Chapter 211: Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu
The entity emerging from the ground was another of Ronin's Shadow Clones, utilizing the Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu.
He remained entirely unbothered by the massive spectral hand lunging for his arm. Instead, having secured a grip on the Fourth Prince, the clone vaulted from the earth. With a fluid twist of his torso, he hoisted Tserriednich up and hurled him into the open air behind him. Simultaneously, his free hand smashed into the oncoming ink-black aura-arm.
Ryde, the tattoo artist, didn't flinch.
The moment the massive tattooed hand collided with the Shadow Clone's arm, it didn't just strike—it dissolved into a viscous fluid, instantly enveloping the clone's limb in a dark, pulsing layer of Nen-ink.
The clone raised an eyebrow, but he didn't pull back. Instead, his other arm exerted a massive burst of force, launching Tserriednich high into the night sky.
"You dare?!" Ryde roared.
He tried to break away from the clone to pursue the Prince, but the clone's ink-covered hand suddenly snapped shut. He didn't just hold the ink; he gripped the very flow of Ryde's Hatsu.
This maneuver not only prevented Ryde from retracting his aura but allowed the ink to rapidly spread across the clone's own body, tethering the two together.
Realizing he couldn't reach the Prince in time, Ryde's face twisted into a mask of pure malice. "Then you'll die first!"
Just then, another silhouette appeared in the sky above them.
It was a third Shadow Clone, released from Ronin's fourth Sealing Scroll.
As the Prince reached the apex of his flight, he was met mid-air. Before Tserriednich could even register the movement, a massive sphere of high-pressure water swallowed him whole.
Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu.
Simultaneously, a secondary technique was applied to the aquatic sphere: Earth Style: Ultralight-Weight Rock Technique.
On the ground, the Kakin specialists were falling one by one under the assault of the Lightning-Mode Shadow Clone. The clone wasn't going for the kill; he was systematically neutralizing their consciousness. Ronin remained wary that a lethal strike might trigger an unknown "Death-Vow" or a soul-transfer Hatsu.
As he fought, the clone scanned the perimeter for hidden players.
The Royal Guards were desperate. Some attempted self-mutilation to summon their "Interception" beasts, while others focused their auras on the Prince, trying to trigger a remote teleportation. But against the sheer velocity of the lightning-clone, their reactions were too slow.
Kakin's "Direct Cultivation" produced specialized experts, but they lacked the tactical flexibility of a veteran ninja.
High above, one clone continued to rain down Jutsu to suppress the ground forces, while the other began to fly the water-encased Prince toward Ronin's true coordinates.
As long as he took the Prince out of the guards' immediate range, the teleportation link would likely fail.
But the first real hurdle had arrived.
The Shadow Clone on the ground was now almost entirely covered in Ryde's tattoos. His movements were becoming sluggish and heavy.
"A Manipulation Hatsu," the clone noted calmly.
"Exactly," Ryde sneered. He watched with triumph as his ink patterns finished their circuit around the clone's neck. "You're my puppet now."
But Ryde's smile never fully formed.
Poof.
The ink-covered "Ronin" exploded into a cloud of white smoke.
What?!
Ryde's face went pale. He used a decoy to bait my primary Hatsu? What kind of ability turns into smoke?
He snapped his head upward, looking at the rapidly shrinking figure of the Fourth Prince in the sky.
How do I save him?
"Should we intervene?"
On the roof of a nearby skyscraper, Nobunaga watched the aerial kidnapping through narrowed eyes.
The Spiders were in the middle of their hunt for Saiyu. They hadn't expected to stumble upon a full-scale assault on the Royal Family.
"It's Ronin," Shalnark said, adjusting his binoculars. "And... I think we've been spotted."
"By Ronin?" Machi's fingers twitched, her threads ready to weave a trap.
"No," Shalnark shook his head. "One of the Prince's guards. The moment I focused on him, he snapped his head toward our building."
"Ignore them," Chrollo decided.
Saiyu's ability was the priority.
"Even if we chase them, we don't have a reliable way to intercept a flyer. Let the Empire handle its own problems."
Chrollo had his own calculations. If Ronin secured the Fourth Prince's eyes, he would likely head to a safehouse to absorb them.
"If Ronin's heist succeeds tonight, tomorrow will be the perfect time to strike him," Chrollo analyzed. "But if we fail to get the 'Blind' ability tonight, we don't move on Ronin at all."
"Let's go," Chrollo turned away, his cloak billowing in the wind.
In a luxury suite on the 20th floor of a hotel two blocks away, Saiyu stood by the floor-to-ceiling window.
He watched the blue flashes and the "Nen Beasts" erupting in the distance.
He didn't know who was behind the move, but he knew Kakin was about to have a very long, sleepless night.
I wonder what answer Beyond will have for me tomorrow, he mused.
He pulled the curtains shut and headed back to the bed. He decided to get some rest. If everything went according to plan, he'd treat the rest of this Kakin trip like a paid vacation.
There was no interception.
The Fourth Prince, trapped in the Water Prison, was carried hundreds of meters into the air by the Shadow Clone. They streaked across the skyline toward Ronin's main body.
The clone kept a constant watch on the Prince, ready to apply Amenotokotachi if space began to ripple around the prisoner.
Below, the battle was effectively over.
Aside from Ryde, every guard—Nen user and civilian alike—had been knocked unconscious.
Now, one clone in the air and the Lightning-Mode clone on the ground focused their attention on the tattoo artist.
Ryde felt the atmospheric pressure of two apex predators.
Electricity crackled. Ryde flared his aura, his remaining tattoos swelling and expanding outward in a desperate black wave.
But the blue streak didn't touch the ink. The lightning-clone moved with a velocity that made the expansion look like it was standing still.
Simultaneously, the clone in the sky completed a seal.
Wind Style: Vacuum Serial Waves!
Invisible blades of high-pressure air shredded the night, tearing through Ryde's expanding ink-aura. The "shattering" of the ink served as a perfect sensor for Ryde's position.
Ryde tried to sidestep the wind blades, but he failed to notice the lightning-clone focusing a massive charge into his fingertips.
Lightning Style: Chidori Sharp Spear!
A beam of concentrated blue electricity punched through the ink-cloud and Ryde's abdomen before he could even blink.
Squelch.
The beam tore through his vitals. Blood sprayed into the air as Ryde collapsed.
Immediately, the ground beneath him shifted.
Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet.
A massive stone dragon head erupted from the asphalt, its jaws snapping shut around the falling Ryde.
Under the influence of the Ultralight-Weight Rock Technique, the dragon—carrying the captured enforcer—took flight. The two Shadow Clones leaped onto its head as it ascended, joining the other clone and the Prince in their retreat.
The mission was a total success. Team Ronin had the Prince and his lead enforcer.
Now, the interrogation would begin.
☆☆☆
-> 30 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you