NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 381: Capturing Without Seeing
The dense fog cleared, revealing ninja warriors writhing in agony on the ground.
Some were convulsing, others had their limbs twisted in grotesque ways, it was beyond horrifying.
The culprit was the female ninja in front of me with a chilling laugh.
Facing her, I felt a chilling pressure, like being stared down by a massive snake, but at the same time, I felt an eerie, seductive aura…… no, what can I say, there’s a lot to unpack here… I mean, she’s a married woman with children? Well, in any case, it’s clear that she’s no ordinary person.
But, she was the one who was being chased.
In other words, … she was likely connected to Koujiro, who was also being pursued…
“Nfufu~…… cute o ani-han…… are you married? Have you ever been in love?”
“…… Hah?”
“Honey, who I fell in love with and married, was betrayed, hurt, and hunted down by his former comrades…… I can never forgive those people, no matter what the reason…… no matter what they do…… that’s how I feel…… so that’s why ……!”
“Huh!?”The next moment, the female ninja seemed to emerge from the fog in front of me, but immediately after that, her whole body shook.
It was an afterimage.
“Big brother!”
She disappeared right before my eyes, and then… from behind me――
――Stealthy Steps
――Magical Footwork
She sneaked up behind me in an instant, making no noise, and tried to stun me with a chop to the back of my neck.
But, I sensed her every movement and dodged with minimal footwork.
“Just so you know…… even if I can’t see it, I can sense it, okay?”
“Hoh~!”
The female ninja struck out with her hand chop. From under her mask, she seemed impressed.
But……
“So… this is also a clone, right?”
“Huh!?”
The one who delivered that hand chop wasn’t real.
It’s an almost tangible clone that was created using some kind of magic.
Then, the real one was……
“Here, 【Great Demon Jab】!”
“Aya?”
Behind me again.
I had already set up my radar, so I detected it instantly, and as I turned around I fired my left shot to intercept it.
Then, I was able to deflect the kunai, a unique weapon used by ninja warriors, that was in the hand of a female ninja who was sneaking up behind me.
“Ha~, this one didn’t go through either…… well done ~…… you’re quite impressive for someone so young.”
“Seriously… one after the other…… can’t let my guard down around ninja warriors.”
“I’m the surprised one, you know? It’s been a long time since anyone has seen through me this well.”
The female ninja once again laughed in admiration.
She may have been surprised, but she still had a lot of leeway.
“Is that so? Well, it’s nice of you to praise me… but……”
But that’s where I ……
“Anyway, could you stop talking through a 【clone】 and quit using that kunai 【transformation】 technique to hide while holding your breath? If I let my guard down, I might end up getting stabbed, and that makes it hard to have a proper conversation.”
“Eh!?”
The moment I spoke, there was a reaction from the female ninja in front of me…… no, not the 【clone】 in front of me, but the kunai I had deflected to the ground.
『Hmm, quite the swift movements… an ordinary person would have overlooked it… well, tis merely proof of how sharp the child’s senses have become.』
That’s right. It doesn’t matter if you move fast, create clones, or transform.
You can’t escape my radar.
“Fufufu, I also thought something was a bit off~, but you’re really amazing, Big brother ♪.”
“Eh? Eeehh? Eh? T, truly? But pray, how is it that you both perceive such things?”
Of course, Tre’ainar noticed, but it seems that Espie noticed too. Mr. Chieftain, however, didn’t seem to notice.
And when I pointed it out, the clone in front of me was speechless, and in the next moment it vanished in a puff of smoke.
“…… At this point, I’m beyond impressed~. You’re about the same age as my daughter… who are you?”
The fallen kunai spoke and was soon enveloped in smoke, from which the female ninja warrior emerged, having finally given up and returned to her original form.
“Wh…… what, th…… these guys…… no …….”
“Kagerou is one thing, but… that boy……”
“He’s managed to catch Kagerou, someone who no one has ever been able to pin down?”
“Who… who is he?”
“I, I don’t know…… but…… either way….”
And the other ninja warriors who had been attacked by the female ninja were trembling in fear at our slight exchange.
Even though they were hiding their faces, I could clearly feel their fear, as I was keeping an eye on the radar.
What’s more, I could see what they were trying to do.
――They’re too much for us to handle. We have no choice but to retreat for now.
I could see them exchanging glances, nodding in silent agreement.
But, I wasn’t the only one.
“Ha~… while there are young ones like you… the men of Japone, on the other hand……”
The female ninja let out a small sigh as she slowly shifted her gaze to the others.
From her demeanor, I could clearly sense two things—disappointment and the intent to let not a single one escape……
“【Fluffy Panic】!!”
“”Eeeehh!??””
But, before the female ninja could do anything, the male ninja warriors present were shaken around so violently that they lost consciousness and collapsed.
The one who did it was……
“Ufufu, don’t do things like snapping bones slowly right in front of Big brother, it’d be bad for his education. Even if you want to beat them up, you have to do it smartly like this ♪.”
Not only us, but also Espie seemed to be aware that the ninja warriors had tried to escape in the confusion during the battle between me and the female ninja, so she knocked them all unconscious in a flash before they could do anything.
“O, oh…… oh my goodness…….”
“Hahaha, as expected of Espie”
“…… Somehow, while I cower in dread, things have already come to an end……”
Even I was taken aback by Espie’s smug look.
And the female ninja also seemed surprised and taken aback when she saw Espie.
“…… You…… you’re one of the Seven Heroes just like Koujiro-han.”
“Isn’t it a little late to realize that now?”
“Well, this is a surprise. So… are you here to aid us?”
“Uun, no, that’s not it. The land around here is private property, and you guys barged in without permission and started making a mess, so we just came to take a look.”
“…… what…… this land is yours?”
“So, what the hell is going on here? It seems Koujiro is here too, but he’s being chased by these guys.”
Well, what we don’t know is, “What the hell is going on?”
The female ninja lowered her head slightly at the question…and then it happened.
“Eh! Wait a moment, Espie! You too, Young man!”
Mr. Chieftain looked up, startled, then put his hands over his ears.
Right above him, the birds were gathering again.
“Chieftain?”
“What’s wrong?”
“…Looking closely, I see that he is of the long-eared tribe… the rarest of people… what is this? The birds are talking to him… does this long-eared man understand the language of the birds?”
Mr. Chieftain seemed to be learning something from the birds.
And then……
“Besides this woman here, there are about thirty other people who had first made haste toward the forest’s edge… yet now, in great alarm, they turn back upon their path…… and beyond the forest…… a hundred…… no, a thousand, mayhap? A host, well-armed and awaiting our coming.”
“What?”
“Wow.”
“!?”
Mr. Chieftain’s unexpected words, and the numbers that far exceeded our expectations, were nothing short of astonishing.
I mean, a thousand? To be chased by such a ridiculous number……
“Hey, hey, hey, what did Koujiro do!?”
“I read the morning paper, but… hey, is Koujiro really being pursued by the whole of Japone?”
Surprised, we turn our faces to the female ninja.
But,
“A thousand? No, that’s not possible. With so many, it couldn’t just be traitorous ninjas. They must include samurai as well… but there is no way that the samurai would make an enemy of Koujiro-han so quickly… even if it was an order from the king, there still wouldn’t be that many… they would face severe backlash from within the country.”
Unexpectedly, the female ninja also seemed to be surprised by Mr. Chieftain’s words.
Then Mr. Chieftain continued……
“Ah… something else… their garbs… they’re unlike that of the ninja… not uniform, but varied and scattered. Could they be… Hunters?”
“‘Hunters??'”
Ninja Warriors. And then the samurai? Or so we thought, but now we have, Hunters?
Seriously, what’s going on here?
Just as I was thinking that, the female ninja clapped her hands……
“Oh, I see now~…… they’re not just warriors… they’re hunters under the control of ‘Shitnei’……”
At that moment, the female ninja mentioned a name I had recently heard.
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