As Akashō's excited figure disappeared at the end of the street, the white-haired man carrying candied hawthorn suddenly opened his pale eyes, a smirk curling at his lips. Meanwhile, the excitement on the two vendors' faces vanished abruptly, replaced by confusion—it was clear they were under a genjutsu.
...
Twenty kilometers—Akashō merely sped up slightly and arrived before the sun had fully set. At the location the two vendors mentioned, he did indeed see a village.
However...
With a single pull of his hand, invisible threads yanked several shinobi wearing forehead protectors out into the open and dragged them to his feet. Each of them held a kunai, clearly preparing to ambush him just moments ago.
But it seemed more like he had run into them by chance—they probably weren't targeting him specifically.
Looking at the unfamiliar symbols on their forehead protectors, clearly different from those of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Akashō raised an eyebrow. "Grass ninja?"
Indeed, his current location was within the Land of Grass. But the Hidden Grass Village was still quite far from here—so why were they here?
On a mission?
Akashō stepped on the chest of the man before him, loosening the threads slightly.
"Are you here for Kokushibo?"
"Cough—cough… Kokushibo? What are you talking about?"
The Grass ninja, his face flushed red from being constricted, stared at Akashō in shock.
"Who are you? Why are you here?"
"When someone asks you a question, it's not so you can ask one back."
Akashō pressed down with his foot. A series of cracking sounds followed as the man's chest caved in completely. With a muffled groan and a mouthful of blood, the Grass ninja tilted his head and died.
He wasn't lying. That confusion from earlier wasn't an act. Having mastered the art of deception, Akashō could tell easily. Besides, there was no reason for him to pretend—they truly weren't here for Kokushibo.
With a casual pull, the remaining Grass ninja didn't even get a chance to speak before their heads were severed and sent flying.
Several fountains of blood erupted. Calmly, Akashō opened his oil-paper umbrella, shielding himself from the rain of blood falling from above.
After all, Kokushibo's strength was known to everyone. In fact, his reputation had elevated him even further in people's minds. The Hidden Grass Village was just a minor village—without even a Kage-level shinobi. There was no way they'd have the courage to approach Kokushibo on their own.
"These people were clearly on guard just now… they were probably watching over something."
Akashō looked toward the village in the distance. There was no need to overthink it—he'd know just by taking a look.
He stepped forward, but after only a few steps, his Observation Haki alerted him to someone entering his sensing range.
And… it seemed to be a child.
Akashō stopped moving and remained where he stood. A few seconds later, a flash of red entered his vision.
"Hah… hah…"
A girl, her face full of fear, ran out from the forest, panting heavily. She kept glancing back as she ran, as if something terrifying was chasing her.
But as she burst out of a patch of grass and turned her head, what she saw was a ground littered with corpses—and a rain of blood that had yet to fully fall.
"Ahh!!"
She screamed in terror. Already pale from panic and exhaustion, her face turned even whiter. As she stumbled backward, she tripped over herself and fell hard onto the ground.
"Red hair…"
Akashō lifted his oil-paper umbrella slightly, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the girl's red hair.
At that moment, the girl regained a bit of awareness and raised her gaze—only to notice the figure dressed in red with crimson hair. Blood falling from the trees above struck the umbrella he held, sliding along its ribs before dripping down from the edges.
And beyond those falling drops of blood… were a pair of eyes that seemed to glow red.
Red. Red. Red. Endless red.
The girl's face turned deathly pale, her body trembling uncontrollably. In that moment, a phrase surfaced in her mind without restraint—
The Crimson Demon.
"Hurry! Don't let her get away!!"
"She's just ahead!"
"She can't escape—there are shinobi guarding the front!"
Before Akashō could speak, a series of shouts suddenly rang out from not far behind the girl.
The fear in her eyes intensified instantly. Somehow, the voices behind her seemed even more terrifying than the crimson demon before her. Under that pressure, she scrambled to her feet in panic and tried to run past Akashō.
But Akashō neither stopped her nor offered any help. Instead, he stepped back a few paces, hiding behind a tree trunk, quietly preparing to watch what would unfold next.
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