The night deepened. Night Namikaze, like a ghost melting into the shadows, silently lurked in the dark corners outside the Chinoike settlement.
His Mind's Eye of the Kagura was fully active, capturing every flow of chakra at the bottom of the valley.
After a full day of observation, he had a clearer understanding of the Chinoike clan's situation.
This once-glorious bloodline clan had indeed fallen into pitiable decline. The entire clan numbered just over a hundred, with fewer than thirty combat-capable ninjas.
Compared to a major ninja village like Konoha, they were insignificant.
However, a starving camel is still bigger than a horse. Night could clearly sense at least five powerful chakra signatures within the clan.
Especially the aura from the central stone house—steady as a mountain. That was clearly the Matriarch, Momoe Chinoike.
"Looks like I have to work from the inside..." Night mused.
Charging in head-on would be unwise. The Ketsuryūgan's bizarre abilities were a perfect counter to his combat style, and genjutsu had always been a weakness he found hard to completely mitigate.
Just as various plans flashed through his mind, a faint noise came from the edge of the settlement.
A figure was sneaking toward the outer rim of Hell Valley. It was clearly not a simple nocturnal stroll.
"Trying to escape?" Interest flashed in Night's eyes.
He followed silently, wondering if this accident could become the breakthrough point for his plan.
The escaping Chinoike clansman had evidently done his homework. He was extremely familiar with the terrain, nimbly avoiding all patrol routes and sticking to blind spots.
But just as he was about to reach the valley entrance, a figure suddenly blocked his path.
"Jinji, where are you going?"
It was the Matriarch of the Chinoike clan, Momoe Chinoike.
Her voice was cold, like a winter wind, making one's hair stand on end. Standing alone under the moonlight, the blood-red glow circulating in her eyes looked exceptionally eerie in the night.
The young man named Jinji trembled. Fear laced his words. "Ma-Matriarch... I was just..."
"The Cloud envoys are arriving soon. Leaving without permission at a time like this... do you want to destroy the hope of the entire clan?"
Momoe walked closer slowly, a stern light flashing in her Ketsuryūgan.
Hearing this, Jinji seemed to have been poked in a sore spot. He suddenly became agitated. "Hope? What hope?! The Cloud will never truly accept us. They just covet the power of our Ketsuryūgan!"
As he spoke, his eyes suddenly turned crimson—a sign of the Ketsuryūgan awakening. In his confrontation with Momoe, the intense emotion had triggered his bloodline limit.
"Shut up!" Momoe shouted in a low voice, her own Ketsuryūgan glowing intensely.
Although she felt a trace of relief at a clansman awakening their eyes, she knew better than anyone that in this valley, even the Ketsuryūgan couldn't change the fate of the Chinoike clan, caught between two great ninja villages.
Hidden in the distance, Night clearly felt an unusually strong and eerie mental fluctuation.
Immediately, Jinji's body stiffened. The crimson in his eyes faded rapidly, and he collapsed limply to the ground.
"Take him back and guard him strictly. Before the Cloud envoys arrive, I don't want any more complications!"
Momoe ordered the tardy patrolmen who had just arrived.
After everyone left, Momoe stood alone, looking at the sky outside the valley and sighing softly. "Why... why can't you understand? This is our only way out."
Night watched the Matriarch leave. Just as he was about to move, a warning bell rang in his mind.
He maintained his concealment while using the Mind's Eye of the Kagura to track Jinji, who was being carried away by the patrol.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, Momoe Chinoike returned. Her crimson eyes scanned the surroundings constantly.
Finally, she left looking worried. It seemed she suspected someone behind the scenes had incited the defection and expected an accomplice to be waiting.
Only after confirming Momoe had truly left did Night let out a breath, surprised by her intuition.
He hadn't even done anything yet, but he had already been labeled as the mastermind inciting defection.
Stretching his stiff body, he quietly followed the two Chinoike ninjas carrying Jinji until they locked him in a remote stone house.
Once they left, Night slipped silently into the room.
Jinji Chinoike had been tied up casually and thrown into a corner. Clearly, they were very confident in the Matriarch's genjutsu, so no guards were posted.
When Night approached, Jinji's eyes were tightly shut, but his eyeballs were moving rapidly under his lids. He was sweating profusely, obviously trapped in some kind of illusion.
Night looked thoughtful. He placed a hand on Jinji's forehead to check his condition.
Even with prodding, Jinji showed no reaction to the outside world. He was completely unaware.
> [Scan complete. Discovering pawnable items:]
> [Chinoike Clansman (Living) x1... Valuation: 100 Points/Person]
"Nobody wants him? Then finders keepers!"
"Pawn."
Transaction complete. Night opened the System Store, which had refreshed.
> [Redeemable Items:]
> [Chinoike Bloodline — Cost: 600 Points]
He chose to redeem it without hesitation. The moment the bloodline merged into his body, Night sensed a subtle change.
His mind felt clearer, and his thought processing speed increased noticeably. The Chinoike bloodline's enhancement of the nervous system was immediate.
> [Current Pawn Points: 7055]
He didn't sneak out. Instead, he left a Flying Raijin marker in a hidden corner and teleported directly back to the edge of the valley.
This experiment brought a pleasant surprise: the side effects that had plagued his use of Flying Raijin were significantly reduced. After continuous teleportation, his adaptability to spatial jumps had greatly improved.
No dizziness, no lack of coordination.
The only unexpected outcome was that, perhaps due to the special nature of dojutsu Kekkei Genkai, he didn't awaken the Ketsuryūgan directly. It seemed to require a specific stimulus to fully activate.
This was similar to when his Uzumaki bloodline awakened the Adamantine Sealing Chains.
Fortunately, he had a trump card. The [Targeted Tracing] function, which he hadn't used yet, lit up slightly, advertising its usefulness.
"Activate Targeted Tracing."
> [Ding! Detected host possesses Chinoike bloodline.]
> [Targeted Tracing Goal: Chinoike (Ketsuryūgan)]
> [Estimated Cost: 300 Points.]
> [Pay points to perform targeted tracing and complete the bloodline map?]
The cost was surprisingly low. With a thought, Night commanded: "Confirm."
> [Consuming 300 points. Initiating bloodline tracing...]
> [Analyzing Chinoike bloodline characteristics...]
"Looks like the harvest this time far exceeds expectations..." Night felt the changes within his body, a satisfied smile appearing on his lips.
He just wondered what the Chinoike clan would think tomorrow when they discovered their missing clansman.