The woman laughed, folding her arms with confidence that dripped like venom.
"Sorry, Red Mirage," she said mockingly. "I've read every file on you. I know what you can do — or can't. My body nullifies all physical attacks. So go ahead, summon all the clones you want. I'll just stand here. Try and hurt me."
Ryuuto didn't bother replying. His four shadow clones shot forward at once, kunai gleaming.
They struck — but each blow passed through her harmlessly, dispersing with hollow thuds.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ryuuto frowned, wings of chakra flaring briefly as he leapt skyward. Gwen was still in his arms — limp, unconscious, and glowing faintly from his Light-Heavy Technique. She floated weightlessly beside him like a feather caught in slow motion.
He glanced down at the woman and sighed. "If I can't hurt you, then there's no point wasting time."
Then, without another word, he smashed through the nearest window — glass shattering like ice — and flew out into the night.
"That's it?" The woman laughed, shaking her head. "That's your so-called strongest mutant? What a joke! Red Mirage—if you've got guts, take that girl and run! Otherwise, I'll personally—"
Her words cut off in a strangled gasp. A sharp pain bloomed in her back.
"What—!?"
She tried to activate her mutation ability again, but it was too late. She'd deactivated it earlier — her arrogance telling her he'd already fled. And that single lapse of judgment sealed her fate.
A black spear, cold and gleaming like obsidian, tore through her abdomen.
Ryuuto stepped out from behind her, eyes narrow, breath steady. "You talk too much," he said flatly.
He'd only pretended to flee — tossing Gwen outside the window for safety before using high-speed movement to circle back and strike her from behind.
The woman staggered back, snarling. "You can stab me all you want! As long as I'm alive, my mutation will restore me! You can't kill me unless it's instant!"
"Oh? So that's what you believe?" Ryuuto tilted his head, a grin ghosting across his lips. "You really think you know all my tricks?"
Her confidence faltered at the calmness in his tone.
Then she saw it — the shift in his eyes, the slight tilt of madness behind that smirk.
Ryuuto licked the blood off his weapon. His skin darkened to jet-black, white skeletal markings crawling up his body like cracks of light. He looked less like a human now — more like some vengeful god born of darkness and bone.
"Let me tell you something," he said quietly, raising the black spear. "Killing fast is too merciful. People like you don't deserve mercy."
He stabbed the weapon into his own chest.
Blood spattered the floor — and a glowing circle began to form beneath his feet, drawn by the flow of crimson and his chakra-laced steps.
The woman's eyes widened. "W-What are you—?"
"You'll know soon," he muttered.
He plunged the spear again — this time through his arm.
She screamed. Blood burst from her own arm, an identical wound opening up out of nowhere.
"N-No… no way! I've already reactivated my mutation! Physical attacks can't hurt me!"
Ryuuto smiled faintly. "This isn't a physical attack."
He raised the spear, its tip dripping blood and shadow. "It's a curse. Whatever I do to myself, happens to you. My regeneration keeps me alive — but you'll feel everything I feel. Every cut. Every drop. Every scream."
"Stop—!"
He didn't.
Another thrust — through his abdomen this time.
She coughed blood, collapsing to her knees, trembling. "Please! I get it! You're the strongest! I'll stop! I've only ever killed humans, not mutants!"
"That's supposed to make it better?" Ryuuto asked coldly. "You take money to kill whoever you're told. Doesn't matter if they're human or mutant — as long as the pay's good. You're not a mercenary. You're a parasite."
He raised the spear over his heart. "And I'm your Shinigami."
The spear plunged through his chest.
A heartbeat later — hers burst too. She froze mid-scream, crimson blooming across her shirt. Her body fell like a marionette with its strings cut, blood pooling beneath her.
Silence.
Ryuuto dismissed the weapon, letting the black energy fade. "Good thing I barely feel pain anymore," he muttered. "Otherwise, I'd definitely need therapy after that."
His body shimmered, color returning to normal.
[Ding! Mission complete. Reward: Hokage Package. Open now?]
He ignored the prompt. Gwen came first.
Flying back through the broken window, he found her still drifting outside like a lost dream. He smiled faintly and caught her, holding her close as they descended.
He didn't let her see the carnage below — five dead, four bodies sliced in half. That kind of nightmare would stick forever.
Back inside the tech exhibition hall, he gently placed her among the crowd.
Gwen's eyes fluttered open. "...What happened?" she whispered.
Ryuuto smiled faintly. "Nothing worth remembering," he said.