Naruto: Lost to Hinata on Purpose, and Now Everything's a Mess Chapter 53 53 : Using Corpses To Provide Chakra

Riku smiled and didn't take the matter to heart—he was still confident in his abilities.

With his current strength, there was no way he'd die that easily.

But this ti, he picked up the short sword Kakashi had given him.

This opponent would be the strongest he had faced so far.

After the five of them departed together, the Third Hokage stood silently in the Hokage's office, gazing toward the village gates. He remained quiet for a long ti.

In the Land of Grass, there was once a city with over 30,000 residents.

Now, it had beco a ghost town.

Or rather, a dead city.

The stench of blood perated every corner.

Blood stained the streets and alleyways.

There were no corpses left—so people had escaped, but most of the bodies had been incinerated by the remaining ninja in the city.

They knew that if left alone, the corpses would rot and spread disease.

Atop a tall tower in the center of the city stood seven ninja: three Jonin and four Chunin.

The Jonin did not use nas—only codenas: A, B, and C. The Chunin were similarly nad East, West, North, and South.

Among them, A was the strongest. Even before being promoted to Jonin, he had the strength of a Tokubetsu Jonin.

He was a survivor of the Third Great Ninja War.

He had once witnessed the battle between the Sannin and Hanzo of the Salamander.

That battle was the first ti he truly understood what top-tier power looked like.

After Pain seized control of the Hidden Rain Village, A had stolen a forbidden technique and spent more than ten years in the Land of Grass preparing in secret. Over ti, he built this group of two Jonin and five Chunin. One Chunin had died during a previous battle.

Now, standing on the tower's roof, A gazed into the distance. The scent of blood didn't faze him in the slightest.

"Three Konoha ninja are dead, but more importantly, their morale died too."

"Knowing Konoha, they won't let this go. They'll definitely send stronger shinobi next ti. Our ti is running out."

"There are still over a thousand people imprisoned in the dungeon below. East, you only need the blood of those thousand people to advance to Jonin. I'm putting them in your hands. Strengthen yourself as quickly as possible."

"After we're stronger, we leave this place."

"Next ti, we change countries."

A had the final say in this group—no one questioned his orders.

B and C, standing behind him, spoke up.

"I doubt they'll co anyti soon," said B. "They just lost three ANBU—that's a significant loss. They'll need ti to investigate. We still have ti."

A placed his hands behind his back and said calmly, "All the more reason to move early. The longer we stay, the greater the risk."

Even though B and C felt they still had ti, neither dared disobey A's orders.

They both responded, "Understood."

East stood quietly behind them, his heart pounding with excitent.

He was just a step away from Jonin-level.

At twenty-five years old, he had begun as a simple taijutsu user. Without A's secret technique, he would have remained a Genin his entire life.

But now, with promotion within reach, he couldn't contain his anticipation.

Two days later, Riku's team arrived on the outskirts of the city occupied by A's group.

Perched on a tall tree outside the walls, Yugao pointed toward the central tower.

"They're in there. There's a large prison underneath that tower—most of the city's civilians are being held there."

Riku activated his sensory abilities, then frowned.

"Yugao-san, did they notice you the mont you entered the city before?"

Yugao was montarily stunned. "Yeah. We thought it was strange—they detected us even though we were extrely cautious."

"I still don't know how they figured it out."

Kakashi stepped forward, narrowing his eyes. "Riku, are you saying there's a detection barrier surrounding the city?"

Riku nodded. "Yeah. There's a sensory barrier covering the entire city."

Kakashi's face grew grim. Yugao and Yamato looked shocked.

"That's impossible," Yamato said. "Do you know how much chakra is needed to sustain a barrier of that scale?"

"They only have three Jonin."

Kakashi had suspected the existence of a barrier but hadn't been sure how it was being powered.

Setting up a full-scale warning barrier required a massive chakra reserve and a team of skilled shinobi to maintain it.

Even Konoha's barrier system wasn't perfect.

So how could three Jonin maintain one?

Riku glanced at the eight towers spaced throughout the city and frowned.

"I think I know how they did it," he said slowly. "What these ninja need is the blood of civilians. Chakra is stored in human cells. That ans this barrier is powered by the corpses of the people they've killed. They likely have a device that extracts chakra from those corpses."

Everyone fell silent.

Even Kakashi was stunned.

"Corpses?!"

How many bodies would it take to sustain a barrier that large?

The thought sent a chill down everyone's spine.

Riku scowled. He couldn't believe the depths of their depravity.

"Look at those towers," he continued. "Don't they seem strange to you? They're made with Earth Style ninjutsu. Each one is a chakra support node for the barrier. I'd bet there are heaps of corpses inside—or buried beneath them."

Everyone was horrified by the revelation.

Even Kakashi, who had lived through the Third Shinobi War, had never seen sothing this grueso—using tens of thousands of corpses as fuel for a chakra barrier?

Yugao's expression darkened.

"Then that ans… my team and the others are among them?"

Her anger surged.

Riku nodded solemnly. "It's likely. Their chakra reserves are far greater than civilians'."

Guy clenched his fists in fury, ready to charge in.

Kakashi's voice cut through the tension. "We'll have to find a way to infiltrate. We can't trigger the detection barrier."

He still wanted to find a traditional shinobi thod.

But Riku shook his head.

"No good. This barrier covers the ground, the air—even underground routes are sealed."

"The best solution now is a direct assault."

Kakashi hesitated but found no better alternative.

He finally nodded in agreent.

Once the plan was set, Kakashi led the team of five straight toward the city gates, making no attempt to sneak in.

The mont they crossed the barrier, B—inside the tower—felt it.

He turned to A. "They're here."

A's eyes widened slightly, frowning.

"That fast? I expected them to wait at least a week. Didn't they gather intel first?"

Information was crucial to a shinobi.

With accurate intelligence and the right strategy, even a Jonin could take down a Kage-level opponent.

It had happened more than once in this world.