Chapter 63: Rainy Night Assassination, Fleeing to Forest
Notes:
According to traditional Chinese beliefs, the dead must pass three trials before moving on to the afterlife, the first being the Bridge of Helplessness.
Just as Uchiha Tonan was contemplating whether to eliminate his two suspicious teammates, something caught his attention through the white pigeons' reconnaissance. It was precisely those two—briefly greeting the garrison town's personnel before slipping away unnoticed.
A playful, almost sinister smile crept onto Tonan's lips as he poured the freshly brewed tea into his cup and took a measured sip. Moments later, a soft chuckle escaped him, as if amused by a private joke.
"Is living comfortably really so dull for you? Why do you insist on provoking me? I'm treading the broad path, yet you insist on crossing your own Bridge of Helplessness. That's hardly wise."
Time slipped by, and the sky gradually darkened. Townsfolk retreated into their homes, leaving only a few flickering lamps struggling against the deepening shadows that cloaked the streets. As if the gloom wasn't enough, a soft drizzle began to fall.
Being close to the Land of Rain, such showers were commonplace here. The fine rain wove itself like a sticky, wet cobweb across the town, muting the sounds of insects and birds alike, plunging the area into an eerie silence, as lifeless as a graveyard.
At this moment, two figures materialized silently at the town's edge.
"Is he within your sensory range yet?" one whispered.
"Yes, I can sense him. He's inside that inn, probably on the second floor."
"That brat's genjutsu is potent. To be safe, we'll shut our eyes as soon as he activates the Sharingan. If we avoid direct eye contact, his genjutsu is useless."
They exchanged knowing looks and slipped into the town's shadows. With the soldiers and genin on duty likely asleep or distracted, detecting them would be near impossible.
Rumble.
The rain intensified, hammering the earth in torrents. The inn's second floor lay shrouded in darkness, occasionally illuminated by the jagged flash of lightning. There, two humanoid silhouettes hung upside down from the ceiling at opposite ends of the corridor, barely visible.
Yoshida Taro formed a hand seal, extending his sensory field to pinpoint Tonan's exact position. Moving silently from both ends toward the center, the two advanced across the ceiling, their footsteps masked by the rain's relentless drumbeat and the inn's quiet.
They stopped before a door, landing softly on the floor. Taro locked eyes with Kamiya Kazuki and slowly drew his tachi. Kazuki stretched out his left hand and brushed the door's surface gently.
Bang!
The door was blasted open into total darkness. The two became shadows themselves as they lunged inside. Tonan, jolted awake, scrambled upright and spun around.
He immediately activated his Sharingan, but the moment his eyes gleamed, the intruders simultaneously shut their own.
"It's you two!" Tonan yelled. Kazuki and Taro ignored his outburst and launched a fierce simultaneous thrust toward the source of the voice.
Bang!
Tonan vanished in a plume of smoke. Sensing something amiss, Taro extended his sensory abilities further.
"That was only a shadow clone. The room's empty—let me find him." Frowning, he intensified his sensory range.
Crash!
At that instant, the sound of a trash can crashing downstairs echoed faintly. The two snapped their eyes open. Kazuki rushed to the window and peered into the rain-slicked street below.
There was Tonan, desperately fleeing through the storm.
"After him!"
They leapt from the window—one pursued through the streets brandishing his tachi, the other shadowing from the rooftops.
"Enemy attack!" Tonan shouted, his breath ragged as his boots splashed through puddles. His frantic cries shattered the town's quiet, awakening residents. One by one, windows lit up along the narrow alleys.
"That damn brat," Kazuki spat, nodding toward Taro perched on the roof. Taro nodded back and sheathed his tachi, swiftly forming hand seals. Kazuki climbed up beside him and pressed his palms against Taro's back, channeling chakra into the technique.
"Nirvana Temple Technique."
Countless white feathers appeared, drifting down like ghostly snow. The feathers slipped through walls and seeped into every household. One by one, the residents and stationed genin succumbed to a deep sleep.
The technique's immense range drained more than half of Kazuki and Taro's chakra reserves, but they had no time to recover. Tonan was already beyond the town, racing toward the nearby mountains.
Ignoring their fatigue, the two used Body Flicker Technique to close in, only to find Tonan had learned the same technique. Each time they neared, he vanished ahead like a will-o'-the-wisp.
Rumble.
Thunder rolled continuously across the mountains. The rain swelled into a deafening downpour, the sky gaping like shattered porcelain, casting waterfalls upon the earth.
Sharp bird cries pierced the storm, echoing unnervingly through the dense forest.
Step, step, step…
The muddy mountain soil clung to Tonan's legs as he sprinted frantically, glancing back in terror. Kazuki and Taro pursued relentlessly, leaping branch to branch with their tachi drawn.
Though drenched by rain, their clothes remained miraculously spotless. The gap between predator and prey was closing fast.
Tonan was just a low-ranking chunin, and pushing his limits with repeated Body Flickers. To Kazuki and Taro, he was little more than fresh meat on a chopping block.
Thump.
His footing betrayed him on the slippery ground. Covered head to toe in mud, he looked pathetic—but death was closer than shame. Gritting his teeth, he scrambled up, limbs shaking as he forced himself onward.
Suddenly, he froze. Ahead lay a sheer cliff. No time to hesitate, he turned sharply to flee another way—only to stop again, panic deepening into hopeless despair.
Kazuki and Taro were waiting atop a massive tree directly ahead, their cold eyes fixed on him. The only emotion on their wooden faces was contempt.
Exhausted, Tonan sank to his knees in the mud, head pounding as he slammed it against the ground.
"Senpai… please, have mercy… let me go…"