The air seemed to freeze. Kenji and the unseen enemy were locked in a standoff of wills. The kunai embedded in the tree was no ordinary one. It was forged from a black, non-reflective alloy, designed for assassination. This told him the attacker was not just a traitor, but an expert in taking lives from the shadows.
"You should not have come here, Kageyama Kenji," a voice echoed from the thicket. It was cold, devoid of any emotion, but Kenji recognized it had been altered by some form of ninjutsu to conceal the user's true identity. This person knew his name. That confirmed all his suspicions.
"You killed Morita-senpai," Kenji said, his own voice as cold as ice. He didn't use Ryo's given name, but his rank—a final sign of respect for the fallen. "You betrayed the Leaf Village."
"The Leaf Village?" The voice was tinged with mockery. "What do you think you're fighting for? An illusion created by old men sitting in comfortable offices? Ryo saw the truth, and he was too weak to accept it."
As the voice spoke, Kenji felt something was wrong. The air around him seemed to thicken. The scenery began to ripple like the surface of a disturbed lake.
Genjutsu!
He immediately tried to break the illusion by disrupting his chakra flow. But it was too late. This genjutsu was too strong, too fast. It had bound his senses before he could even react.
The ground beneath his feet turned into a black, murky swamp. The ruined shrine and surrounding trees melted into grotesque shapes. The sky turned the color of blood, and the moon shattered into a thousand black crows. They circled above his head, their deafening "caw, caw" drilling deep into his mind.
This was it. The feather in Ryo's hand. This person was a Genjutsu master who specialized in crows.
Then, Ryo's corpse slowly sat up. The dead man's blank, white eyes stared at Kenji. "Why did you come here?" the corpse spoke in a ghastly voice. "Because of you, I cannot rest in peace. You will die here... just like me."
Ryo's corpse lunged toward Kenji, its hands outstretched as if to strangle him.
Kenji's reason screamed that this was fake, but all his senses insisted it was real. The stench of death, the chilling cold, the image of his dead comrade attacking him... it was a form of extreme psychological torture.
No. This is fake. Kenji gritted his teeth. He remembered his master's teachings. "When facing a high-level Genjutsu, do not trust your eyes, do not trust your ears. Trust in the flow of your own chakra. It is the only reality."
He closed his eyes, ignoring the corpse of Ryo rushing toward him. He focused his entire mind, sensing his own chakra, searching for the intrusion of the foreign chakra that was manipulating his nervous system. He found it—a thin but incredibly strong thread of chakra.
He channeled a large amount of chakra into his hand and punched himself hard in the thigh.
BAM!
Sharp, searing pain shot through his body. That pain, an undeniable reality, created a shock strong enough to break the Genjutsu's hold.
"Kai!" (Release!)
The world snapped back to normal. The sky was still clear. The shrine was still in ruins. And Ryo's body still lay motionless at the base of the tree. But Kenji was panting, cold sweat pouring down his face. A few seconds in the Genjutsu had felt like hours of torture. It had eroded his spirit and his chakra.
He couldn't win a fight like this. Fighting a Genjutsu master in a state of exhaustion was no different from suicide. He had to retreat.
I have information about the traitor. I have a clue about him. I have to bring it back to the village.
Kenji made his decision in an instant. He gathered most of his remaining chakra and performed the final hand seals.
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shadow Clone Technique!)
Only a single clone appeared, looking exactly like him. It was all he could manage right now.
"Attack!" the real Kenji commanded.
The clone immediately charged toward the thicket where the enemy was hiding, kunai in hand, roaring to draw attention. At the same moment, the real Kenji turned and used the last of his strength to sprint in the opposite direction.
Several shuriken flew out from the bushes, striking the clone with pinpoint accuracy. The clone exploded in a puff of white smoke.
The enemy had been fooled, if only for a second.
A second was more than enough.
Kenji didn't run into the forest. He plunged straight into the raging river. The ice-cold water enveloped his body, carrying him away. It was a gamble. The current could kill him, but it was also the best escape route, erasing all traces and scent.
As he was swept away by the water, he managed to look back. For a fleeting moment, he saw a black-clad figure step out from the thicket. He couldn't see the face, but the figure stood tall, coldly observing the river, making no move to pursue. It was as if the person knew that this current was also a death sentence.
Kenji clenched his fist. He had survived. But now, he wasn't just fleeing the Stone Village. He was being hunted by a demon from his own village. And that demon knew who he was. The race to the Hidden Leaf had only just truly begun.