Naruto Card King

In the grassland encampment, dozens of ninja stood up simultaneously, drawing their weapons.

"There's movement over there!"

"Let's go! It might be the Black Samurai!"

"Damn it, we can't let anyone else get ahead of us. Move!"

Without even packing up their camp, the group of ninja abandoned their belongings and tents, rushing toward the mountainous region at full speed.

At the edge of the mountains, hidden within the grass of a hillside, Haruto Saito, Tsunade, and Jiraiya all turned their heads in the direction of the booming noise. None of them knew exactly what had happened, but Haruto had a suspicion—was it Jidou? Had he engaged someone in combat?

"Hide, quickly!" Tsunade assessed the situation on the grassland before issuing the urgent command.

...

Dozens of ninjas from Raincry Village entered the mountain range, completely unaware of the hidden presence of Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Haruto. The group sprinted past their concealed location, heading straight toward the source of the commotion.

Once they had passed, Jiraiya checked the camp one more time. Confirming that no one remained, he gave a signal. The three of them dashed down the hillside and onto the open grassland.

They ran at full speed.

Without the Raincry ninjas blocking their path, the trio seized the opportunity to cross the vast grassland under the cover of night. Whatever had caused the booming noise was not their concern at the moment.

Their figures quickly disappeared into the dark, stormy night.

Deep in the mountains, on the southern slope, a vast section of forest lay in ruins, obliterated by a powerful Wind Release technique. The ground was littered with headless corpses, and in front of them stood Jidou, his bloodstained blade gleaming in the dim light. His sharp gaze scanned the surroundings. One enemy still remained—someone who had managed to evade detection using an underground escape technique.

Whoosh!

Jidou suddenly moved. As if sensing something, he shot forward a hundred meters in an instant, his blade slashing the ground with terrifying force!

Boom!

The earth split apart as a deep fissure tore through the land, sending soil and debris flying. The deafening explosion echoed through the valley.

A blood-soaked figure emerged from the freshly torn crevice, their body surging with violent chakra fluctuations. Severely wounded but still standing, the ninja's eyes were devoid of emotion, resembling a lifeless puppet.

They seemed to be preparing a last-ditch secret technique.

But they never got the chance.

Jidou moved like a phantom, flickering behind them in a blur of motion. A flash of steel, a single swift strike—and it was over. The wounded ninja's body froze in midair before suddenly bursting into a mist of blood.

Jidou landed back on the ground, his keen eyes once again scanning his surroundings for any remaining threats.

None.

"Hmph. Konoha's Anbu," he muttered with a cold sneer, showing nothing but disdain as he pulled a cloth from his pocket and methodically wiped his bloodied sword.

If Danzo had been present, he would have been stunned. The two individuals Jidou had just slaughtered were none other than Oni Shichi and Yamagata—elite members of Konoha's Root division.

These two had been tailing Haruto ever since he encountered Tsunade and Jiraiya. Though wary of the two legendary Sannin, they had kept their distance, tracking the group from roughly twenty kilometers away with the aid of ninja hounds.

From the moment they entered the Land of Rain, through the chaos at the White Stone Mines, they had never ceased their pursuit. But this afternoon, Jidou had found them first.

He hadn't actually lost track of Haruto earlier; he had simply made an error in judgment, mistaking Oni Shichi and Yamagata's trail for that of Haruto and the others.

The two Root operatives were highly skilled in counter-tracking and evasion, both proficient in Earth Release techniques that allowed them to hide underground. When they realized Jidou was hunting them, they tried to escape. But Jidou was too strong.

There had been no real battle.

Jidou caught up with them, and in a matter of moments, cut them down with terrifying efficiency.

Having cleaned his blade, he left without bothering to clear the battlefield.

Before long—

Jidou encountered the group of Raincry Village ninjas rushing toward him.

The elite jounin leading them immediately ordered his men to prepare for battle. Fixing his gaze on the mysterious figure before them, he barked, "Halt! Are you the Black Samurai? Remove your cloak!"

Jidou stood on a tree branch, exhaling an icy breath. "Hn?"

"Do it! Take off your cloak! This is your only warning. If you are not the Black Samurai, we will let you go."

Jidou had no interest in these nobodies. But unfortunately for them… they were making a grave mistake.

The next day, still in the southeastern region of the Land of Rain—

A secluded valley.

After running all night, Haruto, Tsunade, and Jiraiya finally stopped to rest. Exhausted, they collapsed against the trunk of a large tree.

Haruto wasn't physically tired, but his mind was utterly drained. Tsunade and Jiraiya, on the other hand, had burned through a massive amount of chakra and needed to recover. They had to eat, too.

Even after fleeing for so long, they were still far from the Rain-Fire border.

Their escape had been anything but straightforward. They had been forced to take long, winding routes to avoid detection, steering clear of areas where they might be surrounded. After all, the First Army Corps of Amegakure was stationed in this region—they had to avoid them at all costs.

The valley had a small grove of trees. The three sat on separate branches of the same massive trunk, each looking too exhausted to move.

"I just wanna sleep," Haruto muttered weakly, absentmindedly chewing on a piece of dry jerky.

"We need to find a safe place to sleep soon," Tsunade replied.

"Not here," Jiraiya added. "This spot is too exposed. We'll rest for now, but we need to keep moving until we find better cover."

"How much longer until we get out of here?" Haruto asked.

"If we're lucky, one day. But luck isn't on our side…" Tsunade sighed.

All three of them spoke in sluggish tones. Ever since leaving White Stone Mountain, they hadn't had a proper rest. Constantly on the run, barely pausing to eat, sleep had become an almost impossible luxury.

Then—

"Hmm?" Haruto suddenly sat up straight, his voice lowering to a whisper. "Someone's coming."

"Hide," Tsunade commanded in a hushed tone.

The three of them vanished into the trees.

Moments later, a group of over ten samurai entered the valley, covered in dust from their long travels. As they arrived, they began speaking loudly among themselves.

"This spot works. We can rest here, out of the wind."

"Damn it, is the Black Samurai even real? Is Amegakure just playing us?"

"Do you think Lord Hanzo would joke about something like this? The bounty's real. If we find him, his head is worth fifty million ryo!"

"Yeah, right! You think you're gonna take down Konoha's Tsunade? One slap from her and you're dead. If we spot them, we should just report it to Amegakure and take the one million ryo reward instead!"