Black Nest: Unraveling

Black Nest was a nest woven from Yura's Demonic Power-charged hair. Aside from sheltering its occupants from the elements and serving as a temporary base, its main purpose was to act as a wide-area surveillance technique. It sensed vibrations, and its range was immense. If she had enough Demonic Power, Yura thought her hair could circle the planet.

However, when the strands stretched too far, information took time to travel, resulting in a certain degree of delay.

But within that range, anyone who wandered in was like a fly caught in a spider's web.

Seen from underground, countless strands of hair spread out like plant roots, twisting and tangling together in dense layers to form a vast net that enveloped the entire Takigakure.

Doflamingo had a move that was one of his most powerful finishing techniques. It was called Birdcage.

An upgraded version of Parasite, it could both attack and control. Countless threads formed a huge, arcing cage that stretched from the sky to the ground.

The threads could slice through things with incredible sharpness. Even the slightest touch could cause injury, so the technique trapped everyone inside, like a real birdcage.

The threads that formed the cage could also split apart and burrow into an opponent's body, controlling their limbs and forcing those trapped inside to fight one another.

It could even block wireless signals, such as radio waves, to keep the people inside from calling for help.

Yura probably couldn't block signals yet.

But the other two abilities wouldn't be difficult.

Walking through the air among the dense trees, Yura formed Hand Seals before her chest with one hand, more for show than anything else.

Black Secret Technique: Black Nest...

"Unravel!"

It all happened without a sound. No one knew what had occurred. No—perhaps someone did. Huan, who was lingering near Black Nest, suddenly felt uneasy for no reason. It seemed as though some妖怪 nearby had awakened, its heart beating with slow, powerful thumps.

Beyond the range of her sight, behind her, Black Nest stood among the trees like an upright heart, pounding fiercely. It pumped like a real heart, sending Demonic Power through the strands of hair in every direction.

The hair buried underground vibrated. In the next instant, it burst from the soil all at once, streaking toward the sky like a shower of meteors.

From above, the invisible strands could be seen encircling Takigakure's waterfall. Countless strands met in the air, weaving together in every direction.

As if sensing danger, the entire forest erupted into chaos. The sea of trees trembled, and flocks of birds took flight, crying out as they blotted out the sky and scattered in every direction.

But this wasn't Birdcage. Yura had no intention of trapping them.

Throughout the forest, strands of hair shot up from the ground in a dense, rapid succession. Some soared straight upward, forming the framework of a vast structure. Others crisscrossed wildly through the trees, seemingly without purpose. As the dense strands darted past trees and animals, a leaf drifted down. In an instant, it was silently sliced in half by something invisible.

Just then, a four-person squad of shinobi had left the village on orders to search for the Jinchuriki. As they leaped from tree to tree, the lead shinobi was suddenly sliced into pieces, his remains scattering through the air. Terror and shock still lingered in his eyes. The second shinobi silently came apart in midair and fell in pieces. Then the third and fourth were cut to ribbons in turn.

With nowhere to land in midair, their momentum carried them straight into the crisscrossing web of razor-sharp threads. Without a chance to react, they were quietly sliced into pieces by the taut strands.

All that remained was faint blood, gathering into beads and dripping down the invisible threads to the ground.

Cruel, yet eerily beautiful: the art of slaughter.

Across the vast forest surrounding Takigakure, the same scene unfolded again and again. Some shinobi died painlessly, without even realizing it. Whether that was fortunate or not, others weren't so lucky. They weren't sliced apart in an instant, but somehow managed to survive with an arm or leg severed. Their shrill screams rang through the forest as blood soaked the earth.

After sacrificing a comrade, some shinobi sensed the danger in the forest and stopped in place, faces full of fear as they stood on guard. They had no idea what to do. They could only shout and curse, demanding that their attacker reveal themselves, while frantically waving their weapons to defend against an unseen assault.

But it was all in vain.

The strands plunged down like falling stars, piercing the shinobi's bodies.

In the next moment, two people who had just been fighting side by side, back to back, turned around at the same time and each dealt the other a fatal blow. Their chests gaped open in ragged wounds. They stared at one another, each clearly seeing the shock, fear, despair, and helplessness in the other's eyes.

Invisible threads wound tightly around their limbs, twisting them into grotesque shapes.

Their faces crumpled. Scalding tears spilled down their cheeks, and snot ran from their noses.

"No—! It wasn't me!!! Run! I can't control my body!!!"

"No—! Don't!!! Wait! Stop! Please—!!!"

Hot blood fell alongside their tears.

An invisible cage enveloped the outskirts of Takigakure. Demonic Power boiled and roiled between the strands. The unseen energy gathered and condensed, forming a colossal illusion too immense to look upon directly.

A gigantic female apparition appeared above the forest, her long black hair flying through the sky. A faint smile played on her face, her scarlet eyes cold and emotionless. Her enormous hands stretched out, palms nearly closed, as if the shadow they cast covered the tiny Takigakure below.

No one could pass.

Flying through the forest with her head bowed, Lucy felt uneasy. She could sense all kinds of violent negative emotions erupting in the distance. Some were afraid, some were terrified, but most were despairing, as if they had encountered an overwhelming enemy.

Walking ahead to lead the way, Yura said, "Stay close to me, Little Monster~ Otherwise, you might accidentally get cut to pieces."

Lucy obediently flew closer to Yura.

A short while later, she followed Yura to a certain spot and hovered in the air. Looking down at the carnage, Lucy's pupils shrank slightly.

Though she often talked about hate and such, she was still an innocent girl who had spent years secretly imprisoned by her family and had never seen blood. This was the first time she had witnessed someone die so directly.

Beneath a large tree, scattered remains littered the ground. A head whose eyes were still filled with terror rolled to one side. The only survivor at the scene was a boy, standing rigidly beneath the tree, covered in blood and staring blankly as his body trembled violently.

He looked young, no more than eleven or twelve, and was already a proper Genin cannon fodder.

Not long ago, perhaps he had simply been an innocent child with dreams of becoming a shinobi.

But Yura knew all too well that the war had only just ended. A child who had become a shinobi at this age was no innocent. Since he wasn't on Huan's list, that meant he'd already been abandoned.

A Jinchuriki against a Genin—who had the advantage? Yura wouldn't say.

Hovering in midair, Lucy hesitated to attack. She gripped Black Blade: Hair so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

Yura didn't particularly want to force her, but this was the Shinobi World. She didn't mind helping Lucy face reality as soon as possible.

"Hey, you over there."

Sitting casually in midair, Yura smiled faintly.

"Kill the blonde girl over here, and I'll spare your life. How about it?"

At that, the boy shuddered. He lowered his head, his expression hidden.

"Hey, you big妖怪!" Lucy wasn't stupid. She gripped her blade tightly and stared fixedly at the boy in front of her. She could sense his murderous intent growing more and more intense.

He's going to kill me!

He means it!

Just like those awful people in my family!

Her emerald eyes turned bloodred in an instant. Lucy clenched her teeth, but...

Her hands were trembling...

In the next instant, the boy suddenly moved. He raised his hand, and a Kunai shot toward her. With a shrill whistle, it grazed Lucy's cheek, leaving a streak of blood. At the last moment, she had instinctively tilted her head aside.

She was a Jinchuriki, after all. Scarlet chakra seeped from the wound, and it healed in the blink of an eye.

Both the wings at her waist and her ability to heal injuries came from borrowing chakra.

The boy's face was full of murderous intent as he prepared to attack. But wary of the invisible blades around him, he didn't make any sudden moves. He could only hope the seemingly foolish blonde would stumble into one of the invisible traps and be sliced to pieces.

"Come on, stupid blonde!"

"You—!!!"

In her fury, Lucy let go of the Black Blade.

The boy stared at Lucy's movement in confusion. What had she thrown? It seemed like she hadn't thrown anything at all. In the next instant, he realized what had happened, but by then it was too late. An invisible blade pierced his chest. His body rapidly lost its strength, and terror filled his eyes. A desperate, unwilling scream burst from him as he died.

Resting her head in her hands, Yura watched the boy's final struggle.

"Not bad aim. You've got the makings of a shinobi."

Lucy hovered in midair, panting heavily, her hands still trembling. It took her quite a while to calm down. Then she lowered her head and said nothing.

"You're so kind. You really don't seem like a妖怪, Little Monster~"

At that, Lucy jerked her head up and cried, "Who's kind?! I'm a妖怪! A妖怪 who eats people!"

"Is that so?" Yura stood up, dusted off her hands, and said, "Come on. We're going to meet a妖怪 who eats people."

"A-a-a妖怪 who eats people?!" Lucy's face turned pale. She hurried after Yura. Wouldn't she give herself away when they met someone like that?

"Let's go, Little Monster~"

"I'm Lucy!"