Inada Takuma felt the strength draining from his body, and his consciousness began to blur.
"Am I going to die?"
This must be how his brothers felt before they died.
In the end, he was still dying under this damned Chakra Arrow.
In this moment, he thought of many things.
He thought of the bounties he hadn't finished spending, and where he would be enjoying himself if he hadn't come to the Land of Fire this time.
Finally, he thought of the home he hadn't returned to in a long time.
He wondered if his wife back home would be unfaithful to him... Shirakumo Hayama was also pale with shock at this sudden turn of events.
An ally? Or accidental friendly fire?
Breaking into a cold sweat, he gripped his sword tightly, his eyes alertly scanning the surroundings, prepared for a second attack that could happen at any moment.
This kind of instant-kill attack was the most terrifying.
What was even more chilling was that within his field of vision, there was no one.
It was as if the attack had appeared out of thin air.
In his years as a Ninja, he had never encountered such a bizarre scene.
Shirakumo Hayama hurriedly formed hand signs to disturb the Chakra in his body, checking if he was under a Genjutsu, but the feedback from his Chakra was that everything was normal.
After a moment of vigilance, seeing that there was indeed no movement around, he relaxed slightly.
He quickly formed hand signs, creating a Shadow Clone to guard the area.
Then he walked to Inada Takuma's corpse and examined the motionless body.
Is this... an arrow?
At first glance, Shirakumo Hayama was drawn to the thick arrow in Inada Takuma's chest.
It was blue and white all over, with an extremely high Chakra density. Its texture was hard and cold, and its appearance was holy and elegant.
It was hard to imagine that the hideous wound on Inada Takuma's body was caused by it.
Wait!
It's an arrow!
In an instant, he realized.
The rogue Ninjas he had observed along the way, killed in one hit, were not killed by spears.
They were killed by these arrows that were as thick as spears.
Watching the arrow that had already begun to slowly dissipate, Shirakumo Hayama couldn't help but swallow hard.
It was hard to imagine that an arrow of this caliber was condensed from Chakra.
Moreover, although he wasn't a sensory Ninja, his perception wasn't weak, and there was no one nearby.
This meant that the attack had been fired from beyond his visual range.
Shirakumo Hayama's mouth hung open slightly, unable to believe his own deduction.
He was a well-traveled man, but in his memory...
Aside from a Tailed Beast Ball, he had never seen, or even heard of, a Ninjutsu that could be launched from beyond visual range and be so explosive.
Even with the Secret Techniques of the previously defected Onigumo, the Spider War Bow, the range wasn't this far, and he hadn't heard of it being this fast.
Thinking of this, Shirakumo Hayama quickly took out a storage scroll and sealed Inada Takuma's body along with the arrow.
"I don't know if the Seal can stop the arrow from dissipating. I wanted to leave a survivor, but now he's as dead as can be."
"I'll just have to let the people in the Intelligence Department deal with this headache."
He put away the sealed storage scroll and placed it back into his pouch.
"Someone's coming!" the Shadow Clone suddenly spoke.
He turned to look and saw three figures, one large and two small, rushing toward them in the distance.
They weren't moving fast; the larger one seemed to have a leg that couldn't exert force.
The three were Aokawa's group.
Aokawa had been using his Byakugan to keep a close eye on Inada Takuma's group, only for a Ninja wearing a Konoha headband to suddenly appear halfway and take them all down in short order.
Just as he was feeling it was a pity to have his kill stolen, Inada Takuma used a diversion and escaped.
This made Aokawa overjoyed; he immediately condensed a Chakra Arrow and aimed dead at Inada Takuma.
Finally, during his third escape attempt, he seized the opportunity and killed him with one shot.
Seeing that the matter was mostly resolved, Aokawa simply waited to meet up with Hyuga Fū and the other before coming over together.
"Sohma-sama."
From a distance, Hyuga Fū greeted Shirakumo Hayama warmly.
Although Shirakumo Hayama was a civilian Ninja, his Vacuum Blade and Konoha Shunshin were superb, and he was very famous in Konoha Village.
Furthermore, he was meticulous and serious in his work, holding great prestige even among Ninjas from the noble clans.
His powerful strength combined with his unique personal charm made Hyuga Fū admire him.
"Was it you who fired the rescue signal flare?" Shirakumo Hayama asked once the three arrived.
"Yes," Hyuga Fū answered quickly as Shirakumo Hayama spoke, his smile carrying a hint of restraint.
He then bowed slightly: "Thank you very much for coming to our rescue, Sohma-sama."
Shirakumo Hayama waved his hand: "I just happened to be on a mission nearby."
The two exchanged a few more pleasantries, and Shirakumo Hayama gained a general understanding of their situation.
He nodded, then asked with a 'might as well try' attitude.
"Do you know of a long-range, high-speed arrow Ninjutsu?"
After asking, he secretly shook his head; even he hadn't heard of it.
How could they—a Chunin, a Genin, and even a Ninja Academy Student—possibly know?
But upon hearing this, both Hyuga Fū and Kurenai Yuhi looked toward Aokawa in unison.
"Sohma-sama, that is my awakened Kekkei Genkai," Aokawa spoke up in response.
In addition to reclaiming the kill, Aokawa's final arrow was also intended to showcase his ability and establish a connection with Shirakumo Hayama.
With Shirakumo Hayama's strength, he was undoubtedly an Elite Jōnin.
Even in Konoha Village, an Elite Jōnin belonged to the core level of management.
Such a person would have some say in the Village's daily decision-making.
Before one's strength could sweep across the Ninja World, life wasn't just about fighting and killing, but also about social relations; making more connections was never a bad thing.
Otherwise, even as strong as the Uchiha, who had performed so many great services...
When they were eventually massacred, not a single person stepped forward to demand justice.
"Your Kekkei Genkai?" Shirakumo Hayama was shocked to hear this, his eyes widening like copper bells.
"You're saying that the arrow just now was shot by you?"
Aokawa smiled: "If the arrow you're referring to is the one that killed the enemy you were pursuing, then yes, I shot it."
Shirakumo Hayama's mouth hung open as he looked at Aokawa in disbelief.
He had only asked casually and didn't actually expect to get an answer from these three.
He hadn't expected the boy to tell him so plainly that he was the one who did it.
That Ninjutsu—even if it were him being targeted without preparation—he might not have been able to dodge it.
An attack of that magnitude would result in heavy injury if not death.
And now someone was telling him that this Ninjutsu was shot by this Hyuga who was still an Academy student.
It was indeed hard to accept.
Seeing Shirakumo Hayama's look of disbelief, Aokawa smiled slightly and reached out his hand to condense Chakra.
Under Shirakumo Hayama's incredulous gaze, a Spirit Bow appeared out of thin air...
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