.
A few minutes earlier—
Under the moonlight, Saharu Kiri stood quietly at the end of a deserted street.
Facing the three enemy shinobi, he spun a kunai between his fingers, his expression calm.
The moment Ash Soiled got a clear look at his face, his eyes narrowed sharply.
He remembered this boy—remembered the subtle but telling intel he'd shared that morning.
He had written it off as the naïve carelessness of a boy with access to sensitive positions.
But now?
The moment Kiri appeared here—blocking their escape—the entire situation changed.
Ash Soiled's body tensed.
He stared into the youth's icy blue eyes and asked warily:
"Who… are you?"
Kiri's smile faded, replaced by a grave stillness.
"Isn't it obvious?"
He stepped forward slowly, flipping the kunai into a reverse grip. The blade shimmered under the moonlight.
"The most loyal of all…"
"…A Konoha ninja—who will give everything for his village."
The instant the words left his mouth—
A brilliant aura of chakra flared at his feet.
Kiri shot forward like a cannonball, closing the ten-meter gap in a blink.
His motion blurred in the Iwa ninjas' eyes, the sound of wind splitting behind his kunai screaming through the air.
CLANG!
Ash Soiled reflexively crossed his fists, blocking with his knuckle-dusters.
But when the kunai struck—
Lightning chakra laced across the edge, tearing through his guard and digging into his fist.
Blood sprayed.
The sheer force drove his feet deep into the concrete, grinding a half-meter backward.
That was when he finally understood—this kid wasn't ordinary.
What?! That strength—how?!
There wasn't even time to think.
SHRIP!
The kunai cut deep across his knuckle, leaving a gash as blood flew in arcs.
Using the rebound from their clash, Kiri kicked off his arm, leaping overhead like a bird in flight.
In one smooth motion, he evaded the short Iwa ninja's counterattack from the side.
But the tall Iwa ninja was already finishing his jutsu.
"Earth Style: Rising Earth Lance!"
A massive spear of stone erupted from the ground behind Ash Soiled, aiming straight for Kiri's airborne form.
The timing and coordination between the three Iwa ninjas were almost perfect.
Almost.
"Get down!!" Ash suddenly yelled.
The tall Iwa shinobi didn't hesitate.
He tucked and rolled just as—
WHOOSH!
A lightning-infused kunai tore through the air, embedding where he'd just stood.
It grazed across his shoulder and tore a long wound down his back.
If not for the warning, it would've pierced his heart.
But the damage was already done.
From the air, Kiri twisted, landing on a slanted earth spike.
Using it as a springboard, he launched himself like an arrow back toward Ash Soiled.
"Earth Style: Rock Fist!"
Ash Soiled threw a punch, his entire arm encased in stone.
The attack howled through the air, backed by monstrous force.
But—
BOOM!
It hit nothing.
Kiri's blurred afterimage phased through the punch.
A clone?
No.
Ash Soiled's eyes widened.
He spun—just in time to see Kiri standing behind him.
Kiri's second kunai stabbed into the neck of the short Iwa ninja hidden in his blind spot—just as he was readying another attack.
He hadn't even realized what had happened.
His eyes met Ash Soiled's just before death, full of confusion.
SHHK!
The kunai slid out with a wet sound, followed by a spray of blood.
The man collapsed.
"That's one." Kiri turned his head toward Ash Soiled, raising his chin smugly.
"If this is the best you've got, I'm going to be disappointed."
"Try harder. I want to enjoy myself."
"You… bastard!!"
At that moment, Ash Soiled understood:
If he didn't kill this boy immediately, both he and his last subordinate would be swallowed by Konoha's encroaching net.
He didn't hesitate.
"Earth Style: Pillar Bomb!"
A chain of explosions erupted from the ground in front of him, each bursting forth like a dragon chasing its prey, aimed straight at Kiri.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The entire street erupted in thunderous blasts.
Dust and debris clouded the air.