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156 Getting Killed Makes Me Stronger
🕑 Added 2025-11-23 06:14:01 +0000 UTC"Rumble rumble rumble rumble—"
Warfire roared across the battlefield, and the cold night was filled with choking smoke.
Revolutionary Kairen swung the Soviet command flag upward and shouted, "Stop!"
The cannon fire ceased, and what came into view next was a mass of shattered ruins wrapped in heavy black smoke that refused to disperse.
"Boom boom boom boom boom…"
Kairen's shadow clones all burst one after another as their full chakra reserves were exhausted.
Even the shadow clone tank under his feet ended the same way, turning into a puff of white smoke after running out of ammunition.
Only Kairen remained at the scene, along with the fifty wood clones guarding the inner perimeter wooden-block wall.
Kairen looked at the pile of crumbling stones ahead—splintered wood and shattered brick everywhere. His Byakugan couldn't sense even the faintest trace of life.
"Looks like they're all dead. Then let's go."
Kairen bit down on a cigarette, and a nearby shadow clone obediently lit it.
He slowly turned and walked out of the Shimura compound while the wood clones dismantled the wooden-block wall.
In an instant, the horrific state of the entire Shimura clan was exposed before the major ninja families.
"This—"
Nara Shikaku's pupils contracted. Moments ago he had only heard the chaos and commotion, and assumed a fierce battle had taken place—but only when everything was laid bare did he realize this wasn't just fierce.
The entire Shimura estate, a diameter of five hundred meters, had been blasted into ruins, with not a single body in sight.
"Heh heh..."
Kairen glanced coldly at the surrounding shinobi who all wore heavy, grim expressions. Then he turned away and slowly walked off.
A wood clone stepped out and shouted loudly toward an ANBU watching from the shadows, "ANBU, come clean the place."
He showed absolutely no regard for village rules, nor for the numerous ANBU elite jōnin. This was Moku Kairen, the last of the Senju… Nara Shikaku thought silently.
He also frowned tightly. The Nara clan was competing for the position of Hokage assistant—and they had run straight into Moku Kairen.
If that man got even slightly annoyed and surrounded their Nara clan with a hundred mechanical puppets and opened fire… what then?
He had to convince the clan elders. As strategists, they must not jump blindly into this chaotic game.
Kairen walked through a small alley as the sound of "swish swish swish" echoed around him.
In the blink of an eye, around thirty masked ANBU surrounded him.
Then, an elderly man wearing black shinobi armor reminiscent of Warring States-era equipment stepped forward. It was Sarutobi Hiruzen, flanked by two infuriated Hokage Advisors.
Turning Koharu pointed at Kairen, her pupils full of accusation:
"Kairen, you attacked active-duty shinobi inside the village without authorization! What crime should that be?!"
Kairen exhaled a puff of smoke and gave a cold smile.
"Didn't I just send them to accompany Danzo-sama? How can you say I did anything wrong?"
"You—"
Turning Koharu pointed harder at him.
Mitokado Homura tugged on her sleeve, urging her not to push him too far. If he snapped, he could destroy the entire village.
Kairen let out another calm breath of smoke and strolled forward, stopping only five steps from Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Hiruzen's expression grew cold as the ANBU tightened their formation, preparing to strike.
Kairen continued forward until only three steps remained between them, crossing his arms and gazing down at Sarutobi Hiruzen as if he weren't worth noticing.
"Ping!"
"Sarutobi Hiruzen shows strong killing intent toward you!"
Kairen kept walking.
Two steps!
One step!!
He stood right in front of Sarutobi Hiruzen—close enough for an instant kill. Kairen didn't even have a hint of defense active.
Hiruzen's grip on his metal staff trembled. He was deciding whether to launch an attack right now.
But Kairen's strength made him hesitate. He had wiped out the entire Shimura clan without a scratch, without even panting.
Opposing him now would be foolish.
"Ping!"
"Sarutobi Hiruzen shows friendliness toward you!"
Kairen shot a sideways glance at Hiruzen's forced smile. As expected—his psychological adjustment in an instant rivaled a master of thick-black philosophy.
Kairen slowly brushed past him. The shinobi beside Hiruzen stepped aside to make way.
Everyone watched in silence as Kairen's silhouette vanished around the alley corner.
"Hiruzen, you—" Turning Koharu snapped at him.
But she abruptly stopped, because she saw a pair of cold eyes twisting with endless calculations. The rest of her scolding stuck in her throat.
"Let today's matter end here. Everyone return and rest."
Hiruzen said coldly, then flickered away alone.
...
Kairen returned to the Senju household alone. After comforting Tsunade and the others and sending them back to their rooms, he went to his own room and sat quietly on the wooden floor, thinking.
"Mmm~"
Wolon and Fenchu were behind him scratching at his back. Kairen snapped his fingers, and the bamboo shoots he conjured pinned both of them to the floor.
Two figures appeared with a "swish swish"—Yakushi Nono and Pangolin #1.
Pangolin #1 knelt on one knee.
"Today's mission is complete. Numbers 2, 3… up through 8 have perfectly infiltrated each major ninja family."
Kairen's secret intelligence organization was now called the Pangolin Alliance—shortened to Pang Alliance. Pangolin #1 was the leader, managing this spy network.
Kairen nodded. "Good. Expand Pang Alliance aggressively. Don't neglect the hot spring bathhouses of Konoha, either! Anywhere that smells of gunpowder, I want my pangolins there."
Yakushi Nono sighed at him. Even as his girlfriend stood here, Kairen still didn't hold his tongue—utterly unrestrained.
"Understood, boss!"
Pangolin #1 nodded, then dissolved into wooden fragments that sank into the floorboards.
His chakra information streamed back into Kairen. Kairen quietly absorbed all of it.
The most important information was Earth Release ninjutsu—standard Earth Release techniques commonly used in Iwagakure.
"Earth Release: Concealed Rock Technique recorded successfully, exp gain +60!"
"Earth Release: Earth Flow River recorded successfully, exp gain +60!"
"Earth Release: Decapitation in the Heart recorded successfully, exp gain +30!"
...
A dozen or so Earth Release techniques in total gave Kairen 1000 experience points. Together with the earlier points, he now had 3000.
After finishing the Earth Release recordings, Kairen continued absorbing Pangolin #1's intelligence data.
