579. Trapping the Shadow / 580. The Shadow Takes Poison and Dies

Trapping the Shadow

Izayoi Sakamaki led the Hokages through the forest. With the mist obscuring everything, they had lost their way. Izayoi said, "Let’s keep going. If we’re lost, there should only be one path ahead. After all, I remember there were markers on the road ahead, but the mist has covered everything, so we can’t see the path at all."

The group continued forward, but they discovered that something seemed to be blocking their way ahead.

One Hokage asked, "It looks like something is blocking our path. What should we do?"

Izayoi said solemnly, "Then stop moving for now and take a careful look around. I want to see what this mist really is."

Hearing Izayoi say this, everyone slowed down and prepared to observe their surroundings.

At that moment, one Hokage could no longer hold back. Pointing at Izayoi,

he said, "It’s all your fault! If you knew how to lead the way, we wouldn’t have gotten lost!"

"What the hell does you getting lost have to do with me?" Izayoi sneered disdainfully. "You’re useless yourselves, yet you’re blaming someone else!"

Hearing Izayoi say that, the Hokages immediately became furious, their faces red and their necks swollen. They all accused Izayoi of not knowing how to respect others.

Izayoi could not be bothered with them. Turning to the other Hokages, he said, "Come on, let’s keep moving."

Izayoi’s actions provoked those Hokages even further. A group of them rushed toward him, pointing and shouting at him.

"It’s all your fault, you bastard! If you hadn’t randomly led the way, how would we have gotten lost?"

"Exactly! You bastard!"

"A person like you is nothing but trash, and you dare talk back to us? I’ll tear your mouth apart!"

Izayoi paid no attention to their curses. Instead, he mocked them, "In my opinion, you don’t even need to look for the road anymore. This valley is a maze formation."

"And it was made specifically for weaklings like you. You can’t break this maze formation at all. Just wait to get lost in this valley and never get out."

"You’re talking nonsense!" one Hokage could not help saying. "This valley really does have a maze formation, and it really was made specifically for these Hokages, but that doesn’t mean we can’t break it."

Izayoi wanted to get angry, but then he thought, Why should I argue with these childish idiots? So he held it in for the moment. He said,

"Let’s keep looking for the way. Arguing like this is useless. Getting out sooner is what matters!"

Hearing Izayoi’s words, their emotions calmed down slightly, and they continued forward.

At that moment, a sound suddenly came from all around them. The Hokages became frightened, clutching their heads and trembling.

"So scary… What was that? Could it be a monster?" one Hokage asked fearfully, but no one answered him. Everyone was scared.

At that moment, another Hokage said, "Are we going to die here? I don’t want to die!"

When they heard him mention death, the other Hokages all began shouting, "What do we do? Are we really going to die here? No, I absolutely can’t die here! I still have so many things I haven’t done!"

"Yeah, I still have so many things I haven’t done!"

"Oh right, I still have a fiancée waiting for me to marry her and bring her home! I can’t die here! I want to go back alive! I can’t die here!"

Seeing the Hokages talking among themselves, the people nearby also began discussing it.

"What do we do, Lord Izayoi? We can’t die here!"

"That’s right, we can’t die here. We have to make it back alive."

Everyone talked at once, deeply pessimistic about the situation. They were surrounded by mist, with unknown monsters nearby. They did not know what would happen next.

"Alright, stop arguing. I think everyone has realized that the current situation is unusual."

"There are many things we need to do now. First, we need to stay calm. I assume none of you want to be killed by those monsters at a time like this, right?"

Lord Seventeen Nights said. Hearing this, everyone fell silent. They also knew that they had to ensure their own safety now.

Izayoi continued, "You must follow my commands. No matter what you do now, you must be extremely careful and not make any sound. If you notice any movement around you…"

"Remember, run immediately. That is the only way you might survive."

"Understood."

Hearing Lord Izayoi’s words, everyone answered in unison, then scattered in different directions.

"We’ll go left, we’ll go right. Everyone, be careful. Don’t let yourselves be discovered, and don’t make any sound," Lord Izayoi reminded them loudly.

Yet the surroundings remained utterly silent. Apart from everyone’s breathing, there were no other sounds.

Seeing that no one objected, Lord Izayoi continued shouting, "Everyone, gather together. Don’t wander around, and don’t look everywhere. If we run into danger, it’ll be troublesome."

"Alright, we understand, Lord."

Izayoi nodded. However, everyone could only pace in place, not daring to take a single reckless step, or danger could strike at any moment.

At that moment, a black hand suddenly reached out and grabbed someone by the ankle.

"Ahhh!"

Izayoi saw that the owner of the black hand was a shadowy figure, so he began fighting him.

The Shadow Took Poison and Committed Suicide

Izayoi and the shadow fought, neither able to gain the upper hand for a time. Izayoi asked, "Who are you? Why are you attacking me?" He wondered whether the other party belonged to some assassination organization.

The shadow sneered. "Heh heh, want to know who I am? Catch me first. Otherwise, even if you ask a thousand or ten thousand times, I won’t tell you. And even if you do catch me…"

"I might not let you go either. Hahahaha… Just obediently accept your death!"

"That won’t do. I have to find out who you are!" Izayoi said firmly. He was already somewhat angry. Although he knew he could not possibly be his opponent,

he still refused to admit defeat. Only then could he prove that he was a true powerhouse!

"Hmph, you won’t leave here alive. So I advise you to surrender obediently. Don’t do something you’ll regret. That would be better for you, wouldn’t it?"

"I won’t surrender. If I surrender now, then I will have failed forever," Izayoi said coldly.

The shadow said, "Heh heh, we have our reasons for doing this. As for what those reasons are, you don’t need to know!"

"Oh, really? Then I’d like to know why you’re doing this. Is it simply because you don’t like the look of me? Or is there another reason? What do you want?"

Izayoi spoke calmly, trying to draw useful information from the other party.

The shadow replied, "We don’t care what you think. In any case, we are definitely taking you away today. You have to come back with us. You don’t need to know why."

After saying that, the shadow charged at Izayoi.

Seeing that his opponent had already attacked, Izayoi immediately entered a fighting stance.

Both of them were experts.

Bang!

Izayoi was knocked back three meters and spat out blood. Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he charged forward again.

Bang!

Another palm strike landed on Izayoi’s chest, sending him flying five meters away.

Pfft!

"Cough, cough…"

Izayoi spat out three mouthfuls of blood in succession. The shadow continued attacking him, moving extremely fast. Every move targeted Izayoi’s vital points.

Bang!

After several more attacks, Izayoi was knocked back five meters each time, blood continuously spilling from his mouth.

"Cough, cough… You’re no match for me." Izayoi struggled to his feet and spoke.

The shadow sneered. "Is that so? I don’t believe it. Do you have any other trump cards? Hurry up and use them. Stop wasting time. It won’t do you any good!"

Izayoi said, "Fine. Take this!"

Izayoi gathered all his inner strength into his right fist and swung it fiercely at the shadow.

Bang!

With a loud explosion, the shadow was sent flying ten meters before crashing to the ground.

Izayoi did not fare well either. His internal organs had also been injured by the impact, and he spat out three mouthfuls of blood. Still, he stubbornly rose to his feet.

Izayoi’s eyes were filled with rage.

The shadow said, "You’re really stubborn, I’ll give you that! But I definitely won’t let you go. You are going to die today."

The shadow lunged at Izayoi once more. This time, he was even faster and fiercer than before.

Izayoi seized the moment and charged toward the shadow. Secretly, he ordered the Hokages to set traps and capture the shadow. The Hokages immediately sprang into action.

They began setting traps around the shadow, preparing to capture him.

The shadow was greatly surprised that Izayoi still dared to launch a counterattack, but he did not stop attacking…

The shadow sneered. "Hmph, this time I definitely won’t let you leave alive. I’m going to kill you."

The shadow charged at Izayoi.

Bang!

Another loud explosion rang out.

Izayoi was once again knocked back three meters and spat out blood again.

Izayoi clutched his chest, his eyes blazing with furious fire. He was unwilling to be defeated so easily. His refusal to accept defeat surged up again, driving him to lunge at the shadow once more.

Bang!

Izayoi was still no match for the shadow. He said to the Hokages, "The time is now! Release the ropes and bind him!"

As soon as Izayoi finished speaking, the sounds of ropes slicing through the air rang out.

Ropes dropped from above and bound the shadow. The shadow was terrified by the sudden change and became tangled in the ropes.

He shouted in horror, "Despicable! You actually used traps against me!"

Izayoi smiled faintly. "It can’t be helped. You’re my opponent, so I had no choice but to use traps against you!"

The shadow said angrily, "Damn it!"

The shadow struggled, but the ropes only tightened more and more, leaving him unable to break free. In the end, he gave up.

Izayoi walked closer and said to the shadow, "I’ve caught you now. You can tell me who sent you, can’t you?"

Seeing that the shadow was unwilling to speak, Izayoi walked up to him, tore off his mask, and took out a torch. Under the torchlight, Izayoi saw the shadow’s face.

When he saw the shadow’s appearance, Izayoi was startled. The man’s face had been disfigured, and his appearance was terrifying.

The Giant in the Forest

The Hokages looked at the disfigured face of the black-clothed man bound before them and felt deeply horrified. They had never imagined that such an ugly face could exist in this world. One Hokage could not help exclaiming, "My heavens, is that even a human face? It’s too ugly, truly unbearable to look at. Even if a monster transformed into human form, it couldn’t possibly have a face like that, could it?"

"I simply can’t imagine how an ordinary person could have such a hideous face."

The Hokages all nodded in agreement.

"I also think he has the face of a monster. It’s truly too ugly."

"So terrifying. There’s actually a face like that in this world."

Everyone nodded in agreement once more.

At that moment, the black-clothed man spoke. "Stop insulting me. I’m just disfigured, that’s all."

Everyone nodded in agreement again, making the scene seem rather comical.

Izayoi stared at the bound black-clothed man, murderous intent hidden in his eyes. "Who are you? Why did you come to assassinate me?" The muscles on his face twitched, and he looked extremely furious.

The black-clothed man laughed loudly. "Do you think I’ll tell you? So what if you kill me? I’m merely an assassin. Hahaha, you can’t kill me, and you can’t kill anyone. I’m going to erase you completely!"

Hearing his words, Izayoi narrowed his eyes, his gaze turning extremely cold.

Izayoi did not yield in the slightest. "If you don’t want to live, then speak!"

The black-clothed man laughed. "I really hope you can kill me, but you simply can’t do it. So you’d better release me now."

"I won’t let you go. If you want to live, tell me who sent you!"