In all of her memories, her breasts had never had this kind of problem before! As for being pregnant, that was even more impossible!
"If I really had ill intentions toward you, do you think your so-called Mugen Tenshin clan could stop me? If I led a squad of heavily armed mercenaries to invade your village, do you think your ninja village could survive?"
Ryuji asked the question calmly.
'Kasumi' froze, then fell silent.
She hadn't been able to follow Ryuji's movements at all during their exchange. Within the Mugen Tenshin clan, she was already the strongest.
If even she couldn't see his attacks, then her injured brother Hayate certainly wouldn't be a match for him.
And if Ryuji really brought heavily armed mercenaries with him, then there truly wouldn't be able to stop him.
Everyone would die.
'Kasumi' bit her lip, but her body trembled even more violently.
Because if everything Ryuji had said was true, then she... she...
"Am I really a clone?"
'Kasumi' collapsed to her knees, her voice trembling with sobs. By this point, the surrounding customers had begun gathering around them, pointing and whispering among themselves.
Ryuji could hear words like "heartless bastard" and similar accusations being thrown around, and immediately realized they couldn't stay here any longer. So, he walked over to 'Kasumi' and under her stunned gaze, grabbed her by her clothes and hoisted her over his shoulder. Though she instinctively kicked and punched at him, he simply ignored it and carried her toward the exit.
Mai quickly followed behind him, and the two of them headed toward a more secluded area of the city.
Perhaps because there were so many martial arts dojos in this world, Japan had preserved its greenery quite well. Ryuji casually found a remote mountain area, and while heading there, he even had Mai stop and buy some barbecue ingredients.
It couldn't be helped.
He still hadn't eaten his fill.
As for 'Kasumi', she gradually calmed down. After Ryuji set her down on a large rock, she simply lay there, her eyes completely devoid of life.
Once she had realized she was a clone, more and more inconsistencies became apparent to her. In the end, she fully understood that she was not the real Kasumi at all, but merely a clone.
Those emotions she possessed.
Those memories.
All of them were fake. All of them were false.
Even if she gave up her life for those people, they would never regard her as Kasumi.
Because...
"Would the family of that woman named Kasumi be able to accept you?" Ryuji suddenly asked. "As a sister, perhaps?"
As he asked the question, he casually gathered some firewood in preparation for the barbecue.
'Kasumi' just smiled bitterly.
"The rules of the Mugen Tenshin clan are extremely strict. I possess the clan's highest secret techniques within my memories. According to the clan's rules, only one person in each generation is allowed to learn those techniques and that person is the leader of the Mugen Tenshin clan. Furthermore, members of the clan are not permitted to freely walk among ordinary humans. They must remain vigilant against demonic threats at all times. So, even if they were willing to acknowledge my existence, they will still come to kill me."
She sighed softly before continuing.
"Even the real Kasumi would be hunted down if she were discovered by Mugen Tenshin ninjas. If someone managed to bring back her head, it would be considered a great achievement, and no one would object. That's what it means to be a ninja. In fact, my purpose is probably to lure out their location and lead them to Kasumi so they could kill her... because Hayate will not show any mercy."
Although 'Kasumi' lacked many concrete memories of the Mugen Tenshin clan, she understood its rules with absolute clarity. Even the real Kasumi would be relentlessly pursued by countless ninjas.
And they would truly be trying to kill her.
As for a clone like herself, she belonged even more firmly in the category of people the clan would eliminate. Not only that, but she also possessed numerous secrets of the Mugen Tenshin clan, including secret techniques that only the clan leader could learn.
This makes it even more likely that she will die.
So, if Hayate and the others from the ninja village ever found her, she would surely die.
There would be no exceptions.
And if even an outsider like Ryuji could discover her true identity, then Hayate, her supposed brother, would certainly be able to do the same. More likely than not, they would use her until she had served her purpose, and once everything was over, grant her a quick death.
That was what Mugen Tenshin ninjas would do. More accurately, it was what virtually every ninja clan would do.
'Kasumi' slowly spoke, reciting the rules of the Mugen Tenshin clan.
After listening to all of it, Ryuji had only one thought.
"What kind of inhuman bastard came up with these rules?"
The words slipped out immediately.
Honestly, the only thing he could say about those rules was that if they had even the slightest resemblance to normal human behavior, they wouldn't look this utterly inhuman.
All Ryuji saw in them were the words cruel and inhuman.
To summarize:
Ninjas of the Mugen Tenshin clan had no freedom in marriage.
If twins were born, either one would be killed immediately, or the pair would be forced to fight each other upon reaching adulthood, with only one allowed to survive.
Because twins were considered an ill omen.
Mugen Tenshin ninjas were also forbidden from possessing worldly desires. They were never allowed to eat their fill and had to remain prepared to die at any moment.
And if the clan leader orders you to die, then you must die.
In short, even "inhuman" was an understatement.
"And you actually miss such a bastard village?"
But his question only earned him a look from 'Kasumi' that seemed to say Are you an idiot?
"Isn't that only natural? We were raised by the village. As ninjas, these are the sacrifices and contributions we're supposed to make for the village and for the Mugen Tenshin clan."
Ryuji fell silent for a moment. Then he reached out and touched 'Kasumi's' forehead, making sure she didn't have a fever. After confirming that she didn't, he asked:
"Does your ninja village have electricity and compulsory education?"
~~~~~~~~~~
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