Not Playing by the Rules

Kamizuki followed directly behind Mai Shiranui. Genma was on the other side of the river, while Mangetsu watched from nearby, to Mai's left.

The moonlight seemed to flicker in the darkness. They were all ninjas, with much better eyesight than ordinary people, but they had spread out quite a bit. And since they were all focused on Mai Shiranui, who was acting as bait, they paid less attention to everyone else.

After walking for who knew how long, the two on the sides failed to notice that at some point, they had stepped on a talisman covered in Cursed Seals. It clung to the soles of their feet.

Neither of them noticed the talismans stuck to their feet as they walked. Suddenly, a faint aura emanated from them, and then... nothing. The two vanished into thin air.

Mai Shiranui and Kamizuki stayed by the river until dawn, then returned to their temporary lodgings.

Only after they got back did Kamizuki and Mai realize that Genma and Mangetsu hadn't returned with them.

They waited at the temporary base for over an hour, but Genma and Mangetsu still didn't show up. Kamizuki and Mai couldn't sit still any longer, so they headed out to search for them.

But they searched for a long time without finding the slightest clue about Genma and Mangetsu. Eventually, exhausted, they returned to their lodgings.

Kamizuki never expected events to follow the usual pattern this time. There were only two possible outcomes: either the bait (Mai Shiranui) failed to draw out the culprit, or the mastermind was so ruthless that they managed to abduct the bait right under their noses.

There was one other possibility: while they were watching Mai Shiranui, the bait, the mastermind had quietly abducted Sakura Mangetsu, who had been observing and following them from the sidelines. Sakura Mangetsu also fit the profile of someone likely to go missing.

Sure enough, Sakura Mangetsu had gone missing—but what the hell had happened to Genma Shiranui?

Kamizuki gently tugged at his long hair and sighed.

What's with this mastermind? Why won't they play by the rules?

Because Genma and Mangetsu had gone missing the previous night, Kamizuki and Mai had spent almost the entire night searching for them. They hadn't slept at all, so they spent most of the day resting at the temporary base, planning to look again that night for any places they might have missed.

After nightfall, Kamizuki and Mai ate a quick dinner, then headed out to the river from the night before to continue looking for clues.

After what had happened the previous night, Kamizuki and Mai didn't split up to search for clues like they had before. Instead, they stayed together to avoid repeating the same mistake.

The two of them searched along the river from the night before, looking for the faintest trace of a clue that might appear.

After walking for who knew how long without finding anything useful, Kamizuki and Mai found a relatively flat rock to sit on and decided to rest for a bit.

Kamizuki suddenly noticed that Mai Shiranui seemed to have stepped on something.

Just as he was about to move closer for a better look, the unknown object beneath Mai Shiranui's foot gave off an almost imperceptible aura. This time, Kamizuki was watching intently, so he saw it appear.

As the faint aura emerged, Kamizuki was about to warn Mai Shiranui when she suddenly vanished right in front of him.

Kamizuki stared at the spot where Mai Shiranui had just been sitting. Now there was nothing but empty air. A huge question mark appeared above his head.

Kamizuki roared inwardly, Damn it! What the hell is this supposed to be? If you keep refusing to play by the rules, how am I supposed to have any fun with you?

After a moment, Kamizuki suppressed his anger and calmed down.

He carefully thought back to the thing that had appeared beneath Mai Shiranui's foot. It seemed to him that it had been some sort of talisman.

After giving it some thought, Kamizuki could only conclude that the thing that looked like a talisman was probably the real reason these people had disappeared.

Now, everyone in Genma Team except Kamizuki had vanished. He was the only one left. In other words, if he couldn't find his missing teammates and the missing residents of the Land of Rivers, the mission would surely fail.

Kamizuki wasn't too worried about failing the mission. To him, his teammates' safety mattered most.

After spending the past few years together, Kamizuki had formed a bond with Genma Shiranui and Sakura Mangetsu.

As for Mai Shiranui, Kamizuki had been a little wary of her before, because he feared she had come to steal his protagonist's aura. But after spending the past few months together, that wariness had gradually faded.

For all these reasons, Kamizuki was determined to go and save them.

Kamizuki looked around, but nothing else seemed out of the ordinary. The quiet by the river was almost frightening.

He thought for a moment, as if he had made some sort of decision, then closed his eyes. A moment later, he snapped them open. His once-pure-white eyes had turned the color of moonlight, and the two fish-shaped Tomoe in them spun rapidly.