Guy was serving as a line of defense for the carriage, and Kurenai was doing the same. However, compared to Guy's recent performance, Kurenai seemed more vulnerable.
Perhaps it was due to her innate talent or bloodline heritage, but Kurenai had always shown exceptional aptitude for illusion techniques.
Illusions were her weapon, her reliance.
She was not foolish and could see that Ye Zi underestimated her or perhaps even underestimated the power of illusion techniques.
From that moment on, she had resolved to make Ye Zi see her in a new light, to make him understand the terror of illusions, and thus she worked hard towards this goal.
Facing the oncoming shadows, Kurenai suddenly felt no fear. She stood in front of the carriage with her fragile form, her eyes as beautiful as rubies deeply reflecting the attackers.
Those were eyes that resembled the Uchiha clan's Sharingan, but they were not. The pupils were more beautiful than the Sharingan, captivating and striking.
"Sharingan?"
Gazing into these beautiful eyes, the attackers' minds flashed with thoughts of the Uchiha clan, and they were startled. Instinctively, they tried to avert their gaze, but it was too late.
These were not Sharingan, just ordinary eyes, albeit extraordinarily beautiful.
In just moments, the attackers fell prey to Kurenai's illusions.
They paused in place, but even if it took only a brief moment to break the not-so-powerful illusion, they had no chance. As soon as they saw Kurenai's ruby-like eyes, they were already halfway to the gates of death.
Several dark green senbon silently arrived through the night and pierced into the attackers' necks.
The poison acted swiftly, and the attackers awoke from the illusion, clutching their necks and falling to the ground dead.
This was the combined power of illusions and Kotoe's assassination techniques. Just a brief moment of hesitation was enough for the heavily poisoned senbon to claim their lives.
Kurenai found it hard to accept how easily the enemy's advance was stopped. She turned to look in Kotoe's direction, thinking this was the terrifying aspect of Kotoe.
She was unaware of her own growth. Influenced by Ye Zi, she was being guided towards a direction more suited to illusion ninjas.
"Great job!"
Guy, generous with his praise, had one hand on his waist and the other giving a thumbs up to Kurenai, flashing a bright white smile.
The pose was so striking that Kurenai couldn't bear to look, covering her forehead and averting her gaze.
This was also the first time Kotoe saw Guydisplaying such an entrancing demeanor, causing a few black lines to appear on her face.
The small fish were all dealt with, but more enemies were still approaching the carriage.
Ye Zi, ultimately unable to handle the dispersed enemies alone, could only kill them as quickly and efficiently as possible.
He didn't dare use Lightning Release for fear that its conspicuousness might lead the enemies to intentionally avoid him.
On the other hand, Shokui was thoroughly enjoying himself. Its desire for food was intense, and it didn't have the same concerns as Ye Zi. Even though Ye Zi had instructed him to fight with all its might, Shokui was relishing the battle, appearing quite relaxed, which added to Ye Zi's pressure.
Ultimately, the ones Ye Zi wanted to protect had nothing to do with him personally.
In the midst of the night's battle, another figure arrived at the scene.
This person was dressed in black, with a black mask covering their face beneath greenish eyes. On their forehead was a symbol of the Takigakure village, but it was crossed out, indicating that this person was a rogue ninja.
This was Kakuzu, who had stolen secret techniques from Takigakure, had a love for money, and had been active in the black market since defecting. He particularly liked high-bounty targets.
He had arrived, targeting the 150 million ryo bounty on the two heads.
While others were after the 50 million ryo bounties, Kakuzu wouldn't mind putting in some effort if there was a chance to claim Ye Zi's head as well.
Unfortunately, the bounty hunters seeking the 50 million ryo bounties were a scattered mess and could not unite against Ye Zi. If they had, Kakuzu might have had a chance to claim Ye Zi's head.
"Tsk tsk."
Kakuzu, using the dim light, observed the scattered corpses and the heavy smell of blood. A cruel smile appeared beneath his mask.
"The heads worth 100 million ryo should be like this."
His gaze penetrated through the trees, as if he could see Ye Zi's silhouette fighting in the darkness.
"Well then, may I have the honor of taking your head and extracting your heart?"
He let out a strangely cruel laugh and vanished into the night.
Kakuzu was not in a hurry to claim Ye Zi's head; first, he intended to secure the 50 million ryo bounty.
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