Deep Fear

Mind-reading is a truly detestable and disgusting skill.

Whether one is the reader or the one being read, it is equally unpleasant—at least, that is how Yura feels about it.

Yura hates mind-reading. The perception of negative emotions is, to a certain extent, a crude form of mind-reading; while she may not know the specific thoughts of her target, she can guess their general state of mind, and by cross-referencing a few clues, she can—quite tragically—read people with ease.

The darkness within the human heart is more monstrous than any demon.

Under the moonlight, sitting on a tree branch in the forest, Yura toys with a strand of her hair, her finger giving a slight flick.

Suddenly, a scream erupts somewhere in the woods, only to be extinguished into nothingness.

Lucy, her mouth stuffed with nutritious but tasteless military rations, watches Yura with curiosity. Throughout their journey, she has learned that it is best not to stray too far from Yura's side; this stretch of forest is already teeming with lethal intent.

Deep in the woods, a ninja is submerged ten meters underground, moving rapidly through the earth using a subterranean jutsu.

But as a ninja, as a human, one must breathe; even if one can remain submerged for a long time, their chakra cannot hold out forever.

This distance should be enough, right? If he could easily bypass the blockade using earth-style, then everything that followed would be simple.

Thinking this, the ninja begins to surface. A moment later, he emerges from the ground. In the pitch-black forest nearby, only the cold moonlight spills down from the treetops, and the surroundings are deathly silent.

No invisible attack comes his way, and he cannot help but heave a sigh of relief, though he dares not let his guard down.

Standing on the surface, the ninja takes a tentative step. When no attack strikes him, a look of joy appears on his hardened face.

Yura lifts her eyes slightly, feeling the vibrations in the ground, locking onto a tiny spark of emotion in the far distance within her mind's lake.

"You ran quite far."

But...

Yura flicks her finger.

Suddenly, the joy on the ninja's face freezes. Strands of hair slide silently through the air, turning him into a pile of fragments that tumble to the ground. Amidst the shrill cawing of crows, the birds, having discovered fresh food, flutter down to the ground to peck at the remains.

Yura's hair has never been a static, inanimate object; it is a living thing capable of movement.

In front of the hidden waterfall passage outside Takigakure, there is a lake. There are several other such waterfalls connecting to the village, and at this moment, four squads of ninjas are gathered on the water, standing upon its surface. Behind them, the waterfall roars, and the group of chunin wears grave expressions.

"Did he fail?"

"It's been half an hour. The agreed-upon contact time has long passed. He must be dead."

As the words fall, the group of ninjas descends into a slight panic.

One ninja cannot help but look up at the pitch-black forest ahead, a flicker of fear in his eyes, as if the woods contain a demon waiting to devour them. Shadowy figures sway in the moonlit forest—those are the corpses of their comrades who had previously tried to enter the woods, only to be killed and hung up.

"What do we do?"

"We must find a way to locate the caster!"

"How do we find her?"

"Are you still unable to sense any chakra!?"

A ninja shakes his head with a pained, bitter expression, saying, "I can't sense anything at all—no distinct chakra."

Hair composed of demonic energy writhes through the forest.

"Damn it!!!"

"What on earth is that thing!? Are we just going to stand here helpless!?"

Fear condenses bit by bit, churning and boiling incessantly.

"We cannot give up yet! Even if we die, we must complete the mission!"

"Even if our chakra is exhausted, we must use ninjutsu to carve out a path! The hope of the village rests on us!"

Earth Style: Earth Rock Spear.

A giant earthen spear rises from the ground, roaring as it charges forward. Since they do not know where the target is, they can only release it aimlessly. After the roar subsides, the spear comes to a halt. Watching this scene of attacking thin air, the other ninjas' eyelids twitch violently.

Such a maneuver is truly foolish.

But what follows is a creeping despair that gently tightens around their hearts.

"Did... did it work?"

No one knows.

Until the next instant, the ten-meter-high Earth Rock Spear, in full view of everyone, slowly shifts, disintegrates, and falls apart in mid-air. Heavy chunks of rock crash to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.

The good news: they hit something.

The bad news: it had absolutely no effect.

Yura lifts her eyelids and smiles faintly.

"Another little fly has bumped into the web."

Watching this, one ninja falls to his knees on the water, looking dazed.

"What is it!? What kind of monster is that thing!!!"

Everything is far too bizarre, defying all reason.

He could not understand.

How exactly was one supposed to fight such an invisible enemy?

There are some things that, even if they just stand there quietly, cannot be overcome by even the greatest effort.

"Damn it! Retreat!"

The moment the words fell, accompanied by a sudden cry of alarm, one of the ninjas was seemingly seized by a monster. Under the immense force, his entire body vanished from the surface of the water in an instant, pulled beneath. By the cold, scattered moonlight, the others could still see him struggling desperately in the water, choking as it filled his nose and mouth. He thrashed in agony, but held fast by some spectral entity, he was slowly dragged into the depths, unable to break free.

Ninjas are human, and humans are fragile things.

"Retreat! Get off the water!"

With terror in their eyes, the ninjas immediately took various actions to flee.

"It's here! That monster is here!!!"

High in the treetops, Yura extended her hands. Between her palms, strands of hair were woven into a complex cat's cradle, her fingers dancing.

In an instant, the ninjas who had been scattering and flickering away in mid-air were shredded into pieces. Accompanied by the roar of the waterfall and the rising mist, a spray of blood erupted in the air, followed by their remains falling and sinking into the water.

A ninja who witnessed this scene froze in place, drenched in cold sweat, not daring to move a muscle. With eyes full of fear, he looked tremblingly and helplessly at the empty void surrounding him.

"It's here..." a ninja murmured, his voice trembling as a look of broken, hysterical laughter masked his face.

Suddenly, a terrified, distorted scream rang out. The ninja, originally a man, let out a shrill, fearful cry like a woman's, and in the blink of an eye, he was dragged down as if by a demon, sinking into the water with a splash.

Then, a second ninja was dragged under...

Followed by a third...

One twisted, terrified face after another struggled beneath the surface, one companion after another vanishing right before their eyes.

Everything was happening exactly as ordained, and they were powerless to stop even a single detail.

"Haha... hahahaha..." Accompanied by the sound of a mental breakdown, one ninja raised his blade and slit his own throat. Blood bloomed from his neck as his body pitched forward, sinking silently into the water.

"How delicious..."

Under the moonlight, a pair of scarlet eyes grew even more crimson. The slaughter had not yet ceased.

The next morning, the atmosphere in the entire village grew increasingly heavy. After a night had passed, all the civilians in the village had been evacuated to hidden shelters. The streets had lost their vitality, left in a desolate, bleak silence, as if immersed in some immense terror. An uneasy atmosphere congealed on the faces of every ninja darting quickly through the streets.

Inside the central building of the village, the elderly high-ranking officials who had not slept all night looked far worse than the younger ones; their faces were etched with exhaustion and dark circles, but more tormenting than that was the immense mental pressure.

Perhaps it was because they were old, but they could feel more and more clearly that the footsteps of death were quietly approaching...

A massive, suffocating panic hovered over the conference room, gathering into a vortex of unease.

"My lords..." A ninja who had suddenly burst in knelt on one knee, his face covered in terror and tear tracks as he trembled, "The reconnaissance unit... has been completely wiped out. There are no survivors."

As the words fell, a deathly silence echoed throughout the chamber.

In the eyes of every old man and woman, there was only deep, profound fear.