Your comments, reviews, and votes really help me out so much and they make me super motivated to keep working on this story! Thank you! Pat**on : japanime20
The emotionless voice rang out from beneath the deer-head mask.
Muwei, who had kept a cold expression the entire time, frowned for the first time.
Because he recognized exactly who he was facing.
This was a Konoha Anbu operative!
Involving Konoha turned what should have been a simple operation into an extremely troublesome situation.
Honestly, Muwei didn't want to antagonize Konoha.
After the Third Great Ninja War, Kusagakure's relationship with Konoha had been relatively good—frequent exchanges in economy, politics, and military affairs.
If he recklessly started a conflict between the two villages, it could easily spark a war between their countries.
That was something no one wanted to see.
However, Muwei had no intention of abandoning the operation.
If he missed this chance, it would be extremely difficult to capture Takigakure's leader again.
To open the Box of Ultimate Bliss, he needed to sacrifice a massive amount of chakra.
For that goal, he had even sacrificed his own son.
At this point, there was no turning back!
He had to obtain Takigakure's Hero's Water!
"Take him down!"
"Force him to reveal Zerin's location!"
"They couldn't have gone far. Finish this quickly!"
...
Meanwhile.
Zerin, who had been traveling through the night, could no longer hold back his curiosity.
"Deer, how did you discover Water Smoke's betrayal?"
Shikage answered casually:
"Anbu secret."
Seeing both Zerin and Shibuki looking anxious and worried, Shikage reassured them calmly:
"Relax."
"With me here, no one can stop you from returning to the village."
Zerin forced a smile and sighed inwardly.
—I never expected Konoha to understand their own shinobi better than I, the leader of Takigakure, do…
Shibuki didn't have Zerin's mental resilience. He was on the verge of a breakdown.
His already trembling heart was now pounding wildly after learning they were about to be attacked.
Any little sound sent him into panic.
Especially the deer-masked figure leading the way ahead gave him an indescribable, soul-deep terror.
With a tearful face, Shibuki kept asking Zerin over and over:
"Father, we'll be okay, right?"
"Yeah, we'll be fine."
Zerin looked at the calm Shikage ahead and placed all his hopes on him.
He comforted himself inwardly.
—Yes… we'll be fine…
...
BOOM—!
A blazing fire chain whipped through the air like a giant python, cracking the air with every strike.
One shadow soldier couldn't dodge in time and was sent flying several meters.
The chain followed instantly, wrapping the soldier tightly.
Yet there was no joy on Muwei's face.
He spread his fingers. Scorching chakra swirled in his palm as he tightened the flaming chain's grip under his control.
The friction between fire and chain produced a sizzling burning sound.
It looked like it was about to cut the shadow soldier in half at the waist, but the next second the tightly bound body melted into liquid-like black water and disappeared into the shadow on the ground.
Seeing this, Muwei frowned deeply and muttered:
"As expected, this 'creature' has no chakra."
His Fire Style: Heavenly Prison could restrict an enemy from gathering chakra, preventing them from using ninjutsu.
But the shadow soldier had been completely unaffected.
This was something Muwei had never seen before.
He guessed these soldiers might not be living beings at all, but something like the Konoha Anbu's summoned creatures.
With that thought, he decided to focus all his attacks on Shikage himself.
But that was exactly what gave him the biggest headache.
Because he couldn't spare any attention to target Shikage.
Wherever he looked, twenty shadow soldiers had them completely surrounded.
Forget Muwei—even the Kusagakure shinobi he brought had no strength left to attack Shikage.
The shadow soldiers alone were already more than they could handle!
Muwei pressed his lips tight. Just as he prepared to strike at Shikage, the shadow soldier that had disappeared earlier crawled out from the shadows again and engaged him in battle.
Shikage didn't join the fight. He simply observed the enemies from the side.
After one look around, the only two who posed even a slight threat were:
The lord of Ghost Lamp Castle—Muwei, the mastermind behind the plan to assassinate and capture the Takigakure leader.
And another Kusagakure jonin. Although Shikage didn't know his name, from his appearance he deduced this was the unlucky bastard who would later be turned into the Preta Path by Nagato.
As for the rest—whether Water Smoke or the other Kusagakure shinobi—their strength was roughly at special jonin level.
Even though this shadow clone only possessed half of his main body's power, it was more than enough to deal with this group.
Slowly standing up, Shikage walked forward.
Under the moonlight, his shadow stretched long and thin.
Like a sharp, deadly blade, it tore open the ground beneath his feet.
With every step he took, the crisp sound of flesh being ripped apart rang out.
Tap—!
Rip—!
Tap—!
Rip—!
Shadow soldiers died, only to revive endlessly through MP replenishment.
Kusagakure shinobi died, only to revive endlessly through MP replenishment as well.
Except after revival, they were no longer themselves.
Watching the ever-increasing number of shadow soldiers around him, Muwei lost his cold expression for the first time. His facial muscles began to twist.
He felt fear!
—What the hell is this guy?!
—What kind of monster has Konoha been raising?!
At this moment, Muwei no longer cared whether the plan succeeded or failed.
He just wanted to escape this shadow hell.
"Stop him."
Pulling Kasaka's Venom Fang out of his own chest, Shikage stopped looking at the Preta Path, whose face was twisted in agony.
He turned his gaze toward Muwei, who was about to flee. With a flicker, he appeared directly behind him.
"Kusagakure Style: Explosive Palm!"
The instant Shikage appeared, Muwei spun around and slammed a palm toward his heart.
He had only pretended to run—he had been waiting for this exact moment!
But he was just a millimeter short!
Muwei's right palm stopped right in front of Shikage's chest, unable to advance any further.
Only the green chakra swirling in his palm evaporated unwillingly.
Shikage smiled faintly, casually pushed Muwei's hand aside, and was about to speak when he noticed the corners of Muwei's mouth slowly curling upward.
Muwei had already prepared his ninjutsu and was about to release it!
Scorching, blinding chakra erupted from Muwei's palm, transforming into blazing swords aimed straight at Shikage's heart.
"Fire Style: Heavenly Prison Fire Swords!"
Sizzle—!
The fire swords pierced through flesh. Shikage frowned slightly.
A little painful.
—Hit!
—Critical damage to the heart. He's definitely dead!
Just as Muwei was filled with excitement, Shikage spat out a few mouthfuls of blood, then casually patted the wound as if nothing had happened.
"Sorry, I forgot to tell you."
Shikage wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled.
"This is just a shadow clone."
"Also, critical damage to the heart is no big deal to me."
The moment the words fell, Muwei saw a pair of blood-red eyes open within the shadow behind Shikage.
"Alright. You can kill yourself now."