Mask

"Lao Er!!!!" The Eldest brother standing behind them stared blankly. The three of them had been ruthless and committed plenty of evil deeds, but their bond had been very strong. Now, not only Third brother, but even Lao Er had died miserably before his eyes.

"Damn it!! It's all your fault!!! It's all because of you!!!!" The Eldest brother roared madly, a powerful surge of Chakra instantly erupting from his body as he gripped his Ninja Sword tightly with both hands.

"Hm?" Wu looked at the suddenly erupting Eldest brother in surprise. He had not expected this Rogue Ninja to be fairly strong. "Aah!!!!" The Eldest brother roared, completely abandoning a Ninja's fighting style as he charged at Wu with lightning speed.

"Ah!!!" Goto Yurika jumped in fright at the Eldest brother's crazed, savage expression and cried out involuntarily.

"Get back!!!" Wu said flatly, then lunged toward the Eldest brother as well. Both moved at extreme speed, closing the distance in an instant.

"Die!!!!" The Eldest brother completely abandoned defense. His eyes held nothing but Wu ahead of him as the Tachi in his hand, carrying all his fury and hatred, slashed down fiercely toward Wu.

Chakra instantly gathered in Wu's left palm, and a small blue sphere appeared in his hand. Its powerful tearing force instantly cleared the surrounding air.

Beneath Wu's mask, his originally pitch-black pupils had turned scarlet. Three Black Tomoe spun rapidly around a Black Dot—it was the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Though the Eldest brother's blade was fast, Wu clearly saw its trajectory. Yet, seemingly sensing the intense hatred and resentment contained within that descending blade, Wu's body suddenly trembled.

A flash of snow-bright Blade Light slashed toward Wu like lightning, incredibly fast. But Wu was faster. He sharply tilted his body and head aside, and the Blade Light grazed past him.

His left hand was no slower, thrusting the blue Chakra sphere forward.

"Bang!!!!!" The blue sphere slammed into the Eldest brother's chest, sending him flying from the tremendous force. The powerful tearing force spun his body rapidly, hurling him straight into a massive Cherry Blossom tree by the roadside.

"Bang!!!" With a deafening crash, countless Cherry Blossom petals drifted down. The Eldest brother's eyes were filled with hatred and fury, but then his gaze gradually lost focus. His eyes slowly closed, and his breath gradually faded away.

The blue sphere slowly dissipated from Wu's hand. Wu withdrew his palm and said flatly, "Although the gap in strength cannot be overcome, you did fairly well."

As soon as he finished speaking, "Crack, crack!!" Several fractures suddenly appeared on the right side of Wu's white mask before it shattered violently. White fragments mixed with Rainwater and fell to the ground.

"So fast. As expected, hatred is the catalyst for increasing strength. Though His Strength was decent, by Common Sense, that strike should never have been able to hurt me. But because it carried such intense hatred, it suddenly accelerated just before landing, completely surpassing his own speed. Heh." Wu spoke calmly, reaching up to touch his right cheek.

Goto Yurika's hair had been completely soaked by the Rainwater, but she did not notice at all. She simply covered her mouth and stared blankly at Wu.

The battle just now had seemed lengthy, but it had actually taken place in an instant. She was merely one of the Ordinary People and had not seen what happened during it. What left her stunned was Wu's appearance.

The right half of Wu's mask had completely Shattered, revealing the handsome right side of his face. His skin was fair, and his long black Bangs clung tightly to his cheek from the Rainwater. Within his scarlet pupil, Three Black Tomoe circled a small Black Dot, giving it an unusually mysterious and sinister charm. The instant Goto Yurika saw that eye, she seemed to feel her mind go hazy, and everything before her began to blur.

"What's going on?" Goto Yurika shook her head hard, dispelling the blurry sensation before her eyes. When she opened them, the sight before her had returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

Wu slowly walked toward Goto Yurika. The scarlet pupil in his eye instantly returned to black as he said flatly, "Let's go. I'll take you back to your father. This counts as part of the employment."

"You—you're actually so young!!" Goto Yurika looked at the handsome right half of Wu's face and spoke in astonishment. When she had heard Wu's voice before, she knew the person in front of her was quite young. But she had never imagined Wu would be this young. He looked only fourteen or fifteen, about her age, perhaps even a little younger. She had originally thought Wu was twenty. Could a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old Ninja really be this powerful?

"This is not important." Wu said flatly, brushing past her. "Let's go."

As Wu's handsome face flashed past her, her face involuntarily reddened. Yet she said nothing and slowly followed behind him, quietly watching his lean yet upright back. Their figures gradually vanished into the hazy curtain of rain.