Demonic Blade

"Retract all personnel..." Taking a deep breath, the Great Elder said in a low voice: "Abandon all non-essential locations. Concentrate our forces right here, and fight the enemy to the death."

What exactly were the non-essential locations?

First, the shelters. At this moment, there was no longer any capacity to worry about the civilians.

Then there was...

The Great Elder looked toward the elders of the four clans.

The elders of the four clans closed their eyes. The clan was the foundation; if the village were destroyed, as long as the clan remained, there would be no real loss. Leaving their people here was already a significant show of face.

"Great Elder Taki..." the old man leaning on a cane said: "You know this is all the strength we can muster. The village suffered too heavy a loss during the previous operation to capture the Tailed Beast."

Old geezer! And at a time like this!

"I do not believe that with so many of us, we cannot deal with a rat hiding its head and showing its tail," the old man Kusanagi said coldly.

On the field, the four old geezers exchanged glances, each harboring their own ulterior motives.

"That is right, hehehe." The old hag let out a ghostly laugh.

"Then let us see who has the better skills," the Great Elder replied with a sneer.

The village's latest orders were disseminated, and the Takigakure ninjas moved once more. They set up tight, layered defenses in the heart of Takigakure. Beyond that, four other locations were also fortified to be as impregnable as a fortress. These were the ancestral grounds of the four clans, scattered throughout the village, which were now long since emptied of people. Outside the village, four secret underground bases held the gathered members of the four clans.

As expected, finding no hope of breaking the blockade, they adopted a turtle-shell strategy. The Takigakure leadership, lacking unity, had selected their final battlefields, which were naturally isolated from one another, making mutual rescue difficult.

This was the moment for assassination and picking them off one by one.

So, whose house should be visited first?

Visiting four places in a single day—Yura frowned slightly. It was a bit busy.

However, she would not go today; she would let them wait properly.

Yura stood up and patted Lucy, who was sleeping soundly while leaning against a tree.

"Wake up, Little Monster~"

Still dazed, Lucy opened her eyes wide and shouted subconsciously: "Lucy-da!"

"It is time to make food, Little Monster~" Yura said.

"Don't you not need to eat?" Lucy rubbed her eyes.

"I am feeling a bit peckish." Taking out a candy, Yura popped it into her mouth.

"Yes, yes, yes..."

"By the way, Little Monster, let me ask you a question," Yura said.

"What?" Lucy looked up, puzzled.

"Do you hate the Uji Clan?"

Hearing this, Lucy was stunned, then immediately said: "Hate? I don't know..." Lucy smiled: "Everyone is afraid of me, only you, Great Monster, are not afraid of me..."

"Little Monster~" Yura smiled faintly: "The Beetle Great Monster is not afraid of you either, is he?"

"It is different..." Lucy looked at Yura, struggling with whether to speak.

Chomei is not like a human, but you are like a human.

"Do you want to tell me your story?" Seeing Lucy hesitating, Yura said: "If it is going to be long-winded, I might not really want to hear it."

Images flashed through her mind: her parents crazily hacking at each other, blood splattered all over her body, the fearful and wary gazes of her clansmen, everyone calling her a monster, a natural-born monster, driving her parents mad. Lucy did not understand—was it really her fault?

Staring steadily into the scarlet eyes before her, Lucy said: "I will not tell you!"

"Then let us go, Little Monster~ Huan might be getting a bit impatient."

Time passed quietly in dull waiting. That night, cold moonlight spilled into the forest. Deep underground, moving along the complex sewage system, they silently infiltrated the secret ancestral grounds of the Hero Clan. This was a secret passage known only to the Hero Clan.

"Then, Yura-kun, let us part ways here," Huan said.

The Hero Water was already in hand, cutting off the village's ability to mass-produce temporary Jonin. At this moment, the Hero Clan no longer possessed anything Yura wanted to seize.

Yura nodded, looking at the hand-drawn map in her hand.

Beneath Takigakure lay a complex network of underground waterways, so intricate that even the Uji Clan, who were skilled at tunneling, did not fully understand them.

"For the first stop, have you decided where to go, Yura-kun?" Huan said: "Perhaps I can still be of help to Yura-kun."

"No need. Just do your own work," Yura said, closing the scroll.

"Then I wish Yura-kun, and myself, a smooth journey," Huan said.

There were some in the Hero Clan who had to die. Before that, she would leave Huan time to take people away; this was the agreed-upon trade. Without Huan, it would have taken Yura much more effort to obtain these things.

Leaving the deadweight Lucy near the Black Nest, Yura prepared to act alone.

"Mm." She nodded indifferently. Inside her sleeve, a small black snake poked its head out, flicking its tongue. This was the communication tool Huan had provided. Yura chose a direction and stepped away.

"Yura-kun!" Huan called out.

Yura stopped and turned her head to look at Huan.

"Time... is just about up~"

It was nearing midnight; a new day was about to begin.

"Um..." Huan said, "Will we ever meet again?"

"Huan." Yura chuckled softly, "Have you developed a habit of getting beaten up?"

The wounds on her body began to throb with a dull ache. After several days, they still hadn't fully healed. Huan grimaced, shaking her head and waving her hands as she said, "Goodbye, Yura-kun."

"Farewell~" Yura left without looking back.

Would they meet again?

Yura did not believe that people—especially ninjas, with their brief, fleeting lives—would ever have the chance to meet again.

The life of a yokai was destined to witness many deaths. As a long-lived species, one had to possess the arrogance of the long-lived; there was no need to fret over the minor frosts of life.

Huan watched Yura's figure fade into the distance and whispered, "Thank you, Yura-kun."

Deep within an underground tunnel in Takigakure, Kusanagi Shin-getsu leaned against the rock wall with his arms crossed. A small white snake flickered its tongue from his sleeve. His expression shifted between clear and overcast as he stared distractedly at several pools of water not far away. Each pool was about a zhang in diameter. After an unknown amount of time, one of the pools began to ripple. In an instant, a head rose from the water, followed by a pair of scarlet eyes.

Shin-getsu's expression tightened, and he stood up straight.

Levitating out of the pool, Yura hovered in mid-air without her feet touching the ground. She looked down at Shin-getsu, water streaming from her hair. A flash of blue light enveloped her, instantly evaporating every droplet. As wisps of steam curled around her, Yura said coldly, "Lead the way."

"Yes, Lady Yura."

The two moved forward, heading toward the ancestral grounds of the Kusanagi Clan.

By now, the entire Kusanagi Clan had evacuated. The grounds were completely deserted, the street lamps extinguished, and the area left in disarray. In the distance, the faint glow of the God Tree shimmered.

"Here, Lady Yura." Shin-getsu led the way humbly.

"Your status within the clan isn't low, is it?" Yura remarked.

"I am merely favored by the clan head," Shin-getsu replied.

"Heh..." Yura let out a soft laugh. Outsiders would always be outsiders. No matter how desperately they struggled, they would never be accepted by the clan, and they would be easily sent out to die.

The two walked on and stopped before a newly constructed shrine.

"Is the Kusanagi Sword enshrined here?" Yura asked.

"According to the intelligence I gathered, it is here," Shin-getsu said. "If it is not, then it is with the clan head."

"It had better be..." Yura stepped into the shrine.

Inside a hall dedicated to the Great Serpent Statue, Yura scanned the room, which was filled with swords and blades offered in worship.

"Finding the Kusanagi Sword will likely take some effort," Shin-getsu said, bowing his head. "I have no way to identify it."

"Is that so?" Yura swept her gaze across the room. Suddenly, invisible slashes erupted from around her body. Intersecting strikes flew wildly in every direction, and in an instant, the blades began to shatter, one after another, in great swathes.

Caught in the storm of slashes, Shin-getsu's body went rigid, terrified that a passing blade might strike him.

After only a moment, the storm subsided. Broken blades littered the floor, leaving only one sword remaining.

Shin-getsu let out a sigh of relief.

Yura tilted her head to examine the sword. The scabbard had shattered under the onslaught, and the blade itself was a vivid, scarlet red, as if it had been soaked in blood. The edge featured a beautiful bead-like temper line. The blade was slightly curved and measured 120 centimeters in length—nearly as tall as Yura herself. It was a katana.

Taking a few steps forward, Yura reached out and gripped the hilt. The moment she touched it, a cold, chilling sensation seeped into her body.

Is this resentment?

This is...

"Onikiri."

Yura scrutinized the sword, observing it from every angle.

She looked at the inscription on the hilt.

Heshikiri...

It described extreme sharpness.

In Yura's eyes, the blade was entwined with resentment, hatred, malice, madness, despair, and other negative emotions—the remnants of people at the moment of their death. If held for a long time, the wielder's mind would easily be influenced by the blade. It was, in every sense, a cursed sword.

Just by looking at it, Shin-getsu felt the blade was chillingly piercing, enough to make his heart jump.

If he were to touch this cursed sword rashly, he would be injured.

"This sword..." Yura said with delight, "has cut down many people."

Unable to help herself, she extended her small tongue and licked the blade. Blood welled up where the edge sliced her tongue, dripping and rolling down the steel. Yura savored the sharpness.

"It has a sweet taste of blood."

Shin-getsu watched from the side, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably.

Yura flicked the blade with her finger, causing it to emit a clear, low hum.

She scanned the surroundings, walked up to the Great Serpent Statue, and raised her hand to strike. It was a plain, casual diagonal slash, yet the blade path was terrifyingly precise. With a strike as swift as lightning, she sliced through the statue.

A moment later, the statue slowly slid apart, hitting the ground with a heavy thud. The cut surface was exceptionally smooth.

Shin-getsu's eyelids jumped. In terms of swordsmanship alone, no more than one person in the clan could achieve such a feat. It was truly worthy of being the Kusanagi Sword.

"Are there any suitable scabbards left in the clan?" Yura asked.

"There are quite a few Shadow Strike pieces stored in the rear hall," Shin-getsu replied.

Stepping into the rear hall, Yura selected a suitable scabbard, tucked it into her belt with the blade facing upward, then turned her head to look at Shin-getsu and said, "Where are the secret scrolls and the summoning scrolls?"

Watching those greedy, scarlet eyes, Shin-getsu said, "They should be on the clan head."

"There is another Kusanagi Sword, isn't there?"

"The clan head's personal sword is one," Shin-getsu said.

"Where is the stronghold?" Yura said. "Lead the way."

"Yes." Shin-getsu led the way ahead.