Run! Run for your life!
In a panic, Shiro threw his ninja pouch, filled with kunai and shuriken, far away, not daring to even glance at Gensou as he sprinted toward the distance.
However, before he could get far, with a series of sharp cracking sounds, the moisture in the air around him rapidly condensed, forming needles of ice that shot toward him from all directions.
A high-pitched scream echoed out for a brief moment.
Soon, the scream weakened and eventually faded into silence.
After casually swatting away a few pests, Gensou, uninterested in what happened, continued his journey, just as he had a year ago. He walked through the trap-laden outskirts of Mount Katsuragi without obstruction and arrived at the barrier.
"Since we're acquaintances, let's use a different method this time instead of violently destroying the barrier," Gensou mused as he observed the defensive barrier ahead.
He reached out both hands and placed them on the barrier.
Then...
With a burst of strength from his hands, he tore the barrier apart like thin paper, creating an opening just big enough for one person to pass through.
As Gensou stepped inside, a crystal ball used to monitor the barrier within the Tsuchigumo Clan's territory cracked with a loud "snap," and alarms blared.
"An intruder! They've broken through the barrier!"
Tonbei's expression changed drastically. His mind raced back to the invasion a year ago, when the enemy had similarly breached Mount Katsuragi without warning.
The ensuing battle was still fresh in his memory.
If the enemy this time had similar strength...
"Lady Hotaru! We must retreat immediately!"
His first instinct was to urge Hotaru to flee once again.
But he had forgotten that Hotaru's strength now far surpassed his.
"This is the Tsuchigumo Clan's territory, and I am now the head of the Tsuchigumo Clan. It is my responsibility to protect our home."
Hotaru easily dodged Tonbei's outstretched hand and spoke with determination.
As soon as she finished speaking, the man lying on the bed, who had just passed out, opened his eyes.
A dark, ominous chakra began to surge from Utakata's body.
Hotaru was shocked at the sight.
"W-what is this? Such a massive amount of chakra! And this aura... Why is it so terrifying?"
She instinctively stepped back.
Tonbei, too, had a similar reaction.
His face filled with doubt as he looked at Utakata.
This suffocating, violent aura—he had seen something similar before on the battlefield during the great shinobi war when he followed the Traveler of War.
If he remembered correctly, that person's identity was...
"A Jinchūriki."
As Gensou continued to walk through Mount Katsuragi, he sensed the presence of a tailed beast not far ahead.
"Well, isn't this fortunate? The Six-Tails is right here."
Gensou smiled faintly and pressed on.
"Jinchūriki!"
Images of the colossal, unstoppable figure from the war, who had slaughtered countless shinobi, flashed in Tonbei's mind. He quickly pulled Hotaru further back.
Disaster after disaster.
The creature before them was something they could not possibly contend with.
However, before they could retreat more than a few steps, the raging chakra from Utakata's body subsided, and he swiftly retracted the tailed beast's chakra into himself.
Utakata stood up.
Thanks to the resilience of a Jinchūriki, he had recovered considerably. Having overheard Hotaru and Tonbei's conversation, he spoke in his usual cold tone:
"I'll deal with the enemy. You two should leave."
Without waiting for a response, he headed toward the door.
"Lady Hotaru!"
With an unknown enemy outside and an unstable Jinchūriki inside, Tonbei, feeling immense pressure, tried to persuade her to leave.
"It's too late," Hotaru shook her head. "The intruder is already here."
As a vessel for forbidden jutsu, Hotaru frequently absorbed natural energy, making her sensory abilities far superior to those of an average sensor-type shinobi.
She could clearly sense it now—the enemy had already arrived.
It was only one person.
Yet their presence felt unfathomable.
Additionally, for some reason, there was a hint of familiarity.
"Could it be someone I know?"
With confusion in her heart, Hotaru and Tonbei stepped outside.
And there, along with Utakata, who was a few steps ahead, they saw Gensou, strolling toward them as if on a leisurely walk.
Utakata's eyes flashed with doubt as soon as he saw Gensou.
He had expected the intruder to be the Kiri Hunter-nin who had been chasing him for so long, but instead, it was a man he didn't recognize.
Even though Gensou's name had spread far and wide across the shinobi world, not everyone could recognize his face.
Utakata, someone who preferred a quiet life, had no interest in the affairs of the shinobi world.
"The enemy of Mount Katsuragi? I'll take care of this quickly," Utakata decided.
Similarly, Hotaru and Tonbei, who rarely left Mount Katsuragi, also didn't recognize Gensou's identity.
Even so, Hotaru couldn't help but feel a faint sense of familiarity when she looked at Gensou. She was just about to ask something when...
Utakata made his move.
Suiton: Foam Technique!
Utakata pulled out a straw, blew into it, and a large number of seemingly harmless but highly destructive bubbles surged from the tube, covering Gensou.
"Six-Tails Jinchūriki."
Gensou murmured calmly, glancing at the bubbles.
In front of him, countless ice needles formed.
After a quick sweep of the ice needles...
With a series of pops, the bubbles from the Suiton: Foam Technique burst instantly.
"Ice Release? From the Yuki Clan?"
Utakata's expression changed.
Before he could react further...
Gensou's voice reached his ears once again:
"Didn't the Six-Tails tell you not to seek death?"
Utakata froze.
Unlike perfect Jinchūriki, his relationship with the Six-Tails was mediocre at best. They rarely communicated.
He didn't understand why the person in front of him would say something like that.
Could it be that the Six-Tails knew this person... and even feared them?
Impossible!
Tailed beasts were terrifying weapons, capable of rivaling human power. How could they possibly fear a human?
Utakata shook his head.
Regardless, this man had easily broken through his signature technique just now.
His strength was undeniable. Utakata would have to go all out.
Utakata's expression turned serious.
Seeing this, Gensou also shook his head.
Tailed beasts had a special way of communicating. Even if the Six-Tails didn't know him personally, it should have sensed his strength.
But there had been no reaction at all.
It seemed that the relationship between this Jinchūriki and his tailed beast was indeed poor.
In that case...
"Let me wake you up first."
Gensou disappeared in a flash, reappearing beside Utakata, and threw a punch.
Utakata's pupils shrank, and his body was immediately covered in the chakra of the Six-Tails as he raised his arm to block.
Boom!
Utakata's entire body was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing through several walls and skidding along the ground for 70 to 80 meters, until his body was embedded deep into the ground, where he finally came to a stop.
Gensou calmly withdrew his gaze and said indifferently:
"The Six-Tails Jinchūriki, captured."
(End of Chapter)
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