"Where is Aoi Rokushō?!" Ueno Kei asked coldly.
"I—I don't... know..." The chunin's teeth were chattering now that his life was under threat. Ueno Kei gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. It seemed he had still been played by that guy. These two Kirigakure ninja were clearly bait, making him lose Aoi Rokushō's trail at the first possible moment.
That guy was definitely still hiding inside the Wagarashi Clan estate, waiting until he gave chase before escaping. But he had thought too simply of Ueno Kei. The corner of Ueno Kei's mouth lifted in a disdainful smile.
At that thought, Ueno Kei's gaze grew even colder. His figure suddenly vanished from the spot with a whoosh, reappearing behind the chunin.
With a pfft, the sound of a blade piercing flesh rang out. The Kirigakure chunin lowered his head with difficulty and stared at the Lingyu Blade protruding from his chest. With a "wah," he spat out a large mouthful of blood, and his eyes gradually lost focus.
His consciousness sank into eternal darkness.
Ueno Kei gently pulled the Lingyu Blade free. The Kirigakure chunin's body lost its support and fell from the tree trunk, hitting the ground with a thud and kicking up a layer of dust.
Ueno Kei swept a faint glance over the Kirigakure ninja's corpse, then lightly flicked the Lingyu Blade. The blood on the blade immediately splattered away, restoring its previous bright cleanliness.
After identifying the direction in the darkness, Ueno Kei smiled coldly and said in a low voice, "Aoi Rokushō, you can't run."
Ueno Kei quickly bit his finger and formed hand seals. "Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram."
"Summoning Jutsu!" Ueno Kei shouted softly, pressing one hand to the ground. A formula array abruptly appeared, and a cloud of smoke suddenly rose.