Shikigami Summoning in Konoha

Chapter 9: Red-Haired Fury

"St-stop!"

Hinata, though clearly frightened, still spread her arms wide in front of Katsuragi, bravely shielding him. Katsuragi couldn't help but give a wry smile—he had come to save her, yet now she was the one protecting him.

But her action did little good. Zhaojun (沼廾) simply seized Hinata from in front of Katsuragi. With a quick hand seal, Hinata immediately lost consciousness. Then he turned to stop Shusai (束斋), who was preparing to kill Katsuragi. "You take him with us," he ordered. "We'll bring him along!"

"Huh? Why?" Shusai bristled at the idea of not killing Katsuragi on the spot.

"This kid's so strong at his age—there's definitely something up with him. We'll take him back to the village for questioning. Maybe we'll learn something useful."

Although Zhaojun didn't want to bother explaining, he needed Shusai to carry Katsuragi.

Hearing this, Katsuragi's gaze sharpened. He also put aside his plan of a desperate fight to the death. Initially, he'd been ready to take at least one of them with him if he died, but this new development seemed to open a possible window of survival.

"You're lucky, brat!"

Shusai glared at Katsuragi, ignoring the boy's injury. He grabbed one of Katsuragi's legs and started off again.

"With my current condition, I might only be able to use that move once…"

Bouncing around as Shusai hauled him along, Katsuragi mulled over his options. "There are two of them, and if I fail…"

He took a deep breath and glanced at his shoulder, which was still bleeding profusely. He knew he couldn't afford to wait any longer. If he lost too much blood, he wouldn't even stay conscious, let alone use his special technique.

Quietly, Katsuragi fished out the kunai he had hidden in his sleeve—the one he'd picked up earlier. He tightened his grip on it, twisted his legs around Shusai's arm, then mustered his remaining strength, attempting to drive the kunai straight into Shusai's head.

"Hmm!?"

Though Shusai wasn't exceptionally strong, Katsuragi was in a weakened state. The surprise attack failed to land a lethal blow, but it had an effect—it forced Shusai to let go of him.

"What happened?"

Seeing Shusai suddenly fling Katsuragi aside, Zhaojun stopped and frowned.

"That little punk tried to stab me!" Shusai snarled, looking at Katsuragi with a murderous expression. "Let's just kill him!"

Zhaojun, noticing Katsuragi trembling yet still standing—clutching a kunai—pondered for a moment. "Break both his arms and legs, then knock him out," he said grimly. "He's too unpredictable."

"You wretched brat."

Shusai's eyes blazed as he advanced on Katsuragi. "This time, I'll crush every bone in your hands and feet. See if you can still prance around after that."

"Heh."

Katsuragi was in pain all over, but he still forced a grin. He was adapting to this new world faster than he could ever have predicted. In his previous life, he would likely have collapsed long ago at just the prospect of death.

"It's a shame I didn't manage to kill him. If I'd taken Shusai out, there'd be only one enemy left. With my finishing move, I might have had a chance."

As it was, his chances at victory now were almost zero.

Seeing Katsuragi's mocking smile, Shusai grew even angrier. Dispensing with further delay, he lunged at Katsuragi.

"Now!" Red-Haired Fury! (红颜怒发)

The instant Shusai charged, Katsuragi unleashed the technique he'd been preparing. Under the power he labeled "yōki" (妖力), three blazing red tails—resembling those of the Three-Tailed Fox—took shape behind him.

They lashed out at Shusai with ferocious force.

One strike, two strikes…

After the second blow, Shusai managed to use the Substitution Jutsu to avoid the third. Katsuragi sighed inwardly; if the third strike had landed, Shusai would have been badly wounded if not outright killed.

"Urgh!"

Still, Shusai spat blood. Two distinct wounds now carved across his chest.

"Damn it!"

Almost in the blink of an eye, the exchange ended. Zhaojun, finally reacting, rushed over to check Shusai's injuries. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Shusai shook his head, wiping away the blood on his mouth. His eyes fixed on Katsuragi—who was barely on his feet, looking disappointed—and he asked seriously, "What was that move just now?"

"No idea," Zhaojun said, also shaking his head. Then he looked from the bag holding Hinata to Katsuragi, frowning. "This kid's too strange. The mission is top priority—kill him."

Katsuragi stood there trembling, soaked in blood, yet still gripping his shuriken-like blade. Zhaojun pulled out a set of senbon from his pack and began to form hand seals, evidently about to unleash a jutsu.

"Am I going to die?"

Spotting Zhaojun's movements, Katsuragi forced a bitter smile. In the end, he still hadn't achieved his final "take one with me" resolution. Tightening his hold on the weapon, he refused to look away. He wouldn't surrender until the very last moment.

"Lightning Release: Thousand Thunder Needles!"

Thousands of electrified senbon whirled straight for Katsuragi's face. Mustering every drop of strength left, he hurled his kunai at them. Whether it landed or not was almost meaningless—blood loss had drained him, and consciousness began slipping away.

Suddenly, in the final second before darkness consumed him, he thought he heard a firm, resonant voice:

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"

And with that, everything went black.

…

"Ugh!"

Katsuragi awoke from the darkness to a sharp, stinging pain—especially in his shoulder, which burned like fire. Yet that pain also helped him realize one crucial fact: "I'm… not dead?"

"You're awake."

A voice from nearby startled Katsuragi. Opening his eyes, he found himself facing a man with pale, pupil-less eyes and a gray kimono—the Hyūga Clan's current head, Hyūga Hiashi.

Katsuragi wisely refrained from blurting out the man's name. Snapping back to his senses, he quickly asked, "Sir, did you save me?"

Instead of answering directly, Hyūga Hiashi posed a question of his own: "What is your name?"

"Takanashi Katsuragi."

Caught in an unavoidable situation, Katsuragi answered honestly. In that moment before death, he'd discovered just how terrifying it truly was to face the end—he still wasn't ready to die.

"Takanashi?"

Hyūga Hiashi murmured softly, "So you're Guiyi's son."

Looking at Katsuragi, Hiashi spoke formally, "I am Hyūga Hiashi, head of the Hyūga Clan. Thank you for saving my daughter today. Without your intervention, Hinata might have…" He paused, then added with emphasis, "I appreciate what you did."

"Thank you!"

A small head popped out from behind Hiashi, nearly making Katsuragi jump. He squinted to see it was the soft and adorable Hinata.

"It's me who should be thanking you for saving my life, sir—ow…"

Katsuragi tried to wave off Hiashi's gratitude, but in doing so tugged at his wound and hissed in pain.

"D-don't move too much… or… your wound… your wound…"

Seeing Katsuragi's grimace, Hinata grew flustered. Shy as she was, she had trouble expressing her worry.

"That injury of yours is severe; you really should stay still. I've already notified the hospital—they'll send someone here soon," Hiashi said with a light chuckle, watching the two children fret over each other.

Nodding obediently, Katsuragi recalled the battle and couldn't resist asking, "Sir, could I ask about those two…?"

"They're dead," Hyūga Hiashi stated flatly. "Anyone who tries to steal the Hyūga Clan's eyes is a fool seeking an impossible prize."

"Sigh…"

Katsuragi exhaled inwardly. He now remembered that this incident was what would later cost Neji his father's life—Hiashi's own younger brother—and further deepen the Hyūga Clan's rift between the main family and the branch family.

But in the original story, they hadn't taken Hinata so far. They might not have even left Hyūga territory. So, by stepping in, had he—this little butterfly—already started to flap his wings and alter events without noticing?

Watching the father and daughter before him, Katsuragi pondered silently.

End of Chapter 9