I Seem to Have Become the Villain

The next day, before dawn, the mountain forest was shrouded in total darkness.

However, this was not within the borders of the Land of Fire, but in the Land of Waterfalls.

The burning campfire gradually flickered out, and Kakuzu gloomily poked at the charred wood in the pit.

A full day had passed, and that woman still hadn't shown up; she must have decided she didn't want to split the loot.

"A woman full of lies!"

As the sky began to brighten, he stood up, packed away the Earth Grudge Fear forbidden technique scroll, and turned to walk into the dense forest.

Within the borders of the Land of Fire, under an endless clear sky, Lucy flapped her wings and flew at high speed. Sitting in the air behind her, Yura looked down at the earth; under the mountain breeze, the boundless sea of trees undulated like waves.

Little Monster's flight speed was very fast, and Yura was intentionally training Lucy's aerial capabilities.

This wing structure could enhance aerodynamic performance, allowing for both hovering and high-speed maneuvering. In Lucy's normal state, simply by borrowing Chomei's chakra, her cruising speed was faster than a jonin's full-sprint pace, easily exceeding 180 kilometers per hour, especially since she was flying.

Flying was faster than running because of the terrain.

For ninjas sprinting through the forest, trying to keep up with Lucy at an altitude of one thousand meters was a tall order.

In the forest, a squad of four ninjas was pushing themselves to the limit, trailing far behind. No one spoke, everyone gritted their teeth to persist, and the need to maintain burst speed through continuous Body Flicker techniques was truly exhausting.

Marching at this speed was a torture that tested the stamina and willpower of even these elites. Soon, due to the varying physical capacities of the ninjas, their combat formation began to warp and deform during the advance.

Sensing the shift in their formation, Yura smiled faintly.

They've reached their limit, and it's only been half an hour. She tilted her head to look forward at Lucy, who was floating in mid-air with her arms crossed, looking relaxed and leisurely.

She didn't take it seriously at all, flying at her own natural pace.

Using chakra consumed stamina and spirit, but since the borrowed chakra had no cost and didn't need to be returned, flying was even easier for Lucy than taking a stroll.

If Lucy knew how to use a Tailed Beast Bomb, she could just fire one off and be done with it.

"Little Monster," Yura said, "slow down."

"Oh," Lucy replied, stopping her wing beats and beginning to glide as she decelerated.

On the ground, deep in the forest, White Fox—who had been tracking the black dot in the high sky—felt her heart lighten and said, "The target is slowing down!"

She had thought they were about to lose them.

Hearing this, the other three were reinvigorated, and their deformed formation snapped back into shape.

Just then, White Fox abruptly stopped in her tracks, staring fixedly at Yura in the high sky.

The other three stopped as well, a flash of confusion crossing their eyes.

"Captain!" White Fox turned her head sharply.

Before the situation could be explained, the captain shouted coldly, "Retreat! Disperse!"

In an instant, the four of them performed the Body Flicker technique almost simultaneously, each choosing a different direction and vanishing into the dense forest.

"Tsk..." Yura clicked her tongue. They saw through it. How vigilant. How did they discover us?

"Little Monster," Yura said, "turn around! Hunting time has begun!"

Watching Yura suddenly turn and dive in the air, White Fox's pupils constricted. As expected, we were discovered. How did she find us? With my Byakugan's five-kilometer range, at this distance, it shouldn't have been possible...

While diving at high speed, Yura sat in mid-air with her legs crossed and said, "Little Monster, stay alert while flying. Do not land without my permission."

"Understood!" Lucy replied.

Yura stood up. As she approached the ground during the dive, she disconnected the tether. From a height of several hundred meters, she plummeted like a falling star into the forest. Instantly, birds were startled from the trees, flying in swarms toward the sky. Passing through the canopy, Yura crashed into the ground with a boom. Her eight legs braced her body, the joints bending to cushion the impact. The ground simultaneously exploded into eight spiderweb-like cracks. Yura's body sank slightly in mid-air; before her feet even touched the ground, she remained motionless, then propelled herself forward like a ghost. It was like a formless magic, her trajectory erratic, rising and falling through the complex forest terrain as she rapidly closed the distance to her target.

Fast! Extremely fast!

Watching this scene through her Byakugan, seeing the way she constantly exploded into motion from tree trunks and the ground—a trajectory like someone sprinting with frantic, heavy steps—White Fox gritted her teeth and stopped, making a split-second judgment. Although I can't see it clearly, this thing seems to have eight legs!

Among the four, she was the only taijutsu-specialized jonin, so her retreat speed was the fastest, leaving the others behind. With the Byakugan surveying the whole situation, she was more aware than the others of the current dire crisis.

We can't run! No one can get away!

Moreover, the opponent's sensory ability is terrifyingly abnormal; she has already locked onto the target.

As she unfolded a scroll and formed hand seals, a longbow was summoned into her hands. As she drew the bow and nocked an arrow, she infused Gentle Fist chakra into the wooden shaft. She turned the arrow tip, aiming at the rapidly approaching Yura.

However...

Yura's movement trajectory was too erratic and bizarre, and coupled with the distance, she had no confidence in a one-hit kill.

She slowly lowered the bow.

In the forest, Yura's figure continued to leap and dash rapidly between the trees. Sensing the emotional flames that had come to a halt—the churning anxiety, fear, and the suddenly surging killing intent—Yura frowned slightly. At this distance, she still has the strength to launch an attack? She's a formidable ninja.

And...

She moved.

She's coming toward me!

Yura smiled faintly and whispered while sprinting, "Admirable courage!" Is she planning to sacrifice herself to cover the others?

Without hesitation, Yura shifted her path and charged toward her opponent.

In the forest, White Fox leaped and sprinted across the tree trunks, her expression solemn beneath her mask, teeth biting down hard on her lip.

Although her Byakugan could see far enough, her own attack range had its limits; even by cleverly utilizing the power of archery, her maximum reach was only one kilometer, so she had to close the distance...

At this moment, White Fox's pupils suddenly constricted.

The opponent turned and was charging straight at her.

Instantly, a sensation of scalp-numbing dread surged to the top of her head, racing down her spine; without a moment's hesitation, White Fox stomped her foot, halted her advance, and turned to flee, her eyes filled with resolve.

If she could stall the opponent for even a moment, the chances of her companions surviving would increase.

"Heh..." Yura let out a soft chuckle. Trying to lure me? She made a synchronized turn, shifting her target to pursue the others instead.

Damn it!

White Fox's pupils shrank, and she immediately stopped in her tracks, turning her head to look at Yura as she sped through the woods.

"How will you choose, then?"

Without a word, White Fox charged silently toward Yura.

As she sped along, Yura smiled faintly, her gaze peculiar.

"Oh dear, it seems I've become the villain."

Above the mountain forest, birds took flight in flocks, circling in the air. Lucy opened her mouth, and invisible sound waves erupted from the sky in ripple after ripple. The sound waves struck the forest floor and bounced back, mapping the complex terrain of the woods entirely into Lucy's mind.

Her clan had never taught her any ninja arts, fearing and dreading her power.

But Chomei was willing to teach her.

Secret Technique: Cicada Song Technique.

This was a technique that relied on sound waves for perception.

She was a little worried about the Great Yokai, so she wanted to know what was happening.