Chapter 167: The Veil of Illusion
Noriaki moved with cold precision—every parried strike, every measured step seemed not only effective, but weightless.
Borei attacked with determination, but every slash was redirected, every gust of wind dispersed into the air thick with lightning.
Noriaki reflected in silence, his expression betraying nothing.
This situation has spiraled beyond control. I can't complete this mission without too much bloodshed.I'll have to eliminate all witnesses.But first... I'll need to torture someone. Find out where these shinobi come from.
His pupils followed Borei's swift movements, anticipating them as though he could read the boy's muscles.
Another attack.Blocked.
I doubt they're from Konoha.
His sword spun effortlessly between his fingers, more fluid now.
Even though all the signs would suggest it…
The next strike was heavier—A lunge, charged with chakra.
ZAAAP!
"Raiton: Raikage-ryū – Kaminari Ken!"(雷遁・雷剣, Lightning Release: Blade of Thunder)
An explosion of electrical energy surged through Borei's body, lifting him off the ground.He was hurled backward, crashing against a stone wall that collapsed under the force of impact.
Noriaki stood still, his sword lowered, his breathing only slightly elevated.
Then he turned—First toward Hokujin.Then toward Kagerō.
His eyes narrowed.There was… something off.
- - -
The clash of battle felt distant now.
Kagerō stared at Noriaki.
The look of someone observing a predator—A predator who had never once needed to watch his own back.
And yet…
To think Borei was right all along…
The plan had moved like a silent mechanism.No one had noticed a thing.Not even Noriaki.
Good… we placed the seals exactly where he instructed.
- - – The Day Before - - -
The inside of the hut was lit only by the flickering glow of a candle.
Borei sat composed, eyes fixed on a map of the village.
His tone was calm, yet firm.
"We must not let the village know who we are or where we come from.""We'll use only techniques common to all villages.""No Kekkei Genkai."
Kagerō crossed his arms."But that way we'll never beat Noriaki."
Borei looked up, his expression impassive.
"We won't defeat him anyway if we don't eliminate the other shinobi first."
With an open hand, he traced a line across the map, marking the central square.
"I'll keep him busy. In the confusion, and with the element of surprise, you'll take them all out. Silently."
Kagerō hesitated."Are you sure you can stall him for that long?"
Hokujin's voice broke the silence."Even if we kill all the other shinobi… once it's time to face Noriaki, all three of us together…""Won't we have to use everything we've got? Won't the villagers figure it out?"
Borei didn't answer.He stood.
He unrolled a sealed scroll and pulled out four smaller scrolls.He tossed two of them to Kagerō and Hokujin.
"Once you've wiped them out, form a perimeter with these.""One in each corner."
Then, he showed how to activate the symbol with the palm of his hand.
"Once activated, no one outside will be able to see what's happening inside."
In that moment, the air in the room changed.
The plan had begun.
- - - Return to the Present - - -
Kagerō brushed his hand against the inner pocket of his robe.
He could feel the weight of the scroll.He could also feel certainty.
"We're exactly where he predicted we'd be."
Noriaki had sensed the shift.His eyes were no longer just cold.
They were wary.
Kagerō moved his foot slightly.A signal.
Hokujin caught it.
The second phase of the plan was ready to begin.
Borei saw the signal.
It was time.
To any outsider watching the square, it would have seemed like nothing remained but rubble and ruin—Of the four ninja, there was no trace.
Noriaki looked up at the three.
His gaze showed no tension, only a cold, calculated determination.
"Once I'm done with you..."
His voice dropped,like the whisper before a storm.
"...I'll raze this village to the ground. Every home. Every face. Every word. But first… I'll rip every last piece of information from your bones."
With a swift motion, he activated the seals tattooed along his body.
A new surge of energy erupted around him.
Lightning slithered across his arms.His entire figure trembled like an afterimage, as if his body had become a shadow tethered by light.
An instant later—he was gone.
He appeared before Hokujin, silent as death.
His hand clamped around Hokujin's throat with brutal force, lifting him off the ground.
Kagerō moved on instinct, his hand already forming seals—
But it was too late.
Noriaki was already twisting Hokujin's neck, a savage grin stretching across his face.
CRACK—
No.
The sound never came.
Hokujin's body began to liquefy, melting through Noriaki's fingers like fog under sunlight.
A second later, he reformed several meters away, brushing off his shoulders with a grin.
"Heh heh... you almost had me!"
Noriaki's eyes widened—just for a moment—surprised.
"Hōzuki…"
In that instant, the figure of Shōgeki dissolved.
In his place stood a boy barely older than a teenager, wearing an ANBU mask, with blue eyes sharp as freshly forged steel.
Borei.
Noriaki observed the scene with a twisted smile, lightning still crackling around his fingers.
"So you're from Kirigakure..."
A harsh laugh escaped his throat.
"Uahahaha... good. At least now I don't have to worry about Konoha retaliating."
But Borei spoke.
His voice was clear and cutting.
"You're wrong."
He stepped forward.
His eyes were no longer those of an infiltrator.
They were the eyes of an executioner.
"This is a sentence. And if we're no longer hiding..."
He paused.
"...it's only because we're certain you won't leave this place alive."
The words fell like stones.
Then Borei pulled a sealed scroll from his cloak.With a fluid motion, he unrolled it, a symbol lighting up across the parchment.
A flash of smoke.
From the scroll emerged a tanto, straight and cold, its blade sharp as the wind that had forged it.
Hokujin did the same.From his scroll rose Hiramekari, the twin-edged sword, gleaming and alive with chakra.
Kagerō unrolled his scroll in silence.From within came Shibuki, the explosive sword, its weight an unspoken threat.
The Kirigakure trio was complete.
The clash of steel erupted across the stones of the square.
Borei was the first to move—A precise thrust with the tanto, the blade crackling with Wind chakra, aimed straight for Noriaki's chest.
Noriaki sidestepped, his lightning blade clashing against Borei's in a shower of sparks.
But Hokujin was already at his back.
A low, fast horizontal slash with Hiramekari.
Noriaki ducked—just barely—
But he didn't see Kagerō.
From above, Shibuki came down like a hammer.
BOOM.
A detonation erupted at the edge of the blade, forcing Noriaki backward, his body engulfed in smoke and flame.
When he reemerged, his cloak was torn, the chakra around him unstable.
His eyes were still sharp—But for the first time,They were no longer cold.
They were calculating.
He hadn't expected this.
Every strike was just a trap for the next.Every opening he tried to create was sealed by a second attacker.
Hokujin flowed like water—liquid and unpredictable.Kagerō filled the gaps with targeted explosions, each attack a double threat.And Borei…
Borei was the center.The guide.The rhythm.
"You thought yourselves invisible in the mist..." Noriaki growled, blocking another strike.
"But you're nothing but organized insects."
"Insects… who are tearing you apart," Hokujin hissed, as his blade grazed Noriaki's ribs.
A straight strike from Kagerō.A burst of vapor ignited into the air.
Noriaki leapt back, landing hard.
His breathing was now heavier.His chakra dimming.
I can't keep this up much longer…The messenger should reach Kumo within hours.Reinforcements… two days at most.I have to retreat.
- - -
"You're slowing down," Borei said flatly.
Noriaki glared at him, but Borei gave him no respite.
"Those seals you use... they're nothing but a poor imitation of the Raikage's Raiton."
Noriaki's face tightened.
But Borei continued—merciless.
"Shōgeki gave me more trouble than you."
One sentence.Just one.
But it was enough to ignite Noriaki's pride.
He lunged forward, blinded by rage, his lightning chakra bursting like a whip of raw energy.
But his strike hit nothing.
Borei had already slipped to the side.
And waiting there—
Hokujin.
And behind him—
Kagerō.
A shockwave of chakra engulfed the center of the square.
When the light faded—
Noriaki was on his knees.Wounded.Alone.
His body trembled.The lightning chakra that had enveloped him for minutes now flickered erratically, unstable.His sword slipped from his hand, clattering against the blood-stained stones of the square.
It can't end like this…
The thought burned more than his wounds.
The rumors… that Kirigakure had grown weak…They were all lies.
A ragged groan escaped him, blood dribbling from his mouth.
They're raising monsters… worse than Konoha.
He barely lifted his gaze, vision red and blurry—And he saw Borei, walking through the crimson haze of his dying sight.
A boy.Still just a boy.
But with eyes that had already seen war.
I need to warn Dodai… I need to—
The thought ended the moment Borei's blade pierced his chest.
A precise strike.Silent.Ruthless.
Noriaki didn't scream.He didn't even have the time.
His body collapsed forward.
The commander was dead.
For a moment, there was only silence.
The mist slowly lifted, the scrolls still active, blocking the light from entering.
Borei stood, sheathing his blade without a word.
Behind him, Hokujin raised an eyebrow as he stared at the corpse.
"Well… that was easier than expected."
Kagerō didn't respond.He remained still, breath slow, eyes locked on Noriaki's lifeless body.
Inside, he thought:
It was easy, yes…
But all thanks to Borei's strategy.
Cold.Calculating.Always three moves ahead.
He glanced sideways at Borei.
The boy didn't even seem to be sweating.
I wonder where the Mizukage found him...And why… I've never heard his name before.
[ Sorry guys, these day will be very busy, i'll recover with double releases if i miss some dayly release, i hope to post the chapter from yesterday this saturday ^.^
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