Two years later.
Deep within a vast forest, towering ancient trees stretched endlessly into the distance while dense undergrowth spread wildly across the earth below. The humid air carried the scent of blood and broken wood, and the silence of the forest was repeatedly shattered by frantic footsteps crashing through the branches.
Three shinobi wearing Kumogakure forehead protectors were fleeing desperately through the trees.
Their dark skin and powerful physiques marked them as elite Cloud ninja, but the terror written across their faces completely destroyed any trace of dignity or composure they once possessed.
Their bodies were riddled with wounds of varying severity. So cuts were shallow, while others were deep enough to expose flesh and bone. Blood soaked their clothes, dripped from their fingertips, and stained the bark beneath their feet crimson as they fled in panic.
"Run… run faster! That thing is a monster! A monster that isn't even human!!"
The voice ca out trembling with fear.
The instant his words fell, three violent crescent-shaped slashes suddenly erupted from behind them.
"Boom!!"
The attacks narrowly missed their bodies, but the trees beneath their feet were instantly sliced apart like fragile tofu. Massive trunks split cleanly into several pieces before crashing toward the forest floor.
The three Kumogakure shinobi nearly lost their footing.
When they saw those enormous trees severed so effortlessly, the terror in their eyes deepened even further.
That kind of swordsmanship was completely beyond human understanding.
"Split up! At least one of us might survive that way!!"
The Kumogakure ninja in the middle shouted hoarsely to the other two.
Among the three of them, his injuries were the lightest. His speed was also the fastest, making him the most likely to escape alive.
But before the other two could even respond—
His body suddenly froze in midair.
The expression on his face remained twisted with panic.
Then—
"Thud."
His corpse dropped lifelessly from the tree.
!!
The two remaining Kumogakure ninja felt their pupils shrink violently into needle-thin points.
Cold air rushed straight into their lungs.
Although they had already suspected it…
They still could not believe it when it actually happened.
The Konoha Anbu pursuing them had never been serious from the start.
He had been playing with them.
Like a predator toying leisurely with dying prey.
And they were nothing more than terrified rats struggling desperately for survival.
"Swish!!"
At the exact mont their minds froze in fear, a black figure appeared soundlessly atop a nearby tree branch.
An overwhelming aura of death descended upon the forest.
The man wore a long black coat. Three katana hung quietly at his waist, and a cat-faced Anbu mask covered his face, a deep blade scar running across one side of it.
He simply stood there.
Yet the two surviving Kumogakure shinobi felt their entire bodies stiffen uncontrollably.
It was as if invisible blades were already pressed against their throats.
"Th-The Three-Sword Death God!!"
One of them finally scread out the title in horror.
Recently, this na had beco a nightmare throughout Kumogakure.
The Three-Sword Death God.
A Konoha executioner who specialized in slaughtering Cloud shinobi.
No one knew his real identity. But everyone knew one thing—Those who encountered him either died on the spot or were crippled for life.
Zoro did not move, he rely stood there silently beneath the dim forest light.
Yet the two Kumogakure ninja felt an indescribable pressure crushing down on them. Sweat poured from their foreheads, and even breathing beca difficult.
Their instincts scread at them not to move.
Because the instant they did—
Their heads would leave their shoulders, their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
One of the Kumogakure ninja gritted his teeth violently, forcibly suppressing the fear consuming his mind.
Blue lightning chakra erupted across his body.
Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
Even if he died here, he absolutely could not allow Kumogakure's intelligence to fall into Konoha's hands.
With a furious roar, he kicked off the tree trunk and charged forward.
But the instant his body left the branch—
He froze in midair exactly like the previous ninja.
The only difference was that the earlier man had died instantly.
This ti, however, the Kumogakure shinobi could clearly feel what had happened.
Three attacks.
In a single instant, three separate slashes had struck his body simultaneously.
And every single one had perfectly avoided his vital points.
"Pfft!!"
Three bloody lines exploded across his dark skin.
The tendons in both his arms and legs were severed instantly.
The pain hit him like a tidal wave.
His entire body collapsed helplessly from the air before smashing heavily into the ground below.
Now, only one Kumogakure ninja remained standing atop the tree.
He stared at the figure before him in utter despair.
This was not a battle.
It was execution.
Slowly, hopelessly, he closed his eyes and waited for death to arrive.
But several seconds passed.
No pain ca.
Confusion appeared on his face.
Then, beside his ear, a calm and indifferent voice sounded.
"It's been a long ti."
The surviving Kumogakure jōnin froze.
His eyes widened beneath the terror.
He was absolutely certain this was his first ti eting the Three-Sword Death God.
After all, nearly everyone who encountered this monster either died or beca crippled.
So why did this man speak as though they already knew each other?
"Don't recognize ?"
A cold sneer ford beneath the mask.
Then, for the first ti during a mission, Zoro slowly removed it.
The Kumogakure jōnin stared blankly at the handso and resolute face revealed beneath the mask.
For a mont, his mind went completely blank.
"Oh? Still don't rember?" Zoro said coldly. "Fine. I'll give you a hint."
"The Forest of Death."
The mont those words entered his ears, the Kumogakure jōnin's expression changed drastically.
"It was you!!"
His voice was filled with disbelief.
No matter how hard he tried, he could never have imagined it.
The terrifying Three-Sword Death God who now haunted Kumogakure's nightmares—
Was actually the sa Konoha genin he had once failed to assassinate.
"Correct." Zoro's voice remained calm and icy. "Unfortunately, there's no reward."
As his words fell, Zoro casually drew one of the swords at his waist.
A cold flash swept through the air.
The Kumogakure jōnin's face twisted violently.
"AAARGH!!"
An agonizing scream echoed through the forest.
Veins bulged across his face as unbearable pain flooded through his entire body. It felt as though his skull had been split apart alive.
His eyes turned bloodshot with hatred as he glared viciously at Zoro, who calmly put his mask back on without another glance.
That bastard…
He had crippled his second brother!!
The overwhelming pain finally shattered the last of his consciousness.
The Kumogakure jōnin collapsed unconscious on the spot.
So ti later—
Several Anbu shinobi wearing cat masks flickered into the area using the Body Flicker Technique, appearing beside Zoro one after another.
"Captain, the remaining targets have already been cleaned up."
After reporting respectfully, the Anbu mbers imdiately began handling the battlefield with practiced efficiency.
So disposed of corpses.
Others erased traces of battle.
The crippled Kumogakure shinobi were dragged aside like broken corpses awaiting interrogation.
"Leave that one alive. Dispose of the rest."
Zoro casually pointed toward the unconscious Kumogakure jōnin whose "second brother" had just been destroyed.
There was still intelligence that needed to be extracted from him.
After giving the order, Zoro turned and left without another word.
Among the squad, a white-haired Anbu ninja wearing a cat mask silently watched Zoro's departing figure.
The expression hidden beneath his mask beca sowhat complicated.
"Captain's getting stronger and stronger…"
"Seriously. That Kumogakure elite jōnin didn't even have the chance to fight back."
"Not just that. The commander chased three people by himself, and they ran like frightened rats."
The two Anbu mbers nearby spoke in voices filled with admiration and envy as they watched Zoro disappear into the forest.
Rumor had it that their commander had joined Anbu only one year ago before being promoted directly to captain.
And now—
He had already beco the leader of Anbu's execution division.
"Enough. Clean up the battlefield."
Kakashi spoke coldly, interrupting the others.
Back when he first joined Anbu, he had been assigned directly under Zoro's command.
At the ti, he had no idea that his captain was Uchiha Zoro.
Only after witnessing those terrifying sword techniques with his own eyes did he finally realize the truth.
And now… Uchiha Zoro had already beco soone he could only chase from behind.
Compared to him, even Kakashi's own reputation as a genius seed dim and insignificant.
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