"Since you won't choose, I'll decide for you—throat it is!"
With that, a piercing whoosh cut through the air, impossible to pinpoint.
Without sensory skills, Yoshiguchi Mitsuta was like fish on a cutting board, forced to react blindly.
"Damn it, I'm not going down like this!"
He gripped his longsword tightly, refusing to believe Yoru Ryo could get close without him noticing.
Hiss!
Suddenly, a sharp sense of danger surged from his left.
A shadow appeared, and he swung his blade at it.
Splurch!
The shadow split under his strike, but his face twisted—it wasn't the feel of flesh.
"Wrong! It's behind you!"
A white blade stabbed clean through his chest.
But as Yoru Ryo moved to pull his sword free, his expression shifted.
His blade was stuck!
Without thinking, he started forming seals, but he was too slow.
"Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!"
A massive surge of water enveloped them both.
Yoru Ryo felt his body lock up, his Hidden Mist Jutsu disrupted.
Yoshiguchi Mitsuta turned, grinning at Yoru Ryo. "Hidden Mist Jutsu isn't foolproof, kid. I win!"
He thrust his blade through Yoru Ryo's chest.
But in that same moment, Yoru Ryo roared, "Paralysis Bind Jutsu!"
The seals he'd started earlier were for this genjutsu.
Yoru Ryo's speed had saved him again!
Yoshiguchi Mitsuta felt a powerful force slam into his mind.
His body froze, and the water prison collapsed without his control.
A chill ran through him. How could Yoru Ryo cast a genjutsu without seals?
Terrifying!
He tried to surge all his chakra to break free.
Paralysis Bind Jutsu? It couldn't hold him!
But—
"Why's it so hard to break?!"
Normally, a chakra burst would shatter this technique.
Today, it only halved the effect.
Yoru Ryo was already closing in, slashing a kunai across his carotid artery.
"No!!!"
Yoshiguchi Mitsuta screamed in despair.
But the genjutsu still gripped him, forcing him to watch blood gush from his neck as his life drained away.
"Urgh!"
Yoru Ryo had no time to savor the victory.
He was in bad shape. The chest wound had cost him half his life.
His vision was blurring!
"This… isn't good. I might… die here!"
Staring at the blood pouring from his chest, Yoru Ryo gritted his teeth.
Then, he pulled a needle and thread from his ninja pouch.
Hiss!
The moment the needle pierced his flesh, the raw pain seared to his bones, straight to his soul.
His body shuddered violently.
But long pain was worse than short.
Biting back the agony, Yoru Ryo steadied his trembling arm and crudely stitched the wound shut.
"Cough, cough!"
By the end, he was drenched in cold sweat, as if pulled from a river.
His face was deathly pale, but the dizzying blood loss had eased.
"Ruthless!"
That was Hawk and White Wolf's verdict on Yoru Ryo.
Stitching a wound like that? No normal person could do it on their own.
"This guy's instant judgment is unreal!" Sky Armor thought, assessing Yoru Ryo.
The instant his blade got stuck, Yoru Ryo had reacted.
That cool-headedness was terrifying.
Sky Armor doubted he could've done the same.
If it were him today, a moment's panic would've let Yoshiguchi Mitsuta win.
But Yoru Ryo had turned the tables.
"And that insane endurance—the pain of stitching a wound without pain relief must rival having your fingers crushed!"
"It'll only hold for two days. After that, he'll need proper treatment, or infection will kill him!"
"But for now, it's the best move."
"That ruthless decisiveness makes him a chilling subordinate!"
Sky Armor couldn't help but feel a flicker of admiration.
"This kid took down Yoshiguchi Mitsuta? No way!"
Asakura Masa and Nobutomo Suke trembled at the sight.
This was Yoshiguchi Mitsuta, an A-rank rogue ninja.
Even in the wider ninja world, he was a notable figure.
Yet Yoru Ryo, a mere kid, had killed him? Unreal!
"Run!"
The same thought hit them both.
Forget Sky Armor, who hadn't even moved yet.
Yoru Ryo alone was a massive threat.
A wounded tiger was still deadly.
"No escape!"
Hawk and White Wolf shouted in unison. "Try our ultimate move!"
"Water Style: Water Swirl Pit!"
Hawk slammed his hands to the ground after sealing, and a vortex of water formed under Asakura Masa and Nobutomo Suke.
Their bodies sank, being swallowed into the whirlpool.
"Crap!"
They both yelled, starting to form seals to counter.
"No chance! Water Style: Water Fang Bullet!"
From the vortex behind them, two sharp, tooth-like water streams pierced their chests.
But both dissolved into water—Water Clones!
"You think these kiddie tricks can stop us? You're decades too early, brats!"
Asakura Masa and Nobutomo Suke appeared at the forest's edge, smirking.
"Give up!"
"You're not getting away!"
Hawk and White Wolf's faces twisted, shouting as they gave chase.
But the distance was too great. They were too late.
"Hahaha, give up?!"
The two laughed, turning to flee—
But two cold glints flashed, growing larger in their eyes, slicing past them.
"Multi-Hawk Flash!"
Behind them, Yoru Ryo sheathed his blade, his voice icy.
Splurch!
Blood gushed from their necks.
Yoru Ryo spat another mouthful of blood, collapsing to his knees.
Using such a high-intensity technique while gravely wounded? He'd pushed himself too far!
"Nice work, Cold Light!"
Sky Armor praised, then turned to Hawk and White Wolf. "Learn from him, got it?"
"Letting two B-rank rogues slip? Your skills are pathetic!"
The two nodded, but their eyes held resentment.
Yoru Ryo had stolen their kills, and now they had to thank him? Infuriating!
"Clean the battlefield and move out. If Cloud ninjas show up, we're in trouble!"
Sky Armor collected the heads of Asakura Masa and the others, then led the team away.