The instant the red light began flashing, a cloying yet nauseating smell quickly spread through the air. It was some kind of highly concentrated neurotoxin, the "last resort" the Mist Anbu often used when clearing out the death cells.
"Go!"
Mizuki Han didn't hesitate. He flung the red-flashing mask deep into the passage, grabbed Haku, and sprinted in the opposite direction. He knew perfectly well that the mask was not only a communicator, but also some kind of trigger device. The moment that Anbu ninja died, the defenses here had been fully activated.
Poison gas surged through the gaps in the pipes with a faint hiss. Mizuki Han led Haku racing through the dim passage. The burning in his lungs intensified with every burst of exertion, but he forced his breathing under control, putting every ounce of strength to its best use.
The two of them wound through the intricate underground maze for nearly two kilometers. Only when the cloying smell had completely faded behind them did Mizuki Han stop at a dried-up underground riverbed. It lay in a blind spot on the outskirts of the Anbu base, with stalactites hanging overhead and its pools long since dried up—a natural hiding place.
"Haah..." Haku gasped for breath, her small face deathly pale, her forehead covered in fine beads of cold sweat.
Mizuki Han paid no attention to her exhaustion. Leaning against the damp, cold rock wall, he closed his eyes and sank his mind deep into his consciousness.
[Host detected to have completed consecutive kills. Extract the targets' genes and chakra?]
"Extract."
Two faint streams of energy were forcibly drawn from the corpses by the system. They then turned into cool trickles and flowed into Mizuki Han's long-depleted core. Though the two Chunin were dead, the chakra they had left behind was still high-quality energy.
A long-missed sense of fullness rose through his meridians. Mizuki Han could clearly feel his chakra, nearly depleted from overusing Ice Release, slowly recovering at a visible rate.
Although he still hadn't reached the level of a Chunin, the hollow, drained weakness was fading, replaced by a deep sense of security.
[Chakra refinement increased. Current level: peak Genin.] [Host's body detected to be damaged. Consume some chakra to repair it?]
"Don't repair it for now." Mizuki Han coldly refused in his mind.
He opened his eyes and looked around the gloomy cavern. It was well hidden, but only temporarily. He had to establish rules. In this underground world without laws or order, any pointless sympathy would become poison that could cost them both their lives.
He stood and walked over to Haku. The girl was curled up beneath the rock wall, the shock from the killing still lingering in her clear eyes.
Mizuki Han looked down at her, his gaze as cold as if he were looking at a stone.
"Look at me." His voice was flat.
Haku shuddered and raised her head. Her watery eyes met his, as cold and fathomless as an abyss.
"Put your tears away." Mizuki Han raised a hand and gripped her chin with his cold fingertips, forcing her to look at him. "In a place like this, tears have no value. They'll only become noise that gives away our position."
Haku bit her lower lip and forced back the tears welling in her eyes, but her body still trembled uncontrollably with fear and hurt.
"Listen carefully." Mizuki Han let go, his voice icy. "We're in this together now. If you want to survive, you have to throw away that pointless sympathy and fear."
He pointed to the pile of spoils on the ground: the Explosive Tags and ninja tools taken from the Anbu's bodies.
"From now on, you don't need any unnecessary emotions. You only have two things to do. First, obey my orders without question. Second, if anyone threatens my survival, you attack without hesitation, even if it's someone you used to know."
Haku froze. She looked at Mizuki Han, seeming unable to believe that these words had come from the lips of the boy who had once saved her.
"What? Can't do it?" Mizuki Han's lips curled in mockery. He casually drew a Kunai from his ninja pouch and spun it deftly on his fingertips. "If you can't, you can leave right now. There are Anbu everywhere outside. Go ask them for help and see if they'll give you a quick death."
The Kunai's blade glinted in the dim light, stopping right in front of Haku's nose.
The girl looked at the blade so close to her, then at Mizuki Han's utterly untroubled eyes. The confusion in her gaze gradually faded, replaced by an almost numb resolve.
She knew that in this cruel world, the cold-hearted boy before her was the only person she could rely on.
"...I understand." Haku's voice was soft, but exceptionally clear.
Mizuki Han put away the Kunai with satisfaction. He didn't need a crying burden. He needed a sharp, obedient blade.
He turned and went deeper into the cavern to inspect the surroundings. The abandoned cave was crude, but well ventilated and had two exits. He took the Explosive Tag from his pocket and stuck it above the entrance, setting up a simple trigger trap.
Anyone who forced their way in would find that doorway becoming their grave.
When he had finished, Mizuki Han sat back down in the shadows. He watched the dark passage in the distance, planning his next move.
The purge of the death cells wouldn't stop just because two Chunin had died. Their disappearance would only put the higher-ups on alert. The entire underground base would soon be placed under lockdown.
But that was exactly what he needed.
He didn't need to hide. He needed to strike back.
"Since they want to treat us like rats and exterminate us..." Mizuki Han tapped the rock gently with his fingers, his voice as low as a ghost's. "Then we'll turn this underground maze into their slaughterhouse."
With these supplies and his chakra, he was no longer a prisoner at their mercy.
He lifted his head and looked through the darkness, as if he could see the Anbu ninja frantically searching the base.
"Next..." A cold killing intent flashed through Mizuki Han's eyes. "It's time to take something more valuable."
The encrypted scroll he had found on the Chunin's corpse still rested quietly against his chest. The secrets written on it might be the key to escaping the Village of the Bloody Mist for good.
For now, all he had to do was wait. Wait for the hounds, restless over their missing comrades, to step into the web he had carefully spun.
Just then, faint footsteps came from the passage outside the cavern.
Their pace was slow, tentative.
Mizuki Han's body tensed instantly. He signaled to Haku. She understood at once, silently slipping into the shadows nearby and holding her breath.
The footsteps drew closer, accompanied by low voices.
"Why haven't those two sent a signal yet? This is the area they were assigned to, isn't it?"
"Quit talking. The order from above is to search everywhere. Don't let even a single rat slip through."
Mizuki Han's lips curled into a cold smile.
The prey had taken the bait.
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