Yajima Jyunin had never believed in luck.
Before he got the intel and prepared to make his move, he had already steeled himself to give his target everything he had and kill him without mercy.
However,
when he actually set foot in this place he had chosen as his target's final resting place,
in this three-hundred-meter-long alley,
his heart gave a faint, sudden shudder.
It wasn't just the cruelty and strangeness in the little brat's pale eyes that unnerved him. It was also—
The environment had changed.
This was an ordinary street in Konoha.
Precisely because it was ordinary, the houses here weren't the uniformly neat Japanese-style compounds found in the Hyuga Clan's district.
They had no distinctive architectural features. Most were built for practicality, blending all sorts of styles—Hakka, cylindrical, tower-style, Japanese torii gates—with varying heights and irregular spacing.
The only thing they had in common was that they were at least four stories tall, and the entire alley faced southeast.
As the sun sank in the west, its long shadows swallowed the entire alley.
For an assassin, this place was sparsely populated and poorly lit—a perfect spot for surveillance, an ambush, and hiding a body.
But,
the situation had shifted somewhat.
Once the target realized the attacker's intentions, this environment became a natural and excellent place for the target to evade pursuit.
Just as it was now,
"Whoosh!"
Yajima Jyunin had barely come to a stop and fixed his vicious gaze on the little Byakugan-wielding brat in the distance
when a kunai, riding the shadow cast by the houses, traced a cold, sharp arc toward his throat!
Relying on the shinobi instincts drilled into his muscles, Yajima Jyunin immediately reached into his weapon pouch, hooked out a kunai, and swung it from his palm!
Clang!
The two kunai struck, scattering sparks and ringing sharply through the silent alley.
But the subtle difference in the impact made Yajima Jyunin's heart skip a beat. His gaze involuntarily followed the kunai that had been knocked aside and fallen to the ground—
A paper-wrapped pellet was tied to its end.
The sparks landed on the pellet.
The next instant,
"Bang!"
A thick cloud of smoke burst from it!
Yajima Jyunin immediately held his breath and covered his nose, then pushed off the ground and leaped clear of the smoke. Midair, he swiftly scanned his surroundings, searching for his target.
However,
when he looked back toward where Hyuga Yu had been, all he saw was an empty alley and...
a pair of shoes that had been taken off?
"That brat... ran away?" Yajima Jyunin's expression shifted slightly beneath his cat mask.
"No!"
Yajima Jyunin understood in an instant.
The intel said Hyuga Yu hadn't learned the Body Flicker Technique. Besides, using it made a fairly loud "whoosh."
Ruling out the possibility that Hyuga Yu had escaped with the Body Flicker Technique, and seeing the shoes on the ground, Yajima Jyunin quickly reached a conclusion—
"He threw a smoke bomb to block my vision."
"While it covered the area, he quickly took off his shoes and moved into hiding, so his footsteps wouldn't make a sound."
"Since he couldn't get away, he hid in the shadows of a building, hoping to slip away unnoticed."
Yajima Jyunin took a deep breath, his gaze turning icy.
"But,"
"unfortunately for you, you picked a dead end!"
He looked toward the shadows farther down the alley.
The alley was T-shaped. Yajima Jyunin had reached the back section leading to the apartments first and blocked it off, while Hyuga Yu couldn't possibly have escaped out the other end in such a short time.
So Yajima Jyunin judged that the brat was hiding in the dead-end passage in the middle. Perhaps he was cowering behind a trash can. Or maybe he was so desperate that he was praying to the gods, resorting to a clumsy Transformation Jutsu to turn himself into a telephone pole or a wooden gate, covering his mouth as he sobbed and hoped he wouldn't be found.
Yajima Jyunin's lips curled into a faint, mocking smile.
"Tap, tap!"
He began to walk, tightening his grip on the kunai. His gaze was cold and sharp, and he looked like a butcher about to take the life of a lamb waiting for slaughter.
As he moved,
the next instant,
Yajima Jyunin—an expert in the Hidden Mist Technique, whose superb hearing had been honed by killing in the mist—
heard a faint sound somewhere behind him.
"Creak... creak..."
It sounded like someone carefully walking on tiptoe across a beach. Even with the utmost care, they couldn't help making the slightest noise.
Yajima Jyunin felt a little puzzled and abruptly turned his head almost 130 degrees.
The shadowy alley was just as silent as ever. In the distance, the three Kage Rock faces were edged with brilliant gold in the light of dusk.
There was nothing behind him.
"Phew..."
Yajima Jyunin exhaled, thinking he might have imagined it.
He turned back, ready to start walking again.
But as soon as he turned his head, that faint sound, as slight as an ant crawling, rang out again!
"Creak, creak!"
This time, the footsteps were lighter and more nimble, as though someone had simply taken a gentle step to the other side.
Yajima Jyunin's heart skipped a beat.
This time, he couldn't have been mistaken.
It was unmistakably a shinobi footwork technique called "Namba Walking," which could erase the sound of a shinobi's footsteps. Even walking across a poorly maintained wooden floor that creaked at the slightest movement wouldn't leave a sound.
In theory, it was silent. But for some shinobi with hearing far beyond ordinary people's, ears so sharp they were almost inhuman, even this technique left the faintest "trace."
And Yajima Jyunin, a Kirigakure Ninja skilled in the Silent Killing Technique, happened to have hearing that sharp.
Which meant—
That brat was right behind him?!
At the thought, Yajima Jyunin felt as if ants were crawling all over his back. Without another moment's hesitation, he spun around like a top!
And yet...
In his field of vision, in front of him and behind him, there was still nothing!
The shadows cast by the buildings swallowed up every silhouette, making it impossible to judge an enemy's position by the light.
But Yajima Jyunin was certain that someone was behind him!
"Creak, creak!"
The faint, unbroken footsteps sounded again, like a death knell!
As he scanned the empty alley, the creaking footsteps kept sounding behind him, following every turn of his head!
Yajima Jyunin felt his heart beating faster and faster, his nerves fraying.
"Ha!" His face was pale, but he forced out a mocking laugh.
"Brat, you think playing tricks like this is going to work on me!?"
"I'll—"
As he spoke, his hands moved faster than his mouth. He swiftly formed the signs "Ox—Snake—Ram," attempting to cast a jutsu and change this bizarre situation.
"Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!"
The Hidden Mist Technique was a prerequisite for the Silent Killing Technique. It transformed chakra into mist and expelled it from the mouth or beneath the feet, creating a dense fog.
At the same time, this chakra-filled mist had a rudimentary sensory effect.
If someone was really behind him, Yajima Jyunin would immediately mark them. Then he could use the mist to obscure their vision, preventing them from keeping up with his movements and countering the strange "Invisibility Jutsu" the opponent had displayed.
"Whoosh!"
Yajima Jyunin conjured a great cloud of mist, spreading it through the alley!
At last, he got a clear sense of what was behind him.
However,
what filled Yajima Jyunin with dread was—
even though he could finally see behind himself as if he'd grown an eye there,
there was still nothing.
"Ha... ha..."
Confronted with this terrifying situation, Yajima Jyunin could no longer keep his composure. As his heart pounded so hard it seemed ready to burst from his chest, he gasped for breath.
"Where? Where? Where?"
"Where the hell is that brat?!"
Bloodshot veins spread across his eyes as his chakra began surging wildly.
The roiling mist slipped completely out of his control, growing thicker and spreading farther as he poured in more chakra. He would do anything to find Hyuga Yu—even if it meant exposing himself as a Kirigakure Ninja.
The dense fog swallowed the entire alley and the buildings within several hundred meters!
At last,
Yajima Jyunin's eyes lit up. He whipped around to face one direction and let out a feral laugh.
"I found you, brat!"
But,
the only reply he got was—
"Rip!"
In an instant,
the wind howled!
Illuminated by the last rays of sunlight at dusk,
a Japanese Arrow measuring 1.15 meters long tore through the surging fog!
Under Yajima Jyunin's stunned, disbelieving gaze, it traced a brilliant, golden arc of killing intent.
Faster, fiercer, and harder to dodge than an ordinary shinobi's thrown shuriken—
The arrow pierced straight through Yajima Jyunin's forehead!
And so,
Yajima Jyunin, a thirty-two-year-old Kirigakure Chunin,
died.
Before you continue