Chapter 137: The Longest Night
[ Sorry for the delay, this period is very busy and this part requires more focus too :) ]
Kurara's Side
The air inside the cave was cold and damp. Drops of water dripping onto the rocks beat out time, a steady pulse in the darkness. Kurara had carefully bandaged her wounds, clenching her teeth at every movement. Despite her exhaustion, she hadn't allowed herself even a moment's rest.
Ren's clone had left her there, ensuring a safe place behind a sealed barrier—a perfect hideout. Yet only a temporary one.
She knew the seals wouldn't last forever.
Ren still hasn't come... how much time do I have left before someone finds me?
She ran a hand across her forehead, feeling her clammy, sweat-beaded skin. Waiting was nerve-wracking. Every noise, every groan of rock could be a threat closing in.
The chakra powering the seals was fading.And when they failed... she would be utterly exposed.
Kurara tightened her fists.
She couldn't afford to be caught off guard.
Yukiko, Aoi, and Hiroshi's Side
The forest had become a battleground.
The ground bore the scars of blade strikes; blood mixed with mud, and the tension in the air was dense enough to feel solid.
Yukiko panted, breaths short and ragged.
Her chakra still flowed, but dangerously low. One more mistake, and it would be over. Hiroshi, after receving first aid from Aoi, was moving sluggishly; the blood streaming from the wound in his chest robbed him of the full use of his techniques.
Aoi was silent. Watching. Analyzing. But he too knew they had few options left.In front of them, the masked man stood immobile.
He showed no fatigue. No concern.His two short blades gleamed faintly under the moonlight.
We can't win against him...
Yukiko forced herself not to show any weakness. She stepped forward.
The masked man tilted his head.Then he moved.An instant.A blurred shadow.His blades slit the air, heading straight for Yukiko's throat.Too fast.Yukiko tried to form a seal, but her chakra was too slow to respond.Her pupils widened in shock.
This is the end...
SHING!
The blow never arrived.
A figure slipped between her and the blade.Metal clashed against metal, echoing through the silence.
But there was no frenzy. No rage. Only precise, calculated calm.
A kunai blocked the sword with unearthly steadiness.
The masked man stepped back.
Yukiko held her breath.
Aoi looked up.
Hiroshi froze.
Before them, in the haze of the battlefield, stood a figure.
Ren's clone.
He said nothing.
He didn't change expression.
His eyes were as cold as the mist.He lifted his arm, kunai still tightly in hand.His voice cut the silence."Move. You can't waste time on him."
It was an order.
For the first time, the masked man hesitated, as though measuring this newcomer's prowess.But Ren—or rather, his clone—didn't give him time to think.He struck.The fight wasn't over yet.
Shinji's Side
Shinji halted before the two, arms crossed, gaze sharp.
"What are you doing?"
The fake Ren tensed but tried to smile in a forced display of composure.
"Not much. We're just trying to orient ourselves in this cursed fog. Terrible place, huh?"
Yuki Sora nodded calmly. "Yes. We're looking for a safe spot."
Shinji didn't budge.
Something was off.
The way those two had shifted, as if trying to hide something.Hide it from whom?
Then a sound.
A broken, shuddering breath.
Shinji tilted his head. Someone was behind them.
"Shinji..."The voice was weak but unmistakable. Jun'ko stood up slowly, wavering, still bleeding from her side.
No explanation was needed.
Shinji understood everything in an instant.
His gaze returned to the fake Ren.
"Well?" he asked icily. The figure stiffened.
A heartbeat later, the transformation dissolved.
Mori Mizuchi replaced Ren, the false grin gone. His shoulders sagged, hands hanging at his sides, uncertain what to do with them.
Yuki Sora watched him icily."We can't fight him. He's out of our league."
Mizuchi winced, jaw clenching in a tic of frustration. He said nothing, didn't protest— not this time.
Sora took a step back. "We have to go."
Mizuchi spun, chest tight with panic. He glanced around like a caged animal, feet unconsciously moving backward.
Shinji saw the fear in Mizuchi's eyes.
The man would never admit it, never openly say let's run, yet every muscle in his body screamed it.
Shinji stepped forward.
Mizuchi stopped dead, nearly stumbling.
His throat bobbed in a hard swallow.
Shinji pressed his hand to the ground.His chakra flared.Corals broke through the soil, snaking about like hungry vines, rapidly blocking every escape route.The Karatachi family's Kekkei Genkai.
Mizuchi didn't speak, didn't try anything.
His gaze flickered toward Sora, seeking orders or a plan.
But Sora had none to give.
There was no plan.
No escape.
"I won't let you leave so easily," Shinji said in a voice like ice.
Sora set his jaw tight.
Mizuchi swallowed hard, hand tightening nervously around his weapon. His stance showed it all: he didn't want a fight—he wanted to flee, but he couldn't anymore, Shinji wouldn't permit it.
- - -
Chakra weighed on the battlefield like the dense mist shrouding it. Shinji walked forward with calm deliberation, corals spreading at his feet, braced to respond in a flash. Yuki Sora knew he was at a disadvantage yet refused to surrender.
He rapidly formed a series of hand seals, triggering a frigid blast around him.
"Ice Release: Freezing Mist!"
The ground froze instantly, forming a slick layer that threatened anyone not used to balancing on ice.
Shinji didn't flinch. With a light gesture, he conjured more coral beneath his feet, anchoring himself for stability.
"Coral – Ascending Bulwark!"
Shards of translucent coral erupted upward, sealing off every escape route— but Sora had already dashed away.
Gliding gracefully over the ice, he manipulated the slippery footing as if it were his natural arena. With a swift hand motion, he summoned razor-edged shards of chilled air."Ice Release: Shards of Winter!"
They slashed at Shinji from every direction.
He parried with comparable speed.
"Repelling Coral Wall!"
A thick coral barrier rose to meet the assault, absorbing impact. Ice clung to it, creeping, seeking to freeze and shatter the coral.
In that instant, Sora lunged, brandishing a dagger of solid ice toward Shinji's throat.Shinji pivoted aside at the last second, but he didn't foresee Mizuchi's move.
Terror quickened every beat of Mizuchi's heart. Sora fought valiantly, clashing with Shinji, but Mizuchi never intended to join the fight. His priority was survival.
When he saw an opening, Mizuchi's body lunged on pure reflex. Drawing a kunai, he charged Shinji in a wild, desperate attack. The blade carved a shallow cut along Shinji's arm, hardly a scratch.
He didn't linger to see if it was enough.
He jumped back, shouting, "Sora! We have to reach her! Only she can stop him!"
Shinji hesitated, just for an instant. Sora noticed it immediately.
A biting wind exploded between them. Another heavy, freezing mist swept across the space.
Under its cover, Sora, dragging Mizuchi with him, vanished into the haze.
Shinji lunged forward, but when the ice-laced fog settled, they were already gone. He stood motionless, breath measured and shoulders tense, yet with no one left to fight. Coral spines dotted with lingering ice crystals slowly melted, leaving only traces of shattered frost.
He hadn't let them escape out of incapacity—he'd let them go because their words still resonated in his head.
Her.
Who were they trying so desperately to reach? Who was worth risking their lives?
His gaze shifted to Jun'ko, still wounded and unsteady.
He had another priority.
Turning his back on the deserted battlefield wasn't weakness or hesitation. At that moment, caring for Jun'ko mattered more than capturing two deserters.
He knew this was just the beginning.
[Thanks everyone specially Jayroy_63 ,Sami_Alfoheday, BagusPardana, thefarmerboy007_7, Darkosiris_Lopez, Alexx_Sejas, Werty_9247, RyuB201, shadowborn, Yasmin_Silva_3876, RyuB201, DaoistVVm1Vi, DaoistDW5XU4, Acnol,DaoistSEsItM,bndr, RyuB201, VanHellsing6969, Daoist710883, WertyTribola,GuyWithSomeInteres, LevinCloth, Daoist0thxiB, bndr, AKIB19,LevinCloth, DaoistAZmi17,Alexx_Sejas, Morgoph, Strandarn, Gothrog, Nonymous_H, Ikaro_Rodrigues, Radical_Hamburger1, Misteriboi, AKIB19, Syndulyr, Abdul_Salam_FASAMI,julii_garcia, averious, Storm2010,NathanBESH, Daoist9Sa84q, Gothrog, shadowborn, DarkGambit, Miguel_024 and Meltis_Pach!
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Sincerely Thanks and remember about the Power Stones, these are the motivation for my work :) ]