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Chapter 14: Nobunaga
"Don't run! You bastard!"
The roar of impotent rage couldn't stop Ronin.
Hidden in the thick fog, Ronin immediately performed the Transformation Technique.
In a puff of smoke, the handsome, blonde youth vanished, replaced by a pot-bellied middle-aged man.
He adopted the panicked gait of the civilians around him.
Ronin knew his control over Nen wasn't fine enough to completely suppress his aura and blend in perfectly as a normal human.
So, the Transformation Technique was his best bet.
Disguised, he looked like a civilian, and like them, he had a weak amount of life energy naturally leaking from his body.
Now, the situation was simple.
Unless the Troupe members were willing to slaughter everyone at the airport, they wouldn't find him.
And even if they started killing, the mist gave him cover to use the Headhunter Jutsu to escape underground.
From the moment he spotted Shalnark's puppet, his escape was guaranteed.
Approaching the terminal entrance, the mist began to thin. Ronin finally saw a familiar figure.
Standing at the entrance was a tall man dressed like a ronin, a katana at his waist. His dead-fish eyes scanned every person running toward the exit.
Nobunaga.
Uvogin's best friend and partner.
Ronin acted just like the terrified civilians around him.
But before he could get close, he saw Nobunaga draw his blade. Every person running past him was instantly sliced in half at the waist.
The Phantom Troupe... absolute lunatics.
There were at least forty or fifty people fleeing through that exit. Nobunaga slaughtered them without blinking.
This was anti-social behavior at its peak.
The blood and the screams of the dying—those cut in half didn't die immediately—caused even greater panic.
Suddenly, Ronin felt a beast's gaze lock onto him.
Did my expression slip? Sharp bastard!
Ronin raised his hands, forming seals instantly. He inhaled deeply and spat fire.
Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!
Simultaneously, the Sharingan reflected Nobunaga charging at him.
The massive fireball was bisected in mid-air. Nobunaga didn't even slow down, his draw-cut transitioning smoothly into a sheathing motion.
But as he passed through the split flames, Ronin was gone.
Nobunaga sensed something. He gathered Nen in his leg and stomped furiously on the floor.
BOOM!
The ground shattered. A ragged figure struggled out of the broken earth nearby.
Nobunaga smirked coldly. He flashed forward, closing the distance instantly.
Iai.
The blade flashed.
But it didn't cut flesh. It cut into a sudden explosion of water.
A clone?
Nobunaga twisted his body. Several coins flew past him. Clang, clang, clang. He sliced them all out of the air.
Through the thinning mist, he caught a glimpse of a figure vanishing into the terminal hall.
Nobunaga raised an eyebrow and chased immediately.
But when he burst into the hall, he was met with a squad of armed police rushing in and a sea of panicked people rushing out.
Ronin was gone.
Nobunaga didn't know if he had blended into the crowd or was hiding in the shadows.
But the brief exchange left him wary. The enemy's abilities were varied and tricky.
He sheathed his sword, contemplating whether to kill everyone in the hall to flush the rat out.
Before he could act, a blonde teenager appeared behind him.
"Let it go, Nobunaga." It was Shalnark, who had been hiding to ambush Ronin.
He had rushed over as soon as the mist appeared, but he was a step too late. He didn't know how Ronin had spotted the puppet, but the escape was textbook.
Escape artist level.
Nobunaga's dead eyes drooped further. He looked at the exit unwillingly. "How's Uvo?"
"He's fine. Let's go," Shalnark said, turning to leave.
Outside, the mist had mostly dissipated. The plaza was littered with bodies—some shot, many bisected.
Uvogin was standing now. He walked toward them, face twisted in anger, but he didn't give chase. He knew Ronin was gone.
Police were swarming toward them. Without a word, the three Spiders turned and vanished into the city.
Inside the crowd, Ronin's face was pale. One of his arms hung at an unnatural angle.
Broken.
Nobunaga's instinct was terrifying. When Ronin used the fire to cover his Headhunter Jutsu, Nobunaga had sensed him underground and stomped the earth.
The shockwave crushed his arm as he scrambled out.
Knowing he would be targeted the moment he surfaced, Ronin had used the Water Style: Water Clone Jutsu.
It was a C-Rank technique, creating a solid clone capable of combat—unlike the illusionary clone he used before.
The mist made casting it easier. Using the clone as a shield, the real Ronin hid and ran.
Nobunaga was fast. The clone was destroyed instantly.
But Ronin had anticipated that. As the clone burst, he threw the coins from his pocket like shuriken.
Using the split second Nobunaga took to deflect the coins, he slipped into the hall.
Blending in was easy after that.
He had worried Nobunaga would massacre the hall. Seeing Shalnark stop him was a huge relief.
Exiting the airport with the crowd, Ronin took a deep breath of the polluted city air. It tasted like survival.
He didn't linger. He crossed the street, hailed a taxi, and sped away.
He visited a small back-alley clinic to set his broken arm and treat his abdominal wound. Then, using the Transformation Technique, he checked into a hotel.
He decided to lay low. He didn't believe the Troupe would stay here just to hunt him.
And he needed time to heal.
.....
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