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Horyu gave two sisters a faint smile in return, "Can you both keep going?"
Hinata and Hanabi nodded, their determination returning as they straightened up, wiping away the last of their tears. "We can," Hinata said, her voice stronger now. "We'll stay together."
"Good," Horyu said, releasing the two gently and taking a step back, his gaze sweeping the area. The rain continued to fall around them, soaking through their clothes, but it no longer mattered. "I sensed another presence nearby. Let's find him before we move on."
Hinata and Hanabi exchanged a glance, their exhaustion momentarily set aside as they nodded in agreement. Horyu's presence gave them a renewed sense of courage, and they trusted him completely.
Horyu led the way, scanning the surroundings. Despite the constant rain and the oppressive atmosphere of the Rain Country, they moved calmly with sisters smiling maybe first time after so long. They moved silently through the wet terrain, careful to avoid making any unnecessary noise.
As they approached a small, rundown structure half-hidden by the fog, Horyu motioned for them to stop. "He's inside," he said quietly, his voice carrying a note of caution. The chakra signature was weak but steady, indicating someone who had been injured but was still holding on.
Without hesitation, Horyu pushed the door open, revealing a dimly lit interior. The figure inside was slumped against the far wall, his breath ragged and his body battered.
The figure inside the rundown structure, slumped against the wall, initially looked up with a mixture of defeat and defiance. His first thought was that specters had found him, and he prepared himself for the inevitable. But as the door fully opened, revealing Horyu and the three girls, his tense expression softened into a relieved smile.
"Perfect timing," he managed to say, his voice weak but filled with a hint of satisfaction. The smile remained on his face as his eyes fluttered closed, and he passed out, still holding on to that brief moment of relief.
"Shino!" Hinata gasped, rushing forward to her fallen teammate. Her eyes widened as she took in his condition—his chest was punctured, and one of his arms hung limp at his side. The sight of her friend, so strong and composed, now battered and broken, filled her with a deep sense of urgency.
Horyu moved closer, his expression unreadable. "Let's help him," he said, kneeling beside Shino. His hands glowed with green healing chakra as he began to assess the injuries. Hinata, who had trained under Tsunade for three years, quickly joined him, her own hands emitting the same healing light.
The room was silent except for the soft hum of chakra as they worked together, stabilizing Shino's condition. Horyu's medical skills, honed through countless battles and situations, allowed him to move with efficiency and precision. He could see the extent of the damage—Shino had suffered severe internal injuries, and his chakra levels were dangerously low. But with both Horyu and Hinata working together, there was hope.
Hanabi stood nearby, her eyes darting between the door and her sister. She knew they couldn't stay here long, but leaving Shino in this state was not an option. The tension in the air was palpable as they worked against time, each second bringing the threat of more specters closer.
Suddenly, Horyu's hand froze in mid-air, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the room. "Horyu?" Hinata's voice held a note of concern, noticing the sudden change in his demeanor. She was focused on healing Shino, but the urgency in Horyu's expression made her pause. "We need to hurry," she urged, glancing at Shino's pale face.
Horyu's gaze shifted, his frown deepening. Something wasn't right. "There isn't a single Kikaichū around," he murmured, more to himself than anyone else. Shino, an Aburame, was never without his incests. The absence of the Kikaichū was glaring, and it set off alarm bells in Horyu's mind.
Hinata heard him, but her attention was on stabilizing Shino's condition. Hanabi, however, caught the significance of his words. Her face darkened, and without hesitation, she activated her Byakugan, scanning the area around them. Her expression quickly turned grim. "It's true," she said, her voice low and tense. "There's not a single insect, dead or alive, not even inside Shino's body."
Hanabi's eyes widened in realization. "Sister, step away!" she called out urgently, her voice sharp with alarm. She moved quickly toward Hinata. Horyu's eyes flashed with realization. "Hinata, get away from him—now!" he commanded, his voice sharp with urgency.
Hinata barely had time to react before Horyu grabbed her arm, yanking her away from Shino's side just as a sudden, violent movement erupted from the figure lying on the ground. The thing that had been masquerading as Shino lunged forward, its hand twisted into a grotesque claw, aimed directly where Hinata's neck had been.
The false Shino's attack struck nothing but air, its momentum throwing it off balance. The creature hissed in frustration, its features warping and shifting as the illusion of Shino's form began to break down. What remained was a twisted, nightmarish version of a human, its skin pale and stretched tight over sharp bones, its eyes hollow and filled with a malevolent hunger.
Hinata stumbled back, her heart racing as the reality of what had almost happened sank in. "That… that thing isn't Shino," she whispered, her voice trembling with a mixture of shock and fear.
"No, it's not," Horyu replied, his tone cold as he stepped between the creature and the two sisters. His Sharingan flared, locking onto the creature's every movement. "It's a specter, one that took on Shino's appearance to lure us in."
Hinata shivered, her eyes locked on the grotesque creature before her. "Was it genjutsu?" she asked, her voice shaky.
Horyu shook his head, his expression stern. "No," he replied firmly. By now, it was nearly impossible for anyone to trap him in a genjutsu. Even someone as powerful as Itachi with his Mangekyo Sharingan wouldn't be able to deceive him. Specter chakra and techniques were different from the usual shinobi arts, but Horyu was no stranger to them. He wouldn't fall for such deceptions.
"But it used your memories to mimic Shino," Horyu continued, his voice cold as he drew the Ancestral Uchiha Sword. The blade gleamed ominously in the dim light. For the specter to have taken on Shino's appearance and lured them in, it meant one thing—at some point, it had encountered the real Shino. Horyu's grip on the sword tightened, his anger barely restrained.
"Where is Shino?" Horyu demanded, his voice colder than Hinata and Hanabi had ever heard. The warmth that had been in his tone just moments ago was gone, replaced by an icy rage that sent chills down their spines.
The specter, its form still twisted and grotesque, hissed in response. It tried to back away, its hollow eyes darting around as if seeking an escape, but it was trapped. Horyu's Sharingan bore into it, ensuring it wouldn't get away easily.
"Where. Is. Shino?" Horyu repeated, each word like a dagger, cutting through the tension in the air.
The specter trembled under Horyu's gaze, its distorted form flickering as it struggled to maintain its shape. Finally, it let out a guttural snarl, a mix of fear and defiance. "The human... is far... and you won't... reach him in time..." it rasped, its voice dripping with malice.
As Horyu's Sharingan shifted into its Mangekyo form, the Ancestral Uchiha Sword gleamed with a menacing red light. The blade hummed, vibrating with a dangerous energy that seemed to hunger for destruction. This sword, a weapon passed down through generations, held numerous seals that unlocked new abilities as Horyu's Sharingan evolved.
When Horyu first awakened his Sharingan, the sword had granted him Chakra Precision Wave—a technique that allowed a dense wave of chakra to slice through enemies from a distance. As he gained the second tomoe, the sword unlocked Phantom Mirage Edge, making it appear as though multiple swords were slashing at once, confusing his foes. The third tomoe brought Temporal Chakra Slice, which distorted the sword's trajectory, making it nearly impossible for opponents to predict when or where the blade would strike.
But with the Mangekyo Sharingan, the sword revealed its most potent ability to date: Dimensional Rift Edge. This technique allowed Horyu to teleport his slash across short distances, making it appear as if the blade had never moved, only for his enemy to be struck down unexpectedly.
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