The Demon Blade

"Pull back all our forces..." The Great Elder took a deep breath and said gravely, "Abandon the places that don't matter. Concentrate our forces here and fight them to the death."

What places didn't matter?

First, the shelter. At this point, they couldn't spare a thought for the civilians.

And then...

The Great Elder looked at the elders of the three clans.

The three clan elders closed their eyes. The clan was what mattered most. Even if the village was destroyed, as long as their clan survived, they wouldn't have suffered any real loss. The fact that they were still here was already a generous concession.

"Great Elder Taki..." The old man with a cane spoke. "You know this is all the strength we can muster. Our village suffered devastating losses during the operation to capture the Tailed Beast."

You old bastard! At a time like this!

"I refuse to believe that all of us together can't deal with one coward who hides in the shadows," the old Kusanagi man said coldly.

The four old men exchanged a glance, each with their own ulterior motives.

"Quite right, heh heh heh." The old woman gave a sinister laugh.

"Then let's each rely on our own abilities," the Great Elder replied with a cold smile.

The village's latest orders were relayed, and the Hidden Waterfall shinobi sprang into action once more. They dug in around the heart of Takigakure, forming layer upon layer of defenses. Four other locations were just as impregnable, all not far from the village center. The four clans' estates were scattered across the village, but they had long since been emptied. Outside the village, meanwhile, the four clans' secret underground bases were now gathering points for their people.

Just as expected, breaking through the blockade was hopeless, so they had adopted a defensive strategy. The leaders of Takigakure, who were far from united, had chosen their final battlefields, and the battlegrounds had naturally been divided, making it difficult for them to aid one another.

This was the moment to take them down one by one through assassination.

So, whose home should she visit first?

Four places in one day. Yura furrowed her brow slightly. She was going to be busy.

Still, she wouldn't go today. She'd let them wait a little longer.

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

"Time to get up, Little Monster~"

Lucy, still groggy, suddenly opened her eyes and blurted out, "Lucy here!"

"It's time to cook, Little Monster~" Yura said.

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

"I'm feeling a little peckish." Yura took out a piece of candy and popped it into her mouth.

"Sure, sure..."

"By the way, Little Monster, I have a question for you," Yura said.

"What?" Lucy looked up at her, puzzled.

"Do you hate the Uji Clan?"

At that, Lucy froze, then said, "Do I hate them? I don't know..." Lucy smiled. "Everyone's afraid of me. You're the only Great Monster who isn't..."

"Little Monster~" Yura said with a faint smile. "The Beetle Great Monster isn't afraid of you either."

"It's different..." Lucy looked at Yura, torn over whether she should say it.

Chomei wasn't like a human. You were.

"Want to tell me your story?" Yura asked when Lucy seemed unsure whether to speak. "If it's going to be long-winded, I'm not sure I want to hear it."

Images flashed through Lucy's mind: her parents, crazed, hacking at each other, their blood splattering all over her; the fear and wariness in her clan members' eyes; their constant insistence that she was a monster, born one, and that she had driven her parents mad. Lucy didn't understand. Was it really her fault?

Staring straight into the crimson eyes before her, Lucy said, "I'm not telling you!"

"Then let's go, Little Monster~ Huan might be getting a little impatient."

Time passed quietly as they waited. That night, the cool moonlight spilled through the woods. Deep underground, they followed a complex network of waterways and slipped silently into the Hero Clan's secret grounds, using a passage known only to the Hero Clan.

"Then, Yura, this is where we part," Huan said.

She had already obtained the Hero Water, cutting off the village's ability to mass-produce temporary Jonin. By now, there was nothing else in the Hero Clan that Yura wanted to take.

Yura nodded and looked at the hand-drawn map in her hands.

Beneath Takigakure lay a complex network of underground waterways. Even the Uji Clan, skilled at digging tunnels, didn't fully understand how extensive it was.

"Have you decided where you're going first, Yura?" Huan asked. "Maybe I can still help you."

"No need. Take care of your own business." Yura said as she rolled up the scroll.

"Then I wish you—and myself—a safe journey," Huan said.

There were people in the Hero Clan she had to kill. Before that, she would give Huan time to lead her people away. That was part of their agreed-upon deal. Without Huan, it would have taken Yura a little more effort to get her hands on these things.

After leaving Lucy, that dead weight, near the Black Nest, Yura prepared to act alone.

"Mm." She nodded indifferently. A little black snake poked its head out from her sleeve, flicking its tongue. It was the communication tool Huan had given her. Yura chose a direction and started walking.

"Yura!" Huan called.

Yura stopped and turned her head toward Huan.

"Time... it's almost up~"

It was nearly midnight. A new day was about to begin.

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

"Huan." Yura smiled faintly. "Are you addicted to being beaten?"

The wounds on her body had begun to ache again. After several days, they still hadn't healed properly. Huan grimaced, shook her head, then waved her hand. "Goodbye, Yura."

"Farewell~" Yura said, leaving without looking back.

Would they meet again?

Yura didn't think people—especially shinobi, whose lives were so fleeting—would have another chance to meet.

An youkai's life was destined to witness many deaths. As a long-lived being, she had to possess the arrogance of one. There was no need to concern herself with a little hardship.

Watching Yura's figure recede into the distance, Huan whispered, "Thank you, Yura."

In a tunnel beneath Takigakure, Kusanagi Shin-getsu leaned against the rock wall with his arms crossed. A little white snake flicked its tongue from inside his sleeve. His expression shifted between clear and gloomy as he stared absently at several pools of water nearby. Each pool was about a zhang across. No one knew how much time had passed when ripples stirred across one of them. In an instant, a head rose from the water, followed by a pair of crimson eyes.

Shin-getsu tensed and stood straight.

Yura rose up out of the pool, floating above the water without her feet touching the ground. She looked down at Shin-getsu as water streamed from her hair. A flash of blue light surrounded her, evaporating every drop in an instant. Wisps of steam curled around her as she said coldly, "Lead the way."

"Yes, Lady Yura."

The two set off for the Kusanagi Clan's estate.

By then, everyone in the Kusanagi Clan had evacuated. The entire estate was deserted, the streetlamps extinguished, and the streets in disarray. In the distance, the God Tree glimmered faintly.

"Here, Lady Yura." Shin-getsu led her on deferentially.

"You hold a high position in your clan," Yura said.

"I have the head of the clan to thank for recognizing my abilities," Shin-getsu replied.

"Heh..." Yura chuckled softly. Outsiders would always remain outsiders. No matter how desperately they tried, a clan would never accept them. They could still be sent off to die without a second thought.

They continued on and stopped in front of a newly built shrine.

"The Kusanagi Sword is enshrined here?" Yura asked.

"According to the information I've gathered, it's here," Shin-getsu said. "If it isn't, then it's with the head of the clan."

"Let's hope so..." Yura stepped forward and entered the shrine.

Inside a hall that enshrined the Great Serpent Statue, Yura glanced around. Swords of every kind filled the place.

"It may take some effort to find the Kusanagi Sword," Shin-getsu said, lowering his head. "I have no way of identifying it either."

"Is that so?" Yura surveyed the room. Then, invisible slashes erupted around her, crisscrossing wildly in every direction. In an instant, the swords were cut apart one after another.

Caught in the storm of slashes, Shin-getsu tensed, afraid that a blade passing too close would cut him.

It was over in a moment. The storm died down, the swords lay broken across the floor, and only one remained intact.

Shin-getsu let out a breath of relief.

Yura tilted her head and examined the sword. Its sheath had been shattered by the slashes, revealing a blade of vivid crimson, as if it had been soaked in blood. A beautiful beaded pattern ran along its edge. The blade was slightly curved and measured 120 centimeters in length, nearly as tall as Yura. It was a katana.

Yura stepped forward and grabbed the hilt. The instant she touched it, a cold, sinister feeling seeped into her body.

Was this resentment?

Or was it...

"Onikiri."

Yura studied the blade, looking it over from every angle.

She examined the inscription on the hilt.

Heshikiri...

It described something exceptionally sharp.

In Yura's eyes, the blade was wrapped in resentment, hatred, bloodlust, madness, despair, and other negative emotions. They had been left behind by people at the moment of their deaths. If someone held on to the blade for too long, it would easily affect their mind. It was, in every sense, a demon blade.

Just looking at it made Shin-getsu feel as if its coldness were stabbing into his eyes. It set his heart pounding.

If he carelessly touched this demon blade, he'd get hurt.

"This blade..." Yura said with delight. "It's cut down a lot of people."

Unable to resist, she stuck out her little tongue and licked the blade. Blood flowed from the cut on her tongue, dripping down along the steel as Yura experienced its sharpness for herself.

"It has a sweet, bloody taste."

Shin-getsu's eyelids twitched as he watched.

Yura flicked a finger against the blade. It rang with a series of clear, low notes.

She glanced around, then walked to the Great Serpent Statue. She raised her hand and slashed down with an ordinary diagonal cut. The sword's form was frighteningly precise. The stroke flashed like lightning, cleaving through the statue.

A moment later, the statue slowly split apart and crashed to the ground with a heavy thud. Its cut surface was exceptionally smooth.

Shin-getsu's eyelid twitched. In the entire clan, no more than one person could accomplish the same feat through swordsmanship alone. As expected of the Kusanagi Sword.

"Does the clan have a suitable sheath?" Yura asked.

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

Yura went to the rear hall and picked out a suitable sheath. With the blade facing upward, she slid it diagonally into her belt, then turned to Shin-getsu. "Where are the secret techniques and the Summoning Scroll?"

"Probably with the head of the clan," Shin-getsu said, looking at those greedy crimson eyes.

"There's another Kusanagi Sword, right?"

"The head of the clan's sword is the other one," Shin-getsu replied.

"Where's their base?" Yura asked. "Lead the way."

"Yes." Shin-getsu led her onward.