Chapter 67: Shadow Beast Bat
Mord's form transformed into a shadow as he evaded the patrolling guards, swiftly navigating through the Shogunate.
For a nation's imperial palace to lack hidden chambers would be something even a dog wouldn't believe.
During the Hunter Exam, Mord had encountered Hanzo and remembered his aura.
However, the palace was simply too vast. Mord lifted his head, gazing at the densely packed buildings around him, feeling somewhat helpless.
To avoid detection by Nen users and for the sake of precise searching, he couldn't expand his En to its maximum range all at once. Instead, he had to control it within a certain scope for detection.
As his figure shifted, Nen burst forth from Mord's body, spreading out in ripples that rapidly extended in all directions, including underground.
With the diffusion of his Nen, scenes of the surroundings flashed through Mord's mind, yet he found no trace of Hanzo.
After nearly half an hour, Mord's expression gradually darkened. His En had scanned almost every corner of the palace but still failed to locate Hanzo.
Naturally, the commotion from the main hall earlier hadn't escaped his notice.
"Such dense machine gun fire must be from heavy weapons," Mord glanced toward the main hall, frowning as countless thoughts raced through his mind.
Currently, only three scenarios could explain the situation.
First, Hanzo and the princess were hiding in a place shielded by objects that could block Nen detection.
Second, Hanzo's own Zetsu had reached a level beyond Mord's ability to detect—a possibility Mord was confident enough to dismiss.
The third and worst scenario was that Mord had guessed wrong: Hanzo and the princess weren't hiding in the palace at all. Searching for two intentionally hidden individuals across an entire nation would be as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack.
Only these three possibilities existed; otherwise, with the precise scanning Mord had conducted, he should have found at least some trace.
Just as Mord pondered his next move, a familiar aura suddenly emerged.
Mord sharply turned his head.
...
Meanwhile, in the main hall.
A cold gleam flashed in Hanzo's eyes as the dagger in his hand was about to pierce General Kubo's throat.
Whoosh!
The sound of slicing air echoed.
A dark shadow loomed before Hanzo's widening pupils, arriving almost instantly. Enormous wings enveloped Hanzo, and sharp teeth were already at his throat.
The one who had been hiding behind the hall all along, Hanzo, had actually failed to notice the presence of the other party inside the hall?!
It was Zetsu!
And the speed of the other party was simply too fast.
In almost an instant, he had reached Hanzo's front. But Hanzo could no longer concern himself with this. After all, this was merely his Nen ability clone. Although the clone's death would still cause damage to his true body...
An opportunity like this, once in a thousand years—if he missed it now, he might never encounter it again.
Hanzo did not halt his assassination attempt and continued to swing the short blade in his hand.
The winged, fanged, bat-like monster raised its sharp claws and swung them fiercely in response.
Clang!
The claws and the short blade collided violently, producing a metallic clang.
The immense impact sent Hanzo flying backward.
"General Kubo, is this the person you wanted me to stay behind and deal with?" Bat flapped its wings, hovering in the air, coldly staring at Hanzo in the distance.
In its view, this bald ninja before him did possess some skill, but he was no match for a professional like itself.
After all, it was Bat of the Shadow Beasts.
"His aura is stronger than mine." Hanzo stared intently at Bat in the air, quickly making a judgment.
The failure of that earlier strike had already signaled the failure of this assassination attempt.
General Kubo glanced up at Hanzo and said, "No, he is a remnant left by the former daimyo. Even so, I must thank you for helping me with this great favor."
"Hand over the princess, and if you surrender now, I will spare your life. As long as you pledge your loyalty sincerely, I will let you lead the Koga-ryū ninjas."
Ninjas who could master true ninjutsu were as rare as master swordsmen. Only a handful of leaders from large ninja villages, those bearing the title of Kage, could wield such power.
General Kubo had recognized Hanzo's talent.
It had to be said, the offer was extremely tempting.
But if he were the type to betray, then he wouldn't be Hanzo. Without the former daimyo, he would not be where he was today.
"For a ninja, there is no such word as 'betrayal'."
"Such a pity." General Kubo slowly closed his eyes and spoke. "Then I'll trouble you, Lord Bat."
"Rest assured, General. Killing is my specialty."
Before the words faded, Bat in midair transformed into a black shadow diving toward Hanzo, his sharp claws gleaming with a chilling cold light in the air.
The clone created by Hanzo's Nen ability possessed the consciousness and skills of the original body, and could temporarily become ethereal to pass through walls. If he truly wanted to escape, it wasn't impossible.
During the clone's existence, if the physical body was touched or spoken to, the ability would be forcibly dispelled.
But to voluntarily cancel the ability, the clone had to find the original body and merge back into one. If he failed to shake off pursuit, there was a risk of exposing the hiding place of his true self and the princess.
Even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, Hanzo was unwilling to take that risk.
Moreover, if the clone and the original body remained separated for too long, the dormant original body would eventually die without food or water.
Just as Hanzo was caught in a dilemma,
A familiar voice suddenly rang out.
"I say, brother Hanzo, I've been searching for you desperately."
At the same time, a dazzling blade light flashed, directly forcing Bat back.
"Mord?!" Hanzo turned his head, looking at the figure that had appeared beside him, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief.
"How are you here?"
"We'll talk about that later. Right now, there are still people waiting for us to deal with." Mord waved the Zanpakutō in his hand, pointing it diagonally at the ground as he looked at Bat in the air.
"Does your country only have these monsters that don't look human?"
The entire Shadow Beasts organization used animal codenames. Except for a very few who still looked somewhat human, the rest were no different from monsters.
It was unclear whether this was due to their Nen training or their inherent bloodline.
After all, in the world of Hunters, magical beasts existed—like the transforming magical beast Kiriko hired as a guide during the Hunter Exam, or the Lying Ape from Swindler's Swamp, creatures capable of human speech.
This Bat before them was very likely a different species.
"I'm not sure. I've never seen them before." Hanzo shook his head, looking at Bat with a solemn expression as he said in a deep voice, "Be careful, he's strong."
"I'm stronger." Mord slowly stepped forward, his aura firmly locking onto Bat in the air. "I'll leave the others to you."