"A fraud?"
Omoshin turned around in confusion, his eyes wide with disbelief. "What on earth are you talking about? How could Lord Aoi possibly be a fraud?"
There was no turning back for Kiyomasa now. His face twisted into a vicious grimace as he gritted his teeth and shouted, "This man impersonated an official from the Mist Village! When his lie was exposed, he flew into a rage and murdered my subordinate!"
Kaneda's body lay on the ground, head severed from the torso — a sight that seemed to lend powerful proof to his words...
Hearing this, Omoshin began to have doubts. Lord Aoi is famously a peerless genius from the Leaf Village. Why would he ever pretend to be an official from the Mist?
And besides... not long ago, news spread that Lord Aoi had died in the Sand Village...
Thinking of this, Omoshin couldn't help but lower his head. I only caught a glimpse of him from a distance on the mountain top back then... could I really have mistaken someone else for him?
Seeing Omoshin's hesitation, Kiyomasa breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Just as I thought... he really is just a swindler...
"Guards! Seize him!"
At Kiyomasa's command, dozens of craftsman-ninjas surrounded Aoi, aiming all kinds of custom-forged weapons straight at him.
"Complete fools!"
Kiyomasa's arrogance and stupidity had finally ignited Aoi's fury. Since it had come to this, there was no longer any reason to hold back.
"Rat – Horse – Monkey – Horse – Rabbit!"
His sharp Kusanagi blade erupted with pale white lightning. The energy formed shapes like branching trees and emitted a cry like a screeching bird, piercing through every ninja who dared step close.
Crackle, crackle...
When the chirping sound of the Thousand Birds finally faded, over a dozen fresh bodies lay motionless on the ground...
"W-what kind of monster is this?!"
Kiyomasa's face was filled with pure terror as he scrambled backward. He had never in his life seen such a terrifying technique.
"Now look at the mess you've dragged me into." Omoshin let out a bitter laugh. You might mistake a face... but how could I ever forget that white lightning that brings death wherever it goes?
"You mean... he really is that genius, Aoi?!"
All traces of arrogance vanished instantly. Kiyomasa's legs gave way, and he collapsed onto the ground in a pitiful heap.
Thud... thud...
Holding the Kusanagi sword in hand, Aoi walked toward Kiyomasa step by step like the Grim Reaper. Before killing him, he didn't mind destroying his spirit completely first.
"Don't... don't kill me!"
Kiyomasa swallowed hard in panic, kicking his legs frantically on the ground, trying to crawl further away.
But no matter how fast he moved, the tip of the sword eventually caught up to his throat...
"Please... spare me!"
Realizing escape was impossible, Kiyomasa fell to his knees, snot and tears streaming down his face as he kowtowed repeatedly.
"I was wrong! I looked down on people! I didn't know who you were! Please, have mercy on this worthless life and let me go!"
Hearing this, Aoi sneered coldly. "You don't even understand what you did wrong!"
His mistake wasn't simply failing to recognize Aoi. It was that when things went wrong, he chose to vent his own mistakes and frustrations onto Aoi instead. The entire Land of Craftsmen suffered from this sick, distorted arrogance...
Aoi had only ever seen this kind of pride in one other group — the Uchiha clan, whose destruction was inevitable.
If even the mighty Uchiha fell because of it, this small nation of craftsmen wouldn't last much longer either...
And their destruction would begin here, with Kiyomasa!
The sword began to descend, ready to end his life — when suddenly, an angry voice rang out urgently...
"You boy! Halt!"
Someone else coming to interfere?
Aoi frowned deeply, but his hand did not slow down. If anything, he swung the blade faster, determined to finish Kiyomasa off.
This wasn't some drama or fairy tale — shouting "spare him" at the last second didn't change anything.
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