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...

— Sister?! — her brother called out to her and scanned the area with his eyes for danger, but there was nothing. Not even the blades that had pierced the chest of the "Elder Brother" earlier.

— It vanished... — the woman muttered — Something tried to attack me... But I couldn't sense its killing intent...! My body just instinctively avoided the critical strike.

The "Elder" squinted, scanning the entire room with his sensory perception. No matter how hard he focused, he felt nothing. Everyone looked for the enemy, but even in the shadows, no one was hidden. Could it be possible that the "Stranger" was moving silently throughout the room, evading their gazes? He wasn't sure.

— Killing without releasing deadly intent... — the "Elder" replied, astonished — It's monstrous... Few can control themselves to that extent, to kill without deadly intent... how many must he have killed to do it like a mundane task...?

The "Devilish Siblings" possessed strange, animalistic senses when in danger, so somehow, this woman was able to avoid an unexpected attack. Just that fact alone suggests that besides the "Stranger" there are other monsters in the room...!

— Is this some kind of game...? — "Fish" thought aloud — Are you planning to finish us all off one by one...? You know that has enormous consequences, right? — he planned to sow doubt in the enemy's mind — Guess what will happen then...? The black market will collapse, all our people will start rebelling and going wild, it will be complete chaos, leading to the intervention of the Hokage, who will once again conduct a "purge," leaving no one alive...!

He estimated a 50% chance that the "Stranger" would respond, but it didn't happen. However, it didn't matter much; his purpose was to instill doubt in his mind, not to force him to speak.

Then, completely unexpectedly, "Fish" felt someone's hand on his shoulder. It was a tall old man, and a half-step behind him stood a short figure who must have reached up high to touch his shoulder. He saw her from the corner of his eye, but he couldn't turn. He was terrified, literally frozen in place, realizing that the "Stranger" wasn't hiding somewhere in the room where human eyes couldn't see but was constantly moving behind their backs...! In their own shadows...!

First, he killed the "Elder Brother," then he wanted to finish off the woman from the "Devilish Siblings" using a trick with a metal wire for Shurikenjutsu. And now he was literally behind him, from the moment he tried to finish off the previous victim.

He didn't even try to kill him... The "Stranger" was just toying with them the whole time...! If he really wanted to kill them all, they wouldn't be alive by now!

It took a moment for the "Elder" to realize something was amiss. The fear of "Fish" was all too palpable in his senses.

At this moment, everyone's attention was drawn to a new voice that came from behind "Fish's" figure.

— Just that...? Don't worry, your death won't have major consequences, except for the loss of your consciousness. I crushed the butterfly effect in my own fist...

Without hesitation, the "Elder" silently drew a curved blade from his sleeve and slashed it through the air towards the "Stranger" A quiet swoosh reached Naruto's and "Fish's" ears, but the former disappeared into the shadow again, leaving his prey alive.

The room was wide with only a few openings for light, but tonight's night was truly dark, with the moonlight obscured by fog and clouds in the sky. It was the perfect setting for the monster that was the "Stranger" to carry out a massacre on the leaders of the black market...!

— Are you okay...? — "Elder" asked his friend.

— ...no, he just laid his hand on my shoulder — "Fish" wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but the awareness that the "Stranger" could easily kill them at any moment prevented him from doing so.

— It was... a child... — "Dragon" replied incredulously — Or a dwarfish man, but more likely the former...

"Nameless" spoke with his mechanical voice from behind the mask — So you were right after all, your intellectual abilities aren't so bad — he mocked "Fish," but the latter didn't react to the taunt.

The woman, who was close to death just moments ago, growled angrily — You're a coward for not being able to fight us face to face, brat...?!

Her pulse was elevated, and emotions were in chaos; for a moment, she was even scared, something she hadn't felt in a long time. It made her ashamed of herself and involuntarily filled her with immense anger towards the "Stranger".

— It's pointless — "Elder" tried to calm her down — You know it's not a fair fight for him, so provocation won't do anything for you. Calm down and watch your backs. He's playing with us, or he's unable to finish us all off. I pray for the latter.

People who play with their opponents can essentially be three types of people. They either underestimate their opponent's strength, are too confident that they can defeat them and know they won't be harmed, or it's a trick because they're too weak to quickly eliminate the enemy.

"Elder" quickly analyzed what "Fish" said about the child, who is most likely the "Stranger". He seeks revenge on "Fish" for sending assassins after him, killed the "Elder Brother," and attempted to eliminate the "Devilish Siblings," specifically that ugly woman. They were every other person to the left of the table, "Stranger" bypassed "Nameless," a guy from the "Devilish Siblings," and "Dragon," so now it's "Nameless" next? He's next after bypassing "Elder" and the already dead "Elder Brother." That's how it should go if the "Stranger" intends to eliminate them all in his "game."

No, wait. If we assume this isn't a game, and the "Stranger" evidently doesn't plan to kill everyone, only selected individuals, then the next one will be...

At this moment, a tanto blade pierced the neck of the second member of the "Devilish Siblings." The second death occurred instantly; the man wasn't even aware of it.

— What a fool, I told him to watch his back... — "Elder" couldn't help but curse the man.

— Apparently, he doesn't have as good senses as his ugly sister — "Stranger" commented and didn't immediately hide in the darkness.

In an instant, he was attacked by "Nameless" and "Dragon," who didn't give him a chance to disappear.

It might have looked strange because two adult men rushed with weapons at a child no more than twelve years old, if not for the fact that the child had just killed two of their "partners."

Two blades pierced the air with the aim of cutting through the body, but were easily avoided by Naruto. The defense didn't just rely on blocking and parrying attacks, but also on evasions. Naruto changed position and moved from behind "Nameless" and slashed his body, but the tanto blade blocked his path.

"Nameless" immediately reacted and defended himself with the blade, facing away from the opponent.

"Not bad," Naruto complimented as he simultaneously dodged the "Dragon's" attack.

...

"The Devilish Siblings" were a duo of a brother and sister sharing a common pseudonym. They had the same skills at a similar level, so they couldn't complement each other in different areas.

Besides gender, they were the same, almost...

The brother had slightly more Physical Energy than the sister, making his body and strikes stronger, while the sister had more Spiritual Energy, giving her better senses than her brother. It wasn't a significant difference, but it led to "Stranger" finishing off her brother.

She managed to evade his attack, but her brother didn't.

In disbelief, she caught her brother's bloodied body while the exchange of blows between the trio continued beside her.

Her only family and the only person who knew her name besides the silly pseudonym... is dead...

When they were both ten years old, they lived in a relative's house. Their parents abandoned them, and a distant uncle took them in, but he showed no interest in them whatsoever.

She couldn't understand it well herself and didn't know when it started, but at some point in their childhood, strange desires began to emerge in their minds. And so, without much hesitation, they killed their uncle. He was practically a stranger to them, so they felt no attachment to him. Then they devoured his raw body.

Cannibalism could enhance their skills without rigorous training. Of course, they had to train to get used to the new strength, but they didn't have to undergo murderous training like other people to strengthen themselves.

They did it in secret for almost twenty years and managed to reach the level of a Jounin, solely by filling their empty stomachs. It was pleasurable and useful at the same time, but their faces started to change. If once they could look ordinary, now they were ugly, repulsive.

Probably, that was the only consequence of cannibalism.

The sister never loved anyone and wasn't attached to anyone; she couldn't feel warm emotions, sometimes even treating her own brother coldly. But now she felt tears streaming down her face.

His death... she never thought it would be so unpleasant...

"I'll kill him...!" she growled.

Inserting her hand into her mouth, she vomited out the hidden weapon and lunged at "The Stranger." Her attack was sudden, and "The Dragon," unable to perceive it, was accidentally injured, while Naruto dodged at the right moment.

"Dragon" hissed and stepped back a few meters. "Have you gone mad...?!" he growled angrily.

However, she paid him no attention and charged at "Stranger." Naruto was slightly surprised, but he liked it; this chick was quite something, though definitely disgusting. She attacked unconventionally, without any fighting style, just effective strikes based on experience from many battles.

"Nameless" stepped back from this crazy woman, giving her space to fight. He didn't want to get injured by that blade covered in vomit. At the same time, he looked at "Dragon" with a hint of pity.

"Dragon" was the strongest among them all, but even then, he was injured by such a monster of a woman. Maybe she didn't match "Dragon" in raw strength like her brother, but when they were enraged, they resembled monsters that were hard to kill.

Naruto slashed his blade upwards, causing deep wounds on her chest, neck, and chin. Blood gushed from her body, and the woman hissed loudly. Even if she created her own unconventional style based on the experience of many battles, it couldn't match Naruto's style on any level.

Naruto quickly found an invisible flaw in her stance and delivered a critical blow.

The woman grabbed her neck, trying to stop the bleeding, and continued to fight Naruto. She tried her best, but with each moment, more wounds appeared on her body.

At one point, Naruto disappeared from her sight. It was a moment; she performed an attack, her eyes momentarily darkened due to blood loss, but quickly returned to their previous sharpness, and he was nowhere to be found.

"Behind you...!" she heard "Elder" shout, and at the same time, her body bent at a strange angle. She barely managed to avoid it. Her body moved on its own, faster than her own conscious thoughts.

She backed off, catching her breath, and "Nameless" replaced her. In an instant, using the Body Flicker Technique, he delivered a slash aimed at "Stranger's" neck.

Naruto barely avoided it, and a thin line appeared on his neck, from which a few drops of blood flowed. "Nameless" almost had him.

"Nameless" slashed the air several times, and the metal wires snapped under his blade. If he hadn't noticed them, they could have shredded his body. It was a special type of wire for Shurikenjutsu, which was very thin when stretched properly, and its sharpness could easily cut through flesh and bone.

The faster someone moved, the easier and painlessly they cut the body into small pieces of meat. They were rarely used because they could even cut the hands of the person deploying these wires. "Stranger" had to be well acquainted with them to spread them so easily throughout the room.

Naruto increased his blood circulation over six times and reinforced every cell of his body with Chakra. Thanks to this, he was able to reach the level of a middle-class Chunin's strength and, with the help of his advanced Taijutsu, could barely match a Jounin. 

It was dark, and he hoped that no one would discover how much he was struggling in the battle with them. His body trembled during the exchange of attacks, and his hands and fingers lost sensation. He hadn't eliminated "The Elder Brother" and the male member of "The Devilish Siblings" for nothing, hoping that their perception of him would now change for the worse. In the current situation, he had a mental and psychological advantage over them! However, this also meant they were very cautious towards him.

In the exchange of cuts, Naruto combined their blades with his Taijutsu. He delivered several simple blows to "Nameless" to disorient him and take the lead in their duel.

Sensing the perfect opportunity, Naruto directed his blade towards the opponent's gap, but he vanished, using the Flash Body Technique, and reappeared behind Naruto.

Annoying, but elevating this fight to a higher level, which satisfies Naruto. The fight is meant to be a dance, and "Nameless" has something Naruto seeks in his opponents.