Naruto: The Shadow Lord of the Nara Clan

The wind swept past me, chilling me to the bone.

Suzaku Nara never imagined that his operation would fail.

When he discovered that all four Root ninjas had been killed by Nara Shikakage, he knew something was wrong.

So he immediately decided to abandon his teammates and escape alone.

As long as he survives, Lu Ying is doomed!

Danzo could never forgive the killing of a Root ninja.

Therefore, he didn't need to fight Lu Ying head-on at all.

Burying his fear deep within, Nara Suzaku ran forward without looking back.

But he stopped very soon.

Nara Suzaku stared at the four figures blocking his way with a grim expression, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes.

He now has a clear understanding of the details of these things.

They are all shadows of dead Root ninjas!

—What kind of secret technique is this?

—He can even control the shadows of the dead!

—Could it be that the clan leader's lineage possesses some powerful ninjutsu that they are keeping secret from the clan?

At that moment, Suzaku Nara felt both extreme envy and fear.

Because he sensed that the "person" who had been chasing him had arrived.

Clenching his teeth, Nara Suzaku slowly turned to look at the Sharingan that filled him with fear, and opened his mouth bitterly:

"Uchiha... Shisui..."

He had already guessed the identity of this Uchiha man.

If it were just facing Root ninjas and Shikakage, Nara Suzaku would be confident that he could break through their encirclement.

But with the addition of Uchiha Shisui, who was almost his natural counter, even the most arrogant Suzaku Nara couldn't help but feel a sense of despair.

—If I hadn't come to cause trouble for Nara Shikakage…

—If I hadn't let my son threaten Nara Shikamaru…

For a moment, Suzaku Nara was filled with regret.

But in the end, all the emotions came back to one name.

—Uchiha Shisui.

Even if he had never been at odds with Nara Shikakage before, he would still come to the Naka River to find Uchiha Shisui's body in order to carry out the mission assigned by Danzo.

Then, he will inevitably face the same situation.

So, is this my fate?

—Just because I sided with Danzo?

At that moment, Suzaku Nara thought of the past.

Back then, he and Shikaku had a good relationship; back then, the clan leader valued him highly; back then...

Everything changed after I joined Danzo's group.

but……

"I had no choice."

Nara Suzaku exhaled a breath of stale air, his eyes becoming incredibly resolute.

He must live!

……

A few minutes later.

Suzaku Nara was severely injured and leaned against a tree with difficulty.

He was panting heavily, looking down at the ground, his vision blurred by blood.

Even though he tried his best, he couldn't escape from Shisui's grasp.

Moreover, Shisui is not the only enemy.

Whoosh whoosh!

Seven figures appeared in front of him.

Six of them were the shadow soldiers who were constantly chasing him.

At this moment, they were surrounding a tall and upright young man.

Suzaku Nara swallowed a mouthful of rust, a slight smile playing on his lips:

"Lu Ying, you've finally appeared."

Lu Ying looked down at him expressionlessly.

"Uncle Zhuque, after all, you are a well-known expert in the clan. It wouldn't be good if you struggled to your death and took me with you."

Upon hearing this, Nara Suzaku's last shred of hope vanished completely, and he glared at the deer shadow through gritted teeth:

"Heh, I never expected that the young master of our Nara clan would be so afraid of death."

No one is unafraid of death.

Upon hearing this, Nara Suzaku paused, his expression becoming exceptionally complex.

Nara Shikakage was far more outstanding than he had imagined.

Based on his more than forty years of experience, he is 90% certain that Lu Ying's achievements are definitely greater than Lu Jiu's!

Furthermore, given the status of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the position of Hokage might not be out of the question for Shikakage...

If, if Lu Ying could have been born thirty, twenty, or even ten years earlier!

He would not choose to follow Danzo, but instead choose to bet all his wealth on Shikakage!

--pity……

With a sigh in his heart, Nara Suzaku suddenly widened his eyes and completed the secret technique hand seals with lightning speed.

"Secret Technique: Shadow Stitching Technique!"

In an instant, his shadow suddenly extended, transforming into a thorny blade that rapidly rose from the ground.

In less than the blink of an eye, Lu Ying was pierced through by the Shadow Assassin.

Watching the 'Nara Deer Shadow' dissipate into chakra and disappear, Nara Suzaku gave a helpless bitter smile:

"you……"

Before he could finish speaking, Number Two flashed in front of him and ended Nara Suzaku's life with a single palm strike.

[Slaying Ninja - Suzaku Nara]

[Gaining experience...]

【get……】

Only after confirming that there was no threat in the surroundings did the deer shadow, which had been hiding in the shadows, step out.

He glanced at Suzaku's corpse and curled his lip in disapproval:

"Luckily, I was cautious."

"The secret technique unleashed in this desperate gamble was so fast that I almost couldn't react."

"If I hadn't used my shadow clone to test him, I might have actually gotten hurt."

"But in the end, shadow clones are still more useful, since even Kaguya can't tell them apart."

After declaring victory, Lu Ying replenished his MP and unleashed three consecutive Shadow Extractions, finally capturing Nara Suzaku's shadow.

Then came the task of cleaning up the battlefield.

The fact that the Root organization came knocking on her door made Lu Ying realize the importance of handling clues.

So, after spending a full hour cleaning up the traces with seven shadow soldiers, he returned to the camp, exhausted.

The camp was almost completely destroyed, but Lu Ying still managed to find a hammock that was barely usable.

He plopped down on the bed and forced himself to check his haul for the night.

He killed five people, including a Jonin!

The surge of experience points propelled him to level 15.

I leveled up seven times in one night. I was happy, but not that happy.

Because the level itself is not important, but the attributes it brings are.

Based on Lu Ying's reflections over this period and tonight, the ranking system is far too inflated.

If he is just an average adult (i.e., all attributes are 10), not counting the attributes gained from daily tasks, his all attributes would be around 25 at level 15.

And this is similar to his attributes when he first obtained the system.

In other words, an ordinary person at level 15 has physical abilities comparable to a Chunin, and because they don't know ninjutsu, they are unlikely to be a match for a Chunin.

It's estimated that you'd need to be level 20 to be able to fight a Chunin to a standstill.

Therefore, Lu Ying believes that level is not important, but the five attribute points gained from leveling up are indeed very valuable.

After happily checking his new attributes, Lu Ying looked at the skills section.

Many skills, such as Shadow Arts (binding, imitation, and strangulation), have reached the LV2 level.

They also unexpectedly acquired a skill stone – [Runic Stone: Shadow Stitching Technique].

After thinking for a moment, Lu Ying put it away, deciding to use it later.

He has a guess that needs to be verified.

After casually selling the weapons, clothing, and other equipment dropped by the Root ninjas, Shikakage finally looked at what he had been most looking forward to.

Shadow Lord

Current compatibility: 9%

[Career Quest - Phase One]

Commanding the Shadows: 7/5 (Completed)

[Unlock Shadow Slots 5 → 20]

[Currently open: Phase Two of the Career Quest]

【…】