Beneath the hazy moonlight…
*Whoosh—whoosh—*
Two figures darted across the treetops, landing softly alongside fluttering leaves.
**"Bloodhound, how much longer until we catch up?"**
The pair wore masks—one shaped like a crow, the other a dog. They were *Uzukage* and *Bloodhound*, dispatched on a kill order by their captain, *Ōtengu*.
Bloodhound didn't answer immediately. Instead, he pulled a kunai from his ninja pouch. The blade was ordinary, its edge stained with dried black blood. Flipping it into a reverse grip, he formed a one-handed seal. A strange, viscous liquid oozed from between his fingers, slithering toward the kunai like a living thing.
Within moments, the liquid coiled around the blade, absorbing the blood residue. The clear fluid darkened to crimson, then suddenly lurched forward—as if sensing something—before Bloodhound yanked it back, analyzing its pull.
**"Three hours."**
**"Three hours?"** Uzukage glanced at his watch. **"That'd put us at *Tasogare-doki*—the Hour of Twilight. Bad omen."**
**"Since when do you believe in that crap?"** Bloodhound's voice was laced with disbelief, as if seeing his comrade for the first time.
In *Kirigakure*, elders called the twilight hour "the Time of Cursed Spirits." They swore it was when demons and lost souls roamed freely, waiting to steal the souls of those who walked alone. Uzukage had always mocked them, even calling them "old relics." Now, suddenly, he was spouting superstitions?
**"Didn't used to…"**
Behind his mask, Uzukage's jaw tightened.
Something about this mission felt *wrong*.
The image of *Meiko*—her throat torn open, eyes wide in death. *Naoko*, crumpled beneath a washbasin, her hands severed. And finally, *that girl*—her small frame smeared with blood, her eyes dull as stone.
*It was her.*
When the captain named her as the target, Uzukage hadn't questioned it.
The moment he'd seen that blind child, his instincts had screamed *danger*. But her age, her disability, his own arrogance—he'd dismissed it. Worse, he'd let her slip away.
At least he'd secured a blood sample.
Thanks to Bloodhound's *Blood-Tracking Jutsu*, they still had a chance to fix this.
**"What if *Kurumari* interferes when we grab the girl?"** Bloodhound asked suddenly.
**"She won't."** Uzukage's tone lightened slightly. **"The girl's a *Kekkei Genkai* user."**
**"A bloodline limit? How do you know?"**
**"The wounds on Meiko's body—small, elliptical punctures. Cross-referenced with the morgue archives. Matched the *Shikotsumyaku* of the *Kaguya clan*."**
**"Kaguya…"**
Bloodhound fell silent, then chuckled. **"So she's not some child prodigy jōnin. Just a brat who got lucky with a sneak attack."**
**"Exactly. A six-year-old jōnin? Impossible."** Uzukage shook off his unease. **"The *Kaguya* family's feud with bloodline clans is irreconcilable. Kurumari's no exception. Two special jōnin and a chūnin against some half-pint? Easy win."**
**"I'll be jōnin soon,"** Bloodhound grunted, correcting him.
**"Wait, what? Your chakra's still—"** Uzukage cut himself off, sensing no change in his partner's energy. **"How?"**
**"I… volunteered for *Elder Gengetsu's* experiment."**
Silence.
The night itself seemed to freeze.
**"You're insane!"** Uzukage's voice sharpened to a razor's edge.
**"They said my body could handle it,"** Bloodhound replied, thumping his chest with forced bravado.
**"97% mortality rate. What'd they promise *you*?"**
**"…80%. How did you—?"**
**"Mine was 92%."**
A bitter laugh. A muttered curse. Uzukage didn't elaborate. Instead, he surged ahead, leaving the unspoken horror between them.
---
The night grew heavier.
Inside a tent, a girl's eyes snapped open.
*What was that?*
*Hikari* activated her *Byakugan*, scanning her body. No anomalies. Yet the sensation lingered—a distant pulse, like a far-off drumbeat thrumming through her veins.
Her head turned eastward.
Back toward *Kirigakure*.
**"Byakugan… *Kai!*"**
Her pupils constricted. Veins bulged like cracks in stone.
One kilometer… two…
The pressure mounted. Her vision blurred. But she *saw* them—
Two figures, leaping through the trees, following a trail of blood.
*The ANBU from the village gates.*
*They found me.*
**"Three minutes."**
Her gaze flicked to the tent's entrance. Outside, the campfire dimmed. *Kurumari* kept watch, feeding the flames.
*Would she protect me?*
Hikari's lips twisted into a grim smile.
*What a joke.*
Even *ice-release* users were called monsters. A *dual Kekkei Genkai* freak like her? Unthinkable. And Kurumari—loyal sister of the ANBU captain—would never betray *Kiri*.
In her Byakugan's sight, the pursuers closed in.
Their chakra reserves neared Kurumari's—high chūnin, maybe low jōnin. With Kurumari's squad added, that meant *three* near-jōnin and three elite genin.
All against a six-year-old.
**"What a shitty world."**
She shed her cloak, revealing a fitted combat shirt.
Through the Byakugan, six blazing chakra signatures glowed in the dark.
And her?
Just a moth flying into the fire.
---
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