Not far away, two men who appeared to be the leaders of this village's Hidden Grass Village ninja unit were discussing the deaths of several Hidden Grass Village ninja killed by Akashō yesterday.
"Some of them—aside from one whose chest was crushed flat by a single stomp—the others all died from their throats being slit cleanly. The wounds were incredibly smooth. Honestly, at first I thought it was someone highly skilled in taijutsu and swordsmanship."
The other nodded and shared what he had discovered at the scene earlier that morning.
"At first, you thought?"
"Yeah. The one whose chest was crushed—there was a faint ring-shaped blood mark around his neck. The flesh looked like it had been pulled inward. It looked… a bit like ninja wire."
"Ninja wire? It's not sharp enough to do something like that, is it? Could it be one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?"
"No. The wielder of the Longsword was already killed by Hidden Leaf Village ninja during the Third Great Ninja War. It hasn't been claimed by anyone since. And besides, that sword doesn't work like this. I'm the head of intelligence for the Hidden Grass Village—you should trust me on that."
"Then who could it be?"
The man who called himself the Hidden Grass Village intelligence chief hesitated before saying,
"I suspect… it's someone who appeared in the underground world more than two years ago."
"The underground world? A ninja?"
"Probably. That guy's pretty famous. He's killed quite a few rogue ninja at the level of jonin from the major villages. The key point is, the method he uses to kill… seems to be threads. Whether they're ninja tools or some kind of bloodline limit, no one knows. But over a year ago, just when his power was at its peak and about to reach a whole new level, he suddenly disappeared."
"Disappeared? Why?"
"Who knows."
As the two Hidden Grass jonin spoke, neither of them noticed that not far behind them stood a figure holding an oil-paper umbrella, watching through the gap between them as Karin was being brutally beaten by two Hidden Grass ninja.
One of the ninja kicked Karin hard in the stomach. She let out a muffled groan, blood spilling from the corner of her mouth.
In truth, ever since this morning when Karin had been dragged out to heal Hidden Grass ninja, Akashō had already noticed that most of the bite marks covering her body had healed, leaving behind only a few scars that might never fade. Even so, that level of recovery could already be considered formidable, further confirming her Uzumaki bloodline.
But aside from their powerful vitality, massive chakra reserves, and talent in sensory and sealing techniques… did the Uzumaki clan also possess this kind of ability—serving as a walking, human healing pack? Why had he never heard of that before?
Akashō glanced at his own arm in mild curiosity. Did he have that kind of ability too? If Karin were injured and bit him, would her wounds heal? And if they did, would the bite wounds she inflicted to heal herself also disappear along with the injuries?
Wait… wouldn't that create an infinite loop? A perpetual motion machine?
Meanwhile, after being kicked to the point of coughing up blood, Karin's muddled mind suddenly cleared a little. At that moment, she couldn't help but think of the man from last night… Akashō.
If it were him, maybe he really could kill this group of demons and save her.
But… she had nothing to offer him in return.
No—that wasn't quite right. More accurately, she had no price to pay.
Just like the legends of making a deal with the devil—what you give is what you receive.
A price… but what did she even have that could be traded? Something that would move him? Her healing ability?
What a joke. Even if that demon wanted it, she would only be escaping one den of wolves to fall into a tiger's lair.
Suddenly, the Hidden Grass ninja who had kicked her stomach struck again, this time sending a brutal kick into her head. Her body flipped over, her face now turned toward the two demon-like leaders.
Through her blurred vision, Karin seemed to see, standing behind those two leaders… the red-clad demon.
It hurts so much… am I hallucinating? I'm actually seeing him…
A bitter smile formed in her heart. It seemed she had reached her limit—so desperate that she longed to make a deal with him. Even if she would still be used, at least she wouldn't have to endure this torment anymore… and she could take revenge on these bastards.
Between a group of demons… and a single demon, she had no other choice.