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

Chapter 74 Can Lord Sakumo do it? (Available for purchase tomorrow, please subscribe!)

The first floor of the dimly lit, dilapidated building was silent.

There was only the rustling, the drifting ashes, and the thick, almost lickable, fishy smell.

The entire interior of the building was in a state of chaos, or better described as dilapidated ruins.

On the pitted, pitch-black ground, there remained a shocking, desolate, dark red stain.

slap... slap...

Jiraiya strode towards the corpses, stepping onto the dried pools of blood on the ground, the dark red blood splattering onto his trouser legs and staining them red.

He squatted down in front of the strangely posed headless corpse and began to carefully observe every detail.

Moonlight streamed into the building through the now-ruined doors and windows, and he could see every discernible feature on the corpses.

"It was a Hidden Mist ninja, and the body was still warm."

Jiraiya placed his hand on the charred corpse, his brow furrowing instinctively as he said in a low voice, "The time of death shouldn't be long!"

He reached out and pulled out a kunai, then gently sliced ​​open the corpse's chest.

The roasted body had all its internal organs intact, and the warmth confirmed his guess. Apart from the unusually gruesome appearance of the dead body, all other parts were no different from those of an ordinary person.

"What happened during the battle?" Kato asked from behind.

Jiraiya did not give an answer immediately, but turned to look at the heads that had rolled on the ground and the broken and dried corpses lying on the ground.

He had seen many more cruel and bloody things before.

But I have never seen any scene like this before, with that lingering violence and ferocity lingering in the air.

Especially those mutilated corpses missing limbs, which didn't look like injuries caused by humans at all.

It was a pure, savage desire to kill, like the undisguised ferocity and murderous intent of an incredibly hungry leopard when it sees its prey.

It was as if one could smell the blood gushing from claws tearing through bodies, and hear the wails and terror of the Hidden Mist ninjas before their deaths.

"Those corpses, maybe they were spirit beasts?"

Jiraiya hesitated for a moment, but when he looked at the heads, his tone became solemn and serious: "These corpses, heads and bodies separated, clean cuts, killed with a single blow, the swordsmanship was swift and skillful."

"These ninjas died almost instantly."

The withered head, its eyes wide open in death, bore various expressions—anger, resentment, or astonishment—but not a trace of fear.

"I've heard samurai say that in the age of samurai, if a samurai's sword could be swift to the extreme, the expression on the enemy's face would be frozen in that moment forever when the sword fell and severed the enemy's head."

Jiraiya's eyes flickered slightly, and he said in a low voice, "Because the speed of his sword strikes surpassed the pain and fear before he died, the opponent lost consciousness before he even realized he was dying."

"I thought it was just a legend..."

But now these corpses seem to be confirming that absurd legend, that someone can actually be this fast with just a knife.

Many of the ninjas present, who considered themselves skilled in swordsmanship, put themselves in that situation and couldn't help but shudder and grit their teeth.

The process sounds incredibly easy and simple, but upon closer inspection, it's astonishing and terrifying.

He killed so many Hidden Mist ninjas simultaneously in an instant, so fast that they didn't even have time to realize their deaths.

Like the scythe of death, it slices through, leaving a smooth cut without a trace of bone; there is no pain, only the coldness of death...

"Is Lord Sakumo capable of achieving this level?" Someone suddenly blurted out.

These words immediately drew the attention of others, who looked at him with various expressions.

Jiraiya remained noncommittal, merely glancing at the Jonin who had spoken, and reminded him, "Don't say such rude things again."

"That's right." Kato Dan nodded and smiled gently. "Sakumo-senpai is a powerful ninja known as 'White Fang,' and his White Fang sword technique is famous throughout the ninja world."

There is still a gap between elite Jonin. Elite Jonin with titles are a minority in the entire ninja world and can be said to be candidates qualified to inherit the title of "Kage".

Those were reputations earned through countless lives and fierce battles.

In comparison, the only other people who are famous for their swordsmanship are Mifune, the general of the Land of Iron, and Hanzo, the arrogant "demigod".

No, there is actually another one besides that.

Jiraiya glanced at Tsunade, who was inexplicably silent, and realized that she, like him, was reminded of that masked bastard with the short sword.

But it can't be that much of a coincidence, right?

These marks were clearly left by a long sword. How could an ordinary person possibly practice both short and long swords at the same time? Those are two completely different sword techniques.

Tsunade suddenly sniffed the air, then walked expressionlessly to the window.

Where her gaze fell were two intact heads.

Two black iron nails pierced through the temples of the skull and were driven into the wall.

Neatly laid out there, there was no blood flowing freely into a pool of blood; only some red and white viscous substance could be seen, revealing a chilling atmosphere.

"This is... the Anbu?"

Kato Dan followed, and upon seeing the mask and headband, he exclaimed in astonishment, "What are Konoha's Anbu doing here?"

Yes.

Why are Konoha's Anbu here?

Why did they arrive here before them?

"..."

Tsunade's eyes flickered slightly, a hint of coldness flashing within them, indicating that she had already guessed the reason behind it.

"It was deliberately placed here."

Jiraiya walked over, glanced at the location of the heads, and gradually frowned: "After beheading them, the murderer left them here, probably intentionally leaving them for us."

"It could also be a disguise." Kato suddenly spoke up, then lifted the two masks and looked at the two faces with certainty, "I have never seen these two people in Konoha."

Upon hearing this, the anger in the eyes of the other Jonin almost materialized.

They clearly didn't think that much about it; they simply believed that the killer was slandering and provoking them!

"You can continue."

Tsunade avoided Jiraiya's gaze, turned to look at the stairs leading to the second floor, and said calmly, "I'll go take a look at the higher floors."

After saying that, she walked away without looking back.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Jiraiya snapped out of his daze and quickly followed, saying, "Your injuries haven't healed yet, be careful!"

Watching the two figures disappear from sight, Kato Dan scratched his head helplessly.

"Collect the remains of our two 'colleagues' properly, and see if there are any intact heads we can take back."

He turned to look at the crowd behind him, a deep meaning flashing in his narrowed eyes, and said with a worried expression, "This is really troublesome now."

The invasion of the Land of Whirlpools by the Hidden Mist Village has likely taken an unexpected turn.

For example, ANBU ninjas...

No, I should say, Root ninjas.

Who killed them here? Does this mean that the remaining members of the Whirlpool Clan have developed inappropriate thoughts?

Thinking of this, Kato Dan frowned and couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "These are turbulent times."

(End of this chapter)