Just as Rorin was thinking about how to deal with the remaining two...
The Village Hidden in the Mist ANBU captain and Ao both wore grave expressions, racking their brains for a way out.
Suddenly, the ANBU captain spoke in a low voice, "Ao, when the chance comes, retreat immediately. I'll hold him off."
Ao was startled and replied just as quietly,
"Why? If we fight together, we might still have a chance. If I leave, then you—"
"You're too naive, Ao. We just fought the Six-Tails. We can't perform at our peak right now. If we insist on clashing head-on, we'll both likely die in the end."
"But—" Ao tried to argue, only to be cut off.
"Ao, at first I didn't know he would attack us. But when he used the Kaguya clan's Shikotsumyaku, I understood—he's a survivor of the Kaguya clan. That means…"
"His target must be our ANBU. After all, we were the main force that suppressed the Kaguya clan back then. That's why he attacked us immediately. If I'm not mistaken, his first target will be me. I'll do everything I can to hold him back, and you return to the village at once. This mission… we won't be completing it."
The ANBU captain clenched his fists, staring at Rorin, ready to fight to the death to buy time for Ao's escape.
Hearing his comrade's resolve, Ao felt a heavy weight in his chest. He fixed his gaze on Rorin as if engraving his face into his very bones, silently swearing to kill him one day.
Sensing Ao's predatory gaze, Rorin paid it little mind. Right now, he was fully focused on preparing a decisive strike.
A confident smile spread across his face as he clenched both fists and released the limits on his chakra.
Eight Gates—Gate of View, open!
As the Gate of View opened, Rorin radiated green energy. Drawing on the power of Shikotsumyaku within him, bone spikes grew from his back, splitting and extending into wing-like shapes.
The sudden transformation shocked the ANBU captain and Ao, a chilling sense of death pressing down on them. The captain became even more certain—this was not an opponent they could defeat. Even at his peak, he doubted he could win.
He glanced at Ao and gave a subtle nod.
Understanding, Ao slowly stepped back. The moment they clashed, he would flee.
Rorin noticed Ao's movement but didn't care. In their current state, neither of them would escape this attack.
He swiftly formed a hand seal. Blue lightning crackled in his left hand, then spread across his entire body, most vividly along the bone wings on his back.
With a grin, he muttered, "System, wouldn't it be even better if there were some background music right now?"
[Understood. Arranging it now!]
Rorin blinked in surprise. This system really could pull off all sorts of bizarre things.
Still… it felt pretty damn good.
He looked at the two again and murmured with a smile, "Come on."
Blue Bird!
A familiar, perfectly fitting melody rang out in his ears! Right now, it felt like his feet were on fire—burning hot!
As lightning coursed over his body and merged with the green energy, the color shifted into a vivid blue. Rorin now resembled a blue bird in flight.
Empowered by lightning, his bone wings boosted his speed to another level.
A streak of blue light flashed.
Both the ANBU captain and Ao moved at the same time. The captain charged toward Rorin's incoming direction, while Ao fled in the opposite direction—but what neither of them expected was—
Rorin's target was Ao.
In a blink of blue light, Rorin had already appeared behind him.
Since Ao's intent had been to escape, he hadn't activated the Byakugan. Based on their earlier assessment, Rorin's target should have been the ANBU. By the time Ao sensed someone behind him and tried to activate the Byakugan, it was already too late.
Rorin's bone spike, crackling with blue lightning, pierced straight through Ao's chest! The lightning surged through the bone spike into his body, instantly cutting off his consciousness.
Ao died peacefully.
Rorin then quickly pressed his hand over Ao's left eye.
'System, it's yours.'
[No problem. Leave it to me.]
A soft white glow appeared in Rorin's hand. The protective sealing tag on Ao's ears turned to ash. After placing Ao's body on the ground, Rorin turned to face the last opponent—the ANBU captain.
On the other side, the ANBU captain stood frozen. Rorin's target… wasn't him, but Ao?
Then, seeing Rorin's actions, realization struck.
So that was it—his true target was the Byakugan!
Damn it. The captain cursed himself. Just as he thought about slipping away, Rorin's gaze locked onto him. Meeting that stare, he knew—there was no escape.
Lightning gathered again around Rorin as he charged forward!
Blue Bird!
Having seen this technique once before, the ANBU captain sharpened all his senses, trying desperately to track Rorin's movements.
Damn it—he couldn't see him!
Another streak of blue light cut through the air.
Slash!
With a clean, decisive strike, Rorin finished off the ANBU captain. He exhaled deeply, releasing the Gate of View and retracting the bones.
"Huff… huff…"
He panted heavily—using Blue Bird had put a massive strain on his body.
After a short rest, he returned to Ao's corpse. The reason he had quickly destroyed the protective seal earlier was because he feared the Village Hidden in the Mist might detect Ao's death and activate it remotely, destroying the Byakugan. If that happened, he'd be devastated.
Rorin stared at Ao's left eye for a while before communicating with the system.
'System… do I really have to dig it out? Is there a way to transfer it directly? I mean, not only would I have to take his eye—I'd have to dig out my own too…'
[No problem, Host. I'll handle it for you. Find a safe place, get some sleep, and when you wake up, everything will be done.]
Hearing that, Rorin slumped his shoulders. Looks like there was no other way.
After cleaning up the ANBU corpses at the scene, he carried Ao's body and left.
After running for quite a while, he found a cave. Once he confirmed there was no one nearby, he looked at Ao's corpse—and suddenly smacked his forehead.
"Damn, why did I carry him all this way? I could've just taken the eye back there. What was I thinking?"
[It's fine, Host. Leave the rest to me.]
Rorin nodded, then lay flat on his back. Closing his eyes, he sank into darkness.
...
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