Naruto Card King

This was a bizarre situation. Haruto Saito had killed ninja birds before, but nothing special had ever happened. There were no drops.

Yet, upon slaying the Rain Falcon, something extraordinary occurred—just like killing an enemy ninja, there was a phenomenon, and a card dropped!

Haruto Saito's body began to plummet. He had already exhausted all five uses of Black Flash and could no longer maneuver freely.

"Damn it!" Haruto Saito reacted immediately, his body tensing as he forcibly twisted his waist and spun in the air, managing to propel himself upward just a bit. In one swift motion, he grabbed the two cards that had just dropped before continuing his fall.

Dropped cards always hovered above the location where the target was slain. This setting was quite tricky—Haruto Saito had nearly missed collecting the two cards.

Blood rained down, a mixture of the Rain Falcon's blood and the falling rainwater.

Haruto Saito's descent accelerated.

"Hey, hey, hey! Catch me! Catch me!" he shouted.

Boom!

The forest floor exploded as Tsunade shot up like a cannonball, grabbing Haruto Saito midair. She immediately twisted her body and plunged back toward the ground. As they neared the forest canopy, she rotated, slowing their descent drastically. With a final flash of movement, she landed safely in the forest with Haruto Saito in her arms.

"Nice work!" Haruto Saito praised her, exhaling in relief.

"You still owe me a favor," Tsunade said with a sour expression, glancing at him sideways.

"Uh..." Haruto Saito was stunned.

Damn! He had been tricked. He had called for someone to catch him, and Tsunade had completed his request—now she could demand something in return.

"Fine! Whatever!" Haruto Saito smiled at Tsunade, accepting his fate.

"Hah! You really gave me a scare just now. You've already mastered Black Flash? Why didn't you say so earlier?! If we had known, taking down this Rain Falcon would have saved us a lot of trouble," Jiraiya laughed, patting Haruto Saito on the shoulder.

"Heh, of course! Would I make a move if I wasn't confident? If it weren't for a certain annoying woman stopping me, I would've done it even better," Haruto Saito smirked, tilting his chin up and glancing at Tsunade. He deliberately dispelled the black mist around him so she could see his expression.

"Hmph!" Tsunade snorted coldly and shot him a look of utter disdain.

"Let's move! There won't be a second Rain Falcon in this area. We need to cross the grasslands quickly," Jiraiya said.

"Alright!"

"Let's go!"

The three of them dashed out of the forest and sped across the plains. Tsunade continued to carry Haruto Saito. Though they bickered, their disagreements were minor—she wouldn't abandon him over such trivial matters.

Two hours after they left the forest...

At the forest's edge, a large group of ninjas emerged. At the signal of a black-robed ninja at the front, they all stopped—over a hundred of them, all from the Village Hidden in the Rain. Leading them was none other than Hanzo's personal guard captain, Terado!

This time, the Rain Village had dispatched its top warriors. Every elite Rain Ninja was leading a search team, and even Hanzo himself had joined the hunt. They had split into multiple squads, and Terado's team was just one of them.

He hadn't initially been tracking Haruto Saito and the others—he had simply been searching in this direction and happened to be on the right path.

"The scent of blood... It's Rain Falcon blood. Someone killed a Rain Falcon here!" Terado looked up at the sky, then at the cracks on the ground in the forest, speaking in a deep voice. "It was likely Tsunade!"

The constant rain masked the scent from most, but Terado could detect it.

"Looks like we're on the right track. Send word to the commander—we can narrow the search area. Also, instruct the remaining Rain Falcons to be cautious about their flight altitude. And... Alro!"

"Captain!"

A middle-aged ninja with an ugly face stepped forward and bowed. He was Terado's second-in-command, an assistant leader of the Rain Village's elite guard.

"I'll be going ahead. You take command from here."

"Yes, Captain!"

Whoosh! Terado's body flickered and vanished. His afterimage stretched across the distant grassland, and within a few breaths, he was gone entirely.

...

On the southern slope of a mountain range, covered in dense forest and rarely visited by people...

After crossing the grasslands, Haruto Saito, Tsunade, and Jiraiya entered the mountains.

It was already noon. They found a cave in the southern slope's forest and decided to take a break. Luckily, there were wild fruits nearby and a spring for drinking water.

Outside, the rain poured harder and harder. The three of them ate a simple lunch but didn't immediately set out again.

They had been traveling continuously with little rest. Tsunade and Jiraiya had consumed a lot of chakra and needed time to recover.

After eating, Haruto Saito hid in the darkest corner of the cave while Tsunade and Jiraiya meditated. Quietly, he retrieved the two cards that had dropped from the Rain Falcon.

Black mist swirled around Haruto Saito, blending him into the darkness. Tsunade and Jiraiya couldn't see what he was doing.

Two cards!

Rain Falcon's Eye Card!

Rain Falcon's Wing Card!

The cards had a unique pale-green hue. Aside from their names, they only displayed an image of the slain Rain Falcon, with no additional descriptions.

"System, what do these two cards do?" Haruto Saito asked in his mind.

"Ding! Answering host's question. Ninja beast drop cards typically relate directly to the creature's abilities. The Rain Falcon is an advanced reconnaissance ninja bird, possessing exceptional long-range vision and extraordinary flight capabilities. The Rain Falcon's Eye Card enhances the host's eyesight. The Rain Falcon's Wing Card increases the host's movement speed and agility."

"Then why didn't other ninja birds I killed drop cards, but the Rain Falcon did?"

"Only ninja beasts that meet the hidden criteria can drop cards. The previous ones the host killed did not meet the standard."

"Got it." Haruto Saito nodded, examining the two cards before consuming the Rain Falcon's Eye Card first. Then, holding the Rain Falcon's Wing Card, he hesitated. "If I eat this... I won't grow feathers or wings, will I?"

"The host's species will not change upon using these cards."

"Good."

Crunch! Crunch! Haruto Saito ate the Rain Falcon's Wing Card.

Tsunade and Jiraiya sat cross-legged at the cave entrance, motionless.

"I'll stand guard outside," Haruto Saito said, standing up and walking out.

"Be careful," Tsunade murmured as he passed her.

Outside, the rain was pouring heavily.

Haruto Saito leapt onto a nearby tree and gazed into the distance. His vision had drastically improved—without using any abilities, he could now see a kilometer ahead with pure eyesight, though he still couldn't see through objects.

Whoosh! He leapt from tree to tree, feeling lighter, faster, and more agile. The two cards from the Rain Falcon had significantly improved him, boosting his reaction speed and observational abilities in combat.

"Excellent! If I could wipe out all the Rain Falcons in the Rain Village, that would be even better!" Haruto Saito grinned.

Suddenly!

As he scanned the area with his enhanced vision, he froze.

A man was in the southern slope's forest, about six kilometers away, crouching on a tree, examining footprints.

Haruto Saito's vision pierced through his robe, revealing his face—a man in his late thirties.

Name: Terado.

Identity: Captain of the Rain Village's Elite Guard.

Reputation: 32,492 points.

Relationship: Hostile.

Haruto Saito's expression darkened. This guy was Kage-level!