It's Finally Here

He rushed upstairs and pushed open the door to Aikawa Yumi's room.

The room was empty, the bed unmade, jewelry scattered across the vanity, and the window wide open, letting the night wind howl in and snap the curtains violently.

Naoki walked to the window and looked out.

Beyond it lay the tavern's back alley, completely deserted.

He crouched down to examine the traces on the ground with care.

"She was taken..."

Naoki returned downstairs and activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan to meticulously inspect every mark in the tavern.

The bloodstains were still fresh, indicating the struggle had not occurred long ago.

The direction in which the tables and chairs were overturned, the distribution of footprints, the gouges left by weapons...

Naoki's Sharingan rapidly captured every detail, reconstructing the scene in his mind.

At least a dozen people had broken into the tavern, including several ninjas whose strength, judging by the lingering traces of ninjutsu, was not to be underestimated.

Aikawa Yumi had resisted, but she was subdued quickly; those bloodstains... perhaps they were not hers, but the intruders'.

"Who could the culprit be?"

Naoki thought of the man whose ear he had sliced off.

As he pondered, he suddenly spotted a hidden mark on the floor...

Pain.

A dull ache radiating from the back of her neck washed over Aikawa Yumi's consciousness like a tide.

She opened her eyes, her vision blurring for a moment before she clearly made out the scene before her... ornate folding screens, flickering candlelight, and that nauseating scent of sandalwood.

This was Todo Ichiro's castle.

She had been captured by him.

The moment this thought surfaced, Aikawa Yumi actually smiled.

She rolled off the bed, and suddenly, a voice spoke.

"Aikawa Yumi, long time no see."

Looking up, she saw Todo Ichiro sitting behind a low table, holding a teacup, a smile of perceived victory plastered across his gaunt, sinister face.

"Todo Ichiro." Aikawa Yumi's voice still carried that lazy lilt, "You're still as stagnant as ever, knowing only how to resort to such base tactics."

Todo Ichiro set down his cup, paced over to her, and reached out to pinch her chin, forcing her to look up.

"I heard you found yourself a pretty boy; enjoying your days of debauchery, are you?"

Aikawa Yumi said nothing, merely staring into his eyes with that same mocking smirk on her lips.

Todo Ichiro's gaze darkened, his fingers tightening, leaving red marks on her fair chin.

"The one who killed my men—is that the pretty boy?" He leaned in close, his voice dropping to a low growl, "A Chunin? You think he can protect you?"

"Whether he can protect me or not, haven't you already seen it?" Aikawa Yumi sneered.

Todo Ichiro abruptly let go. "Sharp-tongued," he said coldly, "I'll see just how sharp that little mouth of yours is in a moment!"

With that, Todo Ichiro discarded his outer robe and scooped Aikawa Yumi up.

"You bastard!"

Aikawa Yumi struggled; though she possessed some meager skills, she was no match for Todo Ichiro.

"Let me go!" she shouted, kicking and striking, her voice filled with an unyielding defiance.

Todo Ichiro paid her no mind, pinning her onto the dais.

Aikawa Yumi collapsed onto the soft bed, her hair like ink, her red dress like fire, her chest heaving with every breath. Yet, those beautiful eyes remained fixed on Todo Ichiro, devoid of fear, filled only with mockery and stubbornness.

With the beauty so close at hand, Todo Ichiro felt a surge of heat and could no longer restrain himself.

He had originally been unwilling to use such methods, but now that things had come to this, even a discarded shoe had its uses...

With a lecherous laugh, Todo Ichiro reached out to tear at Aikawa Yumi's red dress.

Though she had some ability, Aikawa Yumi had already exhausted much of her strength during her capture, and now, facing Todo Ichiro, her resistance faded after only a few moments.

"Why play the chaste maiden?" Todo Ichiro sneered, dragging Aikawa Yumi closer, "If that pretty boy can touch you, why can't I?"

Aikawa Yumi said nothing, simply turning her head to the side and closing her eyes.

In her mind, a face appeared—cold and distant, a profile shimmering in the moonlight, and those eyes that were always silent, as if separated from the entire world by a thin veil of mist.

Anu.

Her Anu.

Todo Ichiro's patience had clearly reached its limit; he let out a low growl and reached out to tear away Aikawa Yumi's final covering.

The woman took a deep breath and flicked her sharp fingernails...

Todo Ichiro leaned in close, his fingers grazing her cheek, a savage grin spreading across his sinister face: "You like being sharp-tongued? I'll see if your little mouth is truly as hard as you act later on!"

At that moment, the tightly shut door suddenly exploded!

Wood splinters flew everywhere as a black shadow burst in like a ghost, heading straight for Todo Ichiro.

Todo Ichiro's pupils constricted, and he instinctively rolled backward, but he still failed to evade the fierce blade of light.

In an instant, a large chunk of flesh was sliced away, and Todo Ichiro clutched his shoulder, roaring in fury.

"Who! Who dares to act so recklessly here!"

He looked up.

Moonlight poured in through the shattered doorway, illuminating the intruder's face.

His messy black hair was slightly disheveled, his pale face was splattered with a few drops of blood, and a pair of scarlet eyes glowed with an eerie light in the darkness, with three tomoe slowly rotating.

Aikawa Yumi sat on the bed, her red dress already torn to shreds, revealing a large expanse of snow-white skin. She looked at the murderous figure at the door, a smile curling the corners of her lips.

My Anu has finally come.

"Who are you? How did you break in here? Where are those pieces of trash! Are they just eating for free?"

Facing Naoki as he stepped closer, Todo Ichiro clutched his shoulder and retreated repeatedly, still struggling.

"Your subordinates are all dead. As for you..."

Naoki spun his blade in a flourish and his figure flickered.

"No, you can't kill me! My father is..."

Before he could finish, Todo Ichiro's head rolled onto the floor, his eyes wide and mouth agape, unable to believe even in death that he could be decapitated so easily inside his own castle, in the place he deemed safest.

Fresh blood gushed from his severed neck, splattering onto Naoki's lapels.

He did not look down at the twitching corpse, but instead stood where he was, his gaze sweeping across every corner of the room. After confirming there were no hidden threats, he turned his attention back to Aikawa Yumi.

Aikawa Yumi sat on the disheveled bed, her red dress torn to shreds, revealing a large expanse of snow-white skin. There were several bruises on her collarbone and dried blood at the corner of her mouth, yet she was smiling.

Her voice was somewhat hoarse as she said, "Anu, you arrived just in time."

Naoki did not speak; he simply walked closer and reached out his right hand toward her, the moonlight spilling through the window and casting a cold, silver rim around him.

Aikawa Yumi looked up at him.

Moonlight, white clothes, scarlet eyes, an outstretched hand...

She reached out and grasped that warm, powerful hand, terrified that Naoki, who had appeared before her like a fallen immortal, might vanish in the next second.