"Dawn was almost here."
Jiang Rui rinsed the short sword in his hand. Even though not a single drop of blood would stain it, he still habitually washed it.
Maybe that was a kind of obsessive cleanliness.
Beside him, Ito Rei shook her head and tossed her greatsword onto her back. She had already changed back into her gray-blue bodysuit, with a coat and scarf draped over it.
"Ah." She stretched and looked into the distance. "Ah, looks like they ran pretty far."
Mizuno Kumo sat on a tree branch. Though her legs swung gently, she gave off none of the feeling of liveliness. Instead, her crescent-shaped eyes and the hand lightly covering her mouth made even a yawn look exceptionally elegant.
She was still wearing that red-patterned kimono.
But her words showed no mercy at all.
"Why do I have to act with you?!"
Kaguya Tsuki bared his teeth, equally displeased. "Hey, I've been the one doing all the killing. You've got the nerve to complain?"
"I'm the strategist." She clapped her hands and lightly rose from the tree, her expression turning solemn.
There was a trace of gravity in it.
Kaguya Tsuki failed to notice. He was busy grumbling to himself that when they returned, he would definitely report her to the Third.
Suddenly, her gentle yet serious voice rang out by his ear.
"They're here! Prepare for battle."
Not far away.
Tengcheng Jun Ze leaped onto a tree. The moment he steadied himself, he felt a powerful gust of wind rush at his face.
This was... Wind Style?
Without hesitation, he turned and headed toward where the wind had come from.
Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!
A violent gale erupted in an instant, sweeping into the forest and spreading outward. As the sky gradually brightened at