Chapter 153: The Deterrence of a Name
That kunai wasn't aimed at Yugito Nii's vitals. Instead, it flew about a foot past her face with a sharp whistle, embedding itself into the nearby wall.
It was a warning.
Obviously, the young Kusagakure ninja didn't dare to actually hurt anyone.
He recognized these two people. Both the woman committing the violent act and the boy standing at the entrance of the alley were part of the group that arrived with Kazekage Rasa.
He didn't know their exact identities, but anyone traveling with the Kazekage was absolutely not someone he could afford to provoke.
So, the young Kusagakure ninja merely threw a kunai, hoping to make the woman stop.
The kunai stuck in the wall, its hilt still trembling slightly and emitting a low hum.
Yugito Nii ignored it. She didn't even spare the kunai a single glance. Her entire focus remained on the mangled man in front of her, her hands continuing their methodical work.
Nails sliced, flesh was peeled back, and casually discarded.
Her movements were as fluid as if she were performing a deeply familiar task.
The young Kusagakure ninja stood frozen, still maintaining his throwing posture. The expression on his face shifted from nervous to awkward, and then from awkward to angry.
The Kusagakure ninja on the ground wasn't dead yet. He had already lost a massive amount of blood, dyeing a large patch of the surrounding ground red.
His body could no longer move. Like a wrung-out rag, he lay paralyzed on the ground. Only the faint rise and fall of his chest proved he was still breathing.
There wasn't a single patch of intact skin left on his body. The flesh on his arms had been mostly torn away, exposing the dark red muscle and white fascia beneath. The skin and some muscle on his chest had been peeled back, faintly revealing the outline of his ribs.
The wounds on his thighs were the deepest, exposing bone.
But he was still alive. His mouth was still moving, his lips weakly parting to let out barely audible sounds.
"Spare me..."
"Let me go..."
"Please..."
His voice was incredibly faint, every word laced with profound despair and pleading.
Yugito Nii heard him, but she didn't stop.
Her fingers descended once more, this time landing on his neck.
With a light swipe of her nails across his throat, a thin line of blood appeared. Then, she pinched the edge of that flesh and pulled slightly, peeling the thin layer of skin right off his neck.
It was as easy as turning the page of a book.
She casually tossed the piece of flesh onto the ground, letting it fall beside the other darkening scraps of meat.
The man on the ground let out one final, feeble sound, like a breath squeezed from his throat, and then his mouth stopped moving.
But his eyes remained open. His pupils had dilated, devoid of anything but a hollow, ashen gray.
Yugito Nii stood up straight.
The nails on her hands slowly retracted, shifting from sharp, elongated claws back to normal nails. Then, with a light flick of her wrists, chakra surged from her palms, shaking off all the blood clinging to her hands.
Beads of blood splattered from her hands and hit the ground.
Her hands were as clean as before, without a single speck of blood left behind.
Turning around, she didn't spare another glance at the mangled corpse on the ground. She walked over to the red-haired woman.
The red-haired woman was still curled up on the ground, tightly clutching the baby girl in her arms, shrinking into a tight ball.
Her body trembled violently, her teeth chattered, and her face was covered in tears and snot. The terror in her eyes was practically overflowing.
Watching Yugito Nii approach, she instinctively shrank back, her back hitting the wall. She had nowhere left to retreat.
Yugito Nii stood before her, looking down from above.
"Get up. Come with me."
The red-haired woman froze.
She had thought this woman was going to attack her too. She thought her own flesh would be torn off piece by piece, and her blood would spill all over this alley.
She had prepared herself for death, only hoping her child would survive.
But the other party didn't do that.
Unable to process the situation, she just stared blankly up at Yugito Nii, her mouth agape. The fear in her eyes hadn't faded, but it was now mixed with bewilderment.
Yugito Nii didn't rush her; she simply stood there and waited.
Uchiha Taiga stood at the entrance of the alley, his hands in his pockets, remaining silent the entire time. His face was devoid of expression—neither angry nor pleased. Not a single emotional fluctuation could be seen.
He just watched quietly, watching Yugito Nii finish everything.
He didn't voice any objections, nor did he rush her.
His silence was a form of tacit approval.
Yugito Nii had guessed his intentions perfectly.
The surrounding Kusagakure ninja stood rooted to the spot, hesitating to step forward.
They still held up their kunai and shuriken, but no one dared to throw them. The kunai thrown by the young ninja earlier hadn't even earned a glance from that woman; they didn't think they could do any better.
Looking at their comrade on the ground, who had been torn apart until he was unrecognizable, they felt anger and fear, but mostly a profound sense of powerlessness.
They knew they weren't facing ordinary opponents.
The oppressive aura radiating from that woman was stronger than any Jonin they had ever seen.
Moreover, the boy standing at the alley entrance seemed even more terrifying than the woman.
Fortunately, at that moment, the dense sound of footsteps echoed from the alley entrance.
A large group of people surged in from the direction of the main street. Leading the pack was the leader of Kusagakure, his pace hurried and his breathing slightly uneven.
Arriving with him was Rasa.
Rasa walked slightly behind the leader. His pace wasn't slow either, but his expression was calm, betraying no emotion. Maki followed behind him, his gaze sweeping the alley. When he saw the bloody mess on the ground, his eyelid twitched.
Chiyo and Ebizo had also arrived, walking near the back of the group. Both of their expressions were somewhat peculiar.
The Kusagakure leader reached the alley entrance and glanced inside.
His footsteps instantly halted. His eyes widened drastically, his pupils shrinking. His mouth fell slightly open, and the flesh on his chin trembled.
A person was lying on the ground.
No, that was no longer a person.
It was just a mass of blood and flesh mixed with torn clothing, scattered in the center of a massive pool of dark red blood. Chunks of flesh and skin of various sizes were strewn across the surrounding stone slabs—some already darkening, others still a fresh red.
The woman's hands were completely clean, but everyone knew she was the one who did it.
The Kusagakure leader's face turned extremely grim.
He whipped his head around to look at a nearby Kusagakure ninja, his voice kept very low, but every word carried an uncontrollable fury.
"What happened?"
The Kusagakure ninja quickly leaned in and whispered a few words into his ear.
The voice was very quiet, but Rasa, standing not far away, still caught some of it.
"That woman... came with the Kazekage... that boy too... don't know the reason... suddenly attacked..."
After hearing this, the leader fell silent for a moment, his gaze shifting to Rasa.
Rasa noticed the look but didn't respond, merely standing there with his usual calm expression.
His gaze fell into the alley, and his eyelid twitched. He realized that if this matter wasn't handled properly, it would be very troublesome.
The Kusagakure leader withdrew his gaze, stayed silent for two seconds, and then spoke.
"What are you waiting for? Take her down!"
Hearing the order, the Kusagakure ninja instinctively moved.
Some took a half-step forward; others raised their kunai.
Right at that moment, an arm reached out, blocking the Kusagakure leader's path.
The Kusagakure leader's footsteps faltered. He turned his head to look at Rasa, his eyes filled with confusion and a trace of suppressed anger.
Rasa didn't look at him. His gaze remained fixed on the alley, specifically on the boy.
"I know you feel aggrieved."
He paused, as if giving the Kusagakure leader time to process.
"But regarding this matter, I advise you to be cautious."
He spoke casually, but the Kusagakure leader could hear the underlying weight in his words.
Rasa turned his head and seemingly casually glanced toward the alley entrance.
"That one is named Uchiha Taiga."
He then looked back into the alley.
"The one who took action is named Yugito Nii. She is his subordinate, and also Kumogakure's Jinchuriki."
Hearing this, the Kusagakure leader was stunned at first, and then his expression changed drastically.
Obviously, he realized something. He knew exactly what those two names meant.
The Kusagakure leader's hand trembled slightly. He opened his mouth to say something, but it felt as if his throat was blocked by something, preventing him from uttering a single word.
What could he say?
Could he order his men to take that person down?
His Kusagakure only had a few hundred ninja—not even a fraction of what the Five Great Ninja Villages possessed.
That person was someone capable of defeating Uchiha Madara. How long could his village's few hundred ninja possibly last against him?
Could he question why that person was killing people in his village? The person killed was his subordinate, but the killer was Uchiha Taiga.
In the face of absolute power, reason was the most worthless thing.
So, he could do nothing.
The Kusagakure leader's entire body trembled slightly.
It wasn't just fear, but also anger, humiliation, and powerlessness. Everything churned together, clogging his chest and making it hard to breathe.
Rasa watched his reaction and said nothing more.
He lowered his hand, letting it rest at his side, and stood there quietly.
The alley was dead silent.
No one spoke, waiting for someone to break the silence.
At that moment, Uchiha Taiga glanced at the Kusagakure leader. "Your name is Nakatani Kensuke, right? I'm informing you, I'm taking this mother and daughter with me."