Chapter 195 : The Conspiracy Of The Oni Clan
Anko nodded. "I see. Are you saying these people were killed by members of the Oni Clan using spirit-based ninjutsu?"
Kurenai Yuhi nodded grimly. "Judging by the scene, that does appear to be the case. And before killing these shinobi, they used spiritual techniques to torture them to death."
"I still don’t know what their goal is."
Riku stepped through the ruins of the devastated village, expanding his sensory perception. His gaze suddenly sharpened as he turned toward a fallen stone behind a crumbled wall.
"Someone’s there."
The moment he spoke, Kurenai and Anko appeared beside him, both on high alert as they looked toward the boulder.
"What is it?" Anko asked.
Riku didn’t respond. His focus remained fixed on the large stone. Sensing his tension, Kurenai and Anko tensed as well, kunai in hand, ready to act at a moment’s notice.
The atmosphere grew increasingly taut.
Then, slowly, a man emerged from behind the rock, followed by two small children—one boy and one girl. The man clutched a wooden stick, visibly trembling as he stood protectively in front of the children.
"Don’t come any closer," the man warned, his voice shaking. "I won’t hesitate."
The two children clung to his legs, hiding behind him and peeking at Riku with wide, fearful eyes.
Riku could immediately tell the man wasn’t a shinobi. His chakra signature was weak, and his stance lacked any hint of trained combat awareness. Anko and Kurenai seemed to reach the same conclusion, their curiosity piqued. They hadn’t expected to find any survivors here.
The man’s eyes dropped to Riku’s arm, where his Konoha forehead protector was clearly visible. He blinked in surprise, then broke into a relieved expression. "You... you’re Konoha shinobi?"
Both Kurenai and Anko nodded.
The man exhaled deeply and lowered the stick, though he didn’t let go of it entirely.
Riku’s eyes lingered on the two children. They were young—innocent. It made sense now why the man had dared to show himself.
After a moment of silence, Riku finally asked, "Do you know what happened here?"
The man looked around at the ruins and sighed heavily. "I don’t know why, but the shinobi in the village suddenly went insane. They started killing people indiscriminately. By the end of the day, every single shinobi was dead. After the slaughter, they turned on each other."
"If I hadn’t been away visiting relatives in a neighboring village with my children, we would have died too."
Riku studied the man for a long moment before nodding. "Tell me everything in detail."
"We’re Konoha shinobi," he added. "We’re here to investigate."
Though still somewhat guarded, the man agreed and began recounting the horrific events of the previous night.
As he spoke, Riku listened intently. The man was clearly traumatized. According to his story, the village’s shinobi had inexplicably begun massacring civilians—innocent villagers—without hesitation. Then, when the village was in chaos, they turned on one another. The last few survivors died in bizarre agony, their eyes rolling back as though something had spiritually tormented them to death.
It was grotesque.
Other than that, the man hadn’t noticed anything particularly unusual.
Riku’s mind was racing. So they’re covering their tracks thoroughly...
Anko and Kurenai exchanged troubled glances, their expressions grim. The man’s account left them deeply unsettled. The behavior he described was the exact opposite of what it meant to be a shinobi. True shinobi were trained to avoid civilian casualties at all costs.
But this...
This was a massacre.
Cruel. Purposeful. Systematic.
What could justify such bloodshed?
By the time the man finished, both women were seething.
"These so-called shinobi aren’t even human," Anko muttered.
"They’re monsters," Kurenai added coldly.
Riku remained quiet, analyzing what he’d heard. Then he turned to the man and asked, "Do you have any relatives in that neighboring village?"
The man hesitated. "Yes... I had just returned with my children from visiting them yesterday."
Riku’s expression turned sharp. "Then the next village is likely their next target."
"The layout of these two villages is too close—and from what we’ve gathered, they’ve been linked frequently in recent days. That connection could serve as a crucial anchor point in a larger setup."
He pulled a map from his pouch and unfurled it on the ground. With a kunai, he began marking the locations of the villages that had already been attacked.
Kurenai and Anko leaned in. As their eyes traced the markings, their breath caught.
They froze.
"This... is this a ghoul enchantment?" Kurenai asked, her voice low and tense.
Anko frowned. She wasn’t familiar with the term, but even she could see the eerie symmetry. The marked locations formed a distinct pattern. Including the next village, there were nine in total. The shape they formed couldn’t be coincidence.
Riku and Kurenai both recognized it.
The Ghoul Enchantment.
It wasn’t the same as the Reaper Death Seal. This was something else—a massive genjutsu array that mimicked the influence of the Shinigami.
But unlike the Reaper Death Seal, which harvested souls by invoking the Shinigami directly, this enchantment deceived the Shinigami. Its purpose was to allow full spiritualization of the caster’s body—essentially making them into a ghost in flesh.
For the enchantment to be completed, it required the sacrifice of at least two hundred and seventy shinobi souls.
And even then, success was not guaranteed.
A brutal, blood-soaked Forbidden Technique.
Kurenai’s face darkened. "This jutsu should have been lost long ago."
She had only ever encountered the term in forbidden texts. Even then, the details were scarce—kept hidden because of how horrifying the technique was.
It was too cruel.
Riku stood and looked at the man. "Take us to that neighboring village."
The man flinched. "I... I don’t know if I should. What if you mean harm? What if you bring danger with you?"
He didn’t want to risk his relatives’ lives. Though Riku’s group bore Konoha headbands, his distrust lingered.
Riku folded the map and said plainly, "We’ll find it either way. But if you don’t help us, and they reach that village before we do, your relatives will die."
"You’ve only got these two kids and those relatives left. Can you really afford to lose them too?"
He wasn’t lying. The last village was deeply hidden. Riku knew the general direction, but not the exact location. Finding it through chakra perception alone would take time—and time was a luxury they didn’t have.
The man looked down at his children, who stared up at him with wide, watery eyes.
He sighed.
"...Alright. I’ll take you."
He had no other choice. His relatives meant the world to him.
Lifting the children into his arms, he led the way.
They traveled through rough mountain paths for over an hour before the next village finally came into view, nestled in a narrow valley.
It was remote, with no direct roads—almost invisible unless you knew exactly where to look.
As they reached the outskirts of the village, Riku suddenly stopped.
He narrowed his eyes.
From a mountain peak in the distance... someone was watching them.
A pair of eyes—sharp, calculating—locked onto him from above.
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