"Good evening."
A gentle voice with a smile drifted down from above. "If you do not mind, you may call me 'Shadow.'"
Black darkness spread like a spider web, sticking to the surrounding walls and slicing the sky above into broken pieces. Ryuji Hyuga stood at the center of the web, looking down at everyone below from a high vantage point.
Several other figures were bound beside him, struggling like insects caught in a web, only to be wrapped tighter by threadlike shadows into silent cocoons. It was hard to deny that the Nara Clan shadow techniques, combined with the effects of Vajra Sealing Sealing Technique Chakra, were a perfect match for Ryuji Hyuga when he possessed the Shadow Cloak.
His Shadow Cloak was essentially a solid form of shadow itself, far beyond ordinary shadows or chains in both power and flexibility. The fear brought by this strange ability was clear from the frightened expressions of the people below.
However, seeing the twisted and unfamiliar corpse, Hanzo laughed in anger instead. He glanced up at Ryuji Hyuga, then turned his gaze toward Kakashi Hatake and spoke in a cold voice, "How lively today is. Any nobody dares to come to my territory and play tricks."
Hearing this, Kakashi Hatake, who had been watching the sky with a tense expression, instinctively pulled his gaze back and looked toward Hanzo to explain. Before he could speak, the figure in front of him vanished.
Above them, reflected in Ryuji Hyuga's pupils, a figure rapidly closed the distance. Hanzo, gripping the Kusarigama with both hands, charged straight at Ryuji Hyuga, his pale platinum hair lifting in the wind as sharp cold intent filled his eyes.
"Die!"
As the word fell, the Kusarigama slashed out, tearing through the air with a piercing scream. The strike was ruthless and decisive, so fast the blade itself could not be seen, only its edge catching thin moonlight.
Though the blade shone bright and keen, a foul stench of blood clung to it, proof of how much blood it had already taken. In the next instant, under Hanzo's light gold gaze, the black-clad figure did not move, yet a sharp shadow lashed out from behind him like a blade.
Clang!!
The shadow collided with the blade and rang out like metal striking metal. A burst of bright sparks bloomed between them, lighting up Hanzo's briefly shrinking pupils.
It lasted only an instant before his eyes hardened again. He yanked the chain connected to the sickle, pulling it back at even greater speed, spinning in midair as he hurled it out once more.
"Heh."
A soft chuckle sounded as several black shadow tentacles extended again, turning into blades as they whipped forward and left behind layers of dark afterimages. The air hummed as they cut through it, like the shrill cries of insects.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks sprayed down like rain as the blades collided, their flashing edges surging back and forth and carving savage marks into the surroundings. In just a few seconds, dozens of impacts rang out in rapid succession.
Pshhk!!
At that moment, a spray of blood splattered onto the ground, and the interwoven blade light abruptly halted. Hanzo's figure pulled back and dropped to the ground.
"Lord Hanzo…"
Shenda started to speak, then froze in place. A thin line of blood had appeared at Hanzo's brow, slowly tearing open to reveal fresh flesh beneath.
"That bastard…"
Feeling the numbness in his arms and hands, Hanzo forced his trembling to stop. He lifted his head with a heavy expression, and Kakashi Hatake, who had seen everything, also changed expression and looked upward.
It was not the Nara Clan shadow technique. It felt more like a Kekkei Genkai.
Who was this?
"You are old, Hanzo."
Ryuji Hyuga's voice sounded dull and bored to the others. "After all, you are only human, just like the weapon you use, the thing called a 'Kusarigama.'"
"No matter how sharp it once was in your hands, it does not change the fact that it is only a farm tool."
Hanzo's face darkened slightly. At his side, Shenda snapped out of his shock, raised his head in anger, and shouted, "Bastard, you…"
Pshhk.
The words at his lips were swallowed back with his breath. Reflected in Shenda's shaking eyes, a slender black shadow like a spear had stabbed deep into the ground at his feet, shattering stone and spraying pale dust.
A thin line of blood also appeared on his forehead, blood seeping out and slowly wetting his face. The speed of that strike was so fast that among everyone present, only Kakashi Hatake and Hanzo saw it clearly.
"Shh. The adults are talking. Children should not interrupt."
Ryuji Hyuga's voice carried a gentle smile, but Shenda could not feel any warmth, only fear. The sharpened shadow tentacle withdrew from the ground beneath his feet.
"Who are you?"
By now, Hanzo had realized that this man did not seem to harbor deep hostility. From the moment he appeared, everything he did seemed more about displaying power.
Why?
"I am curious."
Ryuji Hyuga did not answer Hanzo's question. Instead, he looked at Kakashi Hatake and the people of Konoha and said with a smile, "You stand in Land of Rain, on land trampled by great nations and watered with blood, on land that cries in silence under humiliation."
"And even now, you ask them whether they will stretch out their necks like pigs to be slaughtered, or smash their knees and kneel like dogs with tongues out."
"When you say such things, what do you feel?"
As soon as the words fell, the atmosphere he had broken turned heavy and tense. The Amegakure Ninja looked toward the people of Konoha almost instinctively, and feeling those hateful gazes, Kakashi Hatake's heart skipped.
This sudden intruder was stirring up Amegakure Ninja's hatred toward the great nations. Was he trying to block the alliance?
Who exactly was he, and what was this strange ability?
Kakashi Hatake stared fixedly at the figure above, wrapped head to toe in a black robe formed of shadows, his face hidden deep within. At that moment, Kakashi Hatake suddenly noticed that the breathing of Ryuji Hyuga beside him had become rapid and heavy.
He turned his head and saw a vacant expression. "He…" Ryuji Hyuga said hoarsely, "I cannot see his face. This feeling is just like that monster."
Monster? Which monster?
Kakashi Hatake froze for a moment, then quickly understood. He thought of the intelligence about the "monster" who had instantly killed Magnet Release user Troy and nearly a hundred Kumogakure Ninja.
Could it be that monster?
No, something was different. The abilities and the temperament did not match.
"Enough."
Hanzo spoke in a low voice, cutting through the heavy mood. He looked up at Ryuji Hyuga again and asked, "Tell me. What do you really want?"
"I am here to make a deal with you."
Since he had already reignited Amegakure Ninja's hatred toward Konoha, Ryuji Hyuga no longer avoided the question. He drew the cocooned figures closer and smiled. "But Land of Rain is full of holes. I found so many rats on my way here."
"Consider these people a small gift for our first meeting."
As he spoke, Ryuji Hyuga raised his hand slightly and closed it. The shadows wrapping those people tightened instantly.
Pshhk! Pshhk! Pshhk!