Naruto: I, the villain template, was hailed as a savior.

Click.

After a crisp yet terrifying sound, a sound that involuntarily evoked fear, was heard.

The spine was twisted and broken by tremendous force, like clothes that had been wrung out, but the human body is far more resilient than clothing.

There are two muscles running from the earlobes to the collarbone and sternum, as well as the entire muscle group, cervical vertebrae, and seven cervical ligaments, all of which have been used by the human body for thousands of years to protect vital organs.

Moreover, Shimura's greatest skill was Wind Release ninjutsu. With his physique being stronger than that of ordinary ninjas, he shouldn't have died so easily even if he was ambushed.

However, his proud "steel bones" were easily twisted and broken by those hands.

The neck muscles were twisted to a pulp, and a few drops of blood spun and splattered out.

"Hmm..."

The sudden, intense pain caused his eyes to bulge out. He instinctively tried to warn or call for help from those outside, but his brain had already lost control of his body.

It can only make extremely faint sounds, like the sound of a livestock with its neck twisted.

Enemy! Trap! When?

Such a thought flashed through Shimura's mind.

However, this was also his last thought. The injury of the severed spinal nerves meant that he only had time to have the thought flash through his mind, not even enough time for a fleeting thought to pass through before the surging darkness completely engulfed him.

Shimura's once upright body collapsed limply to the ground as if his spine had been removed.

Directly above him, Hu Ping, hanging upside down by hooking his feet on the roof beam, jumped down as nimbly as a raccoon cat, making almost no sound.

He gently cradled the limp corpse, which was about to collapse to the ground, in his arms with one hand, as tenderly as if he were treating his lover. Without even looking, he caught the kunai that the corpse had already pulled out and was holding in his hand.

"A great power is a great power. Even if it's just a Chunin, it shouldn't be underestimated."

Tiger Hei glanced at the kunai he had caught, and thought to himself how the guy reacted before he died.

This is much stronger than those incompetent Chunin he assassinated before. If he hadn't used his full strength just now, he might have really messed up.

Replaying the entire close call in his mind, Hu Ping didn't hesitate as he dragged away the corpse that had begun to emit a foul stench.

Having mastered assassination techniques, he knew very well that severing the spinal nerves would lead to the complete loss of all functions below the neck, and incontinence would be a natural consequence. If he wasn't dragged away in time, the three people outside would probably notice something was wrong.

“Wuwu!”

Although there was almost no smell of blood, the black dog lying on the ground still sensed the pervasive ferocity, as if it had seen a predator hunting, and trembled with fear, whimpering.

The low sobbing alerted Hu Ping, who looked in the direction of the sound.

A faint light shone through a gap in the roof, falling directly on the black dog.

The little creature, whose hind leg and abdomen had been pierced by kunai, was now curled up on the ground. In its eyes, besides the fear of death that any living being has, there seemed to be a human-like attachment.

A lingering attachment to this abandoned hut?

Perhaps it lived in this dilapidated house before being found and adopted by Xiao Shi's parents; perhaps its former owner who abandoned it died here, turning it from a domestic dog into a stray.

Knowing it was going to die, it could only struggle to crawl back into the house.

Hu Ping, who had already reached out to snap the neck, softened slightly upon noticing these signs.

"...Never mind."

Hu Ping crouched down, his hand, which had been suspended in mid-air, continued to reach out and gently touched its thin, bloodied waist. He said, "Whether you survive or not depends on your fate."

The old black dog seemed to understand, its tail thumping weakly on the ground, and it stuck out its tongue to lick his wrist.

Hu Ping narrowed his eyes, bit his finger, and blood seeped from his fingertip, looking as dark as ink.

Like spring water rolling down green leaves, it gathers at the fingertips, breaking through the tension under the influence of gravity and a gentle breeze.

It dripped onto the black dog's tongue, making a barely audible sound.

With a "plop," the sound of water was crisp and clear.

The next moment, an extremely sharp and mournful howl suddenly rang out.

"Awooo! Roar!!"

Outside, the three Konoha ninjas guarding the house changed their expressions and looked into the house in unison, their expressions becoming serious and suspicious.

"What happened?"

Hearing the shrill, ghostly howl, the three instinctively became alert, lowered their bodies slightly, took a half-step back, raised their hands and the kunai in their hands, and stared intently at the abandoned house.

He could vaguely make out that familiar, broad figure, the large black dog beneath him howling and struggling, cursing, "You beast! You dare run? I'll skin you alive!"

Upon hearing that familiar voice and tone, the three ninjas were slightly taken aback, but they quickly recovered and instinctively frowned.

So that's the guy who skinned the dog alive?

"Damn it," a Konoha ninja with a disgusted expression said, "Does that bastard not understand the situation?"

It's one thing to come and catch the dog, but to let it bark so fiercely is another; it might cause unnecessary trouble...

Before his two companions could reply, the Konoha ninja went inside.

The room was almost completely dark. The sudden drop in ambient light caused his pupils to dilate slightly. If nothing unexpected happened, the human pupils would naturally adjust and allow him to adapt to the light within three seconds.

But it's clear he won't have that chance.

"Shimura, you..."

Looking down at the figure crouching on the ground, the Konoha ninja had just opened his mouth, but before he could even utter a question, he saw the person suddenly raise his head.

puff!

A short knife suddenly pierced his open mouth, the extremely cold blade precisely grazing his soft tongue, directly piercing the hard and soft palates that could vibrate and produce sound, and finally severing the trachea, bringing out scarlet flesh and blood through his neck.

This stab choked him to silence any further words.

"Ha!"

The Konoha ninja opened his eyes wide in horror, staring at the familiar, indifferent face before him, watching it gradually distort and change until it became a completely unfamiliar face.

Enemy? How could that be?

It's not a transformation technique? What kind of technique is this?

If it's a transformation technique, he'll definitely be able to detect it.

Hu Ping slowly straightened up, gripping the hilt of the short knife with one hand.

Despair and pleading filled the eyes of the Konoha ninja; he knew that once that sword was drawn, he would die instantly.

Even now, he doesn't want to die.

Anyone who has ever experienced war and survived the meat grinder will cherish their life immensely, even if it's just for two or three more seconds.

Unfortunately, Hu Ping was far more cold and decisive than he had imagined.

puff! !

Before the Konoha ninja could even beg for mercy in a muffled voice, the short sword was suddenly pulled out, and a flower of blood bloomed as the body fell backward.

However, at the same time, the two people outside also noticed something amiss.

It was too quiet.

This time, without the slightest hesitation or even a word, the two simultaneously threw out kunai wrapped with explosive tags, ready to hurl them at the abandoned house.

Extremely decisive and resolute.

Only a ninja who has experienced war can make the most accurate judgment in that brief moment.

Without even considering the possibility that his comrades might still be alive, he planned to throw out explosive tags to kill any potential enemies inside the house.

Or rather, compared to those strong individuals who regard the "Will of Fire" and "cherishing comrades" as truths, these two "ordinary people" are very clear in their hearts that for ninjas, missions and survival come first.

In order to eliminate potential threats and enemies, and in order to survive, the life and death of colleagues are no longer so important.

From any perspective, both of them were standard killing machines: decisive, ruthless, and cold-blooded...

Unfortunately, they only knew there were enemies inside the house, but they didn't realize that on a hillside 500 meters away from them, there was a pair of calm eyes staring intently at them without blinking.

It is a pair of eyes, not a single eye.

Some people might think that it's better to keep one eye open and one eye closed when aiming and shooting, but this is actually a completely wrong idea.

If you close one eye and suddenly open it, you will experience a brief period of blurred vision. If there are enemies around at this time, it will be extremely deadly.

He had loved playing with bows and arrows and hunting since he was a child, so the young hunter naturally knew these things.

At that moment, the box at his feet was opened, and the half-open box was empty. The gun and ninja tools assembled from parts were now in his hand.

One eye was focused on the Konoha ninja in the distance through the eyepiece, while the other eye observed and sensed the surrounding environment.

"Wind speed 4/4, from west to east, temperature 22, humidity 75, angle of depression 35..." The young man codenamed "Hunter" muttered to himself.

He doesn't have the same talent as Uzumaki Yoriko, but he has the experience of being a hunter and can do a good job without needing an observer.

However, a shooting distance of 500 meters was far too far for him, even for a common hunter. In the past, when he used a crossbow, he had only managed to wound a wild boar at a distance of 200 meters.

At a distance of over 500 meters, a human body is only the size of a plum, making a single fatal blow extremely difficult...

Thoughts flashed through his mind, but when he saw through the scope, two Konoha ninjas pulled out kunai and were about to throw them at the abandoned house.

His body's instincts made him abandon all hesitation and indecision, and he pulled the trigger.

Bang! !

In the sight of one of the Konoha members, a figure had already walked out of the house, but in his peripheral vision, a cloud of blood mist suddenly exploded less than half a meter away from him.

At such close range, he could almost see that half of his companion's chest had been torn apart. The special Jonin-style vest was a joke after that attack.

The standard vest, originally designed to protect against sharp injuries, was like a fragile piece of paper, easily torn apart and pierced through the body by bullets.

puff!

Flesh and blood exploded right beside him, like a bewitching flower in full bloom, with a misty, smoky blood fog spreading out in an arc.

One shot, and his chest was shattered!

The bullet, still flying, grazed past Hu Ping's ear, leaving a bloody mark on his cold face. He remained unmoved, staring at the explosive tag thrown at him, and raised his hand…

boom!!

A deafening explosion rang out, sending bricks, stones, and vegetation flying everywhere.

However, apart from the impact of the detonating tag, the fire and heat did not burst forth and spread.

"Thanks to those bastards in the equipment R&D department, I haven't seen this kind of old-fashioned detonator in a long time. I actually miss its warmth now."

Amidst Huping's sighs and lamentations, the fire and heat of the explosive tags were firmly contained, forming a flowing, surging fireball in mid-air between the Konoha ninja and Huping.

Who knows what Hu Ping went through after awakening the Blood Demon Art of Fire Control and being half-dragged and half-abducted into the Equipment R&D Department?

The fact that the equipment research and development department wasn't destroyed by those bomb-crazy freaks is probably half credited to him.

puff! !

Another eerie sound of flesh exploding rang out.

The last remaining Konoha ninja tried to flee without hesitation after seeing the unknown ability displayed by Torahei, but a gun-wielding ninja tool positioned in the distance fired a shot after shaking off the dust beneath him, blasting open his thigh.

"……cough!"

The Konoha ninja forcibly swallowed the scream that was about to escape his lips, and with a muffled groan, he quickly formed hand seals and fled in an instant, without the slightest hesitation or attempt to resist.

What allowed him to make a judgment based on experience was not the unknown abilities of the person in front of him, but the "hunter" who was hiding somewhere.

On the battlefield, apart from those extraordinary "Kage" and a very few ninjas with large summoning beasts or forbidden techniques, individuals will not play a significant role under the overwhelming firepower brought by sheer numbers.

In a one-on-one situation, this Konoha ninja, who is only one step away from becoming a Jonin and is skilled in large-scale Earth Release ninjutsu, would never be afraid to fight Torahira to the death.

However, he was terrified of the "monsters" that could accurately shoot down targets from hundreds of meters away. These battlefield ghosts that ignored distance and took lives terrified him, and he made the most rational choice without hesitation.

escape!

With no time to consider the consumption of stamina and chakra, the Konoha ninja, using the Body Flicker Technique at full power, instantly escaped a hundred meters.

At that moment, on the hillside hundreds of meters away, the sniper ninja tool was once again loaded with a bright yellow bullet, and the hunter pulled back the bolt, aiming at the Konoha ninja who had become a "dot" in the distance.

But just as he was about to fire, Hu Ping, who was about to be pulled out of his sight, suddenly looked in his direction and raised his arm to give a command to stop attacking.

"...Why?"

The hunter frowned instinctively, but quickly realized his intention.

Cut off the fuel supply at the source?

In the distance, watching the Konoha ninja who had already fled in a sorry state, a cold glint flashed in Torahei's crimson eyes.

If I wanted to kill that ninja, I could have easily crushed him just now.

But he knew in his heart that killing that guy would be pointless.

If they don't return for a long time, Konoha will soon realize that the few Konoha ninjas they sent out have encountered enemies, and then who knows how many ninjas will gather here.

The problem is that this place is only seven or eight kilometers away from the village where they are resting. Not to mention the innocent civilians, there are nearly seven hundred of them in this area.

If they are exposed before sunset, this team, mainly composed of "demons," will inevitably be at a disadvantage when facing the encirclement and suppression of Konoha ninja led by Jiraiya.

Moreover, it could even cause their original plans to fall apart.

Since that's the case, why not let that guy go back? They can just follow him, find his squad, and eliminate them all!

"Tell the brothers on duty nearby that anyone who can get here should come immediately and we'll take care of that Konoha squad together. Also, tell Boss Ye that the situation has changed and we might not be able to wait until nightfall, so please have them prepare!"

Hu Ping's voice was as cold and chilling as if it were squeezed out from between his teeth.

Even if all the nearby guards could come over, they could only gather a few dozen people at most. They would still have no advantage against Konoha's squad, and it could even be said that they would be going to their deaths.

However, even knowing it would be suicide, we had to go. We absolutely could not let that Konoha squad warn the other squads!

"Phew! It's finally my turn to make my move!"

Genko, beaming with excitement, jumped down from a tree. He had no objection to the daring, even suicidal, action, but tilted his head at the vanished ninja and asked, "Can we still catch up?"

"Hmph." Hu Ping snorted coldly, his vertical pupils glancing behind him. "Although the 'blood' I painstakingly collected was used to feed the dog, its nose can still come in handy."

As they spoke, a suppressed, low voice came from inside the room, and a dark shadow four or five meters tall squeezed through the room.

The old dog, which was originally seriously injured and on the verge of death, was cured. The bloodstains on its body evaporated due to its scalding body temperature, and saliva unconsciously fell from between its teeth, corroding the ground and producing a foul-smelling blue smoke.

Those sharp teeth, claws, and twisted biological structure made it look nothing like an old dog; coupled with its scarlet vertical pupils, it resembled a ferocious monster. (End of Chapter)