While Konoha was busy hosting a public competition to showcase their next generation prodigies, Kumogakure from the Land of Lightning was having a headache because of a series of peculiar cases of disappearing Shinobi.
It had been almost two weeks since they first got reports on missing persons in a high-altitude, mountainous area around 40 kilometers away from Kumogakure.
(A/N:For those who are new to Naruto, Kumogakure, or the Village Hidden in Clouds, is the concentrated city containing most legally affiliated ninjas in the Lightning Country. It's similar to the situation of Konoha in the Fire Country.)
At first, the Kumo higher-ups didn't pay much attention. After all, missing person reports were very common in this world filled with Chakra Beasts and ruthless killers.
However, since they received a hefty commission to investigate the situation, they didn't think twice before sending an eligible Chunin squad.
The squad contained one Elite Chunin and three Chunin. Their mission was simple.
They only had to visit the location, determine the cause of the recent disappearances, and, if possible, eliminate the threats responsible for them.
Even if the threat level was beyond their capabilities, they could simply retreat swiftly and report the situation to the village.
Everything was fine until the Chunin squad, containing 4 members, suddenly went missing and didn't report to the village even after four days.
This was highly unusual.
Kumo Shinobi, known for their impressive mastery of Lightning Release, were very agile.
Even if they couldn't defeat their foes, they could at least retreat safely as long as their opponents' strength wasn't completely off the charts.
So, after waiting for one more day, the Kumo management decided to send a Jonin squad made of one full-fledged Jonin and three Chunin to investigate the disappearance of the previous squad.
However, even after a whole week, they didn't return to the village either.
No messages. No signals. No last-minute emergency report delivery by a summoning beast.
When the report of their disappearance was handed to the higher-ups, they immediately understood the severity of the situation.
This was not normal.
They had just lost eight Shinobi—one Jonin, one Elite Chunin, and six Chunin.
And they still had no idea what was going on in that mountainous location, which was very, very close to Kumogakure.
It could only mean that the adversary was strong, very strong.
Strong enough to completely eliminate even a full-fledged Jonin before he could even send a message to the village.
So, to end this farce immediately, Kumo's higher-ups decided to send an experienced Elite Jonin squad capable of dealing with Quasi-Kage-level threats.
Even if they couldn't eliminate this threat, a group of one peak Elite Jonin, two full-fledged Jonin, and one Special Jonin should be capable of retreating and sending a signal to the village.
Surely, things couldn't possibly go wrong anymore, right?
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
After all, why would a Kage-level enemy or a Chakra Beast with a danger rating of S, which possessed intelligence similar to humans, stay so close to a major powerhouse like Kumogakure?
Wasn't this just asking for death?
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The Land of Lightning was known for its mountainous areas and high altitude.
As a result, although it was only November right now, the temperature had already plummeted significantly, causing snow to fall in many regions of this country.
Naturally, Kumogakure and the cities near it, which were located in a high-altitude area, were also covered in snow.
Fortunately, ninjas had chakra and many other advanced tracking methods to traverse through such rocky terrain without much hindrance.
That's why Zarui and his Elite Jonin team could reach the location where the disappearances occurred most frequently within 30 minutes of receiving their mission from the Kumogakure's mission center.
Although eight Shinobi had already gone missing while trying to complete this very same mission, Zarui wasn't worried.
After all, he had already reached the very peak of the Elite Jonin level, just one step away from truly becoming a genuine S-rank Shinobi.
His mastery over Lightning Release, Water Release, Kenjutsu, and Taijutsu was nothing to scoff at.
And he had capable companions.
A full-fledged Jonin-level Shinobi, Hosuki, who had great mastery over Kenjutsu, Lightning, and Earth Release Ninjutsu.
Yoroi, another full-fledged Jonin who had great mastery over Lightning Release Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and various Water Release Techniques.
Kasugai, a Special Jonin, who specialized in tracking, assassination, and Genjutsu.
With such a powerful combination, they could easily deal with any Quasi-Kage-level Shinobi, or could at least have a fighting chance against a S-rank Chakra Beast.
At least, that's what they thought.
Until they finally saw who their opponent was…
"Another group of Shinobi has arrived to become my food? Perfect."
A raspy yet growling voice rang out of a mountainside cave entrance as Kasugai tracked the clues and led his team to this place.
The snow in front of the entrance was painted crimson-black with dried blood.
As the voice of the cave dweller reached the Kumo ninjas' ears, they instantly felt a ruthless, menacing, and bone-chilling bloodlust radiating outwards from the cave entrance.
Whoever the owner was, they were powerful. Very powerful.
This wasn't an opponent they could take lightly.
Even the burst of chakra pressure that enveloped them filled them with dread.
Their very cells were screaming at them to run away. That if they fought this foe, their fate would be nothing but gruesome death.
Yet, the four Kumo Shinobi didn't retreat.
If they were alone, they might not hesitate to run away right now.
But together, they should at least have a chance.
Even if they couldn't defeat their enemy, they must uncover its identity.
They could always retreat afterwards.
Thinking this, Zarui gathered his courage and barked, "Come out, scoundrel."
"Do you think you will be safe in your little cave after killing ninjas from our village?"
"Or are you too afraid to show your face?"
As soon as the last words left Zarui's mouth, the very air of the surrounding area seemed to freeze.
And then, an intense radiation of blue chakra burst out of the cave once again. The density of the chakra burst was so intense that the cave entrance started to shake violently.
Cracks appeared on the surface, and they even spread outwards toward the Kumo Shinobi.
Winds started to howl.
The airflow was fierce enough to make the snow fly into the air and make the ninja outfits of the four Shinobi flutter.
The weakest among them, Special Jonin Kusagai, felt his limbs go limp.
All this happened because of a mere chakra outburst from the entity residing in the cave.
However, in the next moment, the phenomenon suddenly stopped.
The wind stilled, and the snow settled down.
Instead, the Kumo ninjas heard a calm raspy voice laced with a slight mocking tone.
"Scared? Me?"
"Of whom?"
"You?"
The speaker paused a little before beginning to laugh loudly with a bone-chilling growl.
"Haha"
"Hahahaha"
"Hahahahahahahahahahahaha"
"Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha"
"Ahahahaha"
After laughing for a full 10 seconds, the owner of the voice said, "Very well. Since that's what you want, I'm coming."
Booooooom!
Soon, a loud booming sound came from the inside of the cave, and in the blink of an eye, a blurry blue shadow passed by Kasugai, the Special Jonin.
He tried to turn around to see what passed by him, but he suddenly felt extremely weak.
When he turned to his teammates, he saw their pale faces and constricted pupils.
Suddenly, one of them, Yoroi, snapped out of his dazed state and shouted in grief, "Kasugai."
Just as the confused Kasugai was about to ask why he was acting all dramatic, he suddenly felt an excruciating pain coming from his chest.
He looked down, only to see a gaping hole in his left chest and blood pouring down from the wound like water, staining the pure snow red.
His teammates, on the other hand, could see through the fist-sized hole in his left chest that had been completely hollowed out.
They couldn't see Kasugai's heart, ribs, or even the left lung, only a gaping hole.
Kasugai was in so much pain that he couldn't even muster enough energy to scream. He felt his life force withering away quickly.
Blood came out of his mouth as he tried to say something to his teammates, robbing him of the opportunity to say his last words.
Thud!!!!!
His body dropped down to the snowy ground, filled with his own fresh blood.
Light slowly disappeared from his once gem-like sparkling yellow eyes before he finally stopped breathing once and for all.
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A/N: If you like my story and want to read ahead, you can check out my P@treon page and read up to 25 Advanced chapters!
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