The wind rustled through the forest, causing the leaves to rustle softly.

Within the forest near Konoha Village, Su Xiao had already been waiting for eight hours.

On the trunk of a towering tree, Su Xiao tossed a bullet in his hand, while the Spider Queen was placed beside him.

A Bai Jue clone emerged from the trunk, revealing its upper body.

"That guy is here, over there."

Bai Jue pointed in a direction, and Su Xiao took out a small Soul Crystal. As the Soul Crystal shattered in his hand, a stream of black energy flowed down his arm, absorbing the crystal’s fragments and growing more substantial.

Su Xiao placed the bullet into the black energy, which gradually fused into the bullet, causing it to be covered with black patterns.

These black patterns were made from the Power of the Demon. Su Xiao was using an ability that appeared when the Demon’s Mark reached Level 10: Demon’s Gaze.

Level 10 Additional Ability

Demon’s Gaze (Active): When performing a long-range attack, the power of the demon can be infused into bullets, arrows, and other weapons for a long-range attack, adding 80% of the final damage value as true damage to the attack (for example, if the bullet hits the enemy with a final damage of 100 points, Demon’s Gaze (Active) will add an additional 80 points of true damage).

Note: Each use of Demon’s Gaze (Active) consumes one small Soul Crystal, which can transform into the power of the demon needed to cover the bullet.

Note: Cooldown time for Demon’s Gaze (Active) is 72 hours.

...

Su Xiao loaded the bullet transformed by the power of the demon into the barrel of the Spider Queen. He held the Spider Queen level in front of him and pulled the bolt to load it.

The optical infrared detector was turned on from 4 to 28 times, and Su Xiao adjusted the scope to 15 times, using the thermal sensing feature of the scope to search for his target.

Three red phantom images first came into view, and Su Xiao adjusted the scope to continue searching.

Soon, a staggering figure with one arm remaining appeared within range.

Distance 1736 meters, 107 obstructions, all trees, angle 42.3°.

Su Xiao began calculating more precise values, such as wind speed, air humidity, and temperature. Nearly two kilometers away, these values could not have the slightest error.

Su Xiao’s finger slowly rested on the trigger, with nothing else in his eyes but the enemy 1737 meters away.

The enemy’s moving speed was very slow and somewhat erratic, and at this distance, the bullet required flight time. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Su Xiao took several deep breaths to ensure the oxygen levels in his blood, and his heartbeat gradually slowed.

Thump.

Su Xiao’s heart beat, causing the red crosshair on the sight to twitch minutely. At this distance, an error of 0.01 millimeters when aiming could lead to a 20 to 40-centimeter deviation between the bullet and the target.

Once the crosshair drift caused by the heartbeat vanished, Su Xiao pulled the trigger.

Bam!

Flames burst from the gun’s muzzle as a bullet left the barrel, and cracks appeared on the tree trunk beneath Su Xiao’s feet.

The 17.36mm bullet left the muzzle, stirring ripples in the air along its path. A spiral airflow vortex formed behind the bullet, as any bullet exiting the muzzle spins rapidly to reduce air resistance.

The already reddened bullet pierced through a tree, easily passing through as if it was paper.

As the bullet left the barrel, the outsider felt a chill throughout his body, causing his steps to halt momentarily.

With a splintering sound, red and white liquid splattered along with shattered skull fragments, and a half-shattered corpse thudded onto the decaying leaves and branches.

Sunlight sifted through the gaps in the foliage, illuminating a five-meter radius filled with splattered blood and flesh.

One shot, blown apart, from a distance of 1737 meters.

Nearly two kilometers away, Su Xiao pulled the bolt of the Spider Queen, sending a hot shell casing flying.

"Is this the ninja’s new technique?"

A male voice came from a nearby tree trunk, belonging to Jia Tengduan.

"Dead people shouldn’t meddle in others’ affairs."

Su Xiao put away the Spider Queen, feeling quite pleased. The frustrating hunting mission was finally complete, and only one word could describe his current mood: satisfaction. The outsider had been exceptionally slippery.

[Hint: The Hunter has completed the hunting mission.]

[Evaluation in progress for this hunting mission...]

[Evaluation complete, final rating: A+.]

[This rating will significantly impact the comprehensive evaluation at the end of this Derivative World.]

[You have received 5 Golden Honor Medals.]

[You now have a total of: 7 Golden Honor Medals.]

...

Su Xiao leaped down from the tree trunk, heading towards the vicinity of the outsider’s corpse. Although the chance of obtaining a Scarlet Card was slim, it was still worth checking.

Sure enough, aside from the scattered flesh, Su Xiao found nothing else.

"Woof."

Bubu Wang suddenly barked, indicating that an enemy was approaching.

"How many?"

Just as Su Xiao finished speaking, the sound of a dozen whistling breezes approached, led by a voluptuous female ninja who exuded undeniable mature feminine charm.

Behind her were two women and one man, followed by a dozen Anbu from Konoha.

The leading woman’s name was Tsunade Senju, the current Fifth Hokage. Following her were her three trusted aides, Tsunade’s two disciples, Shizune and Sakura Haruno, and the male ninja named Nara Shikaku, known as a strategist of Konoha with high intelligence.

"Members of the Akatsuki Organization, White, Night."

Tsunade’s voice was filled with bitterness when she spoke Su Xiao’s alias, understandably so, as Su Xiao and Nagato had previously wiped out Konoha.

"Unexpectedly alert."

Su Xiao hadn’t anticipated Konoha detecting so quickly. The sniping point he chose was at a considerable distance from Konoha.

It wasn’t that Su Xiao was exposed, but that perception type ninjas lurking at other mental nodes had been revealed, leading the Konoha group to hear the gunshots and locate the site.

Konoha had been razed to the ground not long ago, so their vigilance was naturally high. Another destruction like that would be catastrophic.

"Kill him."

Tsunade gave the order without hesitation, but Su Xiao had no intention of engaging in battle now, being too close to Konoha.

A dozen Anbu Ninja rushed forward first, but just then, a figure jumped down from above, blocking Su Xiao’s way.

The figure had light blue hair and pitch-black pupils, with faint cracks visible on its cheeks.

Seeing this figure, Tsunade’s amber eyes constricted to the extreme as memories flooded back to her mind.

"Indeed, bringing him near Konoha was the right choice."

Su Xiao left Jia Tengduan to block the Konoha group, while he and Bubu Wang charged into the forest behind.

Tsunade felt a deep sense of conflict. She realized what was happening: this was the Edo Tensei technique developed by her grandfather, and Jia Tengduan was once her lover.

Knowing the frightening potency of Jia Tengduan’s Art of Spirit Transformation, Tsunade knew she could counter him, but her disciples or subordinates could not, risking casualties due to the technique.

If she didn’t personally pursue Su Xiao, her subordinates would be doomed. She already knew how the Fourth Raikage and Fifth Mizukage died.

Tsunade now had two choices: first, personally pursuing Su Xiao while having her subordinates hold off Jia Tengduan. However, she couldn’t be sure if there were other Edo Tensei dead ahead.

In comparison, Tsunade valued the safety of Konoha over pursuing Su Xiao, as she was the Hokage of the village and could not be influenced by personal emotions.

Tsunade quickly decided, directing her focus on "dealing" with Jia Tengduan while sending two Anbu skilled in stealth to track Su Xiao from afar.

"Tsunade, I never thought I would see you again."

Jia Tengduan suddenly spoke, as sharp as a knife stabbing into Tsunade’s heart.

Tsunade remained silent, neither able nor daring to converse with Jia Tengduan, fearing she might hesitate.

Tsunade leaped from a tree, diving toward Jia Tengduan, whose body creaked as he resisted Dou’s control.

Boom!

Tsunade shattered Jia Tengduan with a monstrous punch, causing the ground to crumble, revealing a horrid pit—the terror of the Monster Strength Fist.

Gray debris scattered as the shattered Jia Tengduan gradually reconstituted.

Tsunade knew that this wouldn’t resolve the Edo Tensei, but she was buying time for a sealing ninja to arrive.

"You bastards, to what degree will you desecrate the lost souls of the dead!"

An angry roar echoed through the forest, followed by successive explosions.