Chapter 99 (Patreon)

Konoha was as lively as ever.

The villagers walking through the streets wore cheerful smiles, enjoying the peaceful lives they had grown accustomed to.

“It’s rare to see you outside.”

Inside a dango shop, Shikamaru looked at Mihawk, who sat across from him eating a skewer of dango, and smiled teasingly.

“Did you have a fight with Hinata? If you somehow managed to upset someone as gentle as her, even I wouldn’t know how to help you.”

Mihawk acted as though he had not heard him.

After finishing the dango, he casually picked up a napkin and wiped the corner of his mouth.

“How many days has Naruto been at Mount Myōboku?”

“Let me think…”

Shikamaru rested his chin on one hand while idly turning the teacup on the table.

“It’s been a few days.”

He released a quiet sigh.

“Lord Jiraiya’s death hit him hard. I just hope he can master Sage Mode as soon as possible.”

Mihawk lifted his teacup and took a sip.

“How is the investigation going?”

“It’s still a mess.”

Shikamaru immediately understood what Mihawk was asking about, and his expression became troubled.

“Uncovering the truth behind Pain using only the information we have isn’t going to be easy.”

He paused briefly before continuing.

“Still, based on the message Lord Jiraiya sent before his death, we can at least conclude one thing.”

“The real one isn’t among the Six Paths of Pain.”

Mihawk lowered his cup.

“Could someone be controlling them from a distance with some kind of secret technique?”

He spoke as though the thought had only just occurred to him.

“The controller’s real body might be hiding somewhere else.”

“…”

Shikamaru’s eyes widened.

That possibility had clearly never crossed his mind.

“How would that even be possible?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

Mihawk’s tone remained calm.

“The shinobi world is filled with strange techniques. If the enemy truly possesses the Rinnegan once wielded by the Sage of Six Paths, then an ability like that shouldn’t be impossible.”

Shikamaru fell silent.

His expression gradually became serious as he considered Mihawk’s words.

“Mihawk… you might be right.”

He immediately stood.

“I need to tell the Intelligence Division about this.”

At that moment, Mihawk’s expression changed.

Whoosh!

Something tore through the air outside.

A heartbeat later, a thunderous explosion shook the entire street.

Boom!

“What was that?”

Shikamaru spun toward the entrance.

“What happened?”

Mihawk was already on his feet.

He rushed toward the door.

“It’s an enemy attack. Watch yourself.”

Shikamaru gritted his teeth and followed him outside.

“Damn it… Is it the Akatsuki?”

The moment he stepped out of the dango shop, Shikamaru’s pupils contracted.

Konoha had fallen into chaos.

Smoke and dust rose from several parts of the village.

Powerful jutsu struck buildings one after another, sending debris flying through the streets.

Several enormous summoned creatures rampaged freely, crushing roads and buildings beneath their feet.

“Damn it…”

Shikamaru’s expression changed when he noticed the direction one of the creatures was heading.

“That direction is…”

Meanwhile, Mihawk had already returned home.

The moment he opened the door, Hanabi rushed out of his room with the storage scroll clutched tightly in her arms.

Her anxious expression immediately brightened when she saw him.

“Mihawk-nii!”

“Hanabi, don’t be afraid.”

Mihawk quickly formed a hand seal.

A Shadow Clone appeared beside him in a burst of white smoke.

“My clone will take you back to the Hyūga compound.”

He placed one hand on Hanabi’s head.

“Listen to your father and follow every instruction he gives you. Once you enter the shelter, do not leave until the attack is completely over.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Hanabi nodded repeatedly.

She tightened her grip on the scroll before looking up at him.

“Mihawk-nii, you need to be careful too.”

“I will.”

Mihawk gently stroked her hair and watched as Hanabi left with his Shadow Clone.

Once they disappeared from sight, the warmth in his expression vanished.

He reached for the sword at his waist and stepped outside.

His Observation Haki spread silently across the surrounding area.

Mihawk’s brows drew together.

I can’t sense them.

His awareness swept through the village, catching the presence, emotions, and movements of countless people.

However, he could not clearly identify the Six Paths of Pain.

Is it because they’re corpses? Or is my Observation Haki still not refined enough?

This was the first time his Observation Haki had failed him so completely.

Earlier, he had sensed lives vanishing across the village, but he had been unable to locate Pain himself.

At first, Mihawk had assumed the enemy was simply moving too quickly.

Now, it seemed the problem was far more complicated.

Observation Haki sharpened a person’s senses, allowing them to detect the presence, emotions, and movements of living beings.

However, it could not directly perceive chakra.

Although the Six Paths of Pain could move and fight, they were still corpses.

They possessed no true life force of their own.

There were people whose Observation Haki could perceive even the slightest disturbances across enormous distances.

Enel had combined his Haki with the power of the Goro Goro no Mi to monitor an entire island, while Rayleigh could distinguish countless individual presences with incredible precision.

However, their Observation Haki had reached an extremely advanced level.

Mihawk’s own perception was powerful, but it remained focused on the presence and movements of living beings.

And perception was not the same as seeing everything.

His tense expression gradually eased.

“Forget it.”

Mihawk tightened his grip around his sword.

“I’ll find them one by one.”

He turned toward the direction where the screams and explosions were loudest.

In the next instant, his figure vanished.

At the same time, within Konoha’s central district—

Boom!

A man with long orange hair effortlessly knocked down a Konoha shinobi wearing a Chūnin flak jacket.

The Human Path crouched beside the fallen shinobi and placed one hand on his head.

With a faint smile, he activated his ability and began pulling the man’s soul from his body.

“Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!”

Boom!

Before the soul could be fully extracted, a sharp cry rang out from the distance.

The Human Path instinctively turned toward the sound.

A massive wave of compressed chakra rushed toward him.

The impact struck him like a mountain.

His body became a blurred afterimage as he was blasted across the street.

At the source of the attack stood a young woman dressed in modest white clothing and dark trousers.

Her feet were firmly planted in a Gentle Fist stance, and the veins around her eyes had risen beneath her skin.

It was Hinata.

After blasting the Human Path away, she did not immediately rush to help the fallen Chūnin.

Her Byakugan remained fixed on the pile of shattered debris where the enemy had landed.

Whoosh!

A figure suddenly burst from the cloud of dust.

The Human Path had taken the attack almost completely unharmed.

A black chakra receiver extended from the sleeve of his Akatsuki cloak as he charged directly toward her.

Hinata’s expression became intensely serious.

However, there was no panic in her eyes.

Within her pale gaze was a confidence that even she had not fully realized was there.

Over the past half month, the range and clarity of her Byakugan had continued to improve.

Its vision had long since surpassed the limit of one kilometer.

Not only could she see farther than before, but every movement within her field of vision appeared far clearer.

“Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!”

Hinata thrust her palm forward once again.

A fierce stream of blue chakra compressed into an enormous blast of air nearly as tall as a man.

Its power resembled a violent gust created through Wind Release as it swallowed the charging Human Path.

The Human Path specialized in gathering information and close-quarters combat.

He had clearly not expected Hinata’s attack to be so fast or so powerful.

For the second time, the force of her Vacuum Palm sent him flying.