Dead Bone Pulse

Hidden Mist Village, Water Shadow Building.

It had to be said that Minazuki Sora was indeed capable. He had taken over as Water Shadow at lightning speed, cleaned up the mess left behind by the previous generation's war maniacs, and swiftly resolved an impending disaster. That alone proved both his intelligence and his methods.

He invited Shin'yu and the others to the Water Shadow Building. Not only did he show no concern whatsoever for the Hidden Mist ninjas they had just killed, he even treated them with courtesy and promised to send people to assist Shin'yu in investigating and verifying matters with the Kaguya Clan. If necessary, he would even provide some help.

He laid out a banquet, raised cups with them, showed weakness and aired his grievances, then feigned righteous indignation... After going through that entire routine, Shin'yu and the others, who had arrived so aggressively, found it difficult to act up under his almost fawning attempts at appeasement.

After all, one did not hit a smiling face.

Soon, with the eager cooperation of the Hidden Mist ninjas, Shin'yu and the others arrived at the Kaguya Clan's territory and met the man named Kaguya Qiong.

"You're the current president of the 'Iron Cutting' Merchant Association?" Shin'yu asked with his arms folded, his tone scrutinizing.

Kakuzu and Uchiha Hikari stood to either side of him. Behind them were Minazuki Sora and over a dozen masked Hidden Mist Anbu ninjas.

"That's me." Kaguya Qiong's expression was grave. The other side had brought so many people, and the current Water Shadow was even among them. Even he had no choice but to remain on high alert.

He was a middle-aged man in his thirties, dressed in a white kimono. His long hair was pitch black, swept into buns on either side of a lightning-shaped parting. His face was somewhat gaunt, and above his brows sat two strikingly vivid red beauty marks.

"Where is Oikawa Genzo?" Shin'yu asked, his brows drawn together.

Kaguya Qiong's pupils abruptly darkened, and panic flashed across his face. "How do you know that name?"

Kakuzu stepped forward and let out a low, muffled laugh. "He owed us a debt. We're here to collect."

"How could that be... That bastard Second Water Shadow clearly swore he'd guaranteed it..." Kaguya Qiong's eyes widened, his expression changing several times before settling into grim savagery. "Hmph. Looks like he reached some kind of agreement with someone too. Now that he's dead, the debt collectors immediately came knocking. What an unreliable bastard."

Hikari lost her patience, her delicate brows knitting slightly. "Do you know or not?"

"Of course I know. But... the person you're talking about has been dead for many years." Kaguya Qiong raised his eyes and smiled darkly. "If I'm not mistaken, you people are samurai from the Land of Iron, aren't you?"

Shin'yu ignored his question and said evenly, "It doesn't matter. Whoever killed him is who we'll find."

"Then that's truly unfortunate. Gengetsu Hozuki was the one who did it himself back then, but now he's dead too." Kaguya Qiong curled his lips into a roguish smile. "Come to think of it, Oikawa Genzo was also my master in the art of sword forging. Unfortunately, he had only just passed the Hundred Hands Tradition on to me before our Second Water Shadow had him executed..."

As he spoke, his eyes shifted. The blindfolded young man had not directly answered his question, which meant he had guessed correctly.

They were nothing more than samurai from the Land of Iron who had come to demand accountability. They had probably grown restless after the Second Water Shadow's death, foolishly hoping to reclaim their former benefits.

Moreover, he had keenly noticed the katana hanging at the young man's waist. Its blade was slender, its blue serpent-skin scabbard embroidered with unique cloud-like patterns. It was simple and unadorned yet exquisitely crafted, as though formed by nature itself. With his years of experience in sword forging, he recognized it at a glance as a masterpiece of the One Heart Tradition—a Guardian God Sword meant to be enshrined in a shrine, something no ordinary samurai could possibly wield!

Therefore, their identities as people from the Land of Iron were beyond doubt! There was even a strong chance that they were nobles of the Land of Iron Shogunate!

If I can get that sword... my craft will surely reach an even greater height!

"Tsk, that does make things rather difficult." Shin'yu turned his head slightly, his tone carrying a questioning note. He made this gesture to draw the Third Water Shadow's attention, letting him realize that Shin'yu was "looking" at him.

Minazuki Sora was somewhat hesitant as well. According to their previous discussion, if the Kaguya Clan chose to play dumb or refused to cooperate, they would immediately use iron-fisted measures to suppress them.

While he did intend to use Shin'yu's hand to teach the Kaguya Clan a lesson, they were still members of the village. If they truly did this, could the outcome really end peacefully?

However, just as Minazuki Sora was struggling with the decision, Kaguya Qiong suddenly let out a mocking laugh.

"What, you're out of ideas already? How boring. I thought you'd have come better prepared."

He completely dropped the act, slowly drawing his hands from his sleeves. Looking down at the crowd, his slightly contemptuous gaze swept across the Water Shadow and the Anbu ninjas. "Minazuki Sora, you think you can use a few brainless samurai from the Land of Iron to demand accountability? To use this chance to make trouble for my Kaguya Clan? Don't forget, I'm not only the president of 'Iron Cutting'—I'm also the Clan Head of the Kaguya Clan!"

With a wave of his hand, dozens of white-robed figures descended around them with a series of swishes, surrounding the group instead. They were all elites of the Kaguya Clan, and every one of them wore an eager, bloodthirsty smile.

Shin'yu and the others remained expressionless, showing no reaction at all. Minazuki Sora, on the other hand, suddenly grew tense.

"Lord Water Shadow, we are all members of Hidden Mist Village. There's no need for bloodshed. But as for these three people you brought, I'll graciously accept them as gifts."

"Gurururu."

A dense, strange sound drifted through the wind. The members of the Kaguya Clan raised their arms one after another, bone blades of stark white emerging from their palms amid wisps of transparent fluid, all gleaming with the cold light of sharp blades.

This was the Kaguya Clan's special Kekkei Genkai, known as the Dead Bone Pulse. Its terrifying aspect was that it could not only freely manipulate osteoblasts and osteoclasts through Chakra, but also control calcium concentration to reinforce the hardness of bone. As a result, it was practically the bane of all Taijutsu ninjas!

The Dead Bone Pulse granted the Kaguya Clan powerful regenerative abilities and extraordinary skeletal hardness. This made them fearless of blades and weapons on the battlefield; every one of them was a battle maniac who craved blood and slaughter.

"Three guests from the Land of Iron, please don't be in such a hurry. Whether it's Oikawa Genzo or Gengetsu Hozuki..." Kaguya Qiong revealed a vicious smile. "I'll send you to meet them at once!"

With a sweep of his wide sleeve, he launched the attack first. White finger bones burst from his fingertips and scattered like bullets.

"Ten Finger Drilling Bullets!"

Facing the dense barrage of finger bones slicing through the air, Shin'yu actually laughed.

He did not need to act at all. Kakuzu merely clasped his hands together and formed the Snake hand seal. A towering earthen wall rose from the ground, intercepting every finger bone with a rapid series of bangs.

"Hm? Ninjas?" Kaguya Qiong paused slightly, but did not care. It was perfectly reasonable for a young noble from the Land of Iron to hire two ninjas as personal guards.

What truly concerned him was whether the Hidden Mist Anbu would seize this chance to attack the Kaguya Clan. Fortunately, the Third Water Shadow chose to watch from the sidelines. He appeared to be gathering strength, but in truth, he had no intention of making a move.