"Tell me everything. What is this all about?"
Shinji hadn't originally intended to get involved. Otherwise, he wouldn't have just stood by and let them capture the woman and the white fox.
But there was no helping it. It seemed some people just got tired of living and were determined to stir up trouble.
"Don't kill me... you can't kill me..."
Dark Skin #2 was clearly terrified, repeating the same two phrases over and over again.
"Amplify Pain!"
"AAAAHHHH!"
Shinji didn't do anything drastic. He simply magnified his victim's sense of pain several times over.
Then, gripping the black spear still embedded in the man's shoulder, he twisted it a few times inside the wound.
The man immediately let out a blood-curdling scream, his eyes bulging in agony.
"Now... are you ready to talk?"
"I'll talk! I'll tell you anything you want to know!"
"Good. You could have saved yourself a lot of pain by saying that sooner."
As the effect of Shinji's Curse Speech faded, Dark Skin #2 finally stopped screaming and wailing.
After catching his breath, he began, "A few days ago, Kumogakure received intelligence suggesting that a young woman capable of transforming into a white fox had been spotted near Eight Steeds Village... The higher-ups speculated that she might be a survivor from one of the clans of the now-destroyed Land of Beasts. That's why the Raikage-sama sent us to investigate."
"Once we confirmed her identity, we immediately moved to capture her. But she managed to slip away several times... everything that happened afterwards was just a huge misunderstanding!"
"Bakai was just in a bad mood, that's why he provoked you guys! He definitely didn't mean any harm!"
Desperate to save his own skin, the man was shamelessly lying through his teeth.
Shinji looked at him calmly. "What's your name?"
"Makai."
"Hmm? Makai? Then what is your relationship with that Bakai?"
"Ah... he... he's my older cousin. But we aren't close at all! He used to beat me up all the time when we were kids, and he always stole my candy!"
Dammit... Bakai and Makai...
They seriously are named Idiot and Moron...
Shinji didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Deciding not to dwell on their ridiculous names, he continued, "Tell me in detail about this Land of Beasts. Also, are you sure of her identity just based on that? Transformation Jutsu can create similar effects, can't it?"
"I don't know much about the details myself. All I know is that the people there were divided into several clans. Each clan specialized in raising and taming different types of Ninja Beasts, and they had unique techniques that combined their powers.
Then, for some unknown reason, the entire country was suddenly wiped out and destroyed. As for her... we weren't sure at first either. But the red crescent moon mark on the fox's forehead is said to have a very special origin. That was the clue that confirmed her identity, and the reason we were ordered to capture her."
Makai spilled everything he knew like beans pouring out of a jar, holding nothing back.
Shinji noticed that the moment Makai mentioned the Land of Beasts, the woman—who until then had seemed resigned to her fate—suddenly glared at Makai with intense hatred. Clearly, there was more to this story than what he was being told.
However, Shinji had no intention of digging deeper. This Land of Beasts or whatever... it had absolutely nothing to do with him.
But just as he was about to wrap up this messy business, the young woman—whose left cheek was swollen and bruised from his punch—suddenly broke free from her restraints and lunged fiercely toward the Cloud ninja.
It turned out that the white fox, who had woken up unnoticed, had chewed through her ropes from behind.
From listening to their conversation, she had understood one thing clearly:
These people standing here were completely different from the ones who had been hunting her down. If she struck now, there was a chance they wouldn't stop her.
Furthermore, she recognized one of them. He was the man who had fought against that terrifying monster in the ruins of the Red Pavilion that day.
But right now, having already resigned herself to death, she had only one thought in her mind: kill this Cloud ninja before her. She was determined to drag at least one of her enemies down with her.
That way, when she eventually met the spirits of her people in the afterlife, she wouldn't bring shame upon the name of the Tamamo Clan.
It was just a pity... the hatred for the destruction of her country would remain unavenged.
Thwack!
Her hands suddenly transformed into sharp beast claws, slicing ruthlessly across Makai's throat.
Caught completely off guard, Makai's eyes widened in shock. He tried desperately to press his hands against the gushing wound, but his strength was already leaving him. He died just like that, full of unwillingness and fear.
Having swiftly and cleanly killed the last Cloud ninja, the woman didn't pause. She immediately turned and rushed toward the white fox.
If no one stopped her—which was the best possible outcome she could hope for—then at the very least, she could save Jiana. Even if only one of them managed to escape...
She knew perfectly well that she stood absolutely no chance against the man standing over there.
Back in the ruins of the Red Pavilion, just the shockwaves produced during his battle against that monster had almost swept her away, nearly turning her into nothing but dust and bone.
Swish!
With a single sweep of her claws, she easily severed the ropes binding the white fox. She spoke urgently, "Jiana, run! Go! Don't worry about me!"
But the white fox refused to obey her master's command. Instead of fleeing, it bared its sharp fangs and stepped forward, positioning itself firmly in front of the woman to protect her.
"Jiana, be good! Listen to me!"
Woof!
Touched deeply by the fox's loyalty, the woman threw her arms around its neck, tears welling up in her eyes. "Alright then! If we die today, we die together!"
The bond between this girl and her beast was truly touching... or at least, it would have been, if Shinji and the others hadn't completely ignored them and already started preparing the fire and ingredients for their meal.
In reality, their dramatic and emotional scene had been performed entirely for an audience that wasn't watching at all. It was so painfully awkward it made you wonder... were there truly no people left in this world who actually cared about them?
The woman remained clinging to the fox's neck, feeling completely lost and confused.
No one was even looking at her.
She slowly took a step back, pulling the fox with her. Another step... and another... until suddenly, she turned around and ran for her life, sprinting as fast as her legs could carry her.
When she finally dared to look back again, Shinji and the others were already gone without a trace.
"We... we actually escaped?"
She couldn't quite believe it. It wasn't until Jiana started licking her hand comfortingly that she finally snapped back to reality.
But the danger wasn't over yet.
Although Makai hadn't lied about what he knew, he had deliberately kept one crucial piece of information to himself:
Once her identity had been confirmed, Makai and his two companions were far from the only ones sent to capture her!
"Let's go, Jiana."
Realizing she might have completely misunderstood Shinji and his group, the woman subconsciously touched her badly swollen cheek.
But she didn't dare turn back. Instead, she led the white fox further away, fleeing deeper into the forest.
Not long after they left, three more ninja wearing Kumogakure headbands arrived at the scene one after another.
"Huh? Strange. The target's trail goes east for a bit, then west. Is she just running in circles?"
"She's probably trying to confuse us on purpose."
"That's possible... Speaking of which, it's been ages. Why haven't we heard anything from Bakai's team yet? Don't tell me those bastards are trying to hog all the credit for this mission?"
"They wouldn't dare! Do they think the rest of us are dead weight? I reckon they ran into trouble. After all, that woman is a survivor from the Land of Beasts. It's only natural she'd be a handful to catch."
"Forget it. I'll head east. You two go west. Fire off a flare immediately if you find anything."
"Got it!"
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