Chapter 54 The Lure

Two of the Koga Three Ninjas had arrived, even Kato Danzo, the "Shadow-level" ninja who had been silent for a long time. This lineup was enough to assassinate any daimyo in the Mountain Hidden Country.

Adding those troops that might be blockading the main roads, the Takeda Shogunate could be said to be determined this time.

Unfortunately, they underestimated the strength of Suren's side.

Or rather, they hadn't expected such variables to be by the side of the divine-robed miko, a Chitiao who could tame the demon sword Tsurukemimachi, and a Suren.

Suren ran all the way, while also thinking about the pros and cons.

A princess who was a contemporary Saiō, and almost unrelated to the succession to the throne. Then Takeda Nobunaga went to so much trouble to kill her, most likely for the "Black Sun Ceremony."

Suren was also very curious, what kind of "role" would the miko play in the ceremony, that the shogunate people had to kill her?

The battlefield between Chitiao and "Shadow Buddha" Kato Danzo was not something even a jōnin could interfere with, so Suren's escape attracted almost all of the Koga ninjas behind him.

Actually, they weren't coming for him.

But because of the "divine-robed miko" following him.

With the target there, those people would naturally chase after them.

However, upon closer inspection, the expression in the eyes of the "miko" beside Suren was slightly dull.

......

Behind him, "bang" and "bang" sounds were endless.

All kinds of bullets, ninja stars, kunai, poison needles... grazed past him.

Although these Mountain Hidden ninjas didn't have advanced firearms, they also had strange firearms.

Don't underestimate these firearms that take half a minute to load ammunition for each shot, their power is not small at all. The specially made gunpowder burns to produce poisonous smoke and some special shrapnel, whose lethality is not inferior to grenades.

Fortunately, Suren was thick-skinned, and these shrapnel couldn't break through his [Rune Adamantine] protection.

With the Mourning Bird sharing his vision in the sky, Suren wasn't worried about being surrounded.

He constantly changed direction in the jungle, always avoiding the enemy's tightening encirclement.

But it was also fraught with danger, and several times he was almost caught up by the enemy.

Actually.

It wasn't that Suren had no chance to shake off the pursuers behind him.

After his advancement, the curse characteristic of the Eight-Armed Spider Spear had also been enhanced, and his mountain terrain displacement ability had also been greatly improved, and his speed was not inferior to those ninjas who were good at various ninjutsu.

What's more, there was also spatial displacement.

He didn't escape with all his strength, just because he deliberately wanted to give the pursuers behind him some illusions, so that they would think they could catch up.

After all, in Plan B, he, who was good at strategic retreats, was just "bait."

Because the "divine-robed miko" beside him was fake.

It was a life-size puppet and an illusion transformed by the [Robert's Monocle].

......

These days of being together day and night, Suren was naturally clear about the divine-robed miko's appearance and figure, so the transformed appearance could naturally be faked.

What's more, the puppet also had the miko's "substitute paper doll" attached to it, so that the sensory ninjas couldn't tell the truth from the fake in terms of aura.

As for the real person, she had already taken advantage of the chaos in the previous melee to hide.

The longer Suren dragged the pursuers, the more time the miko would have to escape.

But after all, it was fake, and after running for a while, it still gave itself away.

There were many pursuers, and no matter how careful Suren was, he could only take care of himself, not the "miko."

The two special jōnin also had simple means, and they seemed to have seen that there was something fishy, and they tested her in many ways. Finally, Ueno Sasaki of the "Demon Hand" blew a gust of wind-based magic, and the "miko" couldn't avoid it, and had a leg cut off.

Looking at the severed leg of the "miko" that was gushing blood like a spring, Kobe Kaoru of the "Cherry Blossom Princess," who was good at illusions, finally saw the problem, and shouted, "Damn it, we've been tricked! That's an illusion!"

Hearing this, dozens of ninjas stood there dumbfounded.

A suffocating atmosphere of embarrassment permeated the air, as if a flock of crows flew by "caw, caw, caw."

Suren frowned slightly as he listened to his plan being exposed. He had made the illusion of himself spurting blood quite realistic, but he didn't know how it was discovered.

However, he had dragged on for so long, and it was enough.

Calculating the time, the miko should have escaped safely by now.

In the current situation, it was time for these Koga ninjas to be in a dilemma.

With no target to pursue, there was not much point in them continuing to chase Suren.

But it seemed that going back wouldn't make much sense either.

The little old man Sasaki made a decisive decision and whispered, "Kaoru, you take people back to find her! I'll go kill him!"

Kobe Kaoru thought of her brief encounter with Suren in the Swordsmith Village before, and a look of worry flashed in her eyes.

She knew that this guy in front of her didn't look too strong, but his methods were very strange.

And now he seemed to be even more powerful than before.

But now was not the time to say more, she whispered, "Yes! Ueno-senpai, please be careful."

Saying that, she turned around and led the people back the way they came.

.......

In the blink of an eye, only that alcoholic-nosed old man was left of the dozen or so Koga ninjas.

With the enemy no longer having a numerical advantage, Suren's pressure suddenly eased.

This guy in front of him was good at wind-based ninjutsu, ran fast, and was one of the Three Ninjas, with a combat power that was definitely at the level of a fifth-order professional.

Normally speaking, Suren's safest way to deal with the situation was to escape with all his strength.

With his spatial displacement ability, it wouldn't be difficult to escape.

However, after hesitating for a moment, he stopped.

Suren thought of the scene when Chitiao faced Kato Danzo before.

Even in the face of an enemy stronger than herself, she was fearless.

That scene lingered.

Some thoughts in Suren's heart began to stir.

Mr. Mirror once commented on him, that his character was too cautious and stable, but he lacked a bit of "will" and "spirit."

That was probably what he was talking about now.

Thinking of this, Suren looked at the ninja old man in front of him.

He had never faced such a strong person alone, and the pressure was palpable.

To fight, the chances of winning were slim.

But to avoid the fight, he would definitely not "win."

Try it?

He grinned, and a ferocious smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

As soon as this thought arose, the fighting spirit burst out.

The moment Suren decided to stay, he felt the real sense of oppression from the old man in front of him.

This was a sense of crisis that he had never felt before, even after chasing for so long.

The killing intent was pressing, making one's hair stand on end.

It had been a long time since he had felt the feeling of swords and blades dancing.

Suren had a strange sense of familiarity, and his body was very happy with this feeling, faintly excited.

Sasaki, seeing Suren standing in place, was slightly surprised, and snorted coldly.

Looking again, his feet stirred up wind, and his whole person turned into a wisp of shadow, and rushed over.

Suren led the man into the dense forest, suddenly raised his hand and lifted the chessboard, and a beam of light enveloped Sasaki.

Looking again, the surroundings had become a black and white chessboard space.

Since he had decided to have a good fight, then he shouldn't let the outside world disturb them.

.......

Seeing himself trapped in the chessboard space, Sasaki's eyes turned cold, but he didn't panic.

"Ninja Art - Wind Barrier Formation!"

"Arcane Art - Puppet Theater!"

Neither side showed weakness, and they formed seals at the same time.

Just as the alchemy formation lit up, and a huge cross slowly condensed in the sky, Suren felt that the air around his body instantly became as viscous as asphalt. Moreover, it was rapidly solidifying!

This made him feel like he was bound by a thousand pounds of force with every move he made.

"Range control? What a brilliant response..."

Suren's eyes flashed sharply.

This Sasaki looked like he was restricting space, but he also used a large-scale control ninjutsu. In this way, it was really not certain who would take advantage.

Suren didn't panic at all, raised his hand and the [Rune Human Skin Umbrella] "bang" and opened it, and the sorcerer's seal in both hands changed again.

But at this moment, Sasaki didn't give him a chance to form a seal at all, and his figure flashed several times, already approaching him. The cold light of the steel claws in his hand flashed, and he grabbed over.

"So fast!"

The sharpness was pressing, and Suren quickly flashed and retreated a few meters, watching his afterimage in front of him being torn into several pieces by the claws.

Although he avoided this attack, at this moment, the hair on his back suddenly stood on end, and he thought, "No!"

Vision could be deceived, but in his soul perception, he clearly sensed that the old man in front of him was just an illusion.

Even without turning around, he clearly knew that the guy had already appeared behind him!

"So fast!"

Suren's heart trembled.

[Flash] could quickly avoid danger, but it was not without intervals. The enemy had seized this point, and had long calculated that after a missed attack, he would launch successive killing moves.

This footwork was actually a very clever "secondary phantom flash" in ninjutsu!

The pressure on his back was like a mountain, making Suren feel the crisis of death in an instant.

When encountering such a real master, even if you have a hundred kinds of methods, the threat is limited.

Because the other party will not let you use them at all!

Suren wanted to use the rune black umbrella to peel off the other party's perception, but he didn't expect to suffer such a heavy blow before he could form the sorcerer's seal in his hand.

He captured the other party's trail, but his body couldn't react at all, so he had to change his hand seal and put his hands together: "Puppet Substitute!"

Almost at the same time, a subtle cutting sound of "clang" rang out, and "Suren's" body was suddenly cut into three pieces by the sharp steel claws.

The other party had broken his two life-saving methods with two attacks, and Suren also felt his scalp tingling.

And almost at the same time, Suren, who had escaped a few meters away by using a puppet, changed his expression again.

Because at this time, he saw a second "Sasaki" suddenly appear beside him!

There was no soul fluctuation, only "qi."

"Wind Shadow Clone!"

Suren's eyes showed horror, and he immediately realized what was happening.

This old man was worthy of being a top assassin, with one killing move after another.

These three sure-kill moves actually only took one or two seconds, leaving no time for people to react at all!

Just as he discovered it, the clone had already launched an attack.

It was at this extremely critical moment that Suren tore at his fingers, and several strands of silk suddenly condensed, pulling his body away a little.

But even so, the claw still slapped on his back.

"Creak..."

A harsh sound like a knife cutting metal rang out, and Suren flew out.

Although this claw didn't break through the defense of the [Rune Adamantine], the huge force penetrated his lungs, causing his blood to surge.

He couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of old blood in the process of flying upside down.

......

Almost dying on the spot in one encounter, Suren deeply realized his shortcomings when facing a real master, "My main body is still too weak..."

His nerve reaction was sufficient, but his muscle reaction speed couldn't keep up at all.

He thought that his physical body was strong among puppeteers, but now it seemed that he was still far behind in front of real masters.

Life and death were often in a moment.

A dignified puppeteer, he hadn't even used a puppet, and he was almost killed.

This lesson was not light.

Fortunately, he had many life-saving methods. If it were an ordinary puppeteer, even a fifth-order one, their souls would have been captured at this moment.

A thought flashed through Suren's mind, and his body flew out.

At this moment, he finally tore out three ghost puppets in the air, using the force of flying upside down, and protected them around him.

These were rune ghost puppets that had been processed after advancing to the fourth order, and barely had the combat power of the fourth order.

Against this kind of agile opponent, the tactic of stacking low-level puppets in numbers would not be advantageous at all. Even if he took out the mechanical armor, it would not be of much use other than being passively beaten!

For a time, the tactics in Suren's mind turned rapidly.

.......

Seeing Suren dodging three killing moves in a row, "Demon Hand" Sasaki was also very surprised. As an assassin for many years, he had killed too many enemies stronger than the person in front of him with this one move. This person actually escaped?

High-burst physical skills were a great burden on the body, and Sasaki had used "secondary phantom flash," so he didn't have the ability to use the three-hit combo just now again in a short time.

But his movements only paused for a moment, and his whole person disappeared in place like a wisp of breeze.

Suren watched the dissipating light and shadow in front of him, and before he had time to catch his breath, the Eight-Armed Spider Spear suddenly tore, "Silk Control Secret Art - Flower Waterfall!"

In an instant, silk threads like a white waterfall suddenly condensed, tightly surrounding him.

This move was for defense, but also for trapping people!

But since he reacted so quickly, that figure still rushed in first.

"Creak..."

Another harsh sound of metal tearing rang out.

Suren's body didn't have time to avoid it at all, and he felt a burst of hot pain in his chest.

Although the steel claws wrapped in cutting cyclones didn't cut him into several pieces, they also left three wounds that could see blood on his golden-lacquered skin.

"These steel claws are also famous-grade ninja tools!"

A thought flashed through Suren's mind, and he endured the pain and violently pulled the silk threads. But looking again, Sasaki suddenly threw down two smoke bombs, and the person had disappeared, giving him no chance to fight back at all.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Two explosions.

Purple poisonous smoke instantly spread out.

Suren changed costumes with a magic trick, and instantly put on a plague mask.

In order to make the other party not feel so good, he also threw out two poison gas bombs.

The hissing sound of gas leaks was endless, and in a blink of an eye, the huge chessboard space was covered by purple and black smoke.

The other party was temporarily silent, obviously brewing a big move again.

Suren didn't dare to delay at all, and the sorcerer's seal in his hand was rapidly condensing and changing.

He didn't think that the other party would not be able to capture his position without vision!

This kind of top ninja must have extremely keen hearing, smell, and touch.

He had to strip away this guy's perception to have a chance of winning!

He could only use the Rune Black Umbrella.

This was the only feasible tactic that Suren had thought of after a moment of deduction in his mind.

Otherwise, even if he took out [Hypnos's Night Scythe], which was his biggest trump card, it would not change anything!

.......

As Suren expected, just as he was condensing the spell's hand seal, Sasaki was not idle either.

Just a few breaths later, he heard a terrifying wind sound like ghosts crying and wolves howling around him.

"As expected, it's a range-based wind magic..."

Suren's expression was very solemn, but he was not surprised at all.

Wind ninjutsu in a confined space was unavoidable!

If he were Sasaki, he would naturally choose to use this method.

"Ninja Art - Mountain Oroshi Porcupine Technique!"

Suren's sorcerer's seal didn't stop, but at this moment, he suddenly felt countless wind blades cutting over.

Even if there was a wall woven from waterfall-like hair strands around him, it was like paper in front of the wind blades, and it was instantly twisted into fragments.

"What a strong cutting ability..."

Suren sensed that the thread wall was instantly cut, and he sighed in his heart.

This was much stronger than his own "Wind Element Cutting."

The wind blades instantly窜 entered through the silk thread gaps, and "scraped" across Suren's body, making a sharp sound that made people's scalps tingle.

Clang, clang, clang, clang...

His eyes looked out through the gaps, and he saw a strange wild boar monster head appearing in the sky. The monster head was spitting out demon wind from its mouth, and it was faintly showing signs of blowing away the cross of his puppet theater!

This was the suppression of the spell's rank, and there was also a special penetrating power...

A sharp pain袭 hit, and Suren felt like countless steel knives were scraping his bones all over his body.

He gritted his teeth and chose to resist this spell.

This demon wind seemed to be endless, and it didn't stop at all. If it weren't for the "Golden Dragon纹" engraved these two days, even the [Adamantine]秘 technique condensed by the fifth-order law would not be able to withstand it.

Just when Suren felt like he was about to collapse and be "凌迟," the last sorcerer's seal in his hand was successfully凝結.

"Done!"

Suren was overjoyed.

If he was interrupted again this time, he was afraid that he would have to choose to run away immediately.

Fortunately, once this set of complex sorcerer's seals was completed, Suren's expression sharpened, and his aura suddenly rose several notches. The phantom of the Grim Reaper behind him suddenly腾起, and the气息 of death swept through the entire space like a潮水.

He低吟 a sound in his mouth, "Dark Domain - Nightfall!"

Once this spell was completed, a bizarre, pitch-black tide like asphalt swept through the entire chessboard space with the black umbrella beside him as the center.

Countless grimacing wraiths冲 towards the藏身 in the wind not far away.

.......

Within the restricted space, it was also an unavoidable range attack.

With夜幕 covering his eyes, Sasaki instantly felt that he had lost his vision.

Not only was his vision剥离, but even his hearing and touch were gone!

Endless漆黑 was in front of him, as if he had stepped into hell, and countless恶鬼 were伸 out their hands under his feet, wanting to拉 him into the endless deep abyss...

Sasaki's heart惊.

Being able to become a "Special Jōnin" naturally meant that he had also undergone various কঠোর training. This kind of mental control did not catch him off guard. The moment he察觉, he猛地咬 tongue, and his perception瞬間清晰.

Taking this opportunity, he "噗" spit out a mouthful of scarlet鮮血, took out a ninja scroll and捏爆 it. Before his五感 were completely被剥夺, he made a sword finger with both hands, and厉喝 sound, "Summoning Technique - Wind God Hitotsume-nyūdō!"

As soon as this忍術 came out,狂风 made a big作 in the closed chessboard space.

Suren immediately蛋疼了.

Because he又又又 once again felt the aura of the降临 of神明意志.

Although it was very微弱, it was真实的.

Needless to say, the guy on the opposite side must have summoned some "monster", or rather "god",凝集 from faith.

(ps. There are 108,000 gods in 山隐, not神阶)

Sure enough, looking again, the狂风 flew 沙走石, and the毒气 was also sucked over. The視野 became clear, and then it quickly formed a风漩.

The风漩 in the天空 became visible to the肉眼, and then it turned into a恐怖巨眼 with a diameter of nearly十 meters.

Suren opened his left eye单, his 流光 turning, and looked over.

[Wind God Hitotsume-nyūdō]

Detailed explanation: One of the thousands of gods凝集 by the信仰 of 山隐, in charge of the position of wind god, can use wind as the eye,感知 the shape of objects; fears the氣 of菖莆.

Suren 看到 this situation, he舒了一口气.

"It's still within the acceptable range..."

If this 意志 was not too強, he would have解开 the space and開溜.

Many of the "mountain gods" and "水神" in 山隐 are not true神阶, and it's almost the same as saying "special妖怪." Their strength varies from high to low, and they also have weaknesses.

Few people know about those weaknesses, except for yin-yang masters and巫女 who are proficient in鬼道.

Especially people outside of 山隐.

But Suren has the全知之瞳.

He 看着 the information that was鉴定 out, and his heart was also a松.

There were still more materials that the 御子 gave him, and there was still a lot of this "菖蒲" left.

Moreover, he also敏锐地捕捉到 a point: "Wind" can only感知 solid objects!

.......

Sasaki's 双目 were无神, and his 瞳孔 could not聚焦. It could be seen that the本体 was indeed受到 the influence of the "Nightfall Domain".

But this guy did not know what method he used to重新獲得 control of his body. The moment he通灵 out the wind eye in the天空, his氣勢暴漲数成 again. Without the slightest hesitation, he冲 toward Suren猛.

He also knew that he had to分 out胜负 as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, the release of夜幕 also gave Suren喘息 time.

He calmly flashed away and避開.

Just in that 瞬間 of space displacement, several space卷軸 exploded in the chessboard space at the same time, and hundreds of傀儡 appeared out of thin air.

人形物体 were everywhere.

Wind can感知 the shape of objects, but not whether they are活物.

At this一下, Sasaki suddenly愣住, obviously not knowing where the target was.

Suren 心中一喜 when he saw this, "果然!"

At this瞬間, he finally saw a 一线 chance to战胜 the enemy.

Sasaki also did not know why so many "people" suddenly appeared, but the动作 in his hand did not停息. He結 a 忍術印: "Ninja Art - Peacock Dance!"

Just as this忍術 was completed, dense wind blades like 孔雀翎凝集 behind him. He pointed forward, and "嗖嗖嗖" flew towards the space filled with 人形物体 like飛鏢.

The range attack instantly cut into the 傀儡群, but unfortunately he had no 聽覺 and 視覺. Even if the风刃 hit Suren, Sasaki would find it difficult to分辨 which one was the本体.

Moreover, Suren would not give him a chance to分辨 it out. Every time he闪现, a pile of 傀儡 would definitely appear at the same time.

He hid in the 傀儡堆 and started反击.

.....

After a苦战 of more than half an hour, the battle finally分 out the result.

Koga Three Ninjas One of the "Demon Hand" Ueno Sasaki 殒命 on the spot.

But it is undeniable that this guy was really強.

Especially after he 通灵 out the [Wind God Hitotsume-nyūdō], this guy's Wind遁忍術 was even more离谱.

Even after Suren剥离 his五感, his 战斗力 was still强悍 to the extreme.

His mind was缜密, his combat experience was rich, and he also knew various methods of lure. He would deliver a fatal blow as long as he grabbed a little opportunity.

Under normal circumstances, even if a fifth-order professional encountered him, perhaps few would be able to survive.

Unfortunately, Suren was calm like a machine.

He was the kind of person who would not make a mistake or失误 in a battle!

From the瞬間 Sasaki could not分辨 Suren's本体, the ending of the battle was already注定.

No matter how強 a person is, their physical strength is limited.

Suren did not rush to动手, nor did he触碰 him正面. He just used various 傀儡 and活尸 to 消耗, not giving him a chance to喘息 at all.

The two斗智斗勇, and after several attempts, Sasaki gradually绝望 in the face of an opponent who would not make a mistake, and eventually精疲力尽.

Suren used the 黑镰 to将其斩杀.

.......

Suren looked at the chessboard space that was in a片狼藉, and then looked at the two-section尸体 on the ground, sighing endlessly, "Really strong..."

He lost hundreds of 傀儡, and he also got a一身伤口 before he惊险 killed him.

This was also the first time he had斩杀 a fifth-order战力 by his own strength.

This battle can be described as a means尽出. He was fortunate enough to win by靠着 many curse objects.

If he had to face the battle 正面, Suren would still be far behind.

But for alchemists, there is nothing耻的.

Being good at using curse objects is also the战斗力 of alchemists.

This battle was a great收获.

However, the short板 were also exposed.

Dark灵力值 was still not enough...

Defense was not enough...

Body reaction was also not enough...

The "普攻" means were not lethal enough...

The 诡偶师's life-saving means were not enough against professionals who could突脸...

In an瞬間, the battle画面 just now flashed through Suren's mind, and he also fully察觉 his short板.

Fortunately, he knew his不足, and he also had a direction for future增强.

But now was not the time to复盘 the battle. He敛了心神 and剥离 the ash fog from the尸体.

[You剥离了 'Ueno Sasaki's' soul, you obtained a large amount of 'Ninja Technique'传承知识]

[You領悟 the 'Wind遁' related ninja technique experience]

[You obtained 'Mountain Hidden 神道' related knowledge感悟]

[You know some绝密 information: 'The Black Dragon Society has a very神秘会长'... ]

[... ]

Suren 本以为 he could剥离 some 高深的"Wind Element 法则領悟".

But obviously, he想多了.

The ninjas of山隐 were also神信徒. Their ninjutsu only had a few法诀 and 忍術印, which was much simpler than the process of an alchemist casting a spell. But it was this kind of "粗糙"术 that caused an incredible effect.

The reason for this was that it was all加持 by the power of their信仰's神明体系.

This剥离 gave Suren an understanding of the entire ninjutsu体系. Most of it did not究其理 and only讲其用.

Without knowing the原理, this alchemist could use very few ninjutsu.

Even if he could use a small number of them, the power would be far less than that of a ninja.

However, some experience感悟 were相通, which could be considered a lot of收获.

The most important thing was that Suren also got a爆料 intelligence from this佐佐木's memory: The会长 of the Black Dragon Society was actually the "天下第一美姬" known as Oteme Yagihime?!

This was completely connected to what Chitiao and the others had guessed before.

That assassination failure was when a "神秘人" appeared behind the Shogunate General Takeda Nobunaga and turned the tide.

Now the Black Dragon Society was actually controlled by this "Oteme Yagihime," and everything made sense.

But how could a geisha be the boss of the Black Dragon Society?

Moreover, she seemed to have a great relationship with the Takeda Shogunate!

What did she rely on?

She had been hiding for so many years without being discovered. What was she plotting?

There were too many疑惑, and Suren did not go into detail.

The answer to this could only be in 江户.

Once the chessboard space was解开, he quickly消失 in the 山林.