Naruto Card King

Haruto Saito quickly rushed to the window. Outside, flames lit up the night. He cautiously peeked out, his mind racing for a way to escape.

The biggest problem was that Inui was a sensory ninja. Under these circumstances, Haruto had to maintain the presence of the black mist.

If Inui weren't a sensory ninja, Haruto could have simply used the Transformation Jutsu to disguise himself as an ordinary soldier and slip away in the chaos. After all, the soldiers here had no way of seeing through a Transformation Jutsu—only a fellow ninja could.

But there was no "if."

Haruto had to keep the black mist active, yet the mist itself was his most noticeable trait. This contradiction was unavoidable.

"Damn it!" Haruto cursed under his breath as he stared out the window.

A squad of soldiers carrying torches just ran past the warehouse. Haruto swiftly formed hand seals and vanished from the warehouse, instantly reappearing on the narrow path where the soldiers had just passed. The black mist concealed the white smoke and chakra signature generated by his sudden appearance, ensuring he remained undetected.

Without pausing, Haruto's figure flickered as he dashed into the darkness, the shadow of the barracks' rear wall enveloping him. He hunched over and sprinted.

These barracks were interconnected and stretched for a long distance. If all went smoothly, Haruto could cover at least a hundred meters before encountering a wide road separating the buildings.

Whoosh!

Something suddenly flew past him. Haruto hadn't noticed it at first, but the near-miss startled him so much he nearly drew his blade.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three more objects zipped by. This time, Haruto saw them clearly—they were birds. Tiny birds!

Their flight pattern was bizarre, almost like flying kunai!

"What the hell?"

Whoosh!

A sharp sound tore through the air, aiming straight for Haruto's back. Instinctively, he spun around and slashed his blade with full force. With a soft "shff," the incoming swiftlet was cut into a bloody mist before it could collide with him!

Meanwhile—

On the rooftop of the grand mansion, Inui, who had his eyes closed, suddenly shuddered and snapped them open. His gaze, sharp as lightning, seemed to pierce through all obstacles, locking onto Haruto's position!

One of his summoned creatures had been killed. Naturally, he could sense it, and the exact location of its death was within his detection range.

"You're dead!" Inui growled, bringing his hands together in a rapid seal. A surge of mental energy erupted from him.

Instantly, all the swiftlets within the camp received their command. They ascended in unison before diving toward Haruto's location—the very spot where their slain kin had fallen.

Haruto had no idea what kind of bird he had just killed.

He kept sprinting along the wall.

But in mere seconds, a deafening flurry of "whoosh whoosh whoosh" filled the air. Hundreds of swiftlets had arrived—insanely fast. In just a few seconds, they had covered half a kilometer!

Another swiftlet came hurtling straight at Haruto.

It wasn't actively targeting him—it simply couldn't see him. Haruto was merged with the darkness, completely suppressing his presence. The swiftlet assumed the path ahead was clear and flew forward without hesitation.

Shff!

Shff!

Shff!

Haruto swung his blade repeatedly, slashing down multiple swiftlets that crashed into him in succession. He had no choice—these things were too fast to dodge, and at their speed, combined with their razor-sharp beaks, their impact was as deadly as a kunai.

He had been completely exposed!

Inui had already dashed out of the mansion, speeding toward Haruto's location.

With several swiftlets slain in quick succession, the rest had now locked onto Haruto, circling above him, forming dense, buzzing clusters in the air.

"Ninja reconnaissance birds? How are there so many?!" Haruto finally realized what he was dealing with and was utterly shocked.

Ninja birds were extremely rare in the entire shinobi world, yet here, more than a hundred had appeared all at once—completely unheard of!

Bringing his hands together, he activated his Byakugan!

His gaze swept the area, locking onto Inui, who was rapidly approaching. Without a second thought, Haruto dissolved into a wisp of black smoke.

An instant later, Haruto reappeared within a small forest in front of another row of barracks to the north.

That was his fifth use of Black Mist Flash. Now, it was all used up.

But at least, for the moment, he had shaken off the swiftlets' pursuit. Even if Inui arrived, he wouldn't be able to locate him immediately.

The seals on his Black Armor dulled, one after another, losing their energy. Within two breaths, the Black Mist Flash seal had completely faded. Immediately, the armor began absorbing Haruto's chakra at an accelerated rate. He quickly channeled more chakra and retrieved another Beginner Mana Recovery Card from his inventory space.

Recharging the Black Mist Armor required at least seventy seconds—over a full minute. Haruto lay flat in the underbrush, hiding and waiting.

This small forest had just been searched. It was unlikely they would check it again so soon.

Keeping his Byakugan active, Haruto carefully monitored Inui's movements.

Inui had arrived at the gathering point of the swiftlets, only to find that the black warrior had vanished. He immediately issued new orders to the birds, which dispersed again, resuming their search.

"Damn it, so many birds!" Haruto cursed at Inui while silently waiting.

He suddenly realized that hiding might actually reduce his chances of being discovered.

However, this wasn't a sustainable plan. The longer Haruto lingered in the camp, the tighter their security would become. Right now, the five thousand soldiers hadn't fully spread out, and the camp's defenses weren't solid yet, which gave him a window of opportunity.

But if he waited too long, once all five thousand soldiers were positioned and torches illuminated every corner, the camp would become an impenetrable fortress. By then, his only option would be to fight his way out!

A minute passed quickly, and the Black Mist Flash seal reactivated.

He now had five more uses!

Haruto felt slightly more confident, though he also felt a sharp pang of loss. He had already used three Beginner Mana Recovery Cards today. While he had completed his assassination mission and discovered new uses for the Black Mist Armor, it still felt like a tough trade-off.

After all, he hadn't obtained any loot today.

On a rooftop a hundred meters away, Inui stood with his hands behind his back, eyes closed, sensing the area.

Haruto was very close, yet Inui couldn't detect him. Meanwhile, Haruto could see his every move clearly. He had to admit, Inui was an incredibly powerful sensory ninja. Controlling over a hundred ninja birds simultaneously was unheard of.

It was also clear that these birds were Inui's summoned creatures, bound to him by contract.

"This guy..." Haruto frowned. He realized he had overlooked something earlier.

Inui's reputation exceeded 12,000. This was his total power reputation, meaning he was an elite jonin of exceptional caliber. However, since he was a sensory ninja, his detection and scouting abilities were part of that reputation score.

So if he excluded those abilities, how much actual combat strength did Inui have left?

After all, a high reputation didn't always equal high combat power.

"If his sensory abilities account for a significant part of his score, then how strong is he, really?" Haruto's grip tightened on his sword hilt, knuckles whitening.

Time to kill!

"Screw it!" Haruto gritted his teeth and vanished into black smoke.

In an instant, he reappeared behind Inui, swinging his heavy blade in a fierce, downward slash!

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