Chapter 40 Strike When You Have the Chance
The Kaguya clan's Shikotsumyaku bloodline limit truly had its unique advantages. It was highly offensive, especially when combined with the Byakugan's three-hundred-sixty-degree vision. There were no blind spots or weaknesses—attacks or counterattacks could be launched from virtually any angle.
That night during the clan compound takeover, Ritsu had relied on the combination of Byakugan and Shikotsumyaku to block Namikaze Minato's teleportation sneak attack.
At this moment, these water clones certainly wouldn't concern him. He didn't need to expend any extra thought—he simply needed to steamroll through them like a bulldozer. The water clones blocking his path shattered one after another, failing to delay him even slightly.
In the blink of an eye, he'd closed in right before the Mist shinobi.
His speed was so fast that the two jonin didn't dare retreat. They could only steel themselves and meet him blade-to-blade. Steel clashed against bone with crisp sounds, but the two of them only had two blades, while Ritsu had eight bones protruding from his body.
In just a single exchange, both Mist jonin were covered in injuries, their bodies carved with several deep wounds that reached the bone by those blade-sharp white protrusions.
"Damn it, retreat quickly!"
One man cried out in anguish.
"But they..."
The other still wondered if he could protect his subordinates behind him, but when he glanced back, he discovered that all the subordinates they'd brought to attack the mountain had fallen. Only a young man holding a short sword stood among the corpses littering the ground, fresh blood still dripping from his blade's tip.
At that moment, the young man also looked over. The two made inadvertent eye contact, and he clearly saw those crimson eyes with three black tomoe spinning within them.
This is bad!
Terror-stricken cries echoed through the jonin's mind.
But it was already too late.
His consciousness was dragged by those crimson eyes, plummeting into an endless abyss. His body froze in place, unable to move. In the next moment, a sharp white bone pierced through his chest.
"Brave of you to make eye contact with Shisui."
Ritsu offered his praise as he withdrew the bone from the corpse. The body collapsed, its vacant, lifeless pupils reflecting the other jonin's corpse soaking in a pool of blood.
In mere moments, all the Mist shinobi present had died at the hands of Ritsu and Uchiha Shisui.
"Shisui, your speed is even faster than before!"
Ritsu glanced at the corpses covering the ground. All had their throats slit with a single strike, and even the depth of the wounds was nearly identical—as if these corpses had voluntarily stretched out their necks to meet Shisui's blade. The dazed expressions frozen on their faces suggested they hadn't even realized they'd lost their lives.
With this level of skill, no wonder he could make Mist shinobi flee in terror!
"Ritsu-senpai, you're the one who's truly..."
Uchiha Shisui stared at Ritsu, watching him retract all the white bones back into his body. A thousand words surged in his chest, but they jammed up, leaving him struggling for several seconds before managing, "Ritsu-senpai, that's the Kaguya clan's Shikotsumyaku bloodline limit, isn't it? How do you possess this bloodline?"
His gaze was filled with curiosity and inquiry.
"Call it atavism!"
"Hm?"
"The Hyuga clan and the Kaguya clan share a common ancestor. Actually, it's not just our two clans—if you trace back the bloodlines of you Uchiha, as well as the Senju, Uzumaki, and other clans, they all originate from the same ancestor... Alright, I'm joking! I obtained it using a secret technique passed down in our Hyuga clan, plundering it from a Kaguya clan Mist shinobi."
Ritsu spoke nine parts truth and one part falsehood.
Everything else was true; only the origin of the Chimera Technique was false.
"There's actually a secret technique that can plunder others' bloodline limits? That's somewhat terrifying!"
Uchiha Shisui was amazed. He didn't take Ritsu's initial joking remark to heart but believed the final explanation. The Hyuga clan was also an ancient family with a long heritage—having powerful secret techniques passed down in secret wasn't strange at all.
As for why no one from the Hyuga clan had used this secret technique to plunder others' bloodline limits before, perhaps the technique was extremely difficult to master? Or maybe it had other restrictions?
Regardless, Uchiha Shisui believed Ritsu's explanation.
Otherwise, how else could one explain the origin of Ritsu's Shikotsumyaku bloodline limit?
"Haha! Shisui, are you afraid I'll steal your Sharingan?"
Ritsu joked.
"Not at all. Ritsu-senpai isn't the type to harm his comrades."
"Ah! Shisui, is my image really that noble in your mind? You're making me embarrassed. But I'd advise you not to trust your comrades too much. You should know that fatal attacks often come from behind."
"I'll remember that."
Uchiha Shisui answered perfunctorily.
One could tell he hadn't remembered at all—the words went in one ear and out the other, neither touching his heart nor his mind.
Ritsu couldn't be bothered to lecture him further. He turned around and looked at the group of Mist shinobi walking up the mountain path, smiling. "Suikazan Fuguki, and Hozuki Mangetsu—you two sure took your time! I thought you'd arrive faster."
Konoha and the Mist had been fighting for so long that both sides had long since figured out each other's capable fighters. Unless they'd just arrived from the rear, any expert who'd been active on the front lines for any length of time had their intelligence thoroughly investigated.
Suikazan Fuguki and Hozuki Mangetsu were both top-tier experts among the Mist forces.
The former was a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, wielder of the Great Sword Samehada, a veteran expert of the Hidden Mist Village who'd been famous for years and was in his prime. The latter, like Uchiha Shisui, was a prominent figure among the younger generation on the Mist's side.
Similarly, the general intelligence on Uchiha Shisui and Hyuga Ritsu was also known to the Mist shinobi.
"Hyuga Ritsu, where did you get the Kaguya clan's Shikotsumyaku?"
Suikazan Fuguki stared intently at Ritsu.
That secret letter from Konoha had mentioned that Hyuga Ritsu possessed the Shikotsumyaku bloodline limit, which he'd found utterly absurd. But now seeing Ritsu use Shikotsumyaku with his own eyes, for a moment he thought he was dreaming. Otherwise, how could he witness such an absurd scene?
But this wasn't a dream.
Reality was sometimes even more absurd than dreams.
Therefore, he desperately wanted to understand how Hyuga Ritsu possessed the Kaguya clan's Shikotsumyaku bloodline limit. Had Kaguya clan members secretly defected in earlier years? Or was there some other reason?
"I have no obligation to answer your questions."
Ritsu shrugged.
"Is that so? Well then, once you become a prisoner, we'll see if your mouth remains as stubborn as it is now!"
Suikazan Fuguki waved his hand.
Mist shinobi appeared all around. Including Suikazan Fuguki and Hozuki Mangetsu, over fifty Mist shinobi completely surrounded Hyuga Ritsu and Uchiha Shisui.
Though the secret letter from Konoha had instructed them to first probe Ritsu's trump cards, then create a more suitable opportunity to kill him later—
Suikazan Fuguki had no intention of following those instructions.
Strike when you have the chance. If there's no chance, create one anyway.
Right now, Hyuga Ritsu and Uchiha Shisui had actually crashed straight into them, and coincidentally, that brat Hozuki Mangetsu had delivered himself to be pressed into service, greatly strengthening their forces. He planned to seize this opportunity to break both of these sharp blades on Konoha's side, rather than wait for a next time that might never come.
As for whether doing this would bring trouble to whoever sent the secret letter—he couldn't care less!
The more fiercely Konoha shinobi fought among themselves, the happier he was!
He wished nothing more than for Konoha shinobi to tear each other apart.
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