His lips moved, silently forming a few words.
The Three Tomoe turned slowly, reading Scarface's lips with perfect clarity:
"Save... Hikari... please..."
Shisui's gaze shifted behind Saint Charlos's palanquin.
There, several bodyguards were dragging a crude cage.
Inside, Hikari, the red-haired woman, was bound tight with chains. A rag stuffed her mouth, and blood smeared her face.
She glared at the Celestial Dragon, her eyes blazing with hatred and despair.
Saint Charlos followed Scarface's gaze to the cage and grinned even wider.
"Oh? Still want to see your woman? Don't worry, I'll take good care of her. A wild mare like that will be much more fun to break."
He waved to the executioners.
"Cut out the hearts of those three fish bastards. I want to see if they're blue.
"As for that legless insect...
"He's too filthy. Throw him to the sea beasts."
The executioner bowed, picked up a gleaming blade made for the task, and approached a Fish-Man boy who was still twitching.
The light in Scarface's eyes faded rapidly. His last spark of life was slipping away.
He kept staring at Shisui, one final plea in his eyes.
Uchiha Shisui stood where he was.
His black robe did not stir in the blood-scented breeze.
The gentleness had vanished from his face, replaced by utter detachment.
But the slowly turning, scarlet Three Tomoe betrayed the turmoil beneath.
He could defeat the executioners. The bodyguards were no match for him either.
With his speed, he might even have a chance to save the dying Fish-Man boy and Scarface.
But he would be exposed.
Should he attack the Celestial Dragon outright?
That would make him an enemy of the entire World Government. The clan head had told him not to provoke the Celestial Dragons for now.
He had only just met these people. Was he really going to make an enemy of the strongest power in this world for their sake?
To put his own people in danger for them...
Was it truly necessary?
Shisui slowly closed his eyes.
He heard the faint scrape of the executioner's blade, the Fish-Man boy's last rasping breaths,
the excited whispers of the onlookers, and Saint Charlos's delighted chuckle.
Together, they formed a cruel symphony.
When Shisui opened his eyes again, the Three Tomoe in his scarlet Sharingan spun faster for an instant.
Just as he was about to use the Body Flicker Technique and try to save them,
a familiar voice rang out without warning.
"Hey, you pieces of trash. What are you doing blocking my way?"
Shisui turned in surprise and saw Inabi approaching from a short distance away.
Inabi glanced at Shisui but showed no intention of greeting him.
The crowd ahead packed the street.
"Move."
Inabi did not raise his voice. He sounded almost lazy, yet the command carried a hard edge that brooked no argument.
He wore a simple black coat.
The Ryo Wazamono sword he had recently acquired, En'yōmaru, hung carelessly at his waist.
The end of its scabbard dragged across the ground, scraping softly with each step.
He looked at no one. He walked straight toward the executioners preparing to cut into the Fish-Man boy.
The Sabaody residents watching the scene instinctively stepped back to clear a path, afraid of being caught up in it.
This man dared to offend a Celestial Dragon's people.
Did he have a death wish?
Saint Charlos's attention shifted to him.
He tilted his head with interest, peering at Inabi through his glass dome with beady eyes.
"Oh? Another insect? So many rats today."
Inabi acted as if he had not heard. He had already reached the executioners.
He lowered his gaze to the three skinned Fish-Man boys, who were still twitching faintly.
There was no pity in his eyes, only an almost cold appraisal.
"Skinned them... heh."
Inabi's mouth twitched into a smile devoid of warmth. "What a crude pastime."
One executioner squirmed under his stare and shouted with more bluster than courage,
"Get lost! These are Saint Charlos's property! Interfere, and you'll—"
He never finished.
A blade flashed.
En'yōmaru did not even leave its scabbard completely. Inabi drew it barely a foot.
The gleaming edge traced three nearly overlapping afterimages through the air.
Slice.
Three faint sounds came so close together they were almost inaudible.
A thin line of blood appeared across each Fish-Man boy's throat.
Their last painful twitches ceased. A flicker of relief passed through their empty eyes.
Clean and swift. Not a movement wasted.
After a brief, deathly silence, Saint Charlos sprang up from his palanquin.
Rage twisted the face beneath his glass dome.
"You—you dare kill my property?!"
His shrill voice pierced the air. "Kill that filthy commoner! Chop him up and feed him to the fish!"
The four nearest bodyguards moved at once!
They were blindingly quick and clearly well trained. Two drew their swords and slashed at Inabi's neck and abdomen from behind.
The other two came in barehanded, fierce gusts whipping around them as they blocked his escape to either side.
"Tricks for weaklings."
Inabi did not even look back.
He merely turned the wrist holding his sword.
"Flame Style: Spinning Whirlwind."
Dark-red flame patterns flared across En'yōmaru's blade!
The fire did not come from his mouth. Instead, a ring of searing heat burst straight from the sword!
The dark-red flames burned so fiercely that the air crackled. In an instant, the ring spread outward from Inabi!
The four charging bodyguards' faces changed!
Sensing a deadly threat, they forced themselves to halt.
Some raised their swords to block; others leaped back!
Boom!
The ring of fire exploded outward!
The heat wave scorched the ground black!
The blades of the two swordsmen glowed red-hot in an instant and flew from their hands!
The two unarmed men fared even worse. Their clothes caught fire, pain seared their skin, and they stumbled back, frantically beating at the flames!
In a single exchange, all four elite bodyguards had been driven back!
Only then did Inabi turn leisurely toward the furious Saint Charlos, open mockery curling his lips.
"Those are your dogs? They don't seem very tough."
"Useless! You're all useless! Get him! All of you!"
Saint Charlos's fat shook with rage as he pointed at Inabi and shrieked.
More bodyguards surged in from every direction. Several even began to gleam black with Armament Haki!
At the same time, the executioners drew their weapons and moved to surround him, their eyes vicious.
Inabi's gaze chilled. At last, he drew En'yōmaru fully from its scabbard.
In the slanting sunlight, the long, narrow blade shone with a luster both cold and fiery.
"If you want to die..."
He lowered his stance into an unusual opening position, pressing the index and middle fingers of his left hand together upright before his chest.
"Then you can help me test this sword!"
"Fire Style: Flame Blade Dance!"
He moved!
Rather than stand and defend, he charged straight into the crowd!
Blade-light and fire erupted together!
Every swing sent a blazing slash through the air!
The flames did not spray wildly. They coiled around the edge as though alive.
With every chop, thrust, and sweep,
they became deadly streaks of fire!
This feels good! So damn good!
A wild grin spread across Inabi's face as he swung his sword.
Ordinarily, Chakra remained concentrated inside a ninja's body. To control it, a ninja would form Hand Seals, guide the Chakra to his mouth, and release a technique from there.
Some techniques could be released away from the body, of course, but their power would inevitably suffer.
Now, Inabi discovered that En'yōmaru could channel his Chakra and unleash Fire Release directly!
Its power was slightly reduced,
but being able to use Fire Release without forming Hand Seals...
It was incredible!
Slash!
One bodyguard met the flaming blade with a fist coated in Armament Haki, only to have a charred wound carved across it!
Boom!
Another tried to block with his sword, but the blast of flame split the skin between his thumb and forefinger and bent his blade!
Inabi wove through the crowd, the Three Tomoe of his Sharingan already active.
He tracked every enemy's movements and every weak point with precision.
His swordsmanship was swift and ruthless, woven together with the changing nature of his Fire Release Chakra.
He drew out En'yōmaru's qualities to the fullest.
The sword had an astonishing affinity for fire-nature Chakra, amplifying it as well!
In barely a dozen seconds, another seven or eight bodyguards fell screaming, blackened cuts and burns covering their bodies.
Inabi took a few punches and kicks, but he deflected them or turned aside enough to protect his vital points. Only his clothes were somewhat torn.
He carved a path through them, his target clear.
Saint Charlos, the Celestial Dragon giving the orders!
"Stop him!"
Fear had crept into Saint Charlos's shriek.
The strongest bodyguards, their bodies mostly covered in Armament Haki, roared and formed a defensive line before him.
Inabi stopped and regarded them, the mockery in his eyes deepening. "Now this is a little more interesting."
He gripped his sword with both hands, its tip angled toward the ground, and drew a deep breath.
The air around him began to warp as waves of heat rose from his body.
Just as he prepared to unleash a stronger strike,
"That's enough!"
The voice was cold, detached, and utterly devoid of emotion. It poured over the blazing battlefield like ice water.
At some point, three figures had appeared soundlessly at the edge of the fight.
All three wore white suits and white cloaks. Strange masks of different designs covered their faces, leaving only their eyes visible.
The leader's mask was pure white, without a single ornament.
Only two narrow slits at the eyes revealed his indifferent gaze.
He stood apart from his surroundings, radiating a disquieting sense of emptiness.
"CP0!"
A knowledgeable onlooker gasped. The crowd scattered at once, fleeing even farther away.
The Celestial Dragons' highest-ranking personal guards. The World Government's most powerful intelligence agency.
CP0 had arrived!
Inabi raised an eyebrow. He sensed a danger from the newcomers unlike anything he had felt from the enemies before them.
But rather than retreat, he grew even more excited.
"Finally, someone worth fighting?"
Before you continue