At any time, Bounty Hunters who throw their lives away for money are always extremely troublesome existences.
Although the military of the Land of Demons has also planted a secret squad in the Underground Black Market, the market of the Underground Black Market is enormous, with connections to Daimyo and nobles of various countries.
The web of connections is tangled and complex; there's no way to uproot it completely.
No matter how much he cursed under his breath, it didn't change the fact that that idiot princess had been kidnapped once again.
If he couldn't bring that woman back, he was in for a world of trouble.
His own failure was a small matter; if it affected that lord's overall plan, even dying ten thousand times wouldn't be enough to atone.
"In that direction?"
Although the footprints on the road were very well concealed, Akakage still carefully picked them out.
Following the enemy's trail, he continued forward.
This was already outside the capital of the Land of Bear; the huge city that served as a backdrop behind him had grown lively due to the sudden outbreak of fire.
The Daimyo of the Land of Bear was surely flying into a rage back there.
Not only had his mansion come under attack, his most beloved daughter had been abducted yet again.
So, rescuing Princess Tamahime as quickly as possible was a task Akakage had to complete.
The wind howled.
It kicked up great clouds of sand and dust in the night, lashing hard against Akakage's body and face.
This was a stretch of wasteland where the land had severely desertified.
The Land of Bear was a small, resource-poor country with little vegetation.
Near the Land of Wind, parts of it turned into desert.
Around the Land of Bear, a ring-shaped gorge extended down into the earth, encircling the country's territory.
It was a natural barrier that protected the Land of Bear—Hell Valley.
It was said that in ancient times, wars frequently broke out in the Land of Bear, and people didn't cremate the corpses, but simply tossed them casually into the depths of the valley.
The mass of corpses at the valley floor mixed with the Chakra of nature and formed a toxic miasma harmful to the human body.
Thus, the ring-shaped gorge surrounding the Land of Bear came to be called Hell Valley.
Akakage's current pursuit was leading him closer and closer to the southern stretch of Hell Valley.
Cross the southern Hell Valley, and you reached the desert border of the Land of Wind.
The rocks and sand, heavily eroded by the storms, jutted even more sharply from the ground.
The resistance from the windstorm grew greater and greater.
After three hours of nonstop pursuit, Akakage's body didn't feel tired, but impatience was already stirring in his heart.
The farther he went, the fainter the enemy's footprints became, buried under windblown sand.
For long stretches, Akakage had to stop, carefully survey the tracks, and only then could he determine the direction.
There were quite a few decoy traps among them.
The Bounty Hunters who had kidnapped Princess Tamahime were not a single person but a group working together.
In the Underground Black Market, it wasn't just lone Bounty Hunters who ran rampant; there were also plenty of Bounty Hunter organizations formed by multiple people.
When it came to group operations like this, chasing them down naturally couldn't be easy.
"They disappeared?"
After another half hour of pursuit, he was getting closer and closer to the border of the Land of Wind.
The footprints vanished completely here.
Akakage crouched down, rolling the fine sand between his fingers; under the moonlight it gleamed like silver, and he frowned slightly.
The sandy ground behind him began to bulge slightly.
Two Black-clothed Ninja suddenly sprang out from within, most of their faces hidden behind masks, standard sharp Ninja Blades in hand, slashing mercilessly at Akakage's back.
The blades cut through the air—and together with their wielders, passed straight through Akakage's body.
"!?"
The two masked Ninja stared wide-eyed, as if they had just seen something utterly unbelievable.
The blades had clearly landed… No, even if they had, it was no different from missing entirely.
Their attack went right through Akakage's body, as if they had chopped at a phantom projection in the air.
Such a bizarre Ninja Techniques sent a shock through the minds of both attackers.
Splurt!
Splurt!
Two crisp sounds; the two assailants let out pained screams.
In each of their backs, a Kunai had been driven in.
The two of them collapsed onto the sand, lying there in agony, gasping, on the brink of death—yet their posture didn't win the slightest sympathy from Akakage.
"Where did you take that woman?"
Akakage crouched in front of one of the attackers, Kunai in hand, and asked.
That attacker mumbled, stammering, but said nothing.
"Then die."
Without hesitation, Akakage drew the Kunai across the man's throat.
Blood splattered onto the sand as his life fled.
The other attacker's body jolted.
Akakage's cold, matter-of-fact way of reaping a life was truly terrifying; he didn't even leave room for hesitation.
"I know the vital points of the human body very well—just how much damage it takes to cause the greatest pain without being fatal. The Kunai in your back won't kill you… Of course, you can choose not to answer."
Akakage's face was shrouded in shadow, his eyes cold and merciless.
He wasn't a professional interrogator, but he knew that in the face of pain and death, most people couldn't hold out to the end.
Especially Bounty Hunters who loved money and pleasure.
There were those among them with firm wills, but most Bounty Hunters, when confronted with death and pain, were no different from ordinary people.
Right now, he only needed to magnify the fear in the man's heart.
◎
The sand dunes near the southern stretch of Hell Valley.
Akakage stood at the entrance of a cave, peering deep inside, but he could see nothing but endless darkness.
The dangers lurking within and the number of enemies were completely unknown.