Chapter 38: Serpent's Kiss
A mild alert!
The system's danger warning pinged softly in the back of Ryouma's mind. It was only a faint signal, but it was enough to sharpen his focus. The skill, a basic exchange for 10 Almighty Points, was far from infallible, but it had saved him from an ambush more than once. It would only trigger for imminent, physical danger within a meter.
He turned his head to look properly at the woman who had closed the distance to less than a foot. She wasn't beautiful in the way Hinata was, or possessed of the ethereal grace of Shion's mother. Her features were plain, but her body was a weapon in itself—a slender waist that swayed like a serpent, purple hair framing large, liquid eyes that promised sin, and tight-fitting clothes that left little to the imagination. She was not beautiful, but she was profoundly alluring, and she knew exactly how to use it.
Mild alert... what does it mean? Ryouma pondered, keeping his expression neutral. The last time it was a severe alarm was when Shion approached me in my sleep. This time... is the danger in succumbing to her?
"It's fine," Ryouma replied, his voice flat and devoid of the invitation she was so clearly offering.
The woman seemed momentarily taken aback by his indifference, then recovered with a practiced, sultry smile, turning her gaze to the flames as if fascinated.
Outside, the perpetual twilight of the Land of Rain deepened into full night, the cave illuminated only by the flickering fire. Ryouma felt a deep weariness settle in his bones—not just physical fatigue from the journey, but a mental exhaustion from the constant state of siege. Dozens of ninjas had ambushed him on the road here, a few even at the Jōnin level. They had undoubtedly seen his bounty poster. Five million ryo for the head of Konoha's "S-Class Rogue Ninja" had made him a prime target for every mercenary and hunter-nin in the region.
Most believed his youth and presumed lack of experience made him easy prey compared to legendary S-Class monsters. They learned their error too late. Ryouma's greatest advantage wasn't just the Great Ball Rasengan; it was the Instant Eye. He couldn't be cornered. In the blink of an eye, he would vanish, only to reappear and strike down any perception-type ninja foolish enough to pursue him alone. He had become a ghost, frustrating his pursuers at every turn. But the constant vigilance was draining.
"Tired?" the woman's voice was a hypnotic murmur beside his ear.
"A little," Ryouma admitted, rubbing his eyes and watching her warily.
"Let me help you with that." Her delicate hands, surprisingly strong, found their way to his shoulders, kneading the knotted muscles with a practiced touch. Each movement was precise, soothing, and then they began to wander, drifting lower down his back.
From the other side of the fire, Jiehe watched them, his eyes gleaming with a venomous jealousy. His face was flushed with suppressed rage. That damned ninja! She's mine!
Ryouma allowed himself a moment to relax under the massage, his eyes closing. It was a calculated risk. Then, as the woman's hand slid from his back around to his lower abdomen—
ALARM! ALARM! EXTREME DANGER!
The system's shriek in his mind was like a bucket of ice water. Instinct took over. Without a single conscious thought, the Instant Eye activated. In a flicker of displaced air, he vanished from his spot and reappeared five meters behind the woman, his long knife already drawn and slicing through the space she occupied in a silver arc.
"Tch!"
The woman reacted with preternatural speed, spinning around to block his slash with a short knife that seemed to have materialized in her hand from nowhere.
"Who are you?!" Ryouma demanded, his voice low and dangerous. His face was a mask of calm, but his heart hammered against his ribs. He had almost let his guard down completely. A blade on a beautiful scabbard, indeed.
"Your killer!" The woman's face was now a cold, professional mask, all traces of seduction gone. Her eyes were dead serious as she pushed back against his blade.
"Many people have told me that," Ryouma retorted, his grip tightening. "Do you know what happened to them?"
"I don't care to know." She sneered, her gaze flicking towards the terrified Jiehe. A look of pure disdain crossed her features. "Shadow Clone Technique!"
Poof! Poof!
Two identical copies of the woman appeared beside her. The original kept her blade locked with Ryouma's, while the two clones lunged towards Jiehe.
"No! Don't kill me! We had a deal!" Jiehe screamed, scrambling backward.
The clones showed no mercy. A dagger flashed, and Jiehe fell heavily into a growing pool of his own blood, his final expression one of betrayal and unfulfilled desire.
"Although my orders were only to monitor you," the woman said coldly, her eyes back on Ryouma, "you saw that... and you've wasted enough of my time with this charade." She contemptuously tossed her short knife aside and, in a movement too fast to follow, drew a longer, slender katana from a hidden sheath on her back. The thin fabric of her shirt should have made it impossible. It was a clear message: she was no amateur.
Orders... Monitoring... The keywords clicked into place in Ryouma's mind, forming a chilling picture.
Konoha. It has to be.
"The Dance of the Three Suns and the Moon!" the woman and her two remaining clones cried out in unison, their forms blurring as they advanced, katanas held high.
"So killing that man was just a pretext to set up your Shadow Clones in advance," Ryouma muttered, his mind racing even as his body moved. "And this swordsmanship... it's a variation of the Crescent Moon Dance? Moonlight Hayate's technique? Then you are...?" He didn't finish the thought aloud. It didn't matter who she was; she was an enemy.
"Pfft! Pfft!"
His blade was a flash of silver, dispatching the two clones on his flanks with brutal efficiency. But as his sword cut through the clone on his left, leaving him over-extended, the original launched her true attack from the center, the katana descending towards his head like a shard of frozen moonlight.
"Instant!"
Ryouma's eye flickered. The world twisted, and he vanished. He reappeared directly behind the woman, his long knife pressing against the pale skin of her throat.
"It's over," he stated flatly.
"Really?" The woman's form smiled back at him over her shoulder before dissolving into a puff of white smoke.
A Shadow Clone too?!
The real one was still hiding. The hunt in the rain-soaked cave was far from over.