Blood Maiden

Meanwhile, Shiro gradually gathered intelligence on the others, especially the four genin. After all, the key to this mission was for Shiro to take out all four of them in an instant.

Shikaki and Taichi could manage if they only had to hold back the three chunin, but killing them would be difficult. Therefore, whether Shiro could instantly eliminate those four was crucial. He had no choice but to be cautious.

At the same time, after receiving the intelligence, Shikaki went out to make preparations. At first, Shiro had wanted to learn from Shikaki's experience, but after watching for a while, he decisively gave up.

After thinking it over, Shiro went to run errands for Shikaki alongside Nakamura and the others. This kind of thing isn't something rough men like us can handle. Can't you see even Nakamura, a jonin, is standing around taking orders?

After Shikaki put on an impressively fierce performance, he pointed at the map and said, "They'll pass through here, and here they'll pull slightly away from the four genin. We'll divide the battlefield here!"

"How do you know they'll split up here?"

Shikaki glanced at Shiro without saying anything and continued making arrangements.

.

After understanding the meaning behind Shikaki's gaze, Shiro decisively stopped asking. He had a feeling Shikaki's answer would be hurtful.

Once the four of them had completed Shikaki's preparations, they went to the designated location and waited.

There was nothing special about the location Shikaki had chosen. It was simply a small slope. But Shiro still could not understand how Shikaki knew they would widen the distance between themselves here. Even with the slope's terrain, that bit of distance was nowhere near enough for Shiro and the others to divide the battlefield against ninja.

Thinking of some wild ideas from his previous life, Shiro had a vague guess, but he refused to believe the gap between people could be that huge and dismissed it. The facts would prove that Shiro was still too naive.

Before long, Shiro received a message from his summoned beast. They were already close.

After notifying the others, Shiro silently made his preparations.

On the rogue ninja's side, although their captain vaguely sensed danger, he did not pay much attention to it. The Konoha Intelligence Department had been tracking him the entire time, and he often had such feelings. Besides, he had already checked the area. There was no dangerous terrain nearby.

There was only a small slope ahead, not even a forest—just a few trees. There was no need to worry.

Thus, he merely gave a casual reminder, and his teammates did not take it seriously either. With terrain like that ahead, there was no way to hide people.

Unfortunately, Shiro was lying in ambush there, completely motionless. Yet they sped right past him as though they had not seen him.

Of course, they were not blind. It was because of a Noble Phantasm Shiro had projected—the Invisible Cloak!

Noble Phantasm: Invisible Cloak

Rank: E

Owner: Uruk's king from Sumerian mythology, the oldest Hero King in human history [Gilgamesh].

Appearance: A piece of cloth.

Origin: The original "invisibility" Noble Phantasm, with examples found throughout all times and places.

Ability: Anything covered or wrapped by this cloth cannot be observed through Magecraft or optical means. It could sometimes be exceptionally effective against enemies who relied entirely on Magecraft to search for targets. However, sounds, smells, body temperature, and movement would still be clearly exposed, so depending on the circumstances, it might prove useless. This cloth was woven through an extremely complex method, and it was presumed that the dimensions involved in its weaving had reached at least the fifth dimension. Humanity could never completely reproduce it.

With this Noble Phantasm, and after taking care of details he could not conceal, such as his scent, Shiro lay right beside them. Yet they failed to notice him and passed by without stopping!

Of course, if they had stopped or stepped on Shiro, that would have been another story.

But Shiro was not that unlucky in this story. The location had also been carefully chosen by Shikaki, so they were basically unlikely to run into him.

At the same time, Shiro discovered that, just as Shikaki had said, they really did widen the distance between themselves here. For some unknown reason, they had already spread out somewhat before reaching this slope.

Thus, with the slope added in, the distance between them was enough to divide the battlefield!

Shikaki and the others did not hesitate. They immediately made their move!

"Shadow Possession Jutsu!"

In a single exchange, one of the enemy chunin was immediately bound. Unfortunately, the enemy reacted quickly as well. Otherwise, Taichi could have eliminated one first!

But Taichi did not let them down either. He tied down two of the enemy chunin, and just as the enemy jonin prepared to provide support, Nakamura blocked his path.

"Shimizu, it's been a long time," Nakamura said quietly as he looked at him.

"Yeah. I didn't expect you to be the one hunting me down."

Leaving aside Nakamura's passionate reunion, Shiro faced the enemy's four genin on the other side.

"Projection, begin!"

With a thought from Shiro, a red Magic Spear appeared in his hand!

At the same time, Shiro drove the Magic Spear into the ground and loudly called out its true name, releasing the Noble Phantasm!

"Báthory Erzsébet!"

Báthory Erzsébet—the Blood Maiden!

Noble Phantasm: Blood Maiden (Báthory Erzsébet)

Rank: E-

Owner: The prototype of the vampire Carmilla, Hungary's Blood Countess [Elizabeth Báthory].

Appearance: A Magic Spear created from the weaponization of Csejte Castle.

Origin: Its prototype was the castle where Elizabeth had ruled throughout her life, the prison castle of Csejte. This demonic castle had once tortured and ultimately murdered hundreds of young girls. By bathing in tubs filled with the girls' blood, Elizabeth maintained her immense Mana and charm.

Ability: When the Noble Phantasm Blood Maiden was deployed, the Magic Spear would regain its original majesty and transform into a giant loudspeaker. It maximized Elizabeth's Dragon Breath, becoming a sonic weapon that unleashed terrifying ultrasonic waves into the surroundings. One of the finest singing talents on Earth (muted), combined with a stage created by directly transforming a castle into a giant loudspeaker—the resulting song could only be called hell on earth. Furthermore, no matter how wide its range, it was an Anti-Personnel Noble Phantasm rather than an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm.

Shiro had secretly tested the Noble Phantasm Blood Maiden before. It could amplify his ninjutsu, though not as much as it amplified sound-based attacks. Still, that was already enough.

At the same time, with the Noble Phantasm's release, Blood Maiden returned to its original form, becoming a castle that stood before the four genin!

How could those four genin have ever seen such a scene? They froze where they stood.

They might have been stunned, but Shiro was not. Releasing a Noble Phantasm consumed a great deal, after all. Without any hesitation, Shiro immediately stood atop Blood Maiden's stage and formed hand seals!

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

The Great Breakthrough, originally only a C-rank ninjutsu, now possessed power infinitely close to that of an A-rank ninjutsu after being amplified by Blood Maiden!

Naturally, the four genin were instantly killed!

However, Shiro's Chakra was nearly exhausted as well. Blood Maiden dissipated, and after landing on the ground, Shiro did not forget the plan.

He immediately slapped his right hand and retrieved Kizuna and arrows from the Sealing Bracer.

Fortunately, the divided battlefield was not too far away, so Shiro could clearly see Shikaki and the others fighting even without Reinforcement Magecraft.

Without the slightest hesitation, Shiro immediately drew his bow and killed the chunin bound by Shikaki with a single arrow!

Afterward, he did not immediately rush over. Instead, he sat down where he was and began refining Chakra. Although he could refine it while moving, the efficiency was too low. Shiro's total Chakra reserves were not yet great enough for him to refine sufficient Chakra while on the move.

On the other side, the enemy's two remaining chunin also noticed the change immediately. Having been prepared, Shikaki's Shadow Possession Jutsu failed to take effect.

However, in a two-on-two fight, Shikaki's side held the advantage. The gap between clan ninja and civilian ninja was not small, not to mention that Shiro could arrive at any time to provide support!

In an instant, the tide of battle turned!

Thanks to Tonight Without Wind 1, hole, Mo Yan, A Thousand Armies and Ten Thousand Horses Avoid the White Robe, and reader 20171022213613800 for the recommendation votes.