Shigeo knocked and entered without waiting.
"This tiny village has painters? That's unexpected."
He stepped into the yard and knocked on the door. "Excuse me. Anyone home?"
He heard voices inside. The sound stopped as soon as he appeared. After a moment the door opened. A girl in a simple purple kimono stood there. "May I help you?" she asked.
Her voice was soft and timid. She reminded him of Hozuki Tsukiya from the Konoha joint Chūnin Exams—she looked harmless but could kill with a single water drop.
At that moment Shigeo understood everything. If he did not already know the Hokage plotlines, this girl might have fooled him. But he knew those stories too well.
This girl was the so-called greatest genjutsu master in the shinobi world. She could change reality with her brush and manipulate a target's five senses. Her name was Yakumo.
"If you have no business, please leave," Yakumo said. She looked fragile but was ruthless at heart and headstrong by nature.
Shigeo believed she did not know him. Or rather, they had never met before.
This place was an island far from Konoha. How would a frail girl come here to paint and harm people? It was obvious this had direct links to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"I'm here for a cup of water," Shigeo said, then strode in without waiting for permission and sat boldly in a chair.
The room was piled with paintings. All of them were scenes of the Uzushio Village ruins. One matched exactly the dream he'd had last night—lava, shattered Uzushio Village.
He'd heard genjutsu didn't work on unconscious victims. That matched what he'd seen. If she wanted him dead she could have struck while he slept. She attacked Akahana only after Akahana woke. So Yakumo's painted genjutsu could not be applied to people while they slept.
Another limit was environmental familiarity. Why did she only attack when Shigeo appeared at the Uzushio ruins? Because her field sketches contained only that scene and him placed inside it. Only then could she quickly draw herself into the painting and strike.
The attack on Akahana in the tree hollow outside the Forest of Death likely came from accurate intelligence provided by Konoha's ANBU.
Yakumo could make painted events real and control five senses. But painting takes time. Her art was suited to staged assassinations where she knew the setting, not sudden frontline combat.
An old man stood in the corner. He looked alert, as if hiding something behind him. They thought Shigeo knew nothing and still tried to cover facts.
Shigeo snorted coldly. His Rinnegan flared. He extended a finger. Banshō Ten'in (All-Things Heavenly Pull).
The old man was yanked aside. The hidden painting at his back was sucked into Shigeo's hand. The portrait of Shigeo was only half finished. The paint was still wet. Another completed painting showed him wearing the tunic torn by the earlier Ranton strike.
Could a mismatch in the target's clothing stop her assassination? No wonder he was safe in Nanmo Ninja Village. Without knowledge of surroundings and attire she could not perform the technique.
So she had been suggesting his coming to the ruins through the dreams. When he refused she harmed his subordinates to coerce him here. Only in that specific scene could she use her brush to strike.
Here, among ruins, even if he died Konoha could avoid blame by pointing to the historical ruins. Without him Nanmo would collapse.
Too bad for them. He knew the script.
"Yakumo. Who sent you to kill me?" he asked.
They were trapped. With time on his side he would interrogate them thoroughly.
"I don't know what you mean. I'm just a student who likes field sketches. This is my hometown. I came back to see my grandfather. What's wrong with that?" Yakumo said lightly, as if it had nothing to do with her.
Shigeo smiled and glanced at the old man. "I'll give you two a chance. Tell the truth. Or don't blame me for being ruthless."
Yakumo rolled her eyes, then moved toward the table and reached for the brush.
Shigeo had no intention of bargaining. Sometimes genjutsu could prevent ninjutsu. Though he had the upper hand in taijutsu, he didn't want to waste time on a little girl.
Flames sprang up. Shigeo burned her brush and turned, setting the paintings alight. The canvases fell into the blaze.
"What are you doing?" Yakumo shouted.
"I already told you once," Shigeo said. He reached out and seized her.
The old man lunged. Though age had slowed him, he was a shinobi. Kunai flashed as he stabbed at Shigeo. Shigeo extended his palm and used Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push).
The man flew through the wall and was knocked unconscious outside. Hidden ANBU swarmed from a distance and attacked the hut. Earth, water, and fire jutsu struck from different directions. The cabin was blasted apart. A dozen ninjutsu pressed in on the two inside.
They'd revealed themselves.
Shigeo's gaze hardened. With a twist he had Yakumo in his other hand. He formed a single seal. "Rinnegan. Fūin Kyūin (Sealing Attraction)!"
All incoming jutsu were absorbed. He frowned and pushed hard. Dozens of Jiton (Magnet Release) metal spikes erupted around him. "Kill."
Normally he might show patience. Today they used Yakumo. He would not waste words.
His pale blue Rinnegan shimmered with a cold light. He lowered his head and looked at the girl in his hand. His voice was ice. "No need for you to say anything."
Rinnegan inner-layer dive.
All her memories flooded into Shigeo's mind.
In a mountain villa outside Konoha the Third Hokage appeared in Yakumo's sight. "Yakumo, if you kill him I will tell you who killed your parents."
"Agreed. It's a promise."
(End of Chapter)
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