The Kaguya Clan's Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai truly had unique qualities. It was highly aggressive, and when paired with the Byakugan's 360-degree field of vision, it had no blind spots or openings. It could launch attacks or counterattacks from almost any angle.
On the night of the coup in the clan compound,
Hyuga Ritsu had relied on the combination of the Byakugan and Shikotsumyaku to block Namikaze Minato's surprise teleportation attack.
Now, he paid these Water Clones even less mind. He didn't need to give them a second thought. He simply barreled through them like a steamroller, crushing one after another. They didn't delay him in the slightest.
In the blink of an eye,
he had closed in on the Mist Ninja.
He moved so quickly that the two Jonin didn't dare turn and retreat. They could only steel themselves and meet him with their blades. Steel rang against bone, but the two of them had only two swords between them, while Hyuga Ritsu had eight bones jutting from his body.
With just one exchange,
both Mist Jonin were left covered in wounds, their flesh slashed open by bones as sharp as blades, some cuts deep enough to expose bone.
"Damn it, fall back!"
one of them wailed.
"But what about them...?"
The other still wondered if they could save the men behind them. But when he glanced over, he saw that all the subordinates they had brought to attack the mountain had fallen. Only a young man with a short sword in hand remained standing among the bodies, blood dripping from the tip of his blade.
At that moment,
the young man looked over, and their eyes met by chance. He clearly saw the other man's scarlet eyes, with three black tomoe spinning within them.
—This is bad!
The Jonin let out a terrified cry in his heart.
But it was too late.
His consciousness was dragged down into an endless abyss by that pair of scarlet eyes. His body stiffened, frozen in place, and in the next instant, a sharp bone pierced through his chest.
"Impressive nerve, daring to meet Shisui's gaze."
Hyuga Ritsu praised him as he pulled the bone from the corpse. The unsupported body fell to the ground. In the empty, lifeless pupils was reflected the corpse of the other Jonin, lying in a pool of blood.
In a matter of moments,
every Mist Ninja present had been killed by Hyuga Ritsu and Uchiha Shisui.
"Shisui, you're even faster than before!"
Hyuga Ritsu glanced over the bodies. Every one of them had died from a slash across the throat, and even the depth of their wounds was almost identical. It was as if the corpses had stretched out their necks and run into Shisui's blade themselves. Their frozen, blank expressions made it seem as though they hadn't realized they were dead.
With skill like that,
it was no wonder he could make the Mist Ninja keep their distance!
"Ritsu-senpai, you're the one who's making me—"
Uchiha Shisui stared at Hyuga Ritsu as he watched him draw all the bones back into his body. He had so much to say, yet the words caught in his throat, and for a moment he couldn't speak. After stammering for a few seconds, he finally asked, "Ritsu-senpai, that's the Kaguya Clan's Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai, isn't it? How did you get it?"
His gaze was full of curiosity and scrutiny.
"Call it a throwback!"
"Hm?"
"The Hyuga Clan and the Kaguya Clan share a common ancestor. In fact, it isn't just our two clans. If you trace the bloodlines of your Uchiha, the Senju, the Uzumaki, and other clans far enough back, they all come from the same ancestor... All right, I'm joking. I took it from a Mist Ninja of the Kaguya Clan using a secret technique passed down in my Hyuga Clan."
Hyuga Ritsu told the story with nine parts truth and one part lie.
Everything else was true. Only the source of the Chimera Technique was false.
"So there really is a secret technique that lets you steal someone else's Kekkei Genkai? That's kind of terrifying!"
Uchiha Shisui was amazed. He hadn't taken Hyuga Ritsu's initial joke seriously, but he believed his explanation afterward. The Hyuga Clan was also an ancient family with a long history. It was hardly surprising that they had powerful techniques secretly passed down through the generations.
As for why no one from the Hyuga Clan had used this technique to steal another's Kekkei Genkai before, perhaps it was extremely difficult to master? Or maybe it had some other limitation.
Either way, Uchiha Shisui believed Hyuga Ritsu's explanation.
Otherwise,
how else could he explain the origins of Hyuga Ritsu's Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai?
"Haha! Shisui, are you afraid I'll steal your Sharingan?"
"Not really. Ritsu-senpai, you're not the kind of person who'd hurt a comrade."
"Ah, Shisui, is that really how noble you think I am? Now you're making me feel embarrassed. But I'd advise you not to trust your comrades too much. You know, fatal attacks often come from behind."
"I'll remember that."
Uchiha Shisui agreed perfunctorily.
It was obvious he hadn't remembered a word. The warning went in one ear and out the other, never sinking in or even registering.
Hyuga Ritsu couldn't be bothered to keep talking. He turned to look at the group of Mist Ninja coming up the mountain path and smiled. "Suikazan Fuguki, Hozuki Mangetsu—you two took your time. I thought you'd catch up sooner."
Konoha and the Mist Ninja had been fighting for quite some time.
Both sides already knew which fighters were formidable. Unless someone had only recently arrived from the rear, anyone who had been active on the front lines for a while had been thoroughly scouted.
Suikazan Fuguki and Hozuki Mangetsu were among the Mist Ninja's top fighters.
The former was one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and the wielder of the Great Sword: Samehada. He was a renowned veteran of Kirigakure, still in his prime. The latter, like Uchiha Shisui, was a rising star among the younger generation on the Mist Ninja side.
Likewise, the Mist Ninja had also gathered a good deal of information on Uchiha Shisui and Hyuga Ritsu.
"Hyuga Ritsu, where did you get the Kaguya Clan's Shikotsumyaku?"
Suikazan Fuguki stared hard at Hyuga Ritsu.
The secret letter from Konoha had mentioned that Hyuga Ritsu possessed the Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai. He'd thought it was absurd, but now that he had seen Hyuga Ritsu use it with his own eyes, he almost thought he was dreaming. Otherwise, how could he be seeing something so ridiculous?
But this wasn't a dream.
Sometimes reality was even more absurd than a dream.
So,
he desperately wanted to find out how Hyuga Ritsu had acquired the Kaguya Clan's Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai. Had a member of the Kaguya Clan secretly defected years ago? Or was there some other explanation?
"I'm under no obligation to answer you."
Hyuga Ritsu shrugged.
"Is that so? Then when you're a prisoner, we'll see if you can keep that mouth of yours shut."
Suikazan Fuguki waved his hand.
Mist Ninja appeared all around them. Including Suikazan Fuguki and Hozuki Mangetsu, more than fifty of them surrounded Hyuga Ritsu and Uchiha Shisui.
The secret letter from Konoha had told them to first test Hyuga Ritsu's trump cards, then create a better opportunity to kill him later.
But
Suikazan Fuguki had no intention of following those instructions.
If there was a chance, he'd take it. If there wasn't, he'd make one.
Now Hyuga Ritsu and Uchiha Shisui had indeed run straight into them, and Hozuki Mangetsu had conveniently delivered himself into Suikazan Fuguki's hands, greatly strengthening their side. He planned to seize the opportunity to break both of Konoha's finest blades, rather than wait for some future chance that might never come.
As for whether his actions would cause trouble for the person who had sent the secret letter, he didn't care!
The more intensely the Konoha Ninja fought among themselves, the happier he'd be!
He only wished the Konoha Ninja would tear one another apart.
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