One Night (End)

Ueno Kei struggled to fend off the monsters' onslaught, Lingyu Blade in hand.

At first, Ueno Kei had been able to kill the monsters with ease. Though they looked terrifying, they were slow and poorly defended.

Thanks to Lingyu Blade's sharpness, Ueno Kei could effortlessly slice through the seemingly sturdy, fur-covered hides of the Double-Horned Monsters, which were actually quite fragile.

That let him kill them in a single strike.

Yuhi Kurenai was even more efficient. Kunai in hand, she dispatched the monsters faster than Ueno Kei. He was curious why Kurenai, a jōnin, wasn't using powerful A-rank ninjutsu to clear them out at once.

But this was no time for Ueno Kei to let his mind wander.

Just as Ueno Kei had feared, the more than a thousand monsters looked terrifying, but they were far too weak. With Kurenai and Ueno Kei attacking together, their numbers were rapidly dwindling, yet they had barely managed to hurt the two of them.

All they did was wear them down and drain their chakra.

Kurama Yakumo, standing on the platform, wasn't going to let Kurenai pass so easily.

That was why things had taken this turn. In addition to the Double-Horned Monsters that remained, dozens of short, indistinct figures had appeared, like ghosts.

Ueno Kei could barely track their movements with the naked eye. Their defenses were nothing to speak of, and he could cut them in half with a single slash.

But they moved too fast. Ueno Kei couldn't react to them consistently. Worse still, more than a dozen green-haired birds with long, flat beaks circled overhead, swooping down from time to time to attack him and Kurenai.

In just a few seconds, Ueno Kei had already been scratched several times. Fortunately, though the creatures were fast, their attacks weren't very powerful.

Otherwise, the few times they'd hit him just now would have been enough to kill him.

Still, Ueno Kei had Kurama Yakumo's divided attention to thank for that. Most of the monsters were attacking Kurenai, and in the brief lulls between attacks, he also caught glimpses of chains appearing at Kurenai's feet, trying to bind her.

He didn't know whether it was because Kurenai was a jōnin or because Kurama Yakumo, that young girl, truly hated her so much. Either way, it had helped Ueno Kei immensely.

Ueno Kei was struggling to hold them off, but thankfully he hadn't suffered any fatal injuries. Gradually, he was even managing to fend off their attacks.

Clang! Another monster bird swooped in, its claws striking Lingyu Blade with a metallic ring. Suddenly, Ueno Kei's expression changed. A Double-Horned Monster seized the moment while he was blocking the bird's claws.

"Bellow!" It let out a sound like a cow's moo and suddenly raked its claws down Ueno Kei's back.

With a ripping sound, the claws tore Ueno Kei apart. In an instant, he vanished into a cloud of white smoke, and a log dropped to the ground with a thud.

Not far away, Ueno Kei knelt on one knee, supporting himself against the ground with Lingyu Blade as he panted heavily.

"That was close!" Ueno Kei looked shaken. Fortunately, he'd reacted in time and used the Substitution Technique to dodge. Though the Double-Horned Monsters were slow and poorly defended, their claws were the real deal.

If he hadn't dodged, Ueno Kei was sure he would have been gravely injured, if not killed.

Ueno Kei's expression tightened as the sound of rushing air came from above. Several monster birds shrieked and dived toward him at incredible speed.

Ueno Kei had dodged their attacks again and again, and he seemed to have angered them. Unlike the tentative attacks by one or two birds before, this time five or six attacked him at once.

Ueno Kei gritted his teeth, a shadow of despair creeping over him. Was he really going to die here?

In the distance, Kurenai could barely defend herself. She had seen Ueno Kei's predicament, but several times as many monsters as those attacking him had surrounded her.

She couldn't break free.

A cold smile played on the girl's lips as she watched her former enemy approach death. The sight filled her with a special kind of pleasure.

"Kill, kill, kill! Hahaha, hahaha!" A crazed expression spread across the girl's face. Her eyes were bloodshot and hungry, as if she'd completely lost her mind.

Just as Ueno Kei and the others were trapped in their predicament...

Outside, beyond a hazy, gray barrier whose nature was unknown, stood an old man dressed in black, along with a middle-aged man in a standard Konoha Ninja uniform with a prominent scar on his face. They were the Third Hokage and Nara Shikaku.

Seven or eight Anbu stood behind them.

Earlier, when Kurama Yakumo had entered her bloodlust and dragged Ueno Kei and the others into that unknown space, an unusual light had suddenly appeared between heaven and earth.

The Third Hokage had realized something had gone wrong and hurried to where the light had appeared.

He had then found himself blocked by the hazy gray barrier. There, he had also met Nara Shikaku, who was in the same predicament. From Shikaku's report, he had learned that Shikaku had originally been with Kurenai.

A sudden flash of light had isolated him beyond the barrier, and Kurenai had disappeared.

"Shikaku, you know about that child, don't you? This must be one of her abilities!" The Third Hokage let out a deep sigh and spoke with resignation.

"Yes, Lord Hokage. I've heard a little about the Kurama Clan's prodigy, but I never imagined she'd be this formidable. To maintain something this vast, like a barrier, that girl must have an enormous amount of chakra. It might even be comparable to a Tailed Beast!" Nara Shikaku said gravely.

"You're right, Shikaku. There is indeed something inside that girl. It may not be as powerful as a Tailed Beast, but it's more than an ordinary person could handle." The Third Hokage furrowed his brows, clearly wary of that presence.

A look of shock appeared on Nara Shikaku's face. "Could that girl be...?"

A hint of melancholy crossed the Third Hokage's face. He waved a hand to stop Shikaku from continuing, then said, "Breaking this barrier won't be difficult. That child may be gifted, but the barrier itself is too fragile, riddled with flaws. But from what you've told me, Kurenai, those members of the Kurama Clan, and the Anbu are probably all inside..."

"If we act rashly, no one can know what might happen!" The Third Hokage's voice was full of conflict.

If they didn't break the barrier, they couldn't rescue the Konoha Ninja inside. But if they did, they couldn't guarantee their safety. Though the Third Hokage was known as the "Shinobi Hero"—

He knew countless ninjutsu, but even he found the Kurama Clan's special abilities extremely troublesome.

"You, guard the area. Don't let anyone approach!" The Third Hokage thought it over and decided to seal off the area for now. They could figure out the rest later.

"Yes, sir!" Several Anbu answered in low voices at the Third Hokage's command. A moment later, they vanished with a series of whooshes.