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Chapter 24: Twisted Justice
The black-robed figure gripped Zurui by the collar with one hand, turning him toward the convoy like a discarded puppet. Sunlight bathed the entire plain in crimson, illuminating a scene of utter despair.
"Take a good look. This is reality." The voice from behind the mask carried no warmth whatsoever. "Even now, do you still intend to resist?"
Zurui's body trembled violently. Before his eyes, the nine terrifying summons were conducting a one-sided massacre of the Kumo-nin—
The Southern and Northern Dipper Sages floated in mid-air, one hand raising a staff while the other formed seals. Purple formations materialized on the ground, trapping Kumo-nin who found themselves unable to move. As the phantom scythe of death swept through their ranks, their chakra drained away like water from a broken dam, leaving them to collapse one by one.
"Stop this!"
A Kumo jounin roared and charged forward to save his comrades, only to be caught around the neck by the Celestial Maiden's flowing ribbons and slammed into the ground. After a sickening thud, his body carved a deep furrow in the dirt road, blood spraying in a vivid arc through the air.
The remaining survivors found themselves completely immobilized—the Golden Serpent's coils wrapped around their bodies, the White Tiger's claws pressed against their chests, the Vermillion Bird's shadow circling overhead, the Azure Dragon's form imprisoning their limbs, and the Black Tortoise's crushing weight making their bones creak ominously.
"Before I claim your lives..."
The robed figure lifted Zurui before him. "I'll ask one final time—hand over the Byakugan."
Icy chakra flowed between them, the stench of death overwhelming. "Otherwise, my next move will bury you all here."
"You... dream on!"
Zurui forced out a hoarse roar from deep in his throat, blood trickling down his chin. Even with his throat in the enemy's grip, his bloodshot eyes still burned with fanatical conviction.
"Someone like you... how could you possibly understand?!"
He gasped painfully, each word tinged with the metallic taste of blood. "Once we obtain the Byakugan... Kumogakure will master the power of chakra detection! Everything we've done... it's all for the greater good of our nation!"
His voice rose to near hysteria. "Go ahead! Kill me! But remember—for every Kumo-nin you murder, Raikage-sama's fury will burn hotter! You and whoever's backing you will pay the price for today's actions!"
In that instant, Zurui felt the fingers around his throat tighten slightly. More terrifying still, the chakra emanating from behind the mask suddenly turned bone-chillingly cold, as if the very air around them was beginning to freeze.
"The greater good..."
The robed figure's voice echoed like something from the depths of hell. "So your so-called greater good—"
"Is kidnapping three-year-old children?"
"Is forcing others to willingly march to their deaths?"
"Is devouring innocent people alive in this twisted world?!"
Each accusation fell like a hammer blow. The robed figure suddenly grabbed Zurui's hair, forcing him to look directly at his subordinates being brutalized by the nine beasts. The Celestial Maiden's ribbons had hoisted a struggling man into the air, while the Southern Dipper's scythe pressed against his throat.
"Don't think... that spouting a few noble words..."
"Can paint yourself as righteous!"
Zurui's body convulsed uncontrollably. He felt a malevolent force corroding his very being, and under death's shadow, he suddenly remembered Hyuuga Hizashi being loaded into that prison wagon—the terrifyingly calm smile on that branch family member's face.
"But then..."
The robed figure's tone suddenly grew calm. "My heart and actions are utterly unclouded. All that I do is justice?"
---
"I admire your resolve..."
"Farewell."
CRACK.
The crisp sound of snapping bone echoed across the battlefield. The robed figure efficiently twisted Zurui's neck, casting his corpse aside like discarded cloth. Almost simultaneously, the nine beasts' slaughter reached its crescendo—blood splattered in grotesque arcs while screams and wails rose and fell in terrible symphony.
When the last Kumo-nin collapsed, the robed figure suddenly raised his hand: "Leave one alive."
The Celestial Maiden's ribbon, poised to strike, froze mere inches from a young shinobi's terror-widened eyes.
The robed figure's footsteps carried him across the blood-soaked plain to the specially constructed prison wagon at the convoy's rear, its heavy iron door still bearing Kumogakure's sealing techniques.
BOOM!
A simple, unadorned punch slammed into the lock mechanism. The steel-forged restraint shattered like paper, the iron door twisting under the tremendous force before bursting open with a thunderous crash.
Inside the wagon, Hyuuga Hizashi remained in his forced kneeling position, black blindfold covering his eyes while coarse rope cut deep into his wrists. The sudden sunlight stung eyes that hadn't seen light for days, the brightness penetrating even through the cloth covering.
'What's happening?'
The sounds of battle and screaming gradually faded, replaced by an eerie silence. Hizashi's heartbeat accelerated beyond his control—the convoy had clearly been attacked, but this definitely wasn't a rescue sent by Konoha.
'If Konoha had intended to save me...'
He thought bitterly, 'how would I have been driven to the point of volunteering for death?'
Could it be another village that learned of the situation and came to claim the Byakugan? The thought had barely formed when he felt his restraints loosen—the ropes that had bound him for so long were cut away with surgical precision. Then his collar tightened, and an irresistible force lifted him up, dragging him stumbling from the wagon.
When his feet touched soft earth, the overwhelming stench of blood hit him like a physical blow. Even without sight, Hizashi could judge from that nauseating smell alone—this place had just witnessed a massacre.
The surviving Kumo-nin sat slumped on the ground, the short blade in his hand trembling uncontrollably. His gaze swept across the battlefield—Death's scythe dripping with his comrades' blood, the Celestial Maiden's ribbons releasing twisted corpses, other summons standing over shattered remains...
'Why... why leave only me?'
The answer came quickly.
The robed figure dragged Hyuuga Hizashi forward at a leisurely pace, nine terrifying summons surrounding them like an honor guard. The survivor looked up to meet that fox mask gazing down at him.
"The Byakugan..."
The low voice drifted from behind the mask.
"I'll be taking it."
The robed figure shifted slightly, letting the trembling shinobi see his "prize" clearly.
"Go back and tell the Raikage... if he wants revenge and to reclaim the Byakugan... he can find me in the Land of Fire. I'll be waiting for that hot-headed fool."
Before the words fully faded, violent winds erupted across the plain! The survivor instinctively closed his eyes, and when he opened them again—
The empty grassland held only scattered corpses. The robed figure, the summons, the Hyuuga prisoner... all had vanished without a trace, leaving only the metallic stench of blood and deep drag marks in the earth as proof of what had transpired.
The surviving shinobi stood frozen for a long moment before suddenly running like a madman toward Kumogakure, fleeing like a panicked dog with its tail between its legs.
***
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