Chapter 21: Why Must the Weak Kill One Another?

Kozaburo fled into the dense forest behind the cave.

He leaned against the trunk of a thick tree, gasping for air. Disgusting sweat streamed down his back and from both his armpits. Blood wept from Kozaburo's eyes, and his mouth was stained crimson. The old man felt his body heavy as lead; as he wiped the blood away with the back of his hand, he glared at his pursuer with the expression of a wretched demon.

The continuous, overloading activation of his control techniques tortured his nervous system. Enduring the agonizing pain, he felt his arms and fingertips gradually lose all sensation.

"Why do you persist... Shinobi? We are both weaklings. What reason is there for us to fight?"

The effect of the high-level invisibility charm was pierced by the old man’s right eye, which burned like a will-o'-the-wisp.

"We have no deep-seated grudge. Why do you hound me so relentlessly?"

Hyakusuke did not reply; he simply threw several shuriken at the old man. The anti-curse barrier could not block physical attacks, but from Kozaburo's sleeves, paper charms flew out like swallows, slicing the shuriken in mid-air.

"You want to achieve glory? That is impossible. The Kurohime Mountain clan merely treats you as a consumable. You will spend your entire life wallowing among the ninja... One day, you will die fighting a demon, or perhaps in some other pointless struggle."

As he unleashed his psychological assault, he manipulated the charms to attack.

"The strong are used to fooling us. They speak of loyalty, honor, and integrity... it is all worthless shit. Those who hold power never care for such things; these concepts are merely used to tame low-level weaklings like you and me."

Hyakusuke ignored the drivel. Drawing his blade with one hand, he slashed through the incoming charms one after another. The paper, hardened to be tougher than iron, sparked upon colliding with his ninja sword.

With a sharp *crack*, the blade succumbed to the stress and snapped in two.

"Rotten steel..."

He discarded the useless broken blade.

Meanwhile, the deflected charms, as if possessing a will of their own, did not abandon their mission; they were simple, man-made shikigami. The fluttering paper talismans did not fall to the ground due to gravity but drifted through the air, slowly circling behind him to strike again.

Hyakusuke leaped toward a tree to dodge. The charms circled like swallows in the air, then shot back toward his back.

*Substitution Charm.*

Hyakusuke activated a substitution charm behind him. A wooden, doll-like object appeared at his back, acting as a human shield that blocked the charms as they transformed into flying blades.

Taking advantage of this opening, he lunged out and thrust his spear toward the old man, who was busy pulling out more charms. The old man’s face turned grim, and he retreated to avoid the spearhead.

Hyakusuke pursued, but as he took a step forward, the ground beneath him turned into a mire. His right foot sank instantly into the liquefied earth.

"Don't you understand? Loyalty and duty are illusions. Weaklings like us will eventually be discarded by those people..."

The old man continued his attempt to shake his resolve.

"Run away with me. I will find a way to remove the curse upon you. Leave the Kurohime Mountain clan, and you can secure a much broader life."

Only then did Hyakusuke notice an extra charm on the ground—hidden at the spot where the old man had stepped with his wooden clog.

"Damn it."

Thinking on his feet, he used his long spear to brace himself against the solid ground, then channeled spiritual energy through his left foot to leap away like a pole-vaulter.

*...Die.*

The old man spat the curse. The charms in his hand connected head-to-tail, bonding together into a long whip that swept out sharply.

"Damn it."

With almost no room to maneuver in mid-air, Hyakusuke could only draw a second ninja sword with one hand.

*Swish!*

Miraculously, he drew his blade and swung in mid-air, cutting the "whip" with lightning speed, though his sword shattered in the process.

Hyakusuke landed on the ground. His movements flowed seamlessly; he tossed aside the useless broken steel and, with one hand, unfastened a smoke bomb from his belt, smashing it into Kozaburo's face. Even the cunning old man had not anticipated this move.

"Agh!"

The smoke bomb exploded directly on his face, and the old man let out a shriek. However, he was quickly swallowed by a flash and an explosion. Amidst the sound of the blast, thick smoke billowed out from Kozaburo as the center.

Hyakusuke did not hesitate to grab his spear, thrusting it like lightning toward the blurred silhouette in the smoke. The tip clearly struck something—no, it was caught by something.

Hyakusuke felt a jolt of shock as he saw five-colored venomous snakes coiling up the shaft of the spear. Five snakes of different hues opened their mouths, lunging to bite the hands that held the weapon.

"Damn it."

Some other bizarre technique!?

Hyakusuke threw the snake-entangled spear aside. At the same time, he lunged into the fog and threw several shuriken; a muffled grunt came from the old man within the mist.

He charged at his target, gripping a rod-shaped shuriken in his right hand, and tackled the position where Kozaburo stood.

His right hand thrust forward, but at the very instant he was about to strike, a hand reached out and grabbed Hyakusuke’s right wrist tightly.

"What?"

It was the old man’s once-withered left hand, now bulging with veins; he had channeled all his spiritual energy into enhancing his physical strength.

"I cannot see or hear now," Hyakusuke saw a twisted smile on the old man's lips.

The close-range explosion of the smoke bomb had rendered the old man deaf and blind.

"I cannot even sense where you will attack from, but as long as you are close, I can perceive you through spiritual energy."

With a sickening crunch, the old man squeezed, snapping the bones in his wrist.

"Checkmate."

Exactly.

Hyakusuke endured the agony of his broken wrist. His left hand moved rapidly; the broken blade, still coated in spider silk, returned to his grip. With a swift motion, the blade slashed across the old man’s throat, and blood sprayed out.

"You..."

As if drained of all strength, Kozaburo released his grip and fell to his knees.

"We are... the same... Why do we, such weaklings..."

The old man spat out bloody foam, murmuring to himself, his expression one of confusion.

"...have to engage in this... meaningless... slaughter of one another?"

The sacred, cursed orb clutched in his right hand rolled onto the ground.

Hyakusuke remained silent, staring at the corpse as it slowly stiffened.

He had nothing to say, nor could he answer. In the end, it was an answerless question.

...

"Congratulations."

Ten days later, while still recovering from his injuries, Hyakusuke was summoned by a high-ranking member of the ninja organization.

"Hyakusuke, you handled this matter excellently."

The speaker was the leader of the ninja group. He was a young man dressed in white as pure as snow, his long black hair falling to cover one eye, while the other glinted with the luster of a crystal.

Through the thin sunlight piercing the shoji screen, light fell upon him. Hyakusuke looked up, gazing at the leader.

The youth was named "Sako Takayuki," the eldest son of the Sako family, one of the Six Branches. His appearance was strikingly beautiful; his forehead, brows, and bridge of his nose were as pale as if covered in snow, and his features were deep, possessing an androgynous beauty.

"You are too kind, Lord Takayuki."

He maintained a humble attitude before the young leader.

"I merely performed a trivial task. Moreover, all of this was due to the capable command of Lord Saizo."

"No, no."

Sako Takayuki smiled slightly. "Even the clan head was very pleased to hear of this. After all, the practitioner you killed was a renowned rebel, a member of the 'Eight Blessings Society' wanted by the Imperial Court."

A smile played on his lips.

"That man, Kozaburo—on his back was a tattoo of the 'Eight Blessings Society.' It was a tattoo carved with sorcery, which cannot be faked. I presume those 'Hidden Lattice' fellows from the Imperial Court will find no fault in this..."

—The *Hidden Lattice* were secret agents affiliated with the Imperial Court, tasked with guarding the Kinki region, centered on Kyoto. It was a group comprised of high-level sorcerers, demon-slaying swordsmen, and Onmyoji loyal to the Court. It was teeming with masters, rivaling the long-standing Onmyo-ryo.

The primary work of the Hidden Lattice agency was to collect intelligence across various regions, investigate the status of ley lines, and guard against the movements of demons.

Of course, their most important role was to monitor and control the prestigious demon-slayer clans scattered across the island nation. Simply put, they were the equivalent of the Edo Shogunate's *Oniwaban*.

The Imperial Court was highly vigilant toward the powerful demon-slayer clans. To prevent rebellion, the construction of the Hidden Lattice was crucial. These agents infiltrated the Sixty-odd Provinces of the Five Home Provinces and Seven Circuits, stationing personnel everywhere to spy on secrets and snuff out the embers of insurrection.

The "Eight Blessings Society," a secret group composed of heretical sorcerers and those who had committed taboos—scorned by mainstream demon-slayers as practitioners of "Outer Paths"—was a target of Imperial pursuit and the very group the Hidden Lattice had been investigating.

Yet, for years, neither the Court nor the Hidden Lattice had made any headway in this pursuit.

The fact that the Kurohime Mountain clan had managed to uncover clues was enough to make the Hidden Lattice look severely incompetent in this matter.

"One more thing."

The leader, Sako, seemed to recall something and said with a displeased expression: "The orb you and Saizo confiscated—after the people at the Institute of Crafts analyzed it, it broke halfway through... These people are truly outrageous; they even tried to push the responsibility onto the ninja group afterward. Remember this: from now on, say that you know nothing of the matter and that the orb was intact when it was handed over."

"I understand."

Hyakusuke nodded.

*Did the cursed orb break? Perhaps it was merely a prototype and could not be sustained for long...*

"Never mind, let’s not dwell on that."

Sako Takayuki shook his head and added: "In any case, you have performed a great service, and as the leader of the ninja, I am very pleased. Furthermore, the clan head has ordered me to reward you... Therefore, I have decided to promote you to Chunin."