Chapter 270: Deathbed Struggle!
Mei Terumī naturally did not know that Uchiha Ikeizumi was still lamenting his lack of strength. Seeing that he seemed to tacitly accept her explanation, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Although many people were still destined to die at Uchiha Ikeizumi's hands, being able to secure a result of relatively lenient treatment already satisfied her.
"Ringo Kukurīn. Eleven years ago, in order to seize gold, you murdered the mission client Ishida Susumu, and afterward falsely claimed—" Having temporarily permitted Mei Terumī's approach, Uchiha Ikeizumi turned his gaze toward another Mist Jōnin. The box above this fellow's head was also so red it was black.
"Wait! We indeed committed many mistakes in the past, but we have all repented now! Does so-called justice not even give us a chance to turn back?!" Seeing Uchiha Ikeizumi staring at him like a god of death, Kukurīn, amidst his terror, hurriedly stepped forward with a stiff upper lip. "The Blood Mist Village was originally a place where the weak were prey for the strong. We were also forced! Is it a mistake to simply not want to die?!"
To save his life, Kukurīn, who had once incomparably praised the "Blood Mist" policy, boldly defected, assuming the posture of a victim himself.
Many conservative shinobi were just about to burst into curses, but they immediately reacted under the hints of other companions and loudly echoed Kukurīn's accusations.
Some quick-witted ones even brought up several examples in succession, such as killing companions to graduate from the Ninja Academy, claiming they were forced to kill just to survive and had no other choice.
There were also those who secretly reported teammates and neighbors just to avoid being implicated by collective punishment. In short, every mistake belonged to the Blood Mist policy; they were only forced to stain their hands with blood to save themselves.
Although Mei Terumī had already guaranteed Uchiha Ikeizumi's Sharingan ability in the name of Elder Genji, with so many Mist shinobi present, he couldn't truly refuse to give them any way out at all, right?
"Heh heh heh, Brother, this is getting a bit boring. You used to boast every day about how great the Blood Mist policy was." Ringo Ameyuri, standing in the crowd, suddenly started laughing, clearly disdainful of her own brother's behavior of jumping back and forth.
"Shut up!" Kukurīn felt the veins on his temples throb, only regretting that he hadn't conveniently strangled this so-called sister back then as well.
Clearly, he was the father's eldest son, yet he had not inherited the Lightning Style passed down through the Ringo family for generations. Instead, the mongrel born of that lowly woman became a famous Lightning Style genius.
Thinking of this, Kukurīn's face changed drastically. He suddenly thought of Uchiha Ikeizumi's ability—in other words, his past actions had already been seen by the other party?
"—Five years ago, you poisoned and murdered your own father, then raped and murdered your stepmother—" Uchiha Ikeizumi completely ignored Kukurīn's clownish behavior and continued to recite his crimes in a methodical manner.
"Kukurīn!" Ameyuri, who had just been mocking her scumbag brother, felt as if she had been struck by lightning. In an instant, the tragedy of those years flashed through her mind, and she immediately let out a cry like that of a wounded beast. "I'll kill you!"
Fury-driven, Ameyuri's entire body erupted with lightning. She charged at Kukurīn like a bolt of lightning, completely abandoning evasion and her own defense, her short blade slashing recklessly at the enemy who had murdered her mother.
A Lightning Style genius lived up to the name; Ameyuri, who was only a Chūnin, could actually burst forth with a life-risking strike sufficient to threaten a Jōnin.
Unfortunately, the gap in strength was not that easily closed. Kukurīn, who was nearly twenty years older than Ameyuri, was a genuine Mist Jōnin. No matter how stunning a strike that could threaten a Jōnin was, it still fell short when facing a real Jōnin.
"Then go die along with that bitch!" Kukurīn was also "smashing a broken pot." Since he was going to die anyway, he might as well drag that bitch's mongrel down to hell with him!
The two drew their blades almost simultaneously. As Ameyuri's short blade slashed toward Kukurīn, Kukurīn's blade tip had already reached Ameyuri's braid a step ahead.
Uchiha Ikeizumi, who had not yet finished reciting the crimes, looked at Kukurīn with a slight sense of helplessness. Letting such human scum die too cleanly was clearly not justice enough, but he also had no reason to stop a victim's relative from seeking revenge. He could only silently add a "Judgment Pupil" to Kukurīn, making him feel how deep his own "evil" was before he died.
Slash!
A head rolled to the ground. Ameyuri, whose braid on one side had been cut off, folded back like a lightning bolt. She gripped her short blade and stabbed Kukurīn's body dozens of times in one breath, then stomped her enemy's head fiercely into the mud, trampling it incessantly.
"Die die die die die die die!!!" The furious Ameyuri literally stomped Kukurīn's head completely into the mud. It was thanks to the rain earlier that had softened the soil; otherwise, Kukurīn's head would likely have been crushed into meat paste by Ameyuri's treading.
Uchiha Ikeizumi had no intention of dissuading her, just silently watching Ameyuri complete her revenge.
Of course, this was mainly because there wasn't even a box above Ameyuri's head, which indicated she was a truly innocent person. Let alone the fact that she was already a Chūnin, even among the Genin of the Mist, those who could achieve a "borderless" status were not many; most people, more or less, carried a white name.
Especially those who were older; almost everyone had a "record of killing a companion" in their history. This was because, in the past, to graduate from the Mist Ninja Academy, one had to personally kill a classmate to obtain graduation qualifications.
The cruelty of the Blood Mist Village could be seen from this. Although this regulation was later abolished, it wasn't out of a realization of conscience, but because an unprecedented killing demon, Momochi Zabuza, was born under this rule—he killed every single one of his classmates in the same term.
Fearing that others would continue to follow suit, the Mist high-level officials finally abolished the regulation. After all, what they wanted to screen was a generation of sufficiently cruel Mist shinobi, not a killing demon that appeared only once a year.
Thud!
Just as Uchiha Ikeizumi was preparing to continue the executions, Ameyuri, who had finally finished venting her anger, actually knelt directly before him. Before Ikeizumi could speak, she gave a heavy kowtow.
"Thank you very much!!!" Ameyuri wanted to cry out loud, but she bit her lip hard to stop herself from crying. She had finished avenging her parents; next, it was time to repay the favor. "Please allow me to follow in your footsteps! I, Ringo Ameyuri, will become your sharpest blade!"
"There is no need for that. I did not execute Kukurīn for the sake of avenging you; my actions were solely to execute justice." Uchiha Ikeizumi looked at the girl prostrate before him. Amidst his emotion, he still politely declined Ameyuri's request.
Being able to burst forth with such a stunning strike at the age of around ten was indeed impressive, but Ameyuri was not like Uchiha Izumi.