A Sage's Pursuit of Power

Ninjas are assassins, killers, and a unique military force. Correspondingly, ninja villages are essentially violent organizations.

Because ninja abilities vary greatly, the stronger naturally claim more resources. Simply put, the world of ninjas is still governed by the law of the jungle—survival of the fittest.

This has led to extremely brutal and backward management in various ninja villages. One of the reasons Aoba stayed in Konoha was that its atmosphere was relatively the closest to a normal world. Outside of Konoha, especially in those smaller ninja villages, there was nothing but raw savagery and cruelty.

The Village Hidden in the Grass was one such place.

Not long after entering the Grass Village's territory, Aoba detected several chakra signatures nearby.

After losing one of his eyes, his sensory abilities had been significantly affected. As a close-combat ninja, the loss of an eye was a substantial disadvantage in battle.

To compensate for this weakness, he developed an auxiliary sensory system.

By utilizing his adept control of wind-based ninjutsu, he spread his chakra into the surrounding air, allowing it to flow slowly within a certain range. This way, he could sense anything or anyone entering this range.

The closer the target, the clearer the sensation. In close combat, this system even functioned as a kind of 360-degree vision.

At the moment, his senses detected three Grass ninjas traveling in his right front. They seemed to have just returned from a mission.

One of them had injuries.

"That small injury is nothing. Just bite that bitch when we get back," one of them said.

"True. I'll make sure to bite her a few more times. That bitch complained last week that I bit her intentionally. This time, I'll make sure to bite off a piece of her flesh."

"And her little daughter—she's even more tender. I'll bite her a few times too. She treasures her daughter more than herself. Just threatening her daughter should be enough to make her shut up."

"Really, I have to try it. Maybe we can do something else too."

Having heard this, Aoba could not bear to listen any longer.

With a Body Flicker Technique, he appeared in front of the three Grass ninjas.

"Who goes there?" the three of them tensed up, but relaxed upon seeing Aoba's forehead protector.

"It's a Konoha ninja. Why is a Konoha ninja here in our Grass Village's territory?"

Since Konoha and Grass Village were currently allied, and Konoha ninjas were generally amiable, they were not afraid. In fact, they seemed a bit arrogant.

Aoba looked at their faces and couldn't help but comment.

"Many people complain about why there is always war and why ninjas are always killing each other. The answer is simple: it's because there are too many of your kind in this world."

"You..." The Grass ninjas sensed something was wrong, but it was too late. Aoba drew his sword directly, moving so quickly that they couldn't react in time.

The Kusanagi Sword had excellent chakra conduction capabilities, making Aoba's ninjutsu easier and more effective.

"Slash Void Flash!"

A visible half-moon-shaped wind blade appeared in midair. In an instant, it severed the waists of the two ninjas in front. The last one, due to the greater distance, barely avoided the blade, but one of his arms was completely cut off.

"Stop! We're Grass ninjas and allies of Konoha. You..."

The Grass ninjas tried to argue, but Aoba was already at their front. The one-armed ninja, unable to form hand signs with just one hand, could only pull out a kunai in a futile attempt to resist.

The next second, Aoba appeared behind him, the Kusanagi Sword already sheathed.

On the ground, the two ninjas cut in half were not dead yet, but it was only a matter of time. Unless they were the reincarnation of Hashirama, survival was impossible after being cut in half.

Aoba did not deliver the final blow but passed them, heading toward the direction of the Grass Village. Behind him, the screams of the two Grass ninjas grew fainter.

Grass Village was fairly large, about half the size of Konoha. It was one of the few large ninja villages outside the Five Great Nations.

However, their level of quality was quite lacking.

The competence of their ninjas was evident. This village lacked proper management, education, and training systems.

Although they had set up a ninja academy similar to Konoha's, the instructors were generally more interested in tormenting the children than teaching them.

As a power just behind the Five Great Villages, their participation in subsequent Chūnin Exams was minimal, showing how outdated their training system was.

Their foundational strength was also incomparable to Konoha's. The protective barriers around the village were something even Aoba could not bypass.

That night, Aoba easily infiltrated the village.

Standing in Grass Village, he released his chakra. The surroundings quickly became clear in his mind.

His sensory ability using wind was not very effective in the village due to the interference of buildings. Sudden gusts of wind inside buildings could easily be noticed, so he proceeded with caution.

After some time, he finally located his target and quickly moved toward it.

In a simple house, a Grass ninja was viciously whipping a woman. In the corner of the room, a little girl huddled in fear.

"You worthless, wretched woman. I've bitten you so many times and you haven't recovered. What use are you? If it weren't for our Grass ninjas taking you in, you'd be dead in some corner by now. How dare you not show gratitude and look at me with that expression..."

The Grass ninja continued to curse and whip, acting like a mad dog.

Suddenly, he noticed something was wrong. The woman's gaze was not on him but behind him.

As a ninja, he had basic awareness. He immediately sensed something was off and spun around, only to see a stranger standing behind him.

Most critically, the forehead protector on the stranger's head was not from the Grass Village but from Konoha.

How could a Konoha ninja be here?

The Grass ninja's last thought was that he couldn't let a Konoha ninja see these women. Before he could fully comprehend the situation, he saw a flash of cold light and lost consciousness.