Li Xing and Karin, having left Konoha Village, were now not far from it, sitting on the same fallen tree trunk, watching ants.
"Star Lord, are we just going to watch ants move their homes here indefinitely?" Karin clearly didn't understand what Li Xing was thinking.
"Just a little longer, someone will be here soon. The feng shui here is quite good." Li Xing then took out two masks, put one on Karin, and slowly put one on himself.
Before long, over a dozen ninjas wearing identical masks leaped rapidly from Konoha, followed by an old man at the very end who was not wearing a mask and had one eye wrapped in bandages.
Sensing Danzo and the Root members pursuing them, Li Xing, beneath his mask, smirked evilly, "Finally, you've come. With my true face appearing in Konoha, you couldn't possibly not know. It's time to take your dog head, old dog Danzo!"
"Star Lord, ninjas are chasing us!" Karin had already sensed their ill intentions and entered a combat state.
As soon as Karin finished speaking, the dozen or so Root members surrounded Li Xing and Karin, with Shimura Danzo close behind.
Although the Root members wore masks, Danzo recognized Li Xing at a glance as the child who had infiltrated Konoha three years ago. He didn't understand why the child had suddenly become Tsunade's disciple, but it didn't stop Danzo from wanting to eliminate Li Xing.
"If I'm not mistaken, you are that youth from back then. You're from Kumogakure, aren't you?"
Li Xing had no intention of wasting words with Danzo. He ordered Karin to deal with the Root members while he took on Danzo himself. Revenge was something he wanted to handle personally.
"Thunderclap Flash, Six Consecutive!"
In the blink of an eye, Danzo was sliced to pieces by Li Xing. However, Li Xing knew very well that Danzo possessed Sharingan, which allowed him to use forbidden jutsu like Izanagi multiple times.
"Do you underestimate me a little..." The Danzo who had just been shattered appeared unharmed behind Li Xing, simultaneously plunging a kunai into Li Xing's body.
But the Li Xing who was stabbed suddenly dissolved into petals of cherry blossoms, disappearing before Danzo. At the same time, Li Xing swung his blade horizontally from behind Danzo, decapitating him instantly.
"That's a line I should say, old dog."
Killed twice by Li Xing, Danzo reappeared unharmed behind him once more. But Li Xing was already tired of this trick and didn't plan to let Danzo use Izanagi again on the next strike.
"Six Paths of Pain, Preta Path, Human Path, Naraka Path."
Li Xing severed Danzo's right hand with a backhand swing. Simultaneously, he grabbed Danzo's skull and pulled with all his might, tearing out Danzo's soul. That wasn't all; as the soul was extracted, Li Xing also drained Danzo's chakra. At the same time, an entrance to hell appeared behind Li Xing, and he unceremoniously threw Danzo's soul into it. The Naraka Path instantly closed, and Danzo would never come out again.
"In this world, all ninjutsu and forbidden jutsu are activated by chakra. Without chakra, your Izanagi is self-defeating. Forbidden jutsu is nothing special."
Li Xing looked down at the desiccated corpse of Danzo on the ground, then raised his hand and sliced the body into pieces with several swift blows, spitting on it for good measure.
He turned to the other side. Karin had also finished her work. Every Root member had been beaten to a pulp by Karin, and none were confirmed to have survived.
"Let's go, Karin. This feels much better. Look, you're covered in blood. Let me take you for a soak in the hot springs..."
Li Xing then carried Karin and flew away from the scene, leaving behind countless dismembered corpses, pools of blood, and the thick scent of gore.
...
Not long after, Konoha discovered the gruesome scene. Tsunade, accompanied by Shizune and Shikaku Nara, and Inoichi Yamanaka, arrived at the location.
Because Li Xing had dismembered the bodies, Shizune took a long time to identify them. Upon confirming that the corpse was Shimura Danzo, Tsunade felt an inexplicable surge of pleasure, yet also anger. A high-ranking Konoha elder had died near Konoha, and not a single person had detected the battle. What kind of enemy could have overwhelmed this old man?
"Shizune, what's the situation? How did Danzo die?" Tsunade asked with a stern expression.
Although Shizune found it hard to believe, the examination report was what it was. She hesitantly replied, "Lord Tsunade, Elder Danzo... he seems to have died of fright. This symptom is the same as Orochimaru's hands – death due to the body being devoid of a soul. However, if someone had used the Reaper Death Seal, their corpse should be here. So, I believe... Elder Danzo died of fright, his soul scared away, and then dismembered by the killer!"
Everyone present was stunned by Shizune's words. Could someone like Danzo be scared to death? It was too bizarre, unless...
At this point, Shikaku Nara stepped forward, "Lord Tsunade, perhaps the killer used a ninjutsu that could extract souls, leading to this situation. However, the other Root members were beaten to death with blunt weapons, so it's likely there were two killers. And there aren't many signs of combat around Lord Danzo. Perhaps the enemy ambushed and killed Lord Danzo before that. It's possible the Root members were collectively fighting one enemy, while Lord Danzo observed from the side. When everyone thought there was only one enemy, the other killer ambushed Lord Danzo from behind. After killing Lord Danzo, they both proceeded to kill all the Root members before fleeing the scene."
Nara Shikaku's deduction was quite logical, and Tsunade largely agreed with his assessment. However, the mention of two killers made Tsunade involuntarily think of Li Xing and Karin, who had just left Konoha.
"Shizune, take some of the corpses back for verification of identities and then ensure they are properly buried. Inoichi, you will be responsible for investigating the visual memories of the intact corpses. Shikaku, you will conduct a covert investigation and find this killer. And, everything that happened here is strictly classified. No one is to leak any information!"
With that, Tsunade left, supporting her forehead, still pondering Li Xing and Karin.
"Beaten to death with blunt weapons? Fists? Super strength? Li Xing, was that you? No, it couldn't be. Li Xing is such a well-behaved child, he definitely wouldn't do this!"
...
After killing Danzo, Li Xing took Karin to a hot spring. They were now lying by a rock.
Remembering that he had joined the Akatsuki, Li Xing suddenly took out the ring Little Rain had given him previously and put it on decisively. He and Karin had taken them off in the underwater world to avoid any sudden missions from Little Rain.
The moment Li Xing put on the ring, Nagato and Little Rain, far away in Amegakure, sensed Li Xing's presence. Little Rain immediately contacted Li Xing through the ring. As soon as the connection was made, she saw Li Xing's naked body. However, to maintain the dignity of an angel, Little Rain suppressed her shyness and spoke coldly, "Li Xing, what happened to you during this time? Why did you suddenly go incommunicado?"
Li Xing hadn't expected Little Rain to contact him the moment he put on the ring. Looking at the projection of Little Rain before him, he couldn't resist poking her. "Hmm! No physical form, just an illusion. Could it be that I miss Little Rain too much?"
Seeing Li Xing's disrespectful behavior, Little Rain was furious, wishing she could fly over and unleash six trillion explosive tags on him.
"This is not an illusion. This ring is used by the Akatsuki for mutual communication. Now answer my question!"
"Not an illusion? Oh, oh, Little Rain, I just accidentally entered a barrier and was trapped for a long time. I just got out. What's wrong? Does the organization have a mission for me now?"
Little Rain sighed inwardly. This guy didn't take the Akatsuki seriously at all. If Li Xing hadn't brought the tailed beasts with him, Little Rain would never have agreed to let him join the organization.
"Since you're back, prepare yourself. The tailed beast capture plan is about to begin. You will be notified then. Don't run around again." After speaking, Little Rain ended the projection and then collapsed onto the ground, clutching her chest and gasping for breath, having stared at a man's body for too long.
On the other side, Li Xing looked at Karin, who had fallen asleep leaning against him. "Silly girl, your man was just being seen by another woman and you didn't even wake up."
"Sigh, it's going to be busy from now on..."
(I plan to go big. Since I've already started a harem, why bother with pretense? Some people think having two or three in a harem is fine, and more is just being a playboy. I don't think there's any need for pretense. A scumbag is a scumbag; no need to whitewash them to be different from those playboys. Either be single or have no one. Once you're more than single, there's no need to pretend to be a good man. Just come clean. I want to create a harem for Xing! Of course, it won't be like an emperor with three thousand beauties. If there are too many, I won't remember them.)