A Hidden Killing Blow in the Dripping Water, Finding the Pattern and Locking Down the Blind Spot

"Drip."

At the mouth of the cave, Haku didn't even have time to tremble before the kunai in Han's hand made a precise, delicate cut across her soft fingertip. A bead of crimson blood rolled down.

Haku gritted her teeth, holding back her cry of pain.

Han curled his finger, catching the warm drop of blood in his palm. The last trace of chakra in his body flowed through his chakra pathways, instantly freezing the blood into a tiny ice crystal with a faint reddish glow. He had learned this fine control after fusing with the high-purity genes earlier: by using the blood's unique chakra fluctuations, he could create a miniature tracking marker that would last for several hours.

He flicked his finger. The blood-red ice crystal traced a discreet arc through the darkness, silently sticking to the sole of the last Anbu's shoe. The man carried two swords on his back.

"Wait here. No matter what you hear, don't come out." Han lowered his voice. Like a venomous snake blending into the night, he slid down the slick stalactites and into the sewage outside the cave.

The sewage rose to his chest. Its bone-chilling temperature only made his mind clearer.

He closed his eyes and sensed the blood-red ice crystal's movement.

Fifteen meters... twenty meters... thirty meters.

It stopped.

Like a piece of rotting wood, Han drifted slowly through the murky current, doing his best to suppress his heartbeat. With every stroke, he matched the sound of the underground river perfectly, making no unnecessary noise.

After passing through a narrow stretch of rubble, the passage opened up.

It was a temporary space fashioned from a disused Underground Reservoir. Three dim, yellow hurricane lamps hung on the stone walls, illuminating a relatively dry stone platform in the center.

Han hid behind a massive support pillar, keeping only his eyes above the water.

Besides the two Anbu from earlier, five sealed scrolls and a crate of Explosive Tags were piled on the platform. There was no doubt about it: this was a secret supply point set up by the Anbu while they searched the underground sewage system on a large scale.

Two Anbu, both at the chūnin level.

One sat on a supply crate, polishing the Ninja Blade in his hand. The other stood at the edge of the platform, scanning the surrounding water and passage entrances with the wary gaze of a hawk.

"Those damn Kekkei Genkai rats sure know how to hide," the chūnin polishing his blade complained. He sheathed it with a click.

"Shut up. Genji gave us strict orders. If we don't finish the purge within three days, we'll all be punished." The sentry's voice was cold. "Stay alert, especially around this water. The remnants of the Yuki Clan are best at Water Release and Ice Release."

Han didn't move in the water. The cold had made the wound frozen shut on his body ache faintly, but he didn't rush to attack.

He needed information.

Drip.

At the top of the reservoir, a sharp stalactite slowly released a drop of water.

It fell into the pool below with a clear sound.

Han began counting silently.

One second, two seconds, three seconds... fifteen seconds. Drip.

The water dripped once every fifteen seconds.

The sentry turned around once every thirty seconds, sweeping his gaze over the entrance and lingering there for three seconds. Though the other chūnin sat down, his left hand remained half-clenched around a kunai with an Explosive Tag, and his eyes kept darting toward the ventilation shaft above.

The light was dimmest at the front left, where the hurricane lamps' beams met. That spot had a blind spot lasting half a second.

Ten minutes. Twenty minutes.

Han spent a full half hour immersed in the icy sewage. His limbs were already numb with cold, but the light in his eyes only grew brighter.

He had found the pattern.

Whenever the stalactite above released its third drop—that is, at the forty-fifth second—the water's reflection flickered for an instant as the drop fell. The sentry's eyes shifted by fifteen degrees, turning away for 0.2 seconds.

It was a physiological reflex. During those 0.2 seconds, his entire left rear was completely unguarded.

This was the opening!

Han slowly raised his right hand beneath the sewage and gathered a thread of ice, fine and resilient, at his fingertips.

One end connected to his finger. The other extended little by little, carried by the current and concealed by the water, toward the area around the supply point. He would turn this patch of water into his own personal meat grinder during that 0.2-second blind spot.

Just then—

"Hm?"

The sentry suddenly let out a suspicious grunt.

His gaze fixed on the area behind the support pillar where Han was hiding.

"There's something in the water." The chūnin's voice was cold as he abruptly drew the short blade from his back.

The seated chūnin sprang up at once and rapidly formed Hand Seals. His throat bulged as scorching flames gathered in his mouth.

Han's pupils contracted sharply. His heart skipped half a beat.

A huge mutant rat suddenly darted out from beneath the water on the other side of the support pillar, fleeing wildly into the distance.

"Damn it! Just a rat!" The chūnin who had been preparing to use Fire Release forcibly cut off his technique and cursed. The chakra backlash made him cough violently.

Drip.

The forty-fifth second. The third drop fell into the pool. The hurricane lamps' faint glow flashed across the water.

The sentry's gaze instinctively shifted fifteen degrees away.

Within that 0.2-second blind spot—

Han finished laying his trap beneath the water. Ten transparent ice threads crisscrossed his fingertips.

The sentry turned back, grumbling, "Damn, spend long enough in this dump and even a rat can scare the hell out of you—"

His voice cut off.

The chūnin abruptly looked down and saw a glinting, transparent thread wrapped around his ankle. He hadn't noticed when it had gotten there.

At the other end of the thread, a pair of eyes as cold as ice slowly emerged above the water.

Han tugged with his fingertips. The ice thread snapped taut! The chūnin lost his balance and crashed toward the pool. The enormous splash made the other chūnin, still coughing, turn back in alarm—only to see a face as cold as a demon's emerging from the water...

The dim underground passage opened up ahead. A patch of yellow light seeped around the bend, illuminating the slimy rock walls.

Mizuki Han froze. Like a piece of rotting wood sunk beneath the water, he showed only his eyes above the murky surface. With a hard look, he kept Haku behind him in place. The little girl barely dared to breathe.

Light meant people.

In this lightless underground maze, people meant danger, but also... resources.

Han moved slowly through the sewage without raising a ripple. Like some primordial predator, he followed the scent left by his prey and closed in without a sound.

After passing through a narrow stretch of rubble, he saw what lay ahead. His placid eyes suddenly narrowed.

It was a disused Underground Reservoir that someone had modified. Three hurricane lamps hung on the stone walls, driving away the darkness and revealing everything on the central platform.

Two shinobi wearing standard Mist Anbu masks.

Five sealed scrolls tightly wrapped in oilcloth.

And an open crate, packed neatly with Explosive Tags!

A flash of burning greed passed through Han's eyes. It was the "Firepower Deficiency Phobia" he had brought with him from his previous life, screaming from deep within his bones. These supplies would make him feel at least ten times safer in this desperate situation!

He had to get them.

But impulse was the devil, and Han was its master. He didn't act at once. Instead, he sank deeper into the sewage, leaving only a barely perceptible gap through which to observe the platform.

Two chūnin.

That was his preliminary assessment, based on the strength of their chakra flow and their posture. One sat on the supply crate, methodically wiping his Ninja Blade with a piece of deerskin. His movements were meticulous. The other stood at the edge of the platform like a spear, scanning every dark corner with the wary gaze of a hawk.

"Those damn Kekkei Genkai rats sure know how to hide," the chūnin polishing his blade finally complained, his voice edged with impatience. He sheathed the Ninja Blade with a click and grumbled, "This place is wet and stinks. Who knows how much longer we'll have to stay here?"

"Shut up." The sentry's voice was cold and emotionless. "Genji gave us strict orders. If we don't finish clearing out the underground within three days, every squad in charge will be punished. Stay sharp, especially around this water. Intelligence says the remnants of the Yuki Clan are best at Water Release and Ice Release. Don't let them catch you off guard."

Han remained motionless in the water. The cold sewage kept sapping the warmth from the thin layer of ice over his chest. His forcibly sealed wound throbbed with sharp pain, as if countless steel needles were twisting through his flesh.

But he barely noticed. His mind worked like a high-precision computer, furiously gathering and analyzing data.

Drip.

At the top of the reservoir, a murky drop slowly gathered on a sharp stalactite before falling into a shallow pool below with a clear, rhythmic sound.

Han began counting silently.

One second, two seconds, three seconds... fifteen seconds.

Drip.

The water dripped at a steady interval of fifteen seconds.

The sentry turned around every thirty seconds, sweeping his gaze across the entrance to the passage where Han was hiding and lingering for three seconds. He was highly alert, almost without a flaw.

Though the chūnin polishing his blade seemed relaxed, his left hand remained half-clenched around a kunai with an Explosive Tag attached. Once a minute, his gaze would surreptitiously flick toward a dark ventilation shaft above.

It was a standard two-man security formation. They covered each other's blind spots and watched in different directions.

Ten minutes.

Twenty minutes.

Han spent a full half hour immersed in the icy sewage. His limbs had grown stiff with cold, and wave after wave of weakness washed over him. But the light in his eyes didn't dim. It only grew brighter.

He had found it!

The absolute blind spot, formed by the environment and their own physiological instincts, was something any shinobi might overlook.

The key was the sound of that "drip."

Whenever the stalactite above released its third drop—that is, at the forty-fifth second—the water's reflection would flicker for an instant as the drop fell, refracting the light.

At the moment the drop fell, the sentry's eyes made an almost imperceptible movement. His gaze was instinctively drawn toward the glimmer, deviating about fifteen degrees from its fixed patrol route.

The whole process lasted just 0.2 seconds.

During that 0.2-second window of absolute blindness, his entire left rear was unguarded. That was where the huge support pillar that concealed Han cast its shadow!

A hunter might wait their whole life for a chance like this.

And Han had created his own through half an hour of extraordinary patience.

Just then—

"Hm?" The sentry suddenly let out a wary grunt.

His gaze darted across the water and fixed on the area behind the support pillar where Han was hiding!

"There's something in the water!" The chūnin's voice tightened as he abruptly drew the short blade from his back and took a fighting stance.

The seated chūnin sprang up like a released spring and rapidly formed Hand Seals. His throat bulged as scorching chakra gathered rapidly in his mouth. He was clearly preparing to use a wide-area Fire Release technique to attack indiscriminately!

Han's pupils contracted sharply. His heart nearly stopped.

Had he been discovered?

No, that wasn't right! His concealment was flawless. There was no way they could have spotted him!

In a flash, a huge, three-headed mutant rat burst with a splash from beneath the water on the other side of the support pillar. It squealed in terror as it fled wildly toward a distant, dark passage.

"Damn it! Just a rat!" The chūnin who had been preparing to use Fire Release forcibly cut off the technique. The chakra backlash left him choking and coughing violently, his face sour with frustration.

The sentry also relaxed and cursed, "Damn, spend long enough in this dump and you start seeing threats everywhere. Even a rat can scare the hell out of you."

A false alarm.

But for Han, it had been an invaluable test of their reactions.

He had confirmed two things. First, the two chūnin were already on edge, close to their breaking point, and outside factors could easily interfere with their judgment. Second, they didn't control this area nearly as completely as they thought they did.

Drip.

The forty-fifth second.

The third drop fell precisely from the tip of the stalactite.

The pool formed a tiny whirlpool, and the dim yellow light flashed across the water.

The sentry's gaze shifted fifteen degrees, like a machine following its programming.

The 0.2-second blind spot had arrived!

Now!

Beneath the sewage, the cold light in Han's eyes finally flared into what could only be called a hunger for slaughter.

He slowly extended both hands, his fingers moving almost imperceptibly in the murky current.

Threads of chakra, finer than hair and nearly invisible to the naked eye, extended from his fingertips. Buoyed by the water and concealed by its currents, they began to stretch toward every spot around the platform he had calculated.

The moment these Chakra Threads touched the cold sewage, they froze into tough, razor-sharp transparent strands of ice.

He didn't rush to attack. In this brief window of absolute safety, he patiently wove a web of death.

A deadly trap custom-made for the two prey before him!