Veigar's presence made cold sweat stream down Naoki's back. Knowing full well he wasn't Veigar's match, he did the only thing he could to survive—speak.
"Veigar Koshima, let me go."
"I'll give you some intel about yourself."
Naoki's decision came swift and without hesitation.
"This guy's quick on his feet."
Veigar narrowed his eyes slightly, watching Naoki as the thought crossed his mind.
"Not necessary."
His voice was ice-cold, though he didn't immediately strike.
Naoki remained alert. When he saw Veigar had yet to attack, he knew exactly what it meant.
If he hadn't acted yet, that meant there was still room to negotiate, if the terms were right.
Tightening his grip on the hilt of his ninjatō, Naoki pressed forward.
"You've got more eyes on you than you realize. Soon enough, they'll come for you like rabid dogs."
"Spare me now, and I'll provide you with all intel about them, free of charge."
"How's that for a deal?"
He laid bare his terms and even upped the stakes.
"Do you know how many have infiltrated Konoha?"
Veigar didn't draw a blade, only a kunai, but the question struck hard.
Naoki's heart tightened. He couldn't answer. Not accurately.
"I can help you track them down."
Veigar's expression turned indifferent. Naoki had lost his value, there was no need for him to find enemies in Konoha. Veigar could handle that himself.
His earlier words were simply to gauge Naoki's usefulness.
"Not necessary."
The moment Veigar uttered those words, Naoki understood.
The deal had collapsed.
Without warning, Naoki flung three kunai in a triangular formation at Veigar.
Clean. Decisive. The fight had begun, and flight was no longer an option.
Now, it was do or die.
Veigar leapt nimbly, evading the spinning kunai as Naoki charged in with bloodlust in his eyes.
Shing.
A gleam of steel slashed toward Veigar's shoulder, Naoki's ninjatō cut through the air like a flash of ice.
Veigar, reverse-gripping his kunai, blocked the strike effortlessly. Then the second. As the third strike came crashing down...
Clang.
Steel met steel. Veigar shifted his weight and redirected the force, sending Naoki, blade and all, hurtling backward.
"Such strength…"
Naoki's expression darkened. Veigar's raw power stunned him.
But Veigar wasn't done, he surged forward. Kunai slashing, he engaged Naoki again in close-quarters combat.
There were countless ways he could kill Naoki, yet Veigar chose restraint.
He was testing something new, experimenting with unfamiliar combat styles.
Though Naoki was a mid-tier missing-nin with limited ninjutsu, his mastery of swordsmanship was formidable.
Clang. Clang. Clang…
Veigar found Naoki's taijutsu strength intriguing and welcomed a pure clash of blades.
Leaves rustled softly in the wind. The steady clash of kunai against sword filled the forest.
But the more they fought, the more unsettled Naoki became.
He realized something terrifying, Veigar's skill was evolving mid-battle.
Even though he wielded only a kunai, Veigar's style began to echo true kenjutsu; refined, deliberate, deadly.
Veigar soon noticed a flaw: Naoki's attacks were beginning to repeat.
"That's enough. Time to die."
With a final shove, he forced Naoki back once more. His voice, cold and final, left no room for doubt.
Shing—
Veigar hurled his kunai straight at Naoki's head. The speed was blinding, Naoki barely managed to tilt his head aside.
The blade sliced across his cheek, drawing a trail of blood.
Then, Veigar vanished.
Appearing behind Naoki in a blink, his left hand gripped the kunai, while his right hand reached toward the hilt of a blade at his waist.
Ittō-ryū: Flying Raijin Slash.
So this was his true purpose all along, the fusion of the Flying Raijin Technique and kenjutsu.
Perfected, it became a deadly finishing move.
Naoki, who had barely dodged the kunai, glanced back at where Veigar had just stood, only to realize he was gone.
"Where is he?"
His heart pounded. He spun around on instinct.
And that was the end.
A silver arc flashed...
A head flew skyward.
Veigar stood where Naoki had been, his strike clean, final.
As the corpse collapsed, he dissolved into nothingness, dispelling the Shadow Clone Technique he had used all along.
Naoki died never knowing, he'd been killed by a mere clone.
Meanwhile, in the uninhabited northern forest of Konoha…
Two shadows darted through the trees, one chasing the other. The man in front was around thirty-five, with a thick beard and a wrapped headband. The one behind was in his early thirties, his face dark with worry.
"Ketsubi, faster! If you want to live, move!"
"I know, Yūshi. Are we really compromised?"
Ketsubi and Yūshi had been partners for years. They'd survived countless missions together. Just moments ago, Ketsubi's keen sensory abilities detected danger, he didn't hesitate to drag Yūshi into a retreat from Konoha.
Their whispers were low, urgent, but their pace didn't slow. The village's outer barrier was finally within reach.
"Someone's here."
Ketsubi's voice was sharp.
"Then we kill them."
Yūshi responded without hesitation.
As they launched themselves from the underbrush, they spotted a lone figure ahead, and both froze.
Their faces changed in unison.
"Veigar Koshima… What's he doing here?"
They recognized him instantly. The same question burned in both their minds.
Whoosh, whoosh—
Before they could react further, two kunai whistled through the air toward them, the shrill sound nearly rupturing their eardrums.
No doubt, Veigar had come for them.
But both noticed something strange: the kunai had missed by a hair.
As seasoned jōnin-level missing-nin, they immediately understood, this was no accident.
They formed hand signs, but Veigar vanished before they could complete them.
Shing—
A cold flash of steel swept through the air.
Yūshi's throat was sliced clean, blood gushing like a geyser, spraying across Ketsubi's face.
Ketsubi's instincts screamed. He tried to shout, but it was too late.
"You—!"
He leapt back instantly, but the sound of another blade cutting air erupted behind him.
Ittō-ryū: Shunshin Slash.
Ketsubi spun, too late.
A glint of death flashed once more, slicing clean across his throat.
Another head soared skyward.
Double kill, complete.
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TN: This fanfic has been fully translated and is available on my Patreon —— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]