"Whew…"
Seeing the Mist Jōnin before him fall lifeless, Aoi Ren finally relaxed, letting out a long breath.
Kurenai and Yugao quickly rushed over and asked, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, just exhausted…"
Aoi Ren shook his head. The Glint-Glint Fruit was powerful, but it demanded an enormous amount of stamina.
Even though he had been training relentlessly over the past year, he was still young, and the fruit's energy consumption was tremendous.
In other words, while his attack power and speed were incredible, his endurance remained lacking. Against any opponent, he had to end the fight quickly.
"I'll check the bodies, then let's return to the village and make our report."
"Alright."
Walking over to the corpses of the Mist ninja, Aoi Ren began searching through them.
To his disappointment, the weapons they carried were just standard steel swords—no special blades among them.
As for the team captain, he didn't even have anything on him, which was honestly a bit frustrating.
It seemed they were just a simple reconnaissance squad from Kirigakure, with no key personnel present.
Shaking his head, Aoi Ren pulled out a scroll.
This scroll was specifically used for sealing tools. Killing one Jōnin and seven Chūnin wouldn't mean much without proof. He needed to seal the bodies and bring them back.
Even from corpses, the village could extract valuable intelligence.
Very soon, Aoi Ren had sealed all eight ninja bodies into the scroll.
As for the ordinary people in the caravan, they had been caught in the crossfire during the earlier battle. Not a single one had survived.
Such was the tragedy of the powerless.
After cleaning up, the three of them hurried back toward the village.
...
Konohagakure.
Hokage Office.
The Third Hokage reviewed the mission report submitted by Aoi Ren, then glanced at the scroll beside him.
"Kirigakure, is it…"
"Deliver this scroll to the Intelligence Division. Let them analyze it and see if we can uncover anything."
"Yes, sir."
An Anbu appeared, took the scroll, and left.
That was the scroll containing the sealed corpses of the Mist ninja.
...
Meanwhile—
After handing in the mission report and the scroll, Aoi Ren and the others disbanded and returned to rest.
When Aoi Ren got home, he looked around at the familiar surroundings and noticed a thin layer of dust on the table.
Muttering to himself, "Guess I forgot to close the window before I left…"
He flipped the calendar hanging on the wall seven pages forward to the current date.
Then he thoroughly cleaned the house and headed out with a trash bin to throw away the garbage.
As he emptied the bin into the large roadside dumpster, a voice suddenly called from behind him.
"Hey! Aoi Ren! Long time no see!"
Turning toward the voice, Aoi Ren spotted a boy wearing goggles, about ten meters away on the opposite side of the street, waving enthusiastically.
"Uchiha Obito? The so-called dead-last I barely managed to stay ahead of at the Academy?"
Next to him stood a lean-looking boy and a warm-smiling girl.
The boy had silver hair and wore a mask that covered most of his face, revealing only his eyes.
Hands in pockets, he carried a detached attitude.
Upon seeing this boy, Aoi Ren froze for a second, nearly blurting out "Hatake 50-50."
That appearance… who else could it be but Hatake Kakashi?
Shaking off the chaotic thoughts, Aoi Ren carried the trash bin over toward Obito, who had called out to him.
"Long time no see, Aoi Ren," the girl greeted him warmly. It was Nohara Rin, Obito's teammate and one of Aoi Ren's peers.
"Ren, what a coincidence! We just got back from a mission outside the village and ran into you. Rin and I are Chūnin now!"
Obito beamed brightly as he spoke to Aoi Ren.
"Oh right, forgot to introduce you. This dead-fish-eyed guy is our teammate, Hatake Kakashi."
"Oh, hey Kakashi. I'm Aoi Ren."
"Mm. Hello. I'm Hatake Kakashi."
Kakashi replied blandly, his expression unreadable behind his deadpan gaze, but his eyes briefly lingered on Aoi Ren with curiosity.
Then Obito suddenly exclaimed, "By the way! Aoi Ren, we're heading to Ichiraku Ramen for a bowl. Wanna come with? My treat!"
Seeing Obito's boundless enthusiasm, Aoi Ren's mouth twitched slightly.
Even though they were classmates and both considered underachievers back at the Academy, they hadn't interacted much. This level of friendliness felt a bit forced.
But then Aoi Ren suddenly remembered he had a system task related to Kakashi.
Campus Overlord Task 1: Defeat all male ninja of your generation.
Only Kakashi remained.
With that in mind, Aoi Ren nodded and said, "Alright. But first, I want to challenge Kakashi."
He turned to Kakashi and said, "I heard you're the genius who graduated early in our class. I want to challenge you. Don't tell me you're afraid?"
Kakashi, proud and curious about Aoi Ren, agreed without hesitation.
...
Fourth Training Ground.
Aoi Ren and Kakashi stood facing each other, forming the Seal of Confrontation.
In the next moment, Aoi Ren charged forward.
He raised his hand and fired two [Laser Beams] directly at Kakashi.
"Zzt!" "Zzt!"
To Aoi Ren's surprise, Kakashi didn't even react before being hit clean through by the beams.
"Kakashi!" Rin cried out in shock.
"Poof!"
With her shout, the Kakashi that had been hit suddenly turned into a wooden log.
"A fast Substitution Jutsu…" Aoi Ren frowned.
His skin tingled with warning. Trusting his instincts, he spun around and faced behind him.
Sure enough, Kakashi had already appeared, launching an attack.
With a smooth wrist twist, Kakashi's kunai sliced through the air in a perfect arc, aiming for Aoi Ren's throat in the blink of an eye.
As expected of Sakumo Hatake's son—his speed was no joke.
But I am the speed of light.
Aoi Ren twisted his body to dodge and instantly summoned the [Totsuka-no-Tsurugi] in his hand, slashing at Kakashi and forcing him back.
With distance between them again, Kakashi's eyes narrowed seriously. He was done holding back.
Kakashi's hands blurred through seals. "Water Style: Water Surge!"
A twisting torrent of water spiraled upward like a cyclone, then crashed down like a waterfall, aiming to engulf Aoi Ren.
But Aoi Ren didn't wait around. He teleported into the air and unleashed the [Yata Mirror Barrage], raining countless light bullets toward Kakashi.
"What kind of jutsu is that?!"
Startled, Kakashi used the Body Flicker to dodge and quickly formed more hand signs.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
A thick wall of earth rose up in front of him, only to be instantly blasted apart.
"Earth Style: Rising Stone Spear!"
Using the momentary cover, Kakashi triggered a large stone spear to erupt from the ground and strike at Aoi Ren midair.
"Yata Mirror!"
With a flash of light, Aoi Ren teleported behind Kakashi and placed the [Totsuka-no-Tsurugi] at his neck.
"You've lost, Kakashi," Aoi Ren said quietly.
"Yeah… You win this time. I'm almost out of chakra," Kakashi said reluctantly, shaking his head in resignation.
"You're strong, Aoi Ren. But next time, I won't lose."
"Haha, I can't believe Kakashi actually lost. Ren, that was awesome!" Obito shouted excitedly.
"Come on! Let's get to that ramen! I'm starving!"
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have completed Campus Overlord Task 1: Defeat all male ninjas in your generation.]
[Reward obtained: 1x God-Tier Lottery Point]
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100 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter