He wanted to fight back, but compared to Kurotsuchi Raiga of the Mist's Seven Ninja Swordsmen, he was simply no match.
The crackling thunder struck him directly. His mouth opened, but no words came out. His body stiffened, eyes bulging, and he collapsed backward—dead on the spot.
The other masked men stepped back, leaving only the senior members of the Kurotsuchi clan standing in place.
At that moment, Shigeo raised a gold ingot high and shouted, "What's this? Is this gold? Mister, where did you get it from?"
Among the crowd, the trafficker who had kidnapped Shigeo stood frozen. The block of gold glistened in the boy's hands.
"Th-this isn't mine! It's not mine!" the trafficker stammered in terror, shaking his head violently.
Shigeo tilted his head and said with an innocent voice, "Mister, are you mocking me because I can't see? At night, my eyes can see perfectly. I suffer from a condition called crystalline opacity. And my family's rich—I know what gold looks like. This is gold."
A gust of mountain wind swept through. Raiga leapt down, snatched the ingot from Shigeo's hands, and turned his cold gaze toward the trafficker.
"Was it you who stole the gold?"
"N-no! Lord Raiga, it wasn't me! This brat is lying—it's him! He must have stolen it!" the trafficker wailed, dropping to his knees.
"Search everywhere!" Raiga barked.
The masked men scattered. Soon one returned, reporting:
"Lord Raiga! Under the cart axle, we found a box. It's full of gold. And that cart belongs to him."
Raiga's hand shot out, clutching the trafficker by the throat. "Tell me—what's your relationship with Sanshō? Where's the rest of the gold?"
"I don't know! I swear I don't!"
Crack! Raiga snapped the man's arm without hesitation.
"Speak! Where is the rest of the gold?"
"I-I really don't know!"
Crack! His other arm shattered. The trafficker screamed in agony, begging, "Just kill me already!"
Raiga obliged, plunging a blade through his chest.
His eyes bloodshot, Raiga turned to glare at his men. "I sacrificed everything for this clan—and you betray me? I treated you as family, and you take me for a fool?"
The clan leaders exchanged uneasy looks.
"Big brother, you've misunderstood. None of us—" one began.
"Misunderstood? The vault password—only I and Sanshō knew it! He conspired with outsiders to rob us of our gold!" Raiga roared.
"You say it's a misunderstanding? Then tell me—should traitors like him live, or die?"
He turned his murderous gaze to the assembled miners. Terrified for their lives, they all nodded frantically.
Calmed slightly by their response, Raiga waved a hand. "Prepare Sanshō's funeral. Make it grand. As for the rest of the gold—keep searching. We will recover it."
The clan elders stayed silent. Sanshō was already dead—arguing would change nothing.
The funeral was held with pomp and grief. Standing on the dais, Raiga felt a wave of loneliness. This was his clan now—a family that devoured itself.
Shigeo walked in the funeral procession, his body recovering surprisingly quickly. Strangely enough, though he had felt weak earlier that day, by midnight his strength was returning.
He pondered whether to wipe out the entire clan. Leaving them alive meant more suffering for innocents. But killing them outright—wouldn't that be too merciful?
The cursed mark on his arm still throbbed. He would deal with it step by step. For now, it wasn't killing him.
As Shigeo debated, Raiga stormed into the miners' ranks, lashing his whip. "Cry! Cry for my brother's death! Cry louder!"
The miners wailed. Shigeo kept his head down, shielding Koyuki behind him. Though spared the lash, his anger simmered.
Then Raiga raised the twin blades Raijin, his eyes blazing.
"My brother is dead! Tonight, some of you will accompany him. Let the heavens choose your sacrifices. Whoever the lightning strikes—will be buried with him! Raijin Sword Technique: Falling Thunder!"
Bolts of lightning rained down from the heavens.
Shigeo's hands flashed through seals. "Magnet Release—Iron Sand Shield!"
A massive umbrella of iron sand formed above the crowd, intercepting the thunder. Sparks crackled across the barrier, but none of the miners were harmed.
"—A ninja!" someone shouted.
In an instant, the Kurotsuchi clan warriors encircled Shigeo and Koyuki.
Raiga's eyes narrowed. "So it was you who stole my gold."
Only then did he realize—he had killed his own brother based on suspicion, while the true culprit stood before him all along. His feigned righteousness was nothing but the madness of a paranoid, selfish man.
(End of Chapter)
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