Naruto : Crimson wood

"Renji, are you okay?!"

Yuna Hoshizaki ran over, eyes wide as she took in the scene—Kiyoshi lying lifeless on the ground, and Akatsuki on the other side, his condition uncertain.

There was clear shock on her face.

"How… how did you manage that…?"

A first-level psychic defeating two third-level psychics.

And not just any two—one specialized in space abilities and the other in illusions, both notoriously hard to counter.

Yet here they were, defeated by Renji Takahashi.

It was… unbelievable.

"There was some luck involved," Renji replied vaguely, brushing it off as he walked toward Akatsuki's limp body nearby.

Kiyoshi was dead, but Akatsuki was still alive—trapped in a Genjutsu by his Sharingan.

"This guy's not dead yet. Maybe we can get some answers out of him."

This was the second time the Burning Fire Clan had ambushed them.

And judging from what Renji overheard earlier, both Kiyoshi and Akatsuki had come with one clear goal—kill him and Yuna.

But why?

Because they were students of Azure Dragon Academy?

Or was it something else?

Could the true target be Renji himself—son of Ryoji Takahashi—and Yuna just got caught in the crossfire?

Whatever the case, Akatsuki might have the answers.

SMACK!

Renji slapped Akatsuki across the face a few times to jolt him awake.

"...You?!"

Akatsuki blinked into awareness, groggy at first, but his eyes quickly snapped into focus when he saw Renji and Yuna.

Renji pressed a dagger to Akatsuki's throat and asked coldly, "Your allies are dead. You're the last one left. Why did you come to kill us? Tell me, and I might spare your life."

Akatsuki's eyes flicked toward Kiyoshi's corpse, then locked back on Renji with a dark glare.

"We underestimated you. Never thought you'd be strong enough to take down Kiyoshi."

"Answer the question!"

Renji pressed the blade slightly, drawing a thin line of blood from Akatsuki's neck.

"Kill me. No matter what you do, I won't talk."

Akatsuki's voice was calm. Defiant.

"That's fine. I have other ways."

Renji's eyes narrowed. The Sharingan spun into view.

Genjutsu: Illusion Technique.

Akatsuki's body went slack. His eyes dulled, slipping under the illusion's control.

"Tell me… why did you try to kill us? Who gave the order?"

Akatsuki murmured, voice monotone under the genjutsu's influence.

"We were ordered… to hunt you two down..."

"Who gave the order?"

"The organization…"

"Who's the leader of your organization? Are they behind the beast tides that attacked Azure City and Xiahai City?"

"Our leader is… is…"

Suddenly, Akatsuki's face contorted in agony. His body shook violently, resisting the illusion.

"AAAHHH—!"

He screamed, eyes rolled up into his head. His limbs stiffened, then went limp as he collapsed.

Dead.

Renji stared at the body, eyes narrowed.

"There must have been a failsafe illusion in his mind—something that triggered when he was about to leak sensitive info. It killed his consciousness the moment I got close."

Yuna shivered slightly at the thought. "That's… brutal. Someone planted a self-destruct program inside their heads?"

Renji sighed, shaking his head. "We were so close to getting the truth."

He hadn't expected a kill-switch illusion hidden deep in Akatsuki's mind.

Even if he had known, with his current level of ocular power, he wouldn't have been able to neutralize it in time.

Renji dropped Akatsuki's corpse.

"At least one thing is clear now—they were targeting both of us."

At first, he'd thought maybe only one of them was the real target, and the other just got dragged into it by association.

But no—it was a joint hit.

Yuna frowned, puzzled. "But why us? They're not even from Azure City. We've never interacted with them before…"

"Whatever the reason, we can't afford to stay here."

They didn't even know where they were right now. If more of the Burning Fire Clan showed up, things could get worse fast.

"This way—there's only one exit."

Yuna pointed toward a rusted iron door.

Renji raised a hand and struck the door hard. With a clang, it creaked open.

A rancid stench immediately assaulted them.

Outside was a dark, grimy underground sewer. Water flowed steadily along the center trench, turning sharply to the right up ahead.

Yuna recoiled and covered her nose, her face twisted in disgust. "Ugh… this has to be the City of Sin's sewer system."

Renji nodded. "That old man from Baishitong said the Burning Fire Clan had a base here. Makes sense that they'd hide it in a place like this. Let's regroup with Professor Sumiya first."

Bracing themselves, they moved forward, sticking to the narrow platforms on either side of the sewage stream.

Though the City of Sin sat deep in the desert, it clearly had no shortage of underground water.

Every few dozen meters, there was a metal door on either side of the sewer. Curious, Renji opened a few.

Behind them? Just sunken alcoves. Barely large enough to hold two people.

Odd. No tools, no supplies, just sealed rooms.

Was this for maintenance?

He tried another. Same result.

After about a dozen, he gave up. "Nothing useful here."

They continued walking.

Ten minutes passed.

Then—from around a bend up ahead—they heard voices.

Low whispers.

And footsteps. Lots of them.

"Someone's coming!" Renji hissed.

The footsteps were approaching rapidly. Too many to take head-on.

"Hide!"

Their only options: dive into the sewage—or use one of the side doors.

No contest.

Renji yanked open the nearest door, grabbed Yuna's hand, and squeezed them both inside—barely shutting it behind them just in time.

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