Land of Rivers, Daimyo City: Kikyo Castle.
Kikyo Castle was in a mess at this time. The Thirteenth Princess of the Land of Wind's escort team was brutally killed at the Altar of Heaven, and the Thirteenth Princess's whereabouts were unknown.
With the princess missing, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire was furious. In less than a day, Konoha Ninja troops were stationed in Kikyo Castle.
However, at the same time, the Land of Wind suddenly changed its peaceful stance and, for unknown reasons, launched an attack on Kikyo Castle.
The Asakura Clan, the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers, was forced to seek political asylum from the Land of Fire.
Within ten days, Kikyo Castle, the Daimyo City of the Land of Rivers, was largely deserted, with most of the common people following their Daimyo, the Asakura Clan, to seek refuge at the border of the Land of Fire.
...
Ninja battles are not divided into day and night; it's fair to say they can happen anywhere, anytime. Before the Konoha Ninja were stationed in Kikyo Castle, many Sand Ninja had already infiltrated the city.
As night fell, Kikyo Castle, which was usually quiet at night, seemed a bit turbulent tonight. From time to time, Ninja could be heard fighting in the city.
At this moment, Uchiha Suien was also in Kikyo Castle, and he had just taken down a Sand Ninja.
Uchiha Suien, eight years old, is a young genius of the Uchiha Clan. In less than three months on the battlefield, he had already been promoted to Chunin.
An eight-year-old, if placed in modern times, what would he be doing?
Perhaps he would be holding a soy sauce bottle, running errands, or maybe his snot would be wiping across his small face. However, what is an eight-year-old doing in the Ninja world?
He is already holding a kunai and using Ninjutsu to kill people.
Uchiha Suien is the most outstanding genius of the Uchiha Clan currently. Usually, when a genius from a major clan goes to the battlefield, clan members will accompany him for protection. This is because geniuses are rare and cannot be lost during their growth.
However, Uchiha Suien, this genius, does not seem to be very favored by his clan. From the very beginning of his entry into the battlefield until now, he has always been alone, with no clan members accompanying him for protection.
Since his first battlefield mission, Uchiha Suien has become even more taciturn. Besides his rapid increase in strength, the volume of missions he performs has also exploded.
This time, he proactively accepted a mission: to support Chiba Inoyue in Kikyo Castle.
He accepted this mission as soon as he heard about it. After all, she was a comrade from the same team, and he was somewhat concerned.
But then again, he hadn't seen Inoyue since the last battlefield alert mission. He wondered how this Little girl, who was even more formidable than himself, was doing now? Why had he suddenly received a mission to support her now?
Although Uchiha Suien was full of questions at this moment, he moved swiftly, rushing through Kikyo Castle without a moment's delay.
He was not the only one on this support mission; he was accompanied by his teammate, Kami Kida, and a Konoha Jonin.
After the squad entered Kikyo Castle, they suddenly encountered a Sand Ninja encirclement and attack in the city. Due to the urgency of the situation, the leading Jonin instructed him to break through the encirclement first to support Chiba Inoyue.
According to the intelligence, Inoyue went missing at the Altar of Heaven in Kikyo Castle, so he headed directly to the Altar of Heaven at the fastest possible speed.
However, when he arrived at the Altar of Heaven, he discovered that there were already no less than dozens of Sand Ninja present.
Many were on outer alert, and within the three layers, five people were drawing patterns beside a deep well in the center.
This seemed to be some kind of sealing formation. Once the formation was drawn, it could be activated for sealing by providing Chakra energy from multiple people.
...
Under Kikyo Castle, perhaps it was underground! At least the entrance from the third layer of the Altar of Heaven to here was downwards.
Several hours had passed in the world above ground, yet less than half an hour had passed in this world of death underground.
His leg was inexplicably injured, which reminded Inoyue of someone: Hidan. His ability seemed to have some connection with her inexplicable injury.
Hidan was a fanatic. As long as he got someone's blood, he would stab himself with a knife for no reason, directly killing the owner of that blood. Asuma Sarutobi was killed in this way.
Upon hearing the words 'fresh blood,' Inoyue immediately remembered that Asakura Myojin in front of her had indeed obtained her blood. However, it wasn't he who took it, but Kakuzu, that damned man, who used a knife to draw it from her body.
The scene just now was very similar to Hidan's evil art.
Hidan, a person with an immortal body who worships an evil god. He could be said to be truly immortal; knives were useless against him, and even with his head separated from his body, he remained lively.
"It's just like... just like a magician's 'sawing a person in half' trick," Inoyue suddenly thought, a lightbulb going off in her mind.
Indeed, a magician's 'sawing a person in half' trick and Hidan's immortality despite being cut into several pieces shared the same astonishing quality. The difference was that the magician had to use a box for misdirection, while Hidan was cut directly. The cut parts were still alive, but what was the connection between these two?
Inoyue was momentarily at a loss. She felt that there must be a connection between the two, but where was it? She just couldn't figure it out, and that flash of insight in her mind seemed to vanish as quickly as it appeared, eluding her grasp.
"Do you need me to take over?" Karura asked softly, looking at the injured Inoyue on the sand.
Inoyue snapped back to reality and quickly replied, "No need, I was just thinking about some issues, I'm fine, Sister Karura!"
"His jutsu is very strange, let me try instead!" Karura walked over, took Inoyue's hand, and gave her a smile.
Karura was indeed a gentle woman; even a smile from her held such charm. How to put it? It just felt especially heartwarming.
"Dizzy!" Inoyue complained internally, her thoughts starting to wander again.
If Karura were to attack instead, that would be good too.
She had no leads for now, and Karura was a Kage-level expert; perhaps it would have some effect. Maybe she could even discern the opponent's weakness and break this evil jutsu of his, which was similar to Hidan's.
"Sister Karura, I..."
"Don't worry! I know." Inoyue started to speak, intending to remind Karura that the attacks sustained by Asakura Myojin seemed to transfer to her. However, before she could finish, Karura understood her meaning.
...
Inoyue was rescued by Karura, but Asakura Myojin did not press his advantage. Instead, he stood still, simply watching the three women in front of him.
The fox-like smile on his face had long disappeared, replaced by a look of solemnity.
Of course, this solemn expression was hidden beneath a mist of water. There was always a thin layer of water mist in front of him, blocking the vision of Inoyue's Mind's Eye, as if he was particularly wary of the Mind's Eye.
With a "poof," his mouth moved, like an unsealed balloon suddenly letting out a breath.
Several black-purple threads drilled out from the corners of his mouth. The extending tendrils twisted and turned on his face, as if he was alive-swallowing an octopus at this moment.
The tendrils were like the octopus's legs, sucking onto his face, unwillingly being swallowed alive into his stomach.
"A mere resentful spirit of intertwined hair, daring to resist me," Asakura Myojin muttered disdainfully to himself after swallowing all the tendrils that had emerged from the corners of his mouth.