Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu.
It was a technique used to travel underground for surprise attacks. Once Ronin realized he could perform it with simplified seals, he used it to hide beneath the earth.
Uvogin arrived quickly—too quickly. But what shocked Ronin, hiding underground, was the phone call.
Hearing Uvogin's voice through the soil, Ronin's heart sank.
I've been marked.
In that instant, Ronin made a decision.
The ground beneath Uvogin suddenly cracked. A hand shot out from the dirt, grasping for Uvogin's ankle, attempting to drag him down into the earth.
But before Ronin's pale fingers could even make contact, Uvogin looked down.
A savage grin split the big man's face. He lifted his bear-skin boot, easily dodging the grab, and then stomped down with terrifying force.
BOOM!
The stomp didn't hit flesh. It hit the earth, blasting a massive crater into the ground and sending shockwaves through the soil.
The "Ronin" that Uvogin had stepped on exploded into a puff of white smoke instantly.
A fake?
Uvogin's confusion lasted less than half a second.
Simultaneously, a figure burst from the ground behind him, launching a high kick aimed at his head.
Bam!
Ronin's left leg whipped into Uvogin like a lash.
However, he didn't aim for the skull. He aimed for the right hand—the hand holding the phone.
The kick, delivering all of Ronin's strength, barely moved Uvogin's head. But it succeeded in its primary goal: the cell phone was crushed instantly under the impact.
Ronin knew he couldn't hurt Uvogin. But seeing his full-power kick deal zero damage—not even a flinch—was demoralizing.
The damage wasn't physical; it was purely psychological.
Ronin didn't freeze. As the kick landed, his hands were already forming seals.
The next instant, Uvogin's fist, heavy with rage, slammed into Ronin's body.
But there was no crunch of bone.
POOF!
The "Ronin" that was hit transformed into a broken log.
Body Replacement Technique.
The real Ronin was gone. As the log clattered away, a thin mist began to rise in the surrounding forest.
The mist thickened rapidly, swallowing the trees.
"What is this?"
Uvogin tossed the crushed phone aside, his face darkening.
He grabbed the hair of the severed head at his waist and lifted it, shouting into the fog like a demon. "What? Running away? Don't you want to see your father's head? He begged me to spare you right before he died!"
Hidden in a tree twenty meters away, Ronin pressed himself against the bark.
His chest heaved, and his hands held the "Ram" seal.
This was the final seal for Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu. It was a D-rank technique, well within his range.
However, maintaining the mist required a constant drain of Chakra.
Ronin's heart hammered against his ribs.
He was just an office worker. Before today, he didn't know he could be this calm in a fight. But he knew that this icy calm was the only reason he was still breathing.
He had guessed Uvogin would find him. But the phone call was a nasty surprise.
Hearing Uvogin speak to Kortopi confirmed the "mark."
He had mentally eliminated Machi (her threads could be seen with the Sharingan) and others. The only one who could track him without leaving a trace of Nen on his body was Kortopi.
Kortopi's copies lasted 24 hours. The original acts as a tracker for the copy.
Ronin didn't know which item on his body was the copy.
So, his priority shifted: Cut off communications.
He used the Headhunter Jutsu to get close. The Clone was bait. The kick destroyed the phone.
It had gone perfectly. Uvogin hadn't expected the ant to bite back.
But now, Ronin faced a dilemma. He couldn't just run.
Because when he got close to Uvogin, he felt a strange, magnetic pull.
It came from Uvogin's waist. The bloodstained cloth bundle next to his father's head.
The Scarlet Eyes.