Yuroketsu's Secret Technique

Hideto and Yuroketsu spoke for a while. Seeing that it was about time, they set out.

As the main family daughter being married off, Hyuga Kicho sat in the carriage at the very center of the procession, advancing at an unhurried pace under its escort.

Ninja and samurai guarded them from all sides, providing airtight protection.

Hideto looked at the ninja and samurai sent by the Land of Night and nodded slightly.

These guards had already become a complete whole. Setting strength aside, the fact that they could swiftly and effectively form such a tight formation showed that these ninja and samurai had undergone rigorous training. They were not mere decorative weaklings who would crumble at the first touch.

Though in Hideto's eyes, this force could be crushed head-on.

When the gap in strength was too great, any formation was meaningless.

The only one Hideto found somewhat noteworthy was probably their leader, Kakuzu.

He was very young. Even within the Hyuga Clan, his strength would not be considered weak, and he could hold a relatively important position.

It seems this is not a country that relies on a single person to maintain its deterrence.

Hideto silently gave the Land of Night a favorable assessment.

The group traveled for several days and finally reached the border of the Land of Fire at dusk.

Beyond the wilderness ahead lay the Land of Night.

Just then, beneath the lingering glow of the setting sun, a bone-chilling cold descended alongside the night.

Hideto sighed.

The instant he sighed, a series of whooshing sounds rang out.

More than a dozen black shadows leaped from the shadows around them, their target aimed directly at the sedan chair at the center of the procession.

Clearly, their assassination target was unmistakable: Hyuga Kicho, the future general's wife of the Land of Night.

Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!

Hideto waited a beat before choosing to counter the attackers.

Calling it a delayed response was not quite right. Hideto had long been prepared to act; he had merely been gathering strength in secret.

After all, trying to launch a sneak attack beneath the Byakugan was simply too foolish.

Hideto leaped forward to meet them, spinning through the air as massive amounts of chakra flowed through his body and erupted into blue currents.

In the blink of an eye, a chakra sphere more than ten meters wide formed around him, dragging all of the attackers into it with the force of his spinning body.

Screams rang out without pause as the ferocious storm generated by the spinning chakra sphere violently tore at the attackers' bodies.

For a moment, blood sprayed everywhere.

Hideto stopped spinning. More than a dozen mangled corpses lay sprawled across the ground, devoid of life.

This powerful elder of the Hyuga Clan had killed more than a dozen formidable assassins with a single move.

Boom!

An explosion suddenly erupted behind them, startling everyone present.

The carriage at the center of the procession was suddenly blasted apart by an unknown attack.

Dressed in a white furisode kimono, Kicho seemed to have sensed something in advance. Without hesitation, she sprang through the explosion's Smoke and splintered wood, flashing into the air to one side.

From the explosive Smoke and flying wood emerged a ninja-clad figure, wielding a ninja blade toward Kicho's chest.

The sharpened ninja blade had sliced open part of the fabric at Kicho's right cuff during the previous attack.

As the ninja pursued her, Kicho had already drawn Spirit Blade: Kumokiri from its sheath.

Clang!

The ring of metal echoed through the air.

Borrowing the force of the blow, Kicho's body drifted lightly backward like a willow catkin.

The ninja and samurai of the Land of Night surrounding them reacted at once and moved to surround the attacker.

"He evaded the Byakugan and the insects' detection. This ability to conceal his presence and chakra—is it a special secret technique... or an unknown Kekkei Genkai?"

A cold gleam flashed beneath Yuroketsu's sunglasses.

Being able to bypass the Hyuga's Byakugan and the Aburame Clan's insects to attack an important target was somewhat unexpected, but upon reflection, it was not impossible.

In this chaotic Warring States era, there was no shortage of strange techniques and Kekkei Genkai.

"His body has considerable research value."

"Mm."

Hideto nodded, agreeing with Yuroketsu's judgment.

"Move aside."

At Yuroketsu's command, the ninja and samurai surrounding the attacker swiftly scattered.

Yuroketsu extended an arm forward, and his black sleeve opened.

Rumble!

It was not a swarm of insects blotting out the sky, but an enormous blood-red centipede covered in dense hooked claws, like a crimson dragon.

It first crawled across the ground, then launched itself into the air, coiling through the sky before suddenly lunging at the attacker and tearing open its enormous maw.

Its body was more than two meters wide, making its sheer size terrifying.

That bastard is still as underhanded as ever, deliberately engraving the Summoning Jutsu into his sleeve...

Hideto was wary of Yuroketsu's method of attack.

When they had fought in the past, he had nearly been caught off guard by it. If the Byakugan had not spotted the abnormal chakra fluctuations in advance, he would most likely have been seriously injured in a single strike.

"Argh!"

The attacker had no time to dodge. The dragon-like centipede tore off one of his arms in a spray of blood.

"Damn it!"

The attacking ninja's face turned deathly pale as he stared at the enormous red centipede, as large as a small hill. He could not believe this was also the Aburame Clan's Insect Manipulation Technique.

It was on a completely different level from the Aburame Clan ninja he had faced before.

This man who controlled centipedes was far too dangerous!

He shot Yuroketsu in the distance a vicious glare, as if he intended to remember today's humiliation, then fled without looking back.

But after taking only a few steps, his body stiffened, and he fell straight to the ground.

At the instant he collapsed, he saw it.

The wound where his right arm had been torn away was somehow covered in densely packed black insects.

They had silently crowded into his torn wound, continuously injecting toxins that paralyzed his nerves.

"When did this happen!? Was it that centipede...?"

The attacking ninja suddenly realized something, but it was already far too late.

A powerful drowsiness swept over him. Unable to resist it, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep coma.

"You left a large number of insects inside the centipede's body, then used its attack to leave them in the wound... Your methods are as insidious as ever."

Even Hideto felt his scalp tingle.

No matter when he saw the Aburame Clan's techniques, they still made him somewhat uncomfortable.

They were simply impossible to guard against.

The only things that could guard against the Aburame Clan's secret techniques in advance were the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan and certain special sensory techniques.

"This is more efficient."

Yuroketsu readily accepted Hideto's praise.

"Release!"

Then he formed hand seals. The massive red centipede, which had remained on the ground, wriggling and crawling while leaving behind a deeply gouged trail, vanished amid a burst of white Smoke.

"Kicho, are you all right?"

Hideto walked over to his daughter.

"I'm fine, Father. The clothes only need a little mending afterward."

Kicho pointed to the torn part of her sleeve. The cut was not large, and one would not notice it without looking closely.

Hideto nodded.

"As expected of my daughter. Even in that situation, you were still able to evade calmly."

Hideto's words affirmed Kicho's strength and vigilance.

Being able to avoid danger through instinct alone when the Byakugan was ineffective clearly showed that she had inherited his teachings well.

"After all, it was Father who taught me not to rely too heavily on the Byakugan in battle."

Kicho lowered her head and smiled faintly, seeming somewhat embarrassed.

Hideto smiled as well, finally putting his mind at ease.

On the other side, Kakuzu had someone bind the unconscious attacking ninja and ordered the medical ninja in the group to stop his bleeding so that he would not die before the interrogation.

After finishing that, Kakuzu walked over.

"It seems we need to pick up the pace from here on. My apologies, Madam. We gave you quite a fright."

"No, not at all. After all, no one could have expected the enemy to evade the perception of the Byakugan and the Aburame Clan's secret techniques."

Kicho smiled understandingly. Speaking as the future general's wife, she did not place blame on anyone.

Since the carriage had been destroyed, there was not enough time to make another nearby.

Moreover, no one knew whether there would be a second wave of attacks.

Therefore, everything from here on would be kept simple, and they needed to reach the capital, Nightview City, as quickly as possible.

Ninja were creatures who valued efficiency above all else. On the contrary, after leaving that slow-moving sedan chair, Kicho's mood improved considerably.

She had not particularly liked that sluggish method of travel.

The rest of the journey went very smoothly.

They encountered no second wave of attacks all the way to Nightview City.

Either there were no more attackers, or the person behind it had decided it could not be done and did not intend to waste effort.

Whichever it was, everyone who had safely arrived in Nightview City quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Traveling for so long with their bodies constantly tense wore away at one's patience.

"So this is Nightview City..."

Looking at the towering, imposing metropolis before her, where everything appeared orderly and stable, even the worldly Kicho was briefly dazed.

It was not as though she had never visited a major city. She had been to the capital of the Land of Fire more than once.

Yet the smooth roads, clean streets, healthy-looking pedestrians and children, along with the many novel items sold in the shops that she had never seen before—these were all things she had never encountered in the capital of the Land of Fire.

Although the capital of the Land of Fire was more magnificent and its commerce more developed, the people there could only be said to scrape by because of the ongoing war.

Even so, compared to the other great nations, the Land of Fire's capital was far ahead.

But compared to Nightview City, it seemed to be missing something.

"Yes. In the past few years, Lord Yayoi personally pacified the unrest throughout the country, one region at a time. And since this is not the center of the continent, war... has been a thing of the past in this country for many years."

Kakuzu spoke with feeling.

He was one of the earliest veterans to follow Yayoi and had watched step by step as this newborn country got itself on track.

The beginning had been difficult as well, but Yayoi led by example, repeatedly confronting hardships and difficulties on the front lines and taking the lead in solving all manner of problems.

Inspired by that atmosphere, the entire country naturally developed a powerful sense of unity and forged ahead without fear of hardship.

Sometimes, inspiring people and motivating them did not require excessive rewards. One only needed to create a fair platform and give them the returns they deserved, and talented people would flock to it.

"For now, everyone should settle down at the state guesthouse. The specific wedding arrangements still require some preparation."

After bringing everyone to the state guesthouse, Kakuzu had the members of the Hyuga Clan stay there with peace of mind.

"Thank you for the trouble."

Hideto nodded and allowed Kakuzu to make the arrangements.

After Kakuzu left, Yuroketsu, the head of the Aburame Clan, followed him away as well, intending to formally pay a visit to his future superior.

Although the Aburame Clan had successfully migrated out of the Land of Fire, Yuroketsu himself had not handled those matters as clan head. Since he had happened to join the Hyuga Clan's wedding escort, he had remained in the Land of Fire and returned alongside Kakuzu.

"Lord Yayoi is a very mild-tempered person. As long as you do not deliberately offend him, he will not take many things to heart."

On the way to the General's Residence in Nightview City, Kakuzu began explaining some matters Yuroketsu should keep in mind when meeting Yayoi.

Although Yayoi had few taboos, Kakuzu did not know Yuroketsu well and was afraid that he might inadvertently cross Yayoi's bottom line somewhere.

After all, gentleness was one side of Yayoi, but Kakuzu had also experienced his other side: his ruthlessness.

He was the general of the Land of Night, someone who would show no mercy and wipe out his enemies completely.

Yuroketsu would be his future colleague, and Kakuzu did not want their relationship to become so strained.

Yuroketsu listened in silence, gaining a general idea of how to get along with General Yayoi.

Once they entered the General's Residence, they were in a fully militarized zone.

Tall walls completely sealed off the interior from the outside. Patrols of ninja and samurai passed by in an endless stream, while lofty towers and pavilions rose one after another.

But Yuroketsu could tell that many of the buildings had not been constructed for enjoyment at all. They were military structures, with only a small portion serving as living and recreational facilities to relieve the pressure accumulated by the ninja and samurai.

Clearly, General Oda Yayoi... had turned his residence into an impregnable military fortress.

They passed through the Outer Court and headed toward the Inner Court.

What surprised Yuroketsu was that the defenses here were much weaker than in the previous areas.

Did he not value his own safety?

No. Perhaps it was confidence. Someone with immense power did not need such things at all.

The strongest force in the Land of Night was the general himself. If even the general could not resolve a problem, then no matter how many people came, they would only be making meaningless sacrifices.

Thus, it was enough to leave only the necessary messengers and administrative personnel here.

They arrived at the Tenshu Tower, the only building of the Inner Court that faced the Outer Court.

It was an eighty-meter-tall tower.

From here, one could take in the entire layout of the General's Residence at a glance.

After bringing Yuroketsu to the top floor, Kakuzu turned and departed.

"Come in."

As the voice from inside reached him, Yuroketsu took a deep breath and stepped inside.

It was an open space roughly seven meters high and several hundred square meters in area.

He casually swept his eyes over the furnishings and layout. It did not seem particularly elaborate. There were few flashy, impractical decorations; everything was arranged for convenience, so most of the items placed here had practical use.

Then he quickly turned his gaze forward, looking at the black-haired young man seated behind a broad desk. His features were refined, and he did not look like a general who controlled a nation's military and political affairs.

Dressed in loose grayish-blue casual clothes, he had the air of a literary worker who made a living with a pen.

Yet the fact that his body could fill out those loose clothes showed that the seemingly slender frame actually contained terrifying explosive power.

When it came to Taijutsu, he was probably quite a frightening person as well.

The insects are uneasy.

Yuroketsu's hand, hidden within his sleeve, clenched slightly before slowly relaxing.

Then, Yuroketsu imperceptibly glanced at the blue-kimono-clad girl beside him.

She looked very young, around sixteen or seventeen. Her flawless, beautiful face was so exquisitely refined that it seemed unreal, carrying the dreamlike quality of something artificially sculpted.

She appeared gentle, but the icy, bone-piercing aura that occasionally flowed through her violet eyes made Yuroketsu's nerves tense instinctively.

The insects are telling me that they can sense nothing from this girl, yet she is extremely dangerous... If I make even the slightest careless move, I might be crushed immediately.

These thoughts flashed through Yuroketsu's mind in an instant, but his face still revealed little emotion. Without changing expression, he bowed to Yayoi.

"Pleased to meet you, General. I am Aburame Yuroketsu, head of the Aburame Clan."