Shin stared in the direction the Root Ninjas had escaped, his fists clenched so tightly that they trembled faintly.
Veins bulged along the back of his hands, while intense fury burned within his amber eyes, violent enough to seem ready to erupt at any moment.
"Almost… I almost died."
Yamato watched his Disciple's expression, and his heart sank heavily.
He stepped forward slowly, his tone carrying both concern and gravity as he tried to calm him down.
"Shin, you—"
"Enough, Yamato-sensei." Shin abruptly raised a hand and cut him off.
He forcibly suppressed the storm of emotions raging inside him before slowly turning his head.
The usual detached calmness had completely vanished from his amber eyes, replaced only by a chilling ferocity that he no longer bothered to conceal.
"I'm not some ignorant child," Shin said coldly. "I know exactly what happened tonight."
Yamato fell silent.
Looking into those icy eyes, every word of comfort he had prepared became lodged in his throat.
How could he possibly not understand? After all… that's the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Transfer Jutsu.
Seeing Yamato remain silent, Shin did not continue the topic.
Instead, he turned around and slowly shifted his gaze toward the severely wounded Root Jonin Tanuki lying in a pool of blood nearby.
A horrifying, bloody hole pierced through the man's chest, and blood still bubbled weakly from the wound.
The eyes visible beneath the cracked tanuki mask still moved faintly, staring at Shin with pain, unwillingness, and hatred.
Shin raised his hand indifferently.
The familiar high-pitched hum of chakra rang out once again as a bright blue Rasengan instantly formed in his palm.
Yamato's expression changed immediately.
"Shin, wait!" He stepped forward quickly, his voice urgent. "We need him alive! He's an important witness—"
"Yamato-sensei." Shin interrupted him without even turning around.
"I am merely eliminating an enemy ninja who infiltrated the Land of Fire and attacked a Konoha shinobi."
Yamato's outstretched hand froze midair.
The unfinished words died in his throat instantly. He understood the hidden meaning behind those words immediately.
If he stopped Shin from killing this man, then it would be no different from admitting the attacker's true identity.
But if he allowed it… Then tonight's incident would officially become nothing more than a foreign ninja assaulting a Konoha shinobi within the Land of Fire.
Yamato looked at Shin's back, which radiated cold killing intent, and after a long silence, he tried one final time to persuade him. His voice was low and heavy.
"Shin… I understand how you feel."
"But if you hand him over to the Village, Hokage-sama will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly and give you justice."
Shin slowly turned his head and glanced at Yamato faintly.
That calm gaze struck harder than any ninjutsu. Yamato instantly fell silent again.
There was no expectation of fairness within those eyes. Only cold indifference.
It was as if Shin was silently asking him a question: If fairness truly worked… then why had tonight happened at all?
Yamato's lips moved slightly, but no words came out in the end. Slowly, he lowered the hand he had raised and stood there in silence.
Shin withdrew his gaze, his heart utterly cold.
'Fairness? I don't need it. Right now… I only want to kill.' His thoughts were ice cold. 'Besides… Third Hokage… you're already old.'
'What I've lost tonight… I'll reclaim myself.'
With those thoughts, Shin ignored Yamato behind him and walked directly toward the heavily injured Tanuki.
The man was already drifting in and out of consciousness from blood loss and agony. Standing over him, Shin looked down silently.
"Thank you," Shin said quietly, his voice cold enough to freeze the air itself. "You taught me something important tonight."
"In the ninja world… letting your guard down for even a moment can get you killed."
He slowly crouched down.
The Rasengan in his right hand emitted an even sharper, harsher hum as it slowly approached the cracked tanuki mask.
"A moment ago, you got careless, and I nearly killed you. The next moment, I relaxed for a second… and your comrades almost took my life instead."
His eyes were colder than steel. "This lesson… I'll remember it well."
A weak wheezing sound escaped from the Jonin's throat.
The eyes beneath the mask no longer held hatred. Only despair… and the realization that death had arrived.
"As thanks…" Shin's voice became even colder. "I'll send you on your way."
The moment his words fell, he slammed the Rasengan down without hesitation.
The spiraling sphere of chakra smashed directly into the tanuki mask.
BANG!!!
A horrifying cracking sound exploded through the battlefield alongside a sickening dull impact.
The sturdy mask shattered instantly.
The skull beneath it followed a split second later.
Like a watermelon struck by a hammer, the head deformed violently before exploding apart under the Rasengan's destructive force.
Blood, bone fragments, and shredded brain matter sprayed in every direction as the spiraling chakra tore everything apart mercilessly.
The headless corpse convulsed violently twice before finally going still.
Shin slowly stood back up. He casually shook the blood and gore from his hand, his face expressionless.
Only his dark eyes remained—deeper and colder than the surrounding night itself.
He glanced once at the silent Yamato before turning his gaze toward the distant direction of Konoha Village.
"Let's go, Yamato-sensei. Our mission should be complete by now. It's time to return… and make our report."
Yamato nodded silently.
He looked once more at the mangled corpse on the ground, his expression complicated beyond words.
Then he turned his gaze toward Shin again.
After a long pause, he said nothing at all and simply began walking back toward Hozumi Village in silence.
Shin followed behind him. But just before leaving the blood-soaked battlefield completely, his footsteps paused slightly.
He turned his head for one final glance. His dark eyes landed once more upon the headless corpse lying motionless in the mud.
Only after several seconds did he finally turn away and leave. The two figures disappeared into the darkness together.
And carried faintly by the night wind came Shin's cold whisper: "Heh…Danzo…You've already stepped onto the path of death."