Chương 25: Demon Sword

"Shrink manpower across the board..." Taking a deep breath, the Grand Elder said in a deep voice, "Abandon unimportant places, concentrate our forces, and fight the enemy to the death right here."

What are unimportant places?

First, the shelters are one priority; at this point, civilians are no longer of concern.

And then...

The Grand Elder looked at the elders of the three clans.

The elders of the three clans closed their eyes. The clan is the foundation. Even if the village is destroyed, as long as the clan is still alive, there is no real loss. The fact that people are still here is already a great favor.

"Elder Taki..." the old man with the cane said, "You know, this is all the strength we can gather. The village suffered too many losses in the previous operation to capture the tailed beasts."

Old man! It's already this late!

"I don't believe that so many of us can't do anything to a cowardly rat hiding his head and tail," the old man Kusanagi said coldly.

On the field, the four old men exchanged glances, each harboring their own secrets.

"That's right, hehehe." The old woman chuckled mischievously.

"Then let's see who has the best skills," the elder replied with a cold laugh.

Upon receiving the latest orders from the village, the Takigakure ninja sprang into action once more, setting up a tight defense in the heart of Takigakure, layer upon layer. In addition, there were four other locations that were equally impregnable, not too far from the village center. The clan territories of the four clans, scattered throughout the village, were already deserted. Outside the village, four secret underground bases housed members of the four clans.

As expected, with no hope of breaking through the blockade, they adopted a turtling tactic. The Takigakure village leaders, who were not of one mind, chose the final battlefield, and the battlefield was naturally divided, making it difficult for each other to provide assistance.

This is the moment to break through the assassinations one by one.

So, whose house should we visit first?

Having rushed to four venues in one day, Jie Luo frowned slightly, indicating he was quite busy.

However, let's not go today; let them wait patiently.

Jieluo got up and patted Lucy, who was leaning against a tree and sleeping soundly.

"Get up, little imp!"

Still a little dazed, Lucy suddenly opened her eyes and instinctively called out, "Lucy!"

"It's time to cook, little demon~" Jieluo said.

"Don't you not need to eat?" Lucy rubbed her eyes.

"I'm getting a little hungry." Jieluo took out a candy and popped it into her mouth.

"Yes, yes, yes..."

"By the way, Little Demon Gai, I have a question for you," Jie Luo said.

"What?" Lucy looked up in surprise.

Do you hate the Uji clan?

Hearing this, Lucy was taken aback, then said, "Hate? I don't know..." Lucy laughed, "Everyone is afraid of me, except for you, the great demon..."

"Little demon~" Jieluo chuckled, "Even the beetle demon isn't afraid of you."

"It's different..." Lucy looked at Jieluo, hesitating whether to speak.

Chongming is not like a human being, but you are.

"Would you like to tell me your story?" Seeing Lucy hesitate, Jiro said, "If you ramble on, I'm not really interested in hearing it."

Images of her parents frantically hacking at each other, blood splattered all over her, flashed through her mind. She saw the fearful and apprehensive looks in the eyes of her tribe, who kept saying that the child was a monster, a born monster, that she had driven her parents mad. Lucy didn't understand. Was it really her fault?

Staring intently into those crimson eyes, Lucy said, "I won't tell!"

"Let's go then, little demon Gai Huan might be getting a little impatient."

Time passed quietly in the mundane waiting. That night, the cool moonlight shone through the forest. Deep underground, they moved along the complex underground waterways, silently infiltrating the secret territory of the Hero Clan—a secret passage known only to the Hero Clan.

"Then, Lord Yura, let us part ways here," Huan said.

Having obtained the Hero's Water, the village's ability to mass-produce Jonin has been cut off. At this moment, the Hero Clan no longer has anything that Yura wants to seize.

Jie Luo nodded and looked at the hand-drawn map in his hand.

Beneath Takigakure Village lies a complex network of underground waterways, so intricate that even the Uji clan, skilled in tunneling, is not fully aware of its complexity.

"Have you decided where to go for your first stop, Yura-kun?" Huan asked.

"Perhaps I can still be of help to Yura-kun."

"No need, just do your own thing," Jieluo said, closing the scroll.

"Then I wish you, Jieluo-kun, and myself, a safe journey," Huan said.

There are some members of the Hero Clan who need to be killed, but before that, Huan will be given time to leave with his people. This is part of the agreed-upon deal. Without Huan, it would take Jieluo more effort to obtain these items.

Leaving Lucy, a burden, near the Black Nest, Geiro prepared to act alone.

"Hmm." She nodded indifferently. Inside her sleeve, a small black snake peeked out, flicking its tongue. This was the communication tool given to her by Huan. Jieluo chose a direction and stepped away.

"Yura-kun!" Huan called out.

Jieluo stopped and turned to look at Huan.

"It's almost time~" It's almost midnight, a new day is dawning.

"Um..." Huan said, "Will we meet again?"

"Illusion," Jie Luo said with a light smile, "Are you addicted to being beaten?"

The wounds on his body began to throb, and after several days, they were still not fully healed. Huan grinned, shook his head, and waved his hand, saying, "Goodbye, Jieluo-kun."

"Farewell~" Jieluo left without looking back.

Will we meet again?

Jieluo didn't believe that people, especially ninjas, had the chance to meet again after such a short and fleeting life.

A monster's life is destined to witness many deaths. As a long-lived species, it must have the arrogance of a long-lived species and need not care about the hardships of life.

As Huan watched Yura's figure recede into the distance, he whispered, "Thank you, Yura-kun."

Beneath Takigakure Village, in a tunnel, Kusanagi Shingetsu leaned against the rock wall with his arms crossed. A small white snake hissed from his sleeve. His expression shifted between sunshine and shadow as he stared intently at several pools of water not far away. These pools were all about ten feet in size. After an unknown amount of time, ripples appeared in one of the pools, and in an instant, a head rose from the water, followed by scarlet eyes.

Shen Yue's expression tightened, and she straightened up.

He floated up from the pool, his feet not touching the ground, and looked down at Shen Yue. Water flowed down his hair, and a flash of blue light evaporated all the water droplets in an instant. As wisps of steam rose, Jie Luo said coldly, "Lead the way."

"Yes, Lord Jieluo."

The two continued on their way to the territory of the Kusanagi clan.

At this time, the entire Kusanagi clan had evacuated, leaving the clan's territory deserted. All the streetlights were out, leaving the area in disarray, with only the faint glow of the sacred tree in the distance.

"Here, Lord Jieluo," Shen Yue humbly led the way.

"Your status in the clan is not low," Jieluo said.

"I am honored by the patriarch's appreciation," Shen Yue said.

"Heh..." Jieluo chuckled softly. Outsiders are always outsiders. No matter how hard they try, they will never be accepted by the clan and will be easily sent to their deaths.

The two walked on and stopped in front of a newly built shrine.

"Is the Kusanagi sword enshrined here?" Yura asked.

"According to the intelligence I've gathered, it's right here," Shen Yue said.

"If it's not here, it's on the patriarch."

"It would be best if..." Yura stepped into the shrine.

In a temple where a statue of a great serpent god was enshrined, Jieluo glanced around and saw that the surroundings were filled with sacrificial swords.

"Finding the Kusanagi Sword will probably take some effort," Shen Yue said, bowing his head.

"I also have no way of finding it."

"Is that so?" Jieluo glanced around, and then an invisible barrage of slashes erupted around him. The crisscrossing slashes flew wildly in all directions, and in an instant, swords and blades were shattered one after another under the barrage.

Surrounded by a storm of slashing blades, Shen Yue's body was tense, fearing that the passing swords would strike her.

In just a moment, the storm subsided, and the swords and knives were broken into pieces on the ground, leaving only one knife behind.

Shen Yue breathed a sigh of relief.

Yura tilted her head and examined the sword. The scabbard had shattered under the blow, and the entire blade was a bright scarlet red, as if it were soaked in blood. There were beautiful rosary-shaped patterns on the blade. The blade was slightly curved and 120 centimeters long, almost as tall as Yura. This was a katana.

Taking a few steps forward, Jieluo reached out and grabbed the hilt of the sword. The moment he touched it, a cold, chilling sensation invaded his body.

Is this resentment?

This is...

"Onikiri".

Examining the knife, Jieluo scanned it back and forth.

Looking at the inscription on the hilt of the knife.

Press-cut...

Describing something as extremely sharp.

In Jieluo's eyes, the sword is entangled with negative emotions such as resentment, hatred, murderous intent, madness, and despair. It is left behind by people at the moment of death. If one holds it for a long time, the holder will easily be affected by the sword's influence on their mind. It is a so-called demon sword.

Just looking at it, Shen Yue felt that the knife was so cold and dazzling that it made her heart pound.

If you rashly touch this demonic sword, you will get hurt.

"This sword..." Jie Luo said happily, "It has killed many people."

Unable to resist, she stuck out her little tongue and licked the blade. Fresh blood dripped down her tongue as it cut open, rolling down the blade. Jieluo personally felt the sharpness of the blade.

"It has a sweet taste of blood."

Shen Yue watched from the side, her eyelids twitching.

Jieluo flicked the blade, and it emitted a series of clear, low hums.

Scanning his surroundings, he walked to the statue of the great serpent god, raised his hand and swung it down. It was an ordinary, casual kasaya slash, but the tendons of the blade were surprisingly terrifying. The sword, as fast as lightning, sliced through the statue.

After a moment, the statue slowly shifted, making a heavy thud as it fell to the ground, its cut surface unusually smooth.

Shen Yue's eyelids twitched. In terms of swordsmanship alone, no more than one person in the clan could do the same thing. It truly lived up to its name, Kusanagi Sword.

"Does the clan have any suitable scabbards?" Jieluo asked.

"There are quite a few shadow techniques stored in the back hall," Shen Yue said.

Stepping into the rear hall, Jieluo selected a suitable scabbard, placed the blade upwards, and tucked it diagonally into her belt. Turning to Shen Yue, she asked, "Where are the secret transmission and spirit communication scrolls?"

Looking into those greedy, scarlet eyes, Shen Yue said, "It should be on the patriarch."

"And there's also a Kusanagi sword, right?"

"That's the patriarch's sword," Shen Yue said.

"Where's the base?" Jieluo asked.

"Lead the way."

"Yes." Shen Yue led the way.