Not Playing by the Rules

Kamizuki followed directly behind Mai Shiranui, while Genma remained on the other side of the river, and Mangetsu observed from a short distance to the left of Mai.

The moonlight in the dark night flickered intermittently. Although they were all ninja with vision far superior to that of ordinary people, the distance between them was quite wide. Furthermore, because they were all focused on Mai, who was acting as bait, they paid little attention to the others.

They walked for an unknown amount of time, and the two walking on the flanks never noticed that, at some point, they had stepped onto a piece of paper inscribed with cursed seals that had been stuck to the ground beneath their feet.

The two had been walking along without realizing the seal stuck to their feet suddenly emitted a faint aura, and then... then there was no "then." The two of them simply vanished into thin air.

Mai and Kamizuki stayed by the river until the early hours of the morning before returning to their temporary lodging.

Upon returning, Kamizuki and Mai realized that Genma and Mangetsu had not followed them back.

After waiting at the temporary camp for over an hour and seeing no sign of Genma and the other, Kamizuki and Mai could no longer sit still and set out to search for them.

However, they searched for a long time without finding a single shred of information regarding Genma or Mangetsu. Finally, exhausted, the two returned to their base.

Kamizuki never imagined that the plot would deviate from the usual tropes. There were only two possibilities: first, the "bait" (Mai) failed to lure out the culprit; second, the mastermind was so ruthless that they could snatch the bait away even under their surveillance.

There was one other possibility: while they were focused on Mai as the bait, the mastermind had silently snatched away Sakura Mangetsu, who was observing and tracking from the side, as she also fit the criteria for the disappearances.

Indeed, Sakura Mangetsu had gone missing, but what the hell was up with Genma Shiranui's disappearance?

Kamizuki tugged gently at his long hair, sighed, and said:

"What is this mastermind doing? Why aren't they playing by the rules at all?"

Because of the disappearance of Genma and Mangetsu the previous night, Kamizuki and Mai had spent the entire night searching and had not slept a wink. Consequently, they spent the day resting at the temporary camp, planning to search for areas they might have missed once night fell.

When night came, Kamizuki and Mai ate a quick dinner and headed out to the river from the previous night to continue their search for clues.

After the events of the previous night, Kamizuki and Mai did not split up to search for clues as they had before; instead, they moved together to prevent a repeat of last night's mistake.

The two of them walked along the riverbank, constantly searching for that faint, potential trace of a clue.

They walked for an unknown amount of time without finding any useful information. Just as Kamizuki and Mai found a relatively flat rock and sat down to rest for a moment, Kamizuki suddenly noticed something under Mai's feet.

Just as he leaned in to get a closer look, the unknown object beneath Mai's feet emitted another imperceptible aura. However, because Kamizuki was watching with total concentration this time, he caught the appearance of that aura.

As the aura dissipated, Kamizuki was just about to warn Mai when she suddenly vanished right before his eyes.

Kamizuki stared at the spot where Mai had been sitting, now nothing but empty air, and a giant question mark appeared over his head.

Kamizuki roared in his heart: Damn it! What is this? Always doing this, not playing by the rules—how is anyone supposed to play along with you like this?!

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

He carefully recalled the object that had appeared under Mai's feet and felt that it looked like a piece of paper with a seal on it.

Kamizuki pondered, concluding that the seal-like object was likely the true cause behind the disappearances.

Now, all three members of Genma Team besides Kamizuki had vanished, leaving him alone. This meant that if he failed to retrieve his missing teammates and the missing residents of the Land of Rivers, the mission would certainly be a failure.

Kamizuki wasn't too worried about the mission failure, as in his heart, the safety of his teammates was what mattered most.

Over the years they had spent together, Kamizuki had developed a bond with Genma Shiranui and Sakura Mangetsu.

As for Mai, although Kamizuki had been slightly wary of her before, fearing she was there to steal his protagonist halo, those feelings had gradually faded after months of living together.

Because of all this, Kamizuki had to save them.

Kamizuki looked around, finding no other abnormalities; the riverbank was quiet to the point of being frightening.

After a moment of thought, as if he had made a decision, he closed his eyes. A moment later, he snapped them open, and his originally pure white eyes had transformed into the color of moonlight, with two fish-like tomoe spinning rapidly within them.