Linto didn't exchange any words with the strange woman, directly summoning White Snake to read her memories.
This woman could be anyone.
But she was definitely not Ihamine Genya-ko.
Sizzle... Click!
Two memory discs popped out.
Linto picked up a memory disc.
This woman's real name was Nakagawa Rei, a relatively unknown theater actress.
Two months ago, someone found her and hired her for a large sum of money to impersonate Ihamine Genya-ko.
The other party provided all of Ihamine Genya-ko's background, daily habits, and even arranged her teaching content. As long as she followed the script, Nakagawa Rei would receive a high reward.
Nakagawa Rei didn't know why she had to impersonate a former courtesan, but no one would refuse money, so she kept acting until today, when she was hit by White Snake's big Kabuto.
Linto tossed the memory disc back.
This woman knew nothing.
Even the person who recruited her only contacted her via email, never showed their face, and never even made a phone call.
They wanted to evade "Hermit Purple's" tracking this way.
But... it was useless.
As long as there was a trace of karma, Linto would follow that thread of karma to find the past.
Perhaps to others, this ability was more terrifying than the Ring.
The search process is not worth recounting. It was nothing more than finding Li Si from Zhang San, then finding Wang Wu from Li Si, and so on, following the karma. Linto could always find the person who gave the final orders.
This was a common tactic used by the consortium when they opposed Linto.
Layered single-line connections meant that even if Linto could investigate, it would take a lot of time. They gambled that Linto couldn't investigate or kill them all.
But the arrangement before him was clearly not the style of those wealthy consortium old-timers.
It was too basic, too low-end.
While searching through the city, Linto felt a sense of oppression in Kolin City, whether it was an illusion or not.
Even though the sky was blue and the clouds white, and it was a rare oasis in the desert, walking through it felt suffocating.
If he felt this way, let alone the ordinary people living here.
Everyone had their heads down, walking silently, not saying a word. If Linto hadn't been able to sense their life force, he would have thought it was a dead city.
Before dusk, Linto found his target.
He walked to the door of a bar's private room and kicked it open.
Seven or eight young scions sat in the room, each with a woman in their arms, smoking. More than a dozen bottles of wine were open on the table. It was not even night yet, and these people were already half-drunk.
Seeing the door kicked open, Arima Yukito, who was sitting in the main seat, raised his hand and pointed, cursing:
"Damn it!"
The bodyguards sitting on both sides immediately stood up, drew knives and clubs from their waists, and rushed forward aggressively.
The one who cursed was the favorite youngest son of the Lord of Kolin City. Being able to hang out with this master was a blessing for them in eight lifetimes.
Five or six thugs rushed forward quickly, afraid of being slow and appearing not proactive enough.
With the economy so bad, if they couldn't satisfy their master, where would they find such good "thug" work in the future?
Two of them shoved their companions and rushed to the front, raising the clubs in their hands, ready to swing six times in a second to show their loyalty.
Suddenly, they froze in place.
The tips of two knives pressed against their chests.
One knife was not sharpened, and its blade was covered with an extremely fine ripple. Wherever the ripple touched, it could cut through metal like mud.
The other knife was made of thousands of tiny blades, each reflecting a terrifying cold light.
And the two wielding the knives, though still mere children, caused the thugs to tremble as they met their eyes.
They had never seen such terrifying eyes, like demons who had killed countless people.
Although Sasuke and Little Momo could show shy and kind smiles like children in front of familiar friends, they had been fighting on the front lines with the extermination army in the chaos of the Land of Water.
They had killed countless strong individuals.
As Sasuke and Little Momo took a step forward, the thugs retreated, step by step, until they could retreat no further and fell onto the sofa, their hands and feet feeling cold, unable to stand up.
After driving away the irrelevant people, Sasuke and Little Momo, holding their knives, stood on either side of the door.
Only then did the people in the private room react.
These two devil-like children were merely guards.
The main person had not yet arrived.
They looked towards the door and saw a young man of similar age with a cold and stern face walk in.
Kakashi stood guard outside the door.
Linto walked in and closed the door.
Click, it was locked.
Linto's gaze did not fall on anyone else; from the first second he entered the room, it was fixed on Arima Yukito. Linto saw unconcealable fear in his eyes.
"You recognize me."
A simple sentence shattered Arima Yukito's psychological defense.
He knelt on the ground with a "plop," tears streaming down his face: "Spare me! I really didn't... No, I did act, but..."
Linto had no intention of listening to his explanation.
White Snake appeared again.
This usually talkative Stand was unusually silent today.
White Snake grabbed Arima Yukito by the collar and punched him hard in the face.
A memory disc popped out, White Snake took out the memory disc and handed it to Linto.
After watching Arima Yukito's memories, all the clues finally came together—
After Ihamine Genya-ko arrived at Sunagakure Village, she began teaching. Her excellent teaching skills and attractive appearance made her noticed by many people.
Arima Yukito was among them.
Arima Yukito, upon hearing that she was Linto's friend and knowing that Akatsuki had revealed her past as a courtesan, developed a wicked idea. He wanted to capture her as a plaything to brag to his friends:
"I slept with Linto's friend, aren't I awesome?"
To achieve this goal, Arima Yukito ordered someone to send a letter inviting Ihamine Genya-ko to Kolin City to teach, setting up an ambush beforehand, intending to swap her out en route.
No one expected this woman to... escape!
From that day on, Arima Yukito used his power to launch a city-wide search and even secretly contacted the city's communication officer, demanding that all letters and phone calls be monitored.
He was afraid Linto would find him.
Originally, as long as he had Ihamine Genya-ko in hand, she could at least serve as a hostage, but now he hadn't caught her, and he might even be hunted down.
"This bastard searched for two months and still couldn't find Elder Sister Ihamine."
White Snake finally spoke:
"Look at his miserable state, he probably hasn't slept a good night's sleep in two months, always living in fear— Bah! Serves him right!"
Linto nodded.
Before Ihamine Genya-ko left, Linto gave her a few Ninjutsu discs. With proper coordination, she could indeed escape.
Linto threw the memory disc back.
Arima Yukito woke up, kneeling on the ground, daring not to speak.
Linto opened the door and waved his hand. A dozen intoxicated girls shivered and walked out. After they were gone, Linto took one last look at Arima Yukito and closed the door.
Arima Yukito looked around, swallowed, and stood up with the help of a bodyguard. He picked up a wine bottle and gulped down a large mouthful:
"I need to tell my old man that Linto is here. Damn it, I thought Linto was so amazing, but in the end, he didn't dare to touch me, nothing more... What's that sound?"
He asked the bodyguards, "Did you hear anything?"
The bodyguards shook their heads.
Arima Yukito remembered the information about Linto and concentrated his meager Chakra in his eyes and ears.
This time, he heard it clearly.
"The roasted chicken is about to be gone (looking at me)"
A palm-sized cart with a skull on it lay at Arima Yukito's feet, and the voice came from within.
Boom—
A violent explosion occurred.
The seven people inside all died.
Linto killed them not only because of Ihamine Genya-ko. These young scions, relying on their fathers' status, had undoubtedly killed countless innocent people. Arima Yukito's memories clearly stated this.
Linto wouldn't have known if he hadn't investigated, but now that he did, he naturally wouldn't let them go.
The withered skeletal cart returned to the Killer Queen's backhand.
Little Momo was using a foxtail grass as a cat toy to play with Killer Queen.
Killer Queen looked at Little Momo with the expression of someone caring for an idiot. It seemed to think of the other's tragic past and still kept a stern face, waving its hand to catch the foxtail grass desultorily.
Linto stood on a bridge, watching the last ray of sunset sink into the small river.
Kakashi asked, "The intelligence line is broken."
"Yes."
Linto took out a Polaroid camera. After a few seconds of waiting, another dark photo appeared.
"Where is she?"
...
The last ray of twilight fell, and in the darkness, a pair of bright eyes opened.
A moment later, a second, a third, a fourth...
More than fifty pairs of clear black and white eyes appeared in the darkness.
Whoosh—
A match was lit.
Ihamine Genya-ko shielded the flame and lit a candle. The candlelight illuminated the underground warehouse.
She turned, holding the candlestick.
More than fifty pairs of eyes fell on her, filled with trust and pursuit.
After several months apart, Ihamine Genya-ko's fair skin had turned tan. There was a faint scar on her left cheek, and she had lost weight, but not in a weak way; she looked stronger and more robust.
"Everyone."
Ihamine Genya-ko raised the candlestick.
"Tonight is the time to act—"
"To save Kolin City."
---
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