The "dead" ninja they had just killed began to twitch. Their bodies twisted unnaturally as if pulled by invisible strings. The lifeless green glow returned to their eyes, brighter than before—unnatural, eerie, alive yet not.
On their foreheads, crimson flame-shaped markings spread down to their necks and hands.
"It's a curse mark…" Shigeo said firmly. "And they're not revived—they're death soldiers."
He was certain. He and Itachi had killed them moments ago. Their hearts no longer beat, their blood had stilled—but whatever moved now was no longer human.
Itachi turned, eyes sharp, ready for battle.
The two hundred corpses charged again, faster and stronger, the curse seals amplifying their strength tenfold.
"Finish them in one strike!" Shigeo commanded.
"Understood!" Itachi replied.
Both leapt upward. Shigeo unleashed Fūton: Senpū Ranbu (Wind Release: Thousand Wind Chaos Blades)—a storm of invisible blades slicing through the horde.
Itachi followed with Katon: Gōenka (Fire Release: Great Flame Ball), burning the shredded remains to ash.
No matter what ninjutsu the reanimated corpses tried, inside that chamber they stood no chance. The duo's coordination was flawless. Within moments, all two hundred were annihilated, their fragments burned away in cleansing fire.
Without pause, the two entered the newly revealed corridor.
The howling wind outside faded. Only the faint crackle of distant fire followed them as they descended deeper into the labyrinth, winding through twists and drops until it felt like they were walking into the castle's underbelly.
Then—
"Uuuh… uuuh…"
A faint sob echoed from the depths.
They halted. Itachi exchanged a look with Shigeo.
He nodded. The tunnel forked ahead.
"Help! Help me!" came another cry, this time a man's voice from the right-hand path. The earlier sobbing had been female.
"I'll take this way. Be careful," Shigeo said, pointing toward the male voice.
Itachi nodded and vanished down the other path.
Shigeo recognized that voice—it was Honglin, one of his subordinates.
He hurried forward. In a dim stone chamber ahead, Honglin lay on the ground, gasping weakly. A gaping wound hollowed his chest; blood pulsed through trembling fingers.
Shigeo knelt, lifted him, and pulled out a vial. "You'll be fine," he said, injecting the Repair Serum into his arm.
Honglin grimaced. "Lord Shigeo… there's a man named Nakagawa Nakaizumi contacting the Five Great Shinobi Villages. He's planning to destroy Nanmoku. I followed him here. This island—it's cursed."
"I understand." Shigeo infused chakra into Honglin, stabilizing his pulse.
Though his heart muscle was damaged, Shigeo's medical ninjutsu kept him alive.
Nakaizumi? And the Five Great Villages?
Five years ago, someone had forged his name to declare war on all five nations. Only Konoha had responded militarily; the others blustered but stayed their hand. Since then, the villages sent only covert ANBU scouts—never direct aggression. Compared to Akatsuki, they were almost rational.
Would they act now? No. Not unless he struck first.
But who was this Nakaizumi? Why incite war?
"Did he vanish here?" Shigeo asked, scanning the empty stone room.
"Yes," Honglin rasped. "He ambushed me. Stabbed me once, then ran deeper down the corridor. Lord Shigeo… this place has ghosts! My men were slaughtered by spirits. Please—be careful!"
Shigeo nodded, treated him a little longer, then sealed Honglin safely inside his alternate space. He turned and sprinted deeper into the passage.
Before long, whispering voices surrounded him.
"It's Hyūga Shigeo… Don't let him escape… He carries seven tailed beasts within him… Kill him… kill him…"
Female voices—ethereal, echoing, shifting between near and far.
"Who's there?" Shigeo called out. His body brimmed with Mokuton chakra; illusion shouldn't affect him. Could these really be spirits?
In this world of priestesses and demons like Mōryō, ghosts were hardly impossible.
Even so, he felt no fear.
Suddenly the walls vanished. Women appeared—beautiful, half-transparent, draped in thin silks that fluttered like mist. Their movements were fluid, seductive, and inhuman.
"Hyūga Shigeo… you must die…" they whispered.
In the same instant, more than ten lunged, blades flashing.
Shigeo spun, releasing a burst of chakra. The explosive wave shattered them apart—revealing blood, not ectoplasm.
"Not ghosts. Humans."
As they fell, their eyes shifted—normal hues fading to the same sickly green as the controlled corpses from before.
So that was it. Controlled. All of them.
These women weren't acting of their own will.
They floated midair, some even hanging upside-down, eyes unblinking and empty.
"Your life… belongs to us…" they chanted, lunging again, their voices trembling with pain and unwillingness.
This time, Shigeo didn't kill immediately. He needed to understand. How could humans move as if weightless? How were they suspended?
He dodged their coordinated strikes, eyes narrowing—then his pupils shifted, revealing the Sharingan.
In his vision, threads of chakra glimmered faintly, crisscrossing the chamber, binding every one of the "ghosts" like marionettes.
"So that's it," he muttered. "Living puppets."
He clenched his fists. "Since I know the trick… I'll end it."
(End of Chapter)
[50 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
[10 Reviews = 5 Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/Zukooo]