Akaseki and Ranwu continued searching Rōran for soldiers and civilians who had seen the young thieves, hoping to piece together their appearances and discover their whereabouts.
However...
The young thieves had headed to Rōran's Royal Tower soon after arriving and had then been captured by An Lushan, so few people had seen them.
Just as Akaseki and Ranwu were growing disappointed...
"Ah, I left something at that restaurant. Let's go back."
"Okay, let's circle around up ahead."
Akaseki and Ranwu exchanged a glance, then casually made a detour toward a secluded area.
Not only was it surrounded by several tall towers with few windows, but the walkways overhead were densely packed and seldom used. Hardly anyone paid attention to this spot...
Soon after Akaseki and Ranwu entered the area, a cloaked figure followed them.
But when their pursuer rounded the corner, she discovered that Akaseki and Ranwu had vanished.
Just as the cloaked figure realized something was wrong and tried to retreat, Akaseki appeared behind her!
"Instead of running away, you actually followed us?" Akaseki asked in a low voice.
Whoosh-
The cloaked figure immediately drew a kunai and stabbed behind her, but Akaseki swept his hand across and blocked her wrist.
She hurriedly leaped back, rapidly forming hand seals...
Water Style: Starch Syrup Capturing Field!
"Hm?" Akaseki watched the somewhat familiar technique.
At the same time, her hood fell back, revealing a girl's face and a head of white hair...
For a moment, Akaseki almost thought he was seeing someone else.
The white-haired girl's ninjutsu was fairly strong, but against Akaseki, it was nowhere near enough.
Swamp Release: Void Swamp Technique!
After forming hand seals, Akaseki used chakra to create a wall of mud. The special Water Style chakra produced by the Starch Syrup Capturing Field was swallowed by