Five Kage Summit

It felt like a nightmare; the image of his companions dying a miserable death played on a loop before his eyes, grating against his nerves until he felt he might go mad. He did not know how much time had passed before an even more maddening, searing pain flooded his entire body, and with that, he jolted awake.

What met his eyes was a delicate, small face devoid of any particular expression. Under the quiet gaze of those scarlet pupils, Shinpu felt his breath hitch. Pain radiated through every inch of his body, and a dense layer of cold sweat soaked him through, but what terrified him even more was the person before him.

It was her!

It was the nightmare incarnate!

"You're awake." Yura revealed a gentle, faint smile and said, "I dismantled your limbs so you wouldn't run away. You don't mind, do you?"

That was a smile like a demon's, tinged with a detached, insane quality—cold and brutal.

Hearing this, Shinpu lowered his head to look at his severed limbs, from which blood was pouring in torrents. A look of profound bitterness and despair rose on his face.

"Don't worry, you won't die just yet." Yura continued, "I experimented with some stitching techniques on you. The wounds should be all sewn up. Is there anywhere else that hurts? I'll stitch it up for you."

Shinpu turned his head away, refusing to look at that demonic face, and spoke with great difficulty: "Just kill me!"

"That won't do," Yura said. "I still have things to ask you."

"Don't even think about getting any information out of me! Konoha will never let you get away with this!" Shinpu hissed with hatred.

"Hmm." Yura asked with a faint smile, "Let me ask you a question: do you know what my name is?"

He didn't!

Shinpu looked at Yura and slowly shook his head.

"Then does your Konoha know what my name is?" Yura continued to ask.

That was indeed a question.

Shinpu's expression gradually stiffened into one of despair; he was beginning to understand.

"So, how exactly is Konoha going to 'not let me get away with it'?" Yura spread her hands, saying helplessly, "You tell me~"

Shinpu remained tight-lipped, offering only silence in response.

"There's no need for such laughable threats. If I were afraid of Konoha, I wouldn't have come after you lot." As she spoke, Yura took out a small box and shook it before his eyes.

He recognized what it was at a glance: the secret medicine of his Akimichi Clan, the Three-Colored Pills.

Green Spinach Pill, Yellow Curry Pill, Red Chili Pill.

"I won't waste words," Yura said. "Can you give me the formula for the secret medicine?"

"In your dreams!"

"I suppose so." Yura smiled sweetly, then suddenly reached out. Her small hand formed a claw and clamped onto Shinpu's face. Shinpu was startled, and the next moment, an invisible mass of hair erupted from Yura's hand. It surged, drilling into Shinpu's eye sockets, ear canals, nostrils, and mouth. Instantly, Shinpu's entire body began to convulse and shake. He let out muffled, agonizing screams, the veins on his face bulging and twisting hideously. Beneath his skin, it felt as if countless worms were writhing, burrowing deep into his flesh and brain, like thousands of fine needles stabbing into his mind and churning his brains.

Under the torture of such inhuman pain, it took only a moment for Shinpu to lose control of his body, resulting in involuntary spasms and incontinence.

Black Secret Technique: Bone-Eroding Brain-Dive.

While managing to barely keep him alive, she conducted a brutal interrogation—stabbing was all it took.

As she tortured Shinpu, Yura looked down at the black strands surging on her hand.

Come to think of it, humans and monkeys are the same; they are covered in hair.

However, the types of hair on the human body differ, categorized into lanugo, vellus hair, and terminal hair.

Vellus hair is body hair, while terminal hair includes the hair on one's head, beard, armpits, nose, eyebrows—essentially, they are all the same, as they all possess hair follicles.

Strictly speaking, what Yura could manipulate was not just the hair on her head; body hair worked just as well.

After a short while, Yura withdrew her hand, blood dripping down the fine strands.

Shinpu, having survived the ordeal, gasped for air with great difficulty.

"Is it still 'in your dreams'?" The girl squatted on the ground with her legs together, resting her chin on her hands. Yura looked down at him with a faint smile and asked softly.

Even though she was posing like a cute girl, Shinpu only felt a chill run through his heart. The girl before him was undoubtedly a demon wearing human skin. Even having grown accustomed to the cruel Warring States period and having seen many perverts, the perversion of the girl before him was second to none.

It was common to see someone remain calm at the sight of blood; even being able to laugh could be attributed to a strong psychological constitution. But to be so excited that one laughed out loud—that was merely the mark of a lunatic.

Like the Uchiha.

But to be able to smile as gently as this girl, and to commit such cruel acts without the slightest psychological burden—what exactly did this creature consider people, or life itself, to be?

It truly made one feel a chill from the very depths of their soul.

"I refuse!!!" Shinpu roared, using every ounce of his remaining strength.

"How courageous." Offering a word of praise, Yura reached out and covered Shinpu's face once more.

Heart-wrenching screams echoed through the forest as the sun gradually sank below the horizon.

Without wasting more words, she would let him rest for a moment after a round of interrogation before continuing the torture. After repeating this three times, Shinpu had been tortured to the point of being on the verge of death.

As Yura fed him a Yellow Curry Pill, he regained his spirit as if experiencing a final burst of life.

Yura remembered this pill; it was for nourishing blood and warming the life gate. Used at a critical moment, it could keep a person hanging on by a thread.

Tossing the small wooden box up and down, Yura looked at the two remaining pills.

The Red Chili Pill could double one's strength and chakra, unleashing one's potential. The flaw that it caused the body to overload and die was, for Yura's immortal body, as good as non-existent.

To a certain extent, it is equivalent to a simplified version of the Eight Inner Gates Formation. Its advantage is that, compared to the uncontrollable, violent chakra of the Eight Inner Gates, the chakra it erupts is quite easy to manipulate.

For Yura, who requires precise control, it is better suited to her own needs.

The same logic applies to the Hero Water.

"Have you decided?" Yura asked.

Shinpu closed his eyes, not uttering a single sound.

What a stubborn bone.

Yura looked at the other's face gloomily, remained silent for a moment, and said, "If you are too reluctant, let's change the terms. Exchange your life for some secret techniques, like the Shadow Clone jutsu, for instance."

If she possessed the Yamanaka Clan's secret technique for reading memories, she wouldn't need to go through all this trouble; even from a corpse, she could squeeze out useful intelligence.

Shinpu remained silent, like a corpse that had already passed away.

Yura sighed. She had done what she could; if she hadn't succeeded, there was no helping it.

Generally speaking, clan ninjas do not carry scrolls containing secret techniques on their person; only rogue ninjas would treasure such scrolls.

In any case, the main purpose was to test whether sensory ninjas could detect her presence, and incidentally, to gauge her own strength through combat.

This way, returning to the village to seize the secret techniques would be more certain.

With no Kage in Takigakure, no one could stop Yura.

However...

"If you don't speak, I will treat your Akimichi Clan as prey. From now on, whenever I am out of the village, I will kill every member of the Ino-Shika-Cho I see." Yura smiled lightly. "How about that?"

"Are you a devil!?" Shinpu suddenly widened his eyes, panting as he glared viciously at Yura.

Yura spread her hands and said, "Please cooperate. It will be better for you, better for me, and better for everyone. We can just let this matter pass."

Shinpu closed his eyes in pain and said calmly, "Don't talk to me about sparing my life; don't say such ridiculous things. I don't know the formula for the secret medicine; only the clan head knows. I cannot give you the Akimichi Clan's secret techniques, nor could you learn them. I don't know the Shadow Clone jutsu either; that is Lord Tobirama's forbidden technique, and very few people know it. Whether it's Water Release or Fire Release, you've asked the wrong person. I've never learned them; none of the Ino-Shika-Cho learn those kinds of ninjutsu."

"Tsk..." It was the truth, which left Yura speechless and laughing. She said, "No wonder you could keep your mouth shut for so long. It turns out you don't know anything at all."

A miscalculation. It ended up being a wasted effort.

"Kill me!" Shinpu said.

Yura sized up the Akimichi. If that was the case, she would have to find a way to infiltrate Konoha. In this current era, both the First and Second Hokage brothers were present; entering Konoha would likely be suicide. Thus, developing spies as eyes and ears to gather intelligence was absolutely necessary.

Yura nodded, reached out, and formed her hand into the shape of a pistol, aiming it at Shinpu.

Knowing that his life had reached its end, Shinpu gave a miserable smile and said, "I thought that by ending the chaos of the Warring States period and arriving at an era of peace, we could finally end the endless wars and slaughter. In the end, is fate truly inescapable..."

At Yura's fingertip, a point of ghostly blue fire ignited.

"Farewell, ninja..."

Shinpu stared fixedly at Yura.

"I will be waiting for you in hell! Ninja!"

"This place is already hell, Akimichi."

Black Secret Technique. Outer Style. Finger Gun Fire Bullet.

The ghost fire bullet shot out, sinking into his forehead. As the hair-thin projectile pierced his skull, the ghost fire incinerated his flesh, and a fierce blaze rose up.

Stepping into the sunset, Yura's figure turned and left. With a few Body Flicker movements, she vanished into the woods.

Leaping through the treetops in the forest, Yura quite enjoyed this feeling of running freely. Her speed was seventy miles per hour; in this monster-like body that knew no fatigue, it was an easy pace for Yura. A moment later, Yura stopped outside a valley, standing in the treetops overlooking it. Behind her was the shimmering surface of a lake, and in the valley before her was a massive waterfall. Due to the huge drop of the cliff, there was a small lake in the valley floor.

This terrain, it looked—it looked too much like it. The Valley of the End?

Before the waterfall as it stood now, two statues were missing.

Perhaps...

Standing among the treetops, overlooking the valley, Yura pondered.

Uchiha Madara left Konoha shortly after Senju Hashirama attended the Five Kage Summit—that is, half a month ago. It should be happening soon, while the battle at the Valley of the End would take place several years from now...

This "several years" was somewhat subtle.

Compared to the great power capable of altering terrain, her own strength was still too weak. The small pond beneath the waterfall would, in a few years, become a massive lake due to the collision between Wood Release and Susanoo.

Right now, Uchiha Madara was likely scouring the world for the Nine-Tails.

The current Five Kage Summit was primarily focused on discussing the distribution of Tailed Beasts. After concluding the alliance, Senju Hashirama would subsequently launch operations to capture the Tailed Beasts, using them to exchange for funds, becoming the first pot of gold to lay the foundation for Konoha's development.

It is worth mentioning that long before the Five Kage Summit, the Seven-Tails had already been captured by Takigakure. For this, the village had paid a huge price. Yura had participated in that operation at the time, which led to a significant reduction in the village's strength and fostered an unrealistic arrogance and ambition, intending to use the power of the Tailed Beast to become the sixth great ninja village. That was why the thought of assassinating the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama, had arisen.

Capturing a Tailed Beast is an extremely difficult task. Aside from Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, who did it with relative ease, even the pursuit unit of Kinkaku and Ginkaku from the First Raikage of Kumogakure could not do anything against a wild Tailed Beast.

It was normal for Takigakure to be proud of this; its strength was truly the greatest among those below the Five Great Villages, even surpassing the current Amegakure. But it also paid a huge price, which led to Kakuzu easily slaughtering the village's upper echelons when he defected later. Without a Jinchuriki, no one could do anything to Kakuzu. At this time, Kakuzu had just seized the Earth Grudge Fear secret technique and hadn't even had time to practice it; he was merely an elite Jonin of the village, not an immortal ninja, and was still some distance away from Kage-level combat power.

In this way, the village had three secret treasures worth seizing: the Earth Grudge Fear secret technique, the Hero Water, and the Seven-Tails.

Don't let Takigakure's current state fool you; there is a saying that Takigakure's strength is equivalent to Sunagakure's, and it is extremely adept at producing Jonin. It is only because so many of Takigakure's Jonin had died that this was the case; otherwise, they could have overwhelmed Yura just by sheer numbers.

But she still had to guard against the Hero Water, that temporary Jonin wholesaler.

After lingering in the Valley of the End for a moment to mark the spot for a potential front-row seat to the battle in the future, Yura departed.

That night...

The small town remained as tranquil as ever. High atop the watchtower of the lord's castle, a banquet was in full swing. Dancers twirled gracefully across the floor, and amidst the decadent revelry, the town mayor held his concubine close, tapping his fingers to the decadent music with a beaming smile.

Just then, in total silence, invisible black strands of hair slithered like ghosts across the ceiling, surging forward in a dense, quiet tide.

Under the moonlight outside the watchtower, a figure stood suspended in the void, treading upon threads. Her scarlet eyes stared coldly at the tower.

As the hair probed, the entire structure of the castle and the positions of its occupants became clearly mapped within her mind.

Yura hooked her finger...

Fine strands of hair descended from the ceiling, looping gently around the necks of the guards. None of them noticed a thing.

The next second, Yura tugged her finger, and the hair tightened instantly.

At that same moment, as the hair strangled them, slicing silkily through bone, a line of blood opened across the necks of the guards. Before they could even feel pain, a wave of dizziness and weightlessness followed; their heads rolled from their necks, thumping and tumbling onto the floor.

One headless corpse after another erupted with a fountain of blood a foot high from their necks, turning into grotesque human fountains scattered throughout the castle, before collapsing limply to the ground.

Instantly, the terrified screams of the maids pierced the night sky.

Inside the top-floor watchtower, the mayor collapsed to the floor in a daze. The guards on his left and right had already fallen, their spraying blood drenching his head and face. His magnificent robes were stained with foul gore, and a hot, wet patch spread between his legs.

The dancers shrieked in panic, fleeing in every direction, while the delicate concubine trembled uncontrollably, her teeth chattering.

The mayor was paralyzed with terror; the scene before him defied all reason. He wanted to scream, but his throat felt blocked, as if he were unable to make a sound.

No, it wasn't blocked—it was being gripped by something.

A bundle of hair, coiled into a rope, was looped around the mayor's neck. As it tightened and pulled, the mayor was hoisted off the ground. Suffocating and unable to breathe, his legs kicked and thrashed in the air. Hot, wet liquid dripped down his pant legs, his face turned a rapid, bruised purple from lack of oxygen, and his eyeballs bulged hideously, blood vessels popping in a terrifying display.

To the others, the scene was utterly bizarre: the mayor was being hoisted by a supernatural force, suspended in mid-air, struggling and gasping.

Witnessing this eerie sight, some of the dancers and maids fainted from shock, while others wailed and scrambled away on their hands and knees.

"A ghost! There's a ghost—!!!"

In their eyes, while the scene was strange, it fit the common understanding of encountering a demon; only a monster could commit such a shocking atrocity.

Before long, the room fell silent.

After clearing the area, Yura stepped through the window and into the room, walking upon her threads and treading through the desolate moonlight.

She arrived before the mayor, who hung suspended by his neck.

With his last breath, the mayor's bulging eyes finally caught sight of Yura's figure. He recognized her, and with no time left to curse those three useless Konoha ninja, his eyes filled with immense terror and deep supplication. Tears flowed slowly as he begged with his gaze...

"Spare... spare me..."

Yura smiled faintly. She hovered in the air before the mayor, looking down at him from above, and reached out to pat the top of his head.

"In your next life, keep your eyes open."

With those words, she turned and left.

The mayor struggled weakly in the air until his face turned a desperate shade of purple. He hung there like a weather doll, his tongue lolling out, swaying gently.

Blue flames slowly ignited and rose around him.