At Shigeo's words, Jinshi and Wumang froze.
Before they could react, the two Yasha twins moved with blinding speed, kunai flashing as they stabbed toward the backs of both men.
"Attacking behind my back? You think I'm not here?!" Shigeo's voice rang cold with fury.
In an instant, he vanished and reappeared midair—two swift kicks sent the twins flying, slamming them into a nearby tree. Blood splattered as they fell to the ground.
Black rods materialized in Shigeo's hands.
With a flick, he thrust both forward—each rod piercing clean through the twins' chests.
Jinshi and Wumang stepped back in alarm.
To think that the people Shigeo chose to spare earlier possessed such monstrous ability—it was terrifying to witness.
The red and black Yasha twins writhed on the ground, clutching their chests. "Wh-what is this? Hyūga Shigeo, listen—you and your village will never escape Akatsuki's vengeance!"
Moments ago, they had spoken in mocking tones.
Now, perhaps from the pain or fear, their voices reverted to that of ordinary young men.
Shigeo approached them slowly.
They tried to crawl backward, trembling, eyes wide. "S-stay back! We're not afraid of you!"
Those who fear pain always fear death—unless cornered, with no escape, forcing themselves forward through desperation.
But these two did have a way out. Shigeo had offered them a choice: serve Nanmo, and the pain would stop immediately.
Yet they persisted in defiance.
The only question was—how long could they endure?
Step by step, Shigeo drew closer. He reached down and tore away their masks.
Before everyone's eyes appeared two boys—fifteen or sixteen at most.
Jinshi and Wumang blinked in surprise.
"They're just kids? I thought they were grown men!"
The twins had disguised their voices and hidden behind masks, giving the illusion of age and menace.
Now revealed, their youthful faces—handsome, almost angelic—seemed anything but threatening.
Their tone shifted too. Gone was the bravado. Fear now tinged every word.
"W-what are you doing? We'll never follow you!"
"Really?" Shigeo's eyes darkened. His pale blue irises deepened into a cold, dark blue hue.
As his pupils changed, agony erupted again in their hearts.
The pain was hellish—an endless plunge into torment they'd never imagined.
"All right! We give up! We'll join Nanmo!" one of them gasped, trembling.
Instantly, the pain in his chest vanished.
The other glanced at his brother, then clutched his own heart. "I… I swear as well! I'll follow you, Shigeo-sama!"
Shigeo placed his palms atop their heads. They flinched, but there was nowhere to run.
Their memories poured into his mind like a flowing film reel.
The two brothers had come from the northern marshlands of the Land of Swamps.
As children, they'd trained under a man called Lord Fuji, mastering ninjutsu before wandering the world.
After offending Iwagakure's Anbu, they were hunted down and forced into exile. They fled into Amegakure, where they encountered Pain and Konan—and joined Akatsuki.
In the short span of three months, they had completed more than ten S-rank missions for the organization, amassing over a hundred million ryō.
Recently, Pain had ordered them to capture the One-Tail in Sunagakure.
They stormed the village, only to find the Jinchūriki already gone.
Following the trail, they reached Konoha, concealing themselves while gathering intelligence.
When Orochimaru began the Konoha Crush Plan, they took the chance to attack Shigeo directly.
Now, Shigeo knew everything.
He withdrew his hands. The twins, drenched in sweat, stared at him in horror.
"Y-you—!"
Even during the psychic probe, they had glimpsed flashes of Shigeo's essence—his monstrous chakra, the tailed beasts within him, the unimaginable depth of his power.
A suffocating darkness had engulfed them—vast as the universe, devouring everything in its path.
It was pure terror, infinite and inescapable.
Trembling, the younger twin—the one who had worn the red Yasha mask—managed to whisper, "What… was that?"
Shigeo's lips curled into a cold smile. "Do you want to find out?"
His eyes turned crimson—Sharingan spinning.
The twins dropped instantly into illusion.
In endless darkness, rows of jagged teeth surrounded them, snapping hungrily.
They were as insignificant as ants—one wrong move, and they would be devoured.
The stench of blood thickened the air. They darted aside using Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique), barely avoiding being bitten apart.
Then, two enormous scarlet eyes appeared, filling the void. Their gaze was death itself.
Nowhere to hide. No escape. Only dread.
The darkness closed in from all directions—until their consciousness dissolved into nothing.
When they awoke, their bodies trembled uncontrollably. The illusion had ended—but the fear still lingered.
They collapsed to their knees before Shigeo.
"Shigeo-sama," they said in unison, heads bowed low, "we swear eternal loyalty to you! Our lives are yours!"
"What are your names?" he asked.
"I am Jyakin."
"I am Magu."
The twins lowered their heads again in reverence.
Shigeo nodded, drawing a scroll from his cloak.
He summoned their confiscated instruments—the Nigenkin (Two-String Koto) and the Magudaiko (Magic Drum)—and handed them back.
"Since you now serve Nanmo, these belong to you again," he said evenly. "But if you need to train, go to the southern coast. Don't disturb the villagers."
"Yes, Shigeo-sama!"
As he turned to leave, the twins called after him, hesitating.
"Shigeo-sama… that illusion—what was it we saw?"
They specialized in genjutsu through sound.
Even they could tell that vision hadn't come from a normal illusion, but from something deeper—something that seemed to emanate from Shigeo himself.
He paused, glancing back with an unreadable expression.
"Jūbi no Ishiki." (Ten-Tails' Consciousness.)
Then, in a blur, he was gone.
The twins exchanged a look. They didn't understand what "Ten-Tails" meant.
But the memory of that endless darkness and devouring terror haunted them.
They bowed toward the village hall, murmuring quietly before following Jinshi to their new quarters.
From that day onward, the Demonic Duo of Jyakin and Magu became shinobi of the Nanmo Ninja Village.
In the days that followed, Shigeo devoted himself to rebuilding and training the village.
He restructured Nanmo's barrier and guard systems, ensuring every defense was stronger than before.
Nanmo was now fully open to the world—a young nation bursting with new life, growing and evolving at a breathtaking pace.
(End of Chapter)
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