Just as the last enemy's final thought before dying had been one of deep unwillingness, the outcome of the battle had essentially been decided the moment Genshin successfully ambushed the enemy captain.
Everything that followed was like a kind of formality.
It wasn't that Genshin had excessive confidence in his own strength or was being arrogant. In truth, what he had was a clear understanding of himself.
When fully utilizing the abilities of White Zetsu, and striking with intent against an unguarded target, the odds of assassinating the enemy's strongest combatant were already heavily in his favor.
In fact, as long as he didn't make any foolish mistakes and the enemy remained unaware of White Zetsu's powers, failure was practically impossible.
While many shinobi liked to use flashy ninjutsu in battle, at its core, the shinobi way had always been about silent, unseen assassination.
In this field, the Mayfly Technique could be considered a top-tier ability.
If we speak purely of results, Genshin achieved exactly what he set out to do: successfully eliminating five enemies.
However, in terms of execution, the fight had been rather rough. Not only had he been forced into direct combat, but he had also sustained injuries in the process.
The ideal outcome would have been the silent assassination of all five targets. Unfortunately, he had fallen short of that.
Maybe it was just his imagination, but based on his experiences since transmigrating here, Genshin had the impression that although battles between shinobi in this era were more brutal, the average quality of ninja seemed to fall short compared to the later era of the hidden villages—excluding, of course, a few exceptional outliers.
Whether it was the integration of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, the organization of shinobi squads, or overall combat efficiency, this era simply couldn't match the shinobi village system.
Upon further reflection, it made sense. Everything evolves over time, and Genshin firmly believed in the saying, "The future surpasses the present."
From organizational structure and ninjutsu systems to education and warfare, all aspects would inevitably improve with the passage of time.
His thoughts were starting to drift, so Genshin quickly refocused. In any case, while the process hadn't been perfect, the result was acceptable—perhaps even satisfactory.
After all, he had only just become the "White Zetsu Man." He hadn't even fully understood the changes in his body or mastered his corresponding abilities, and yet he had been thrust onto the battlefield. Given that, his performance had been more than decent.
With the battle over, Genshin didn't waste time cleaning up or gathering intel. He immediately set off at full speed toward the second battlefield.
Even after the earlier fight, his chakra reserves were still in good shape.
The previous battle hadn't involved much ninjutsu clashing, so he still had enough chakra left to sustain the next encounter.
To maximize the survival chances of the two fellow clan members acting as bait, Genshin used the Mayfly Technique again for rapid movement, aiming to shorten his travel time as much as possible.
He had already formulated his plan: continue assassinating. Efficiency was the goal, and he would see it through to the end.
When he assassinated the enemy captain earlier, even though their encounter was brief, Genshin had managed to steal a sample of the man's chakra during that fleeting moment.
It wasn't enough chakra to sustain a full battle, but it was sufficient to perform a near-perfect Transformation Jutsu and impersonate the enemy captain with incredible precision—so well that it would be virtually impossible to detect.
White Zetsu's Transformation Jutsu was a max-level divine skill. No other ninja in the shinobi world could rival his disguise capabilities.
As long as he had a target's chakra sample, and didn't slip up in terms of personality, habits, demeanor, or behavioral style, his disguise would be virtually flawless.
Genshin only needed to impersonate the enemy captain on the battlefield—no long-term disguise or complex scenarios—so the chances of being exposed were low.
On the other battlefield, Genjinkawa had followed Genshin's instructions: run without engaging. This tactic bought them some time.
When Genshin arrived nearby, he didn't jump in immediately. Instead, he hid atop a large tree and carefully observed the scene below.
He saw five enemy ninja surrounding Genjinkawa, attempting to close in. Genjinkawa was smart, dodging left and right while using Fire Style ninjutsu to create obstacles, causing considerable visual and physical disruption on the battlefield.
"As expected, another game of cat and mouse," Genshin thought to himself.
Taking on the appearance of the enemy captain, Genshin used the Mayfly Technique once more to quietly approach the enemy furthest from the others.
Just as Genjinkawa unleashed another Fire Style jutsu, generating a loud explosion, Genshin suddenly appeared behind the isolated enemy. In one smooth motion, he slit his throat from behind and lowered the still-warm—though effectively dead—enemy gently to the ground without making a sound.
Having learned from earlier mistakes, Genshin's methods were now more refined. This time, the remaining enemies didn't even notice they were one man short.
Their attention was completely on Genjinkawa; they had no idea what was happening around them.
Luck was on Genshin's side once again. The enemy's sensory-type ninja wasn't part of this five-man squad; he was with the third team.
The remaining four enemies were positioned too closely together, so Genshin opted for a safer approach. He revealed himself directly—still in the guise of their "captain."
As he approached, he intentionally made some noise. Sure enough, the enemy immediately noticed him.
"Captain!"
"You're done over there already?"
Seeing his appearance, their briefly raised guard dropped once more.
Genshin kept a stiff expression. A poker face was better than risking an inappropriate reaction. He said coldly:
"It's done. I rushed over as fast as I could. The others are a bit behind… What's the situation here?"
"It's a little troublesome," their squad leader replied quickly, seemingly afraid of being scolded. "The target just keeps running and wasting chakra without engaging. It's taken us a bit longer, but we're closing in."
The "captain" frowned in displeasure, clearly unhappy with their inefficiency. "Don't surround him. Just follow me."
With that, he charged directly toward the "enemy," forcing the four to follow closely behind.
They quickly closed in on Genjinkawa, but just as they were about to strike, the "captain" suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He didn't have much time—soon they would realize one of their own was missing.
Without warning, he turned sharply toward a certain direction, feigning shock:
"Clan leader? What are you doing here—?"
The four enemies, like fangirls watching their idol perform, trusted the "captain" completely and turned their heads simultaneously in the indicated direction.
As Genshin spoke, three swift flashes of steel gleamed in the air—blades slicing cleanly through the throats of three ninjas. They had no time to react.
Only the last one, furthest from Genshin and lagging slightly behind, narrowly escaped the ambush.
This sole survivor stared wide-eyed, confusion written all over his face. Why had the captain suddenly attacked his own comrades?
Wait... Could the teammates I was just with have all been imposters? Am I an imposter too?
"Two against one. Now it's our turn to hunt you."
Under the stunned gaze of the last enemy, Genshin reverted to his true appearance. The chakra he emanated instantly changed.