The Akahane clan's ancestral hall was actually built far away from the main compound, situated at the very edge of their territory. This was because when it was first constructed, Akahane Sora had stated that a place for worshipping one's ancestors should naturally be as secluded and quiet as possible.
Later on, no guard forces were stationed at the ancestral hall. Are you kidding? With the Great Elder of the Akahane clan personally standing guard, this was the absolute safest place in the entire clan. What need was there for guards?
This was also why, despite Xuan and Akahane Sora fighting a life-and-death battle with such massive commotion, they hadn't alerted a single Akahane shinobi. The nearest guards were miles away.
"Great Elder...!"
Upon arriving at the scene and seeing Xuan, they naturally noticed the corpse lying at his feet. One of the Elite Jōnin cried out in alarm, his face completely filled with disbelief.
How is this possible? The strongest person in our clan, this almost legendary existence, the absolute guardian deity of our family... actually lying in a crater, reduced to a mutilated pile of flesh and blood? How could something like this happen? I must be dreaming! This was the truest thought running through that Elite Jōnin's mind at this exact moment.
"It's actually you?!"
Akahane Yui finally noticed the black-cloaked Xuan. Substantive flames of fury practically erupted from her eyes. A monstrous, heaven-piercing hatred radiated from her. Her entire body trembled with rage as she stared dead at him.
If it weren't for him, how could her father have so easily believed in the joint strike with the Ghost Fire Alliance?! If it weren't for him, how could her father have fallen into the enemy's trap?! And how could her father have been forced to lay down his life to cover her escape?! He was likely already dead!
The enmity of a murdered father is absolutely irreconcilable! Even if her father hadn't died directly by this man's hand, he was the absolute mastermind behind it all. This kind of blood feud could never be resolved.
Hatred violently assaulted Yui's heart. A trace of blood leaked from the corner of her mouth, followed instantly by her vomiting a mouthful of fresh blood. She had already fought her way out of a brutal slaughter; suddenly being hit with this devastating reality directly caused severe internal injuries from sheer emotional shock.
In this situation, if it were any ordinary teenage girl, she would have long been blinded by hatred and charged forward recklessly to fight to the death. But she did not. She saw the Great Elder's corpse at the man's feet. That was the Great Elder—an expert even stronger than her father! For him to be killed just like that... the opponent's true strength was naturally unimaginable. Charging forward would just be throwing her life away for nothing.
"Bastard! Pay for the Great Elder's life with your own!"
With a mournful, agonizing roar, one of the Elite Jōnin drew his sword and charged. Utilizing the Body Flicker Jutsu, he arrived in front of Xuan in an instant, his longsword reflecting a freezing light as it slashed down.
Facing this Elite Jōnin whose mind was completely clouded by rage, Xuan sneered disdainfully. Without even bothering to dodge, he activated his intangibility, allowing the opponent's longsword to phase harmlessly through his body.
"Rasengan!"
With a soft call, and under the Elite Jōnin's absolutely shocked gaze, the Rasengan slammed directly into his abdomen. The terrifying kinetic force blasted him backward, kicking up a massive cloud of dust. Thin trails of blood leaked from his seven orifices as he lay sprawled on the ground, completely motionless.
"Hiyō!"
The Elite Jōnin standing in front of Akahane Yui roared. His face was filled with worry, but he didn't dare move forward to check on his comrade. Instead, he stared vigilantly at Xuan, a drop of cold sweat rolling down his forehead. To actually one-shot an Elite Jōnin in a single move! This man's strength is this horrifying?! Looking across the entire Warring States Era, experts of this caliber are as rare as phoenix feathers or unicorn horns!
"No need to worry. I controlled my power. His internal organs are merely slightly displaced, and he has passed out."
A calm voice drifted over. Xuan lifted his foot and began walking toward the three of them. The continuously roaring flames surged and howled, rushing toward him, only to bizarrely phase right through his body. It was clearly just ordinary walking, yet it brought an unimaginably suffocating pressure down upon the three of them.
"Protect the Young Miss!"
Akahane Hoshi roared sharply, drawing the longsword from his back and taking a defensive stance in front of Yui. On the other side, Akahane Horetsu seemed to wake from a dream and hastily mirrored the action.
With every light step Xuan took, the hearts of the three trembled. It is said that death itself is not terrifying; what is terrifying is the slow march toward death. That kind of pressure is enough to drive a person completely insane.
Right now, the three of them were enduring precisely this crushing pressure of impending death.
Cold sweat broke out on Yui's skin. She clenched her delicate hands so tightly that her long fingernails pierced her palms. Drops of fresh blood dripped down, yet she felt absolutely nothing.
Hatred, fury, regret, and terror intertwined, torturing her ruthlessly. She was, after all, only an eighteen-year-old girl. Although she had received a cruel shinobi upbringing her entire life, suddenly suffering this catastrophic tragedy of her clan's destruction... the mere fact that she hadn't suffered a complete mental breakdown was a testament to her phenomenal psychological resilience.
No matter how long the road, there is always an end, not to mention the distance between them wasn't far to begin with. Xuan arrived right in front of them. Deeply enjoying the terror plastered on their faces, he said flatly, "Put down your weapons."
Akahane Hoshi trembled, boundless pressure surging in his heart. No one is unafraid of death, and he was no exception. At this moment, a voice screamed in his mind, urging him to drop his weapon. Yet, his years as a shinobi allowed him to desperately cling to his final shred of a bottom line. "In your dreams! Even if I die, I will never let you harm the Young Miss!"
Xuan let out a bizarre chuckle. Distorted by chakra, the sound was utterly bloodcurdling. "Harm her? Why would I harm her? Now, put down your weapons. I believe we can sit down and have a calm, peaceful chat."
"Drop your weapons. With our level of strength, resistance is completely futile." Akahane Yui took a deep breath, a trace of clarity returning to her eyes. She forcefully suppressed all her chaotic emotions, repeating a mantra in her mind: Calm down. I must stay absolutely calm right now. I have to survive. The Akahane clan cannot be annihilated here. Father just passed the position of Patriarch down to me.
Clang. Clang. The two Akahane Elite Jōnin tossed their longswords onto the ground, though they continued to stare vigilantly at the black-cloaked Xuan.
"Mr. Owl. I do not know what you wish to discuss now. You plotted against my father and personally murdered our clan's Great Elder. With such a massive blood feud between us, you now want to negotiate? If your goal is simply to toy with us, there is no need. If you want to kill us, then kill us. The Akahane clan has no cowards who cling to life out of fear of death."
Yui was incredibly nervous inside. She desperately wanted to survive—or at the very least, ensure the Akahane clan wouldn't be completely exterminated, so she could die in peace. But she had no idea what this black-cloaked man was plotting, so she deliberately spoke with absolute fearlessness to test his reaction.
Xuan chuckled lightly. He saw right through her little psychological tricks with the clarity of looking at a fire. He spoke with absolute directness: "I am going to give you two choices right now. Option one is Life: the Akahane clan will be preserved. Option two is Death: not only will all of you die, but every single member of the Akahane clan is dead meat. There will absolutely not be a single survivor left breathing."
"Now, make your choice. Only then can I decide what we should discuss next."
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