There is no need to elaborate on the immense power of the Divine Enlightenment effect; the terrifying wind blade from moments ago that cleanly sliced the entire Valley of the End in a complete circle is the best proof. It is just that the trigger rate of this effect seems rather low. Naruto had been in secluded cultivation for two whole days before he was fortunate enough to trigger it once.
However, even this single instance of Divine Enlightenment pushed Naruto's training progress forward by a huge margin. Right now, it could be said that Naruto had mastered the "sharpness" nature transformation of Wind Release Chakra to a proficient level.
If things continued this way, given time, if Naruto developed the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, its power might reach a level far exceeding that of the original timeline, even without the attribute bonuses of system titles!
Yet at this stage, Naruto's secluded cultivation probably had to come to a temporary end. For no other reason than the fact that the Valley of the End had been ruined by Naruto to such an extent that it was clearly no longer a suitable place for closed-door training.
His brief secluded cultivation was forced to a close. Naruto shouldered his pack, walked out of the Valley of the End, and continued his journey away from the Land of Fire.
Twenty days later, at night, Naruto had reached the northern border of the Land of Fire.
In the dead of night, walking along a secluded path, the sound of Naruto's footsteps was exceptionally clear. After walking at a steady pace for a while, Naruto suddenly frowned and came to a halt.
Almost simultaneously, a voice as erratic as a ghost echoed ominously from the dense branches of a nearby tree: "Kid, didn't your elders tell you that it's best to stay safely at home at night and not wander outside?"
Naruto glanced sideways and saw a figure standing atop the tree. Under the moonlight, that figure could be seen with a gleaming scythe slung over his shoulder, resembling a reaper claiming lives.
At first glance, Naruto almost thought he had run into Hidan, but upon closer inspection, he realized that this person had nothing whatsoever to do with Hidan.
"And here I thought who it was; turns out to be just some unknown nobody." Looking straight at the other person under the moonlight, Naruto said calmly.
"Just some unknown nobody? Heh heh... It seems I've been underestimated, too." The moment Naruto's voice faded, the man gave a low chuckle, his tone gradually dropping.
The very next second, the man's figure flashed, vanishing from the top of the tree and reappearing right in front of Naruto.
"Kid, judging by your clothes and appearance, you seem to be a ninja. And that calm and collected attitude you've maintained all along also shows you have decent ninja qualifications." Shifting the scythe from his shoulder to hold it horizontally in his hands, the man blocked Naruto's path like a beast, a faint aura of bloodlust emanating from his body. "But when all is said and done, this is simply the bravery of the ignorant. You kid, you seem to have the aptitude to become a powerful ninja, but unfortunately, I've always liked nipping geniuses in the bud."
The man's eerie tone while speaking was enough to chill any young genin to the bone, but Naruto merely regarded it as the fellow's morbid sense of humor. Twenty days had passed since he left the Valley of the End, and Naruto had encountered a total of six battles. The person in front of him was the seventh enemy Naruto faced.
A nameless fellow who didn't even make an appearance in the original story.
Though Naruto did not know the other party's identity, he did not underestimate him for that reason. After all, judging by the aura exuding from the man and the dark brown bloodstains lingering on the surface of the scythe he held, this fellow must have killed quite a few people.
And indeed, that was the case. If anyone who knew the man's identity were present right now, they would surely have been enveloped in immense terror the very instant they set eyes on him.
This man was named Yingguimaru, a rogue ninja originally from the Village Hidden in the Clouds. After leaving the village to become a rogue ninja, he frequented the underworld black market and bounty stations of the Shinobi World year-round. His temperament was exceptionally cruel and bloodthirsty, often killing with a swing of his scythe over the slightest disagreement. The number of heads decapitated by his scythe was at least eight hundred, if not a thousand.
Worse still, Yingguimaru often killed for no legitimate reason at all. Aside from cashing in valuable heads at the exchange stations, he more frequently killed purely on a whim. Because of this, within just a few years of deserting the Village Hidden in the Clouds, he had become one of its most notorious rogue ninjas, earning the moniker "Decapitator" Yingguimaru!
Hailing from the Village Hidden in the Clouds, Yingguimaru was skilled in Lightning Release and scythe techniques, and also excelled in speed. If one fought him in single combat, even an ordinary jounin would not expect to escape unscathed in his presence.
Viewed in this light, this "Decapitator" Yingguimaru could be considered the most powerful enemy Naruto had encountered thus far. No doubt he would make an excellent whetstone to hone Naruto's strength to an even greater brilliance.
Though he did not know which righteous soul had sanctioned this nameless figure in the original story, now that the man was blind enough to target him, he was destined to become a stepping stone on Naruto's path to greater strength!
Next, Yingguimaru's failure would begin with his underestimation of Naruto as just a kid!
"Kid, why aren't you speaking anymore?" At this moment, Yingguimaru gripped his scythe, looking at Naruto with a playful expression. "You might as well just stand there without moving. In a single instant, I'll slice your head right off."
While attempting to use words to strike fear into Naruto, Yingguimaru stepped closer and closer. Finally, at a certain moment, he suddenly sprang forward, flashing in front of Naruto at extreme speed. With a bloodthirsty red gleam in his eyes and a cold flash of his scythe, he slashed toward Naruto's neck!
A cruel smile stretched across the corners of Yingguimaru's mouth. Just as he waited to see Naruto separated from his head, Naruto squatted down at the critical moment to dodge the slash. Then, propping himself up with one hand, his right leg whipped out like a lash, sweeping a semicircle close to the ground and fiercely kicking Yingguimaru's ankle!
This move was none other than the self-taught version of the Konoha Whirlwind!
Struck by Naruto's "Konoha Whirlwind" when he least expected it, Yingguimaru lost his balance and was about to fall to the ground when, just before hitting the dirt, he used his scythe to prop himself up, executing a backflip to put some distance between himself and Naruto.
As expected of a notorious Cloud rogue ninja who frequently operated in dark areas like the underground black market and bounty stations, if his actual strength had been lacking, he would have been killed long ago and could not possibly have survived until now.
Landing after the backflip, the look Yingguimaru cast at Naruto was no longer the playful gaze of a cat toying with a mouse, but rather one of incredulous shock: "How could this kid possibly be so agile?"
The strike he had thought was a guaranteed hit had missed, and he had even been nearly knocked down by Naruto afterward. In Yingguimaru's view, this was simply not something a mere child could accomplish.
He had to remember that Yingguimaru himself excelled in speed. To almost be counter-controlled by his opponent in his own specialty—and by someone who was merely a kid—this result filled Yingguimaru with a brief sense of astonishment, immediately followed by boiling intent to kill and intense rage!
He had thought encountering Naruto was merely a pastime during a boring late-night hour, but now he was forced to fight a kid in earnest. For the "Decapitator" Yingguimaru, this was nothing short of supreme humiliation!
"Damn brat, you've successfully angered me." With crimson hues faintly flickering in his eyes like a malevolent spirit, Yingguimaru fixed a chilling gaze upon Naruto, consumed by fury. "Let's see how I tear you to pieces!"